Judging from some of the things Josh has been quoted as saying on the web, he seems like a fairly snarky guy and someone who does things his own way. This is someone who purposely resisted getting a porn star tan, after all.

My guess is that this is his way of exiting the business and perhaps commenting on the inconsistencies in enforcing safer sex in the industry or the the lack of congruence between the screen and what porn stars do.

He's had a very good run--almost 7 years in the business w/o getting truly over exposed. It probably is time for an exit. He' escorted in SF or NYC for years and this probably won't affect his regular clientele. His last ad indicated that he does use safe sex as an escort.

It looks like he bottoms in the video (from the box cover), so he's clearly going all the way. Some guys have done just oral scenes or topped (which is erroneously assumed to be safer).

It's sad, but I have to say that he struck me as the kind of iconoclast who'd go out this way. My own guess is that he won't become a freak show like Jeff Palmer or simply pathetic like Drew Peters. He's starting to look his age, but at least he doesn't look like Jason Tyler who probably did this once his porn and legit model pull dates had passed. Hopefully, he won't turn this into a sad career like most of teh B-listers who've gone this route . And hopefully, he isn't HIV+.

Others have noted his intelligence, unfortunately, IQ points are at best only probablistically related to judgment or success in life. Look at, for example, Matt Sizemore--his addiction and succumbing to BB video seemed to come at the same time. Josh has spent a period of his life in the sex industry that most college educated people spend starting a career or getting graduate/professional degrees. He could easily work as a trainer, esp. in places where a porn background has cache. OTOH, he actually may have other ambitions, which may or may not be hurt by a porn career. People seem to manage in many of the arts (he's apparently very knowledgable about art & photography) regardless of their histories and escorting can open doors if one's clients are generous in spirit and connected to important areas of non-porn life. Hopefully, he's made headway toward some other ambitions, but I'd have to wonder if perhaps he's worked his way into some sort of cul de sac, in which case BB porn may be less snark and more a sign of someone whose hit wall.

This post was edited 1/13/2008 6:32:02 PM by buckguy.

"Some guys have done just oral scenes or topped (which is erroneously assumed to be safer)."

While topping is not 100% safe with an HIV infected person, the odds of getting infected for a top are a lot less than it is for a bottom to have sex with an HIV infected top. Basic anatomy tells us that one who penetrates tends to inject what he has into the penetrated in a way that usually does not happen in reverse. That is why women are more suspectible than men. Again, topping is not totally safe, but the risks are a lot lower than bottoming.

Whether it's safer varies a great deal and should not be assumed. The anus & rectum have very sensitive, rather delicate tissues--small tears, blood seepage, etc. can occur. In addition viral concentrations are sometimes greater in rectal secretions than in the general blood supply. There's is an analogous phenomenon with the distribution of virus in women (often more in the genital tract than elsewhere) which is a big problem in countries the HIV strain is more easily transmitted from females to males than the one here. There's also the question of the top's immune system--compromised by STDs, the flu, etc.

As to why Josh Weston is doing this, an interesting remark on director Jett Blakk's blog today... (talking about the Adult Expo in Las Vegas)

"So what did I learn from the Expo this year? (snip) Bareback. That's all I kept hearing: Bareback, bareback, bareback. All the distributors want it. In some cases, it's ALL they wanted. When I asked one distributor if he had any moral qualms about selling bareback titles, he merely shrugged and said, "That's where the money is." It was also at the expo that I learned that former All Worlds director PETER O'BRIAN (of Peter and Casey O'Brian fame) was now directing bareback titles. What a shame."




Hear hear to it being a shame, but from my not-very-informed perspective, I think he might be right. To my eyes there seems to be more bareback product on the market than ever.

Maybe Weston rather than going downmarket is going where the future is...

http://www.blakksblog.com/

Friday I made a pit stop at our local Adult Video store to scan the new releases. I counted 67 new titles they had out of which 49 were bareback or contained bareback material. Perhaps db is right and the days of the industry being "safe" centric is falling to the all mighty dollar.

Maybe Weston rather than going downmarket is going where the future is...

It's a very short future, guaranteed.

If, as has been speculated, he is already HIV+, barebacking in porn is not going to affect his longevity one way or another. He may have been making poor choices in his private sexual life for many years, for all we know. I think we need to assume that all older male porn performers doing bareback now are HIV+. The unfortunate thing is that studios and consumers are demanding that very young porn performers also do bareback, and those performers are more likely to acquire HIV through their porn activities than the older performers.

Rightly or wrongly, I assume that most of the older (over 30, basically) porn performers are who do bb are HIV+.

The younger guys who work with older guys in bb (e.g., Jarod Steel), I also assume are positive.

I'm a little surprised that the Eurotwink bb stuff hasn't burned itself out. It's basically the same guys over & over again, in lack luster videos. Ditto, the trollish Treasure Island et al. video--same guys and same stuff.

It is important not to allow our posts get personal against Josh Weston. I must admit that even my post came off across as a lecture of some sort. However, it saddens me that we are losing the next gay generation to HIV.
When FALCON signed Josh Weston to an exclusive contract, I was surprised since he did not fit into the "typical mold." I was not a big Josh Weston fan from the beginning. But Josh really established himself in the industry. His career lasted so long at Falcon and he was in demand and was used by so many other studios after such a long career at FALCON. That is very unusual but it shows the talent Josh really has. In fact, I think his DP scene in MUSCLE PIT (Blue Blake) deserves a nomination for best bottom performance for 2007. Unlike when Josh entered the scene, I am now a Josh Weston fan. I am extremely disappointed in his decision to enter bareback porn. Regardless of his status, it sends the wrong message. Josh Weston is a very big porn star that has starred in so many of the biggest selling gay porn videos over the past 7 years. He should be promoting safer sex. He can be the biggest slut he wants in any video, but condoms should be worn. I did not think his career was over in mainstream porn. However, bareback porn is moving mainstream. It is sad and depresses me that so many have surrendered in the HIV fight. So let me be clear, I am attacking the decision and not the person. Josh Weston is an amazing porn star.

I don't know if I'd call him "amazing", but he's someone who grew on me over time, too. His move to SX does send the wrong message.

As for bb going mainstream, it seems like it's simply absorbed more & more of the margines. Factory Video recently started doing bb. Upthread there's mention of one of the O'Brian brothers doing bb (who knew these bottom feeders were still around).

From the Jett Blakk entry, it sounds like distributors are pushing this, which would mean that the smaller, more marginal operations will feel pushed to go this way. I wonder about start-ups. There have been a number that have gone with condoms, but they tend to be companies that are going for a mainstream, high quality product.


Chi Chi & Co. have been very inconsistent and the "community" really has not responded to all this. If the distribution chain is pushing for bb, then someone like LaRue should buy a major distributor and castoff the bb product or find some other way to make a real gesture that puts money where their mouth is.