Hey, Chuck:
No problems with viewing the video in its entirety, here in Canada: it streamed perfectly.
As far as the content:
*My goodness, Johnny is a charmer! And, just like Grace, I found that Johnny's comment about "functionality over form" cracked me up! I think it was really
great to hear that, too ~ because a lot of the most FLAT-OUT BEAUTIFUL women I have known, don't conform to the rail-thin image that magazines, and movies, currently promote: but they are beautiful, nonetheless, with gorgeous faces, and sexy curves !!! I hope Johnny gets a beautiful, curvy girl to be with
))
*Speaking personally, as a gay guy who looks JUST like Winston Churchill, and has never looked like anyone's Athenian ideal - I waited 30 years to hear from ANOTHER gay guy who LIKED people who look like me. (Kisses to my b/f, K
So Johnny's comments were really refreshing
))
*I ought to say, also, that Johnny is growing on me more and more, as a model and as a person. His body is AMAZING and beautiful, but in the past, I haven't honestly gone for guys quite as "built" as Johnny - preferring either slender guys, or guys with a "natural" build, with a little ordinary body-fat. (I also - infamously among my friends - prefer brunets at a rate of about 15-to-1: *blushing*) But, Johnny's countenance is so sweet; he has such a luminous personality; and such a WINNING smile - I am really developing quite an affection, for him.)
*It was wonderful to see Blake's cloud-trick, in this video ~ and hear a little about how his Dad taught it to him. Blake is a star, and a sweetheart, and every time I hear him speak, it makes me smile ;-)))
*It was interesting to hear about Tyler's anxieties, about doing his first video. (And I am sure they are genuine.) I think Tyler is gorgeous, and I am so glad he has joined
Broke Straight Boys Very much so!!!
*Same goes for "Reluctant Mike": perhaps, especially so. I think I noticed, toward the end of the video (in the preview portion), that Mike has Ephesians 3:7 tattooed on his arm, wherein St. Paul talks about the mysteries of grace, and the Gospel, whereof (Paul says): "I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God, given unto me by the effectual working of His power." (Some of what follows will be a little controversial, so please indulge me by skipping it, if discussion of this kind offends you.)
Poor Mike! I find him quite masculine and handsome, and I like his elegant and slender form. However, if he is really straight (as I imagine he at least primarily is): his decision to give the
Broke Straight Boys experience a try, has got to represent more than a LITTLE source of cognitive dissonance, for him. And the LAST thing on his mind, is what people like ME, think.
First of all, because Mike is straight - or at least identifies as being straight, and (at least at this point) exclusively so. If, in some parallel universe, your ancient friend "A" were young again, and sexy (i.e., in a universe
far, far, away); and he were sought out - or volunteered to - a site which filmed STRAIGHT erotica, and the director said (however kindly): "A", we would like you NOW to have this beautiful girl give you pleasure, and we would like you to reciprocate" - I know that I would be frozen stiff: like a deer in the headlights!!! (Really.)
Second, because if Mike has had a certain kind of religious upbringing (and Lucas alluded to this in both his interviews) - though he may have signed up out of economic necessity, he may have a sense that what he is trying out is deeply wrong. And that may bother him, quite a bit.
For my own part, while I was raised in a very religious household (and ethically strict, also): it was also a household which took a quite liberal view of homosexuality, and bisexuality, too. (And admittedly, I have taken this liberalism just a little bit further - LOL!) But many churches (and families) still teach that homosexuality and bisexuality are wrong (or that even experimentation in such realms, is wrong) and that can (as Lucas said) cause a person a lot of problems, and conflicts, personally. I wish it weren't so, but, I really think it is. . . .
So, I hope that we, in the
Broke Straight Boys audience, will cut "Reluctant Mike" a little (indeed a LOT) of slack. After all, if one subscribes to a site that genuinely features straight guys - issues like this will arise, from time to time.
If Mike is uncomfortable with being in such a setting, or finds that it bothers him, or violates his sense of what is right - then, I think we should wish him all the best in other endeavours, which suit him better. If he finds that he is OK with all of this, on reflection, then, I hope we will be kind to him, and get to know him, better
I am happy to say that I think Mike is a nice guy, and wish him the best, whatever is right for HIM.
*As to Lucas' interview (in its completion and conclusion): I appreciated it very much. (And again, I have to say that I think Sha is a good, kind, and exceptionally sensitive interviewer ~ thank you, Sha.) And I especially appreciated Lucas' candour, intelligence, and thoughtfulness, in the course of this interview.
Of course, as I have expressed before (and I know it is
contra the ethos and aesthetic of
Broke Straight Boys) ~ I never care whether a model is straight, gay, or bisexual. I think there is much to appreciate about all sorts of models! And it is nice to see all sorts of models, appreciated by members, here.
I also agree with dear Tampa (who is so kind and good, and unfailingly positive) that it sounds as if Lucas has had to grow up far too quickly: and perhaps hasn't had all the love and support he deserves. (That YOU deserve, Lucas - I don't mean to speak of you, as if you weren't in the room. XOXOXOXO)
I should also like to say, that (now that I am an old man of 47): over time, I have really come to agree with Lucas, in his views about escorting. While, I ought to tell you, I have never had the occasion to hire an escort (and have no plans to do so) - I think I get what this is all about. I was actually very touched by what Lucas said, when he said, "I'm reaching out to somebody. . . because they don't have somebody they can connect to, in their life."
This, I think, is not entirely a bad thing, from the standpoint of ethics, or public policy. (And, I suppose it is a measure of how much I esteem you guys, and girls, in this group, that I am discussing my thoughts about this, for the very first time - but what Lucas had to say, really touched my heart, and made me THINK.)
After all, I have been a member of one or another gay erotic site for just about as long as such sites have existed: and, were I to be honest with myself, this has been for JUST the reason that Lucas suggested - because I
didn't have someone I could connect to, in my life, in THAT way, at THAT TIME. Gay erotica, and the discussion thereof, has provided me with the spark, and the physical pleasure, and the conversations, and the company, that I suppose many people find in engaging an escort. So, even though these experiences are different at least in degree (perhaps also in KIND ~ because of the SAFETY for those who participate, on both sides), I don't hold myself innocent as having COMPLETELY different motivations from those who have, on occasion, engaged escorts. We are all HUMAN, and have (basically) the same needs and desires, in life.
What I would say to Lucas about escorting, though, is this:
*I think your reasons for having done it are decent, and good, and borne both of your practical necessity, and your care for the people you were helping. (And I DO believe you were genuinely helping them.)
*I think that, as a matter of public policy, society probably ought to legalize and regulate this sort of work (for men and women): so that people who provide this service to others are not exploited or hurt by others, and so that better health
regimes are in place.
*However, I DO worry about ANYONE who does escorting, not for reasons of morality, but for reasons of SAFETY.
*It is always a real concern that anyone who escorts may (in some unforeseen circumstance) be subject to difficulty, disease, danger, or legal difficulties. No matter how well he or she plans, or screens his clients. This is unacceptable, I think. Our North American society can be both violent, and perilous, in a variety of ways: and so, I would (and do) always encourage anyone who escorts (however great his financial need, or how trusted his clientele): to turn as soon as he can, to another, better option ~ that is SAFER for him,
personally. I would encourage you, in the same way, Lucas.
Lucas, from what I have observed of you, thus far (if I may address you directly): you are an intelligent, caring, and practical person. So. . . I hope that you will think carefully about the options available to you - and dodge the hazards that objectively do exist in that line of work. I have confidence that you are capable of MANY good things in life ~ so please think it all through, carefully. As our new friend on
Broke Straight Boys, you are a VERY important person - and I think we are all cheering for you, to do WELL, and find HAPPINESS.
You take care of yourself, L!!!
**************************************************************************************************************
Finally, I would like to say "thanks" to Mark and Sha and Chuck and all the
Broke Straight Boys team for iniating this series. So far, it is beautifully produced, and much more meaningful than most other such series I have seen, on other sites. As such, I think it is important for us all to see - as it helps to put the models we love into context, as REAL HUMAN BEINGS.
And that is a very good thing. It is very difficult to give people you don't know (at least a little) the love they TRULY deserve. . . . This series is giving us the chance to make this place, a much more HUMAN, place
"A" XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_etU9MED4k
....and then there is Jason, Paul, and Flint.
