From Porn to Pop: An Interview with Colton Ford

By Troy, Chicago

When I called Colton Ford at 9:00 a.m. (his California time, not my Chicago time), I was, initially, too nervous to be excited about talking to this beautiful (by anyone’s standards) man. I soon discovered that I was entirely too focused on maintaining the balance between sticking to my list of prepared questions and seizing any opportunity for spontaneity and diversion. Within a few minutes, my nerves were forgotten as we gave way to a very pleasant conversation. We started at ground zero: Colton’s head on pursuit of a music career via gay porn. Then from his sexy meandering from the disclosure of a boyhood crush on Olivia Newton-John to an interest in the historical origins of our phallic-centric society, and then on to how he met Blake Harper, his current boyfriend. I found Colton to be very interesting as well as interested in whatever we were talking about at the moment. We covered a lot in a little over an hour, and the only thing that was missing was a third person to take notes whenever I became engaged and/or stimulated beyond my handy faculties. As it was, I found myself inventing new strategies to document our rapid conversational flow. He modestly eschewed the merits of having a really large penis, and I unobtrusively agreed with his observations while shamelessly carrying out my own visual hypotheses. Finally, having read that he and Blake are avid therapy-goers, I was unable to leave this alone. And ultimately, I discovered that Colton Ford transcends all his obvious attributes in favor of being forthcoming, honest, and aware of a hedonistic drive to succeed with his musical dream.

HOOK: Well, first I want to say thank you for taking some to do this interview...

Colton Ford: You’re welcome.

HOOK: So, are you an early riser? It’s 9:00 where you are.

Colton: Not by choice, I’m not. [laughs]

HOOK: Are you familiar with HOOK?

Colton: Yes, I am.

HOOK: So, we’re going to sort of start out by looking at your segue from porn to music. How did you come about this approach?

Colton: Well, I never really left music. I have, in one way or another, been pursuing my career in music for the past twenty years.

HOOK: So far has the strategy worked out the way you thought it would?

Colton: Well at the time I decided to do porn, my music career was kind of stagnant. I felt that my core audience was my community, and doing porn could potentially help me create something that would spark an interest. All I needed to do was to get them there. Sex moves gay men, and if it could move them to my music, great! It seems to be working.

HOOK: What do you want to do with your music?

Colton: Basically, I want to be able to create music that inspires me and hopefully will inspire others—to express myself as fully as possible. I am rooted in R&B. Right now, the tracks that are coming out are more dance oriented, but you will definitely hear the R&B influence. It can be really challenging for a creative personality to remain faithful to himself or herself. For me it’s about constantly moving forward, not just creatively, but business-wise. It takes a lot of attention and energy. You want to be individual and unique, but the business wants to fit you into a box. If you are able to keep your spirit and stay true to yourself, you will have a much more fulfilling experience.

HOOK: Was music something you were interested in as a kid?

Colton: Oh sure. I listened to Marvin Gaye, Chaka Kahan, Aretha Franklin, Teddy Pendergrass, Luther Vandross. I just gravitated to it. I grew up in a very conservative, white bread family, so it wasn’t environmentally driven. It’s just what moved me. Oh, I also loved Olivia Newton-John. I thought she was hot! [laughs] She had a great talent, with this amazing voice. She continued to reveal more as she progressed with her music.

HOOK: Yeah, I liked her, too. She seemed kind of sweet and pure...kind of like Australia’s own Marcia Brady. Were there any musicians you have looked up to or maybe even wanted to perform with?

Colton: Besides the ones I already mentioned, I would have to say Stevie Wonder. He is genius to me. Pepper MaShay and I have a single out currently, a remake of “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” It will be released to retailers mid-February. We’ve already broken the Top 50 in the Billboard Dance Chart. Ralphie Rosario and MacQuayle have done amazing mixes. Pepper MaShay, she’s a phenomenal talent. I think it’s a great package.

HOOK: Has your porn star status turned out to be a useful resource?

Colton: Well for one thing, it enabled me to get out of corporate America. Between each of my record deals I went to corporate America to supplement my income. I really hated corporate politics and I just got so sick of the whole scene. You can’t avoid the need to conform in that environment, and I didn’t like playing that game. I was getting tired and frustrated; it was boring. I am a creative personality, and there wasn’t much room for self-expression and creativity. Porn was a means to an end and helped me get out of that environment and create Colton Ford. It was just another creative way of performing for me. Blake and I have done a lot of appearances together, even fucking on stage! [laughing] To me, it was kind of an extension of myself and I was happy to do it.

HOOK: Did you have any idea that making porn was going to go as well for you as it has?

Colton: I guess I didn’t think too much about it. That’s kind of the way I am, a fatalist. It’s going to be whatever it is. I’m an exhibitionist and a performer, so I just enjoyed myself.

HOOK: Did you have any idea how long it would take you to achieve the results you wanted in music?

Colton: Well, it’s really tough. The industry wants to mold you and make you into something that maybe you’re not. And wanting to remain true to yourself can be very, very hard in the music business. That’s why I have so much respect for Pepper. She’s great. She’s very sincere, and she and I are both driven to our express ourselves musically. That’s why we’ve subjected ourselves to this shit for so long. The music industry is heinous, the porn industry has absolutely nothing on it. I have a lot of very gifted friends who haven’t gotten as far as their talent should’ve taken them. The way it all seems to play out... it’s a lottery, a crapshoot.

HOOK: So, do you feel pretty good about your own marketability in the music industry? You seem to have a good grasp on what’s required...

Colton: There will always be a lot of resistance to anything that is different. I mean they told Anita Baker that she sounded too much like a guy, but she blew up anyway and made it happen. So why not me? Somebody has to do it. And porn got me out of corporate America and allowed me to create Colton Ford. I mean how many careers have been made because the person shook things up?

HOOK: Like Madonna, yeah...

Colton: Exactly. Look at how Madonna shook things up, and look at how well she has done.

HOOK: Any surprises to come out of this particular marketing strategy: Recording Artist/Porn Star???

Colton: Yeah! Straight women! [laughs] You know how straight guys like to see two women together? Well, there are lots of straight women who are really into gay porn.

HOOK: I never thought about that.

Colton: I have a girlfriend on the east coast who was talking to her mom. She mentioned my name and her mom goes, “Oh, I love Colton Ford!” My girlfriend says, “What are you talking about?!!!” Sure enough her mom really gets into watching two guys go at it. There are a lot of straight women who llove to see two guys together. In straight porn the focus is on the women, not the guys, so for these women, gay porn is great. Of course, the gay audience is a viable one, and one which has not yet been targeted to its fullest. We have a huge disposable income and it just makes a lot of sense. The heterosexual female demographic, however, is a considerable audience as well and one that maybe not everybody has considered.

HOOK: Has it been hard for you to walk away from porn? Both in the sense that you’ve enjoyed it and also from any outside pressures?

Colton: It doesn’t feel difficult, and really there’s no way to detach yourself from it. It just doesn’t feel like I’ve really left. I’ve met some great friends throughout my career. Look at this interview we’re doing. I don’t think porn ever leaves you, or you leave it. I got to a place in July 2002, where I (and Blake) wanted to take a break. I had done four films in five weeks and was spent. We were performing all over the place in addition to making movies, and we needed to take break. Then several opportunities opened up with my music and six weeks later I was recording my single, “Everything.” I was still getting offers to do films, but really felt it was time to refocus. I got everything out of the experience of making porn that I wanted to get. If I had continued, it would have started to feel redundant.

HOOK: Did you and Blake meet during filming?

Colton: No, Blake and I got together before I had done any porn. A couple of months into our relationship Blake was supposed to film a scene for Porn Struck 2. Blake’s partner wasn’t able to make it out to Los Angeles to do their scene together—this was right after September 11th—and Blake asked me if I would be interested in being his replacement. It sounded like fun and I didn’t feel I had anything to lose and potentially a lot to gain, so Porn Struck 2 became my first movie. It was a new experience for me, and Blake made sure that I was well taken care of.

HOOK: Had you seen any of Blake’s movies?

Colton: Well, I knew who he was. I knew that he had just won gay performer of the year...I just haven’t watched a lot of porn. I am more of a doer than a watcher. [laughs] If there was porn on TV, I was probably fucking while it was on. Blake is a lovely guy—smart, funny, unaffected. He didn’t have the kinds of energies that I assumed he might have being a porn star.

HOOK: What do you mean by that?

Colton: People give a lot of power to sex—maybe too much power. The truth is sex is only as powerful as you make it. What we may perceive a porn star to be often doesn’t include things like sensitivity, vulnerability, and softness. The truth is that the porn world includes all types of people evolving at their own individual pace. We’re all here living our lives trying to figure it all out.

HOOK: How long have you guys been together?

Colton: Two and a half years.

HOOK: I read somewhere that you were an active therapy-goer. I think that’s wonderful. More people need to get involved with themselves through therapy.

Colton: Yeah, well that’s what it’s all about. That’s part of the process. Our work is never done. Life is full of so many twists and turns. We can all use help and guidance along the way.

HOOK: You are lucky to have your dream.

Colton: It’s a difficult dream to have. It’s gut-wrenching to know what the music industry is all about. But if you want it badly enough, you find alternate routes to make it happen. Doing gay porn, for example. I am not looking back with any regrets. I am glad for all my experiences. At the very least, I am true to myself.

HOOK: Good luck with everything, Colton.

Colton: Thank you, Troy. I appreciate that.

Troy lives in Chicago where is working toward a graduate degree in psychology. He plans to stop escorting no time soon. His favorite angel is Sabrina. Link to him here.