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What’s a Porn Star to Do When the Industry’s Cashflow Dries Up? Turn to 1-on-1 ‘Fan Meetings’

It’s not just hard out there for a pimp. It’s hard out there for a porn star. In this tough economic times, the headliners of your favorite three-ways, DPs, and lockerroom fantasies are finding there’s just not as much cash in man-on-man scenes as there used to be. And it has some of the biggest names in gay porn resorting to, uh, “fan meetings.”

Porn vet David Forest is among those hooking up his all-star talent with individuals interested in a one-on-one session, where “fans” and “models” can share their favorite lasagna recipes. (See his website.) These are called “fan appreciation meetings,” though the clients and the porn stars themselves might call them something else. Not that matchmakers like Forest care to explain it; “whatever then happens between consenting adults is not his concern,” says Gay Porn Times (link possibly NSFW).

While these fan meets used to generate some extra pocket money, dwindling revenues in film and the dancing circuit mean the get-togethers are becoming an increasingly sizable portion of porn performers’ revenues. In just one example of how lucrative the business can be, Ken Ryker, the now-37-year-old porn vet who retired in 2004, is now taking bookings.

Meeting “fans” in private is nothing new for porn stars; whether you call it escorting or the P-word, performers have often used their porn fame as a means to charge many times over what your average RentBoy.com listing can. And in a world where anyone can be a celebrity, it might be the recession-busting business model to carry these men through.

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