I Am Sam

Sam Tyson is not your ordinary ex-Mormon porn star. Excuse us, porn "actor." He's too bashful to call himself a star. Isn't that sweet?

>> So you're a new face to most people. Tell me your story. Spill it all, we're dying to hear it.
I was born in Salt Lake City

And what happened after that?
Well I was Mormon, but then my family converted to Roman Catholicism.

So they weren't really Osmondy about their Mormonism, I guess.
Nope, but I still have this thing about Utah. I embrace where I come from, definitely. In fact, Tyson is my Mormon christening name.

Wow! And now it's your smut name! Irony!
(laughing) Yep, that and I just wanted that name from the time I was a kid. I thought it was a cool name. And it's still a part of my actual life.

And it's better than some Crystal Carrington porny sounding name, for sure. So OK, you're Catholic in a city full of Mormons. Even worse, you quit being a Mormon in a city full of Mormons. How did you get treated?
Sort of like a black sheep, but Mormons are, above all, nice. It's kind of like L.A. in that people are nice to your face but will talk shit about you behind your back. And then Mormons find out you're gay and it's like twice the ostracism, but at least by then I was Catholic.

Ha! They're like, "Whew! At least he's not Mormon anymore! Not our problem!"
Yeah, we jack Mormons are the best.

What problems or conflicts did your religious life bring you, if any? You seem so relaxed talking about it, it would seem like it didn't get in the way too much.
It did, though, really. I went through a lot of guilt at first. I had a born-again stint in college, very evangelical.

So were you in like Campus Crusade or something?
Yeah, one just like it. Those groups are so alluring because you're this young guy and there are all these other attractive young men there and they all seem to have their act together, and there's a closeness that happens with guys in Christian ministry that doesn't occur in real life. They love each other and they hug and it's very attractive. So I went through that and when I came out to them it was pretty tumultuous. It still is, sort of, but it's getting better. I moved to L.A. after that and started to feel better about myself, my body, everything. I knew in the back of my mind I wanted to explore being in front of a camera. When I finally felt like I had the freedom to do it, I decided it was time.

What was your first exposure to porn?
As a kid I found a Playgirl magazine and thought, "Damn!" I was really into it.

Same here. My dad's girlfriend had a copy and she also had a son who was older than me and constantly taunting me. So he showed me the mag and said, "Hey look what my mom has! If you like this then you're a fag who loves men!"
(laughing) Wonder where he is right now? How was he that aware at that young age, you know? All through high school, there was this store in my town and I'd go in there, at 14 mind you, and buy gay porn magazines...

No way! They let you buy it at 14?!
They didn't care. A sale was a sale to them. I was just sweating, totally nervous, and so ashamed I would throw it away almost as soon as I got it because I couldn't bring it home.

How old were you when you came out?
Six years ago, when I was 22. But I knew I finally had to, and I thought that even if I lost the support of family or friends I had to honor that part of me. I sent out postcards announcing it.

So organized...
(laughing) Yeah, sorta. I just went through my address book. My Christian friends took it hard. But moving to West Hollywood, for all that people say about the place, helped me deal with it a lot.

So you also come to us with some history in the gay media. After moving to L.A., you co-created a gay magazine whose name I'm not mentioning here, a magazine that advocated a pretty conservative stance on gay men, relationships and sex. It was very much a supporter of traditional monogamy for gay men and, in spirit at least, anti-porn and anti-promiscuity. You've come a long way from that place. Will you talk about that?
Of course. That magazine really served a market of men who felt alienated from the heavily sexual vibe of other gay men's magazines. And I've had to address this with all my old friends, who knew me as that guy from that magazine. And they see me doing this and they all say, "What happened? What shifted? Did a switch go on and Sam become schizophrenic one day?" The truth is that there was always a part of me that has wanted to do this. It existed even before I came out. But back then I was too ashamed and too afraid, so this part of me, the sexual energy in me, was just held back. I wasn't really sure how to deal with it and I wasn't sure how to deal with it in social situations or business situations either. When you're around gay men, it's always there, that energy, and I think the sexiest people use that, they don't run from it. I finally feel comfortable with that energy and I want to explore it and celebrate it.

Good.
Yeah, I'm an exhibitionist, and it's time to show it off a little. But I'm the same guy that I was then. I'm not running from it, even when old friends, or anyone really, raises their eyebrows at me now. And I've had people call me a hypocrite and worse. I think porn's good for people. I want some guy in Salt Lake City struggling with his desires to see this magazine and enjoy it.

Exactly. Closeted dudes are not driving out to the county line for a political gay mag. They have other needs. They wanna spank it.
(laughing) Yes. I've just tried to stop worrying about it. As far as my old friends go, I think it's just an adjustment for them to see me in this light. They've seen a certain set of skills and abilities in me and now they're seeing that I have other talents and

Talent that you're gonna whip out of your pants!
Yeah! So it's been maybe kind of jarring for them to see me having sex in a movie.

Like someone forced them to watch your come shot.
Funny, right? But they all do.

Did they all join your e-mail group?
(laughing) I think so.

Are your old friends the ones posting stuff like, "Sam's so hot! I want to see a picture of him in baseball cleats and a jock strap and smoking!"
Oh gosh. That's so weird. I'll save the smoking part for the holidays maybe. Special occasions.

So what do you think about the perception that porn stars are sex addicts?
I don't. I think my own sex life has shifted a lot in the past several years. Sex used to be about the forbidden for me. I think that attitude is what makes people behave in sexually compulsive ways. We put it in dirty, dark little boxes and it can't be part of our regular life. Now that it's not forbidden for me it's allowed me to indulge a whole new set of fantasies.

Has your newness to porn exposed you to cool people or skeevy people?
Mostly cool, honestly. Good guys. I have met a few what I'll call "interesting characters," how's that? But I have a reputation among my friends as being sort of a puppy dog, sort of naïve, and they were worried I was going to be taken advantage of. I'm much more aware of that now. I figure if you're decent and honest with people it will come back to you.

So do you solely identify as gay or bi or what?
Gay. I mean there are definitely times when the possibility of switching sides is intriguing, like for a night or a few hours, but I'm gay.

So if Jenna Jameson said, "Hey come here cute boy"
No, Britney Spears! She's hot!

It's true. I saw her out shopping one day. She was like three feet from me with her 500-pound bodyguard. She's really beautiful up close. The boobs look real too.
Do they? Oh man, you lucky dog.

When you meet a new guy what do you tell them about your work?
I say I'm a porn actor.

Not "star"? I know you've only done a few videos so far. Is there a minimum amount you have to do before they let you call yourself a star?
No, you have to wait for the fans to make you a star.

Have any guys you've met reacted negatively?
So far, no.

What if the most beautiful guy you'd ever seen hit on you and then when you said you were a porn actor he turned and walked away. Wouldn't that fuck you up?
(laughing) Okay, maybe a little.

Been recognized yet?
That's actually starting to happen. A few times. No one's been really weird yet. A few times guys have just stared at me for a long time.

Have you experienced any on-set discomfort yet? Like any division between what you like in private and what you're asked to do on camera? And what do you like in private, by the way?
I'm very versatile. I like it all, but to answer your question, no. I've only done three videos so nothing uncomfortable has come up yet. I'm not a total top or total bottom. I think versatility is the key to happiness. Although then there's the whole, "You're really a bottom if you call yourself versatile" thing.

Guys who say that are really just worried about being thought of as "the girl."
I agree.

What do you do to prep for a video shoot?
Well, aside from the requisite "cleaning," I just try to be rested. The usual. Be a little tan.

Just make sure you use that bronzer lightly. So I went to your Web site. According to your personal info on the site, you stole a Speedo when you were ten years old. What did you do with it?
I hid it under my bed. My little heart was racing.

Well yeah. You stole something that looked like underwear, and it got you all revved up!
I think I probably used it as a come towel.

Was it even your size?
Yeah I just wanted to see how I looked in it. I looked awful, for the record. It was about that time that the International Male catalog mysteriously started arriving in the mail.

They're warlocks. They have sensors that detect when a gay boy starts to hit puberty and they hook him in. They know where to find you.
I can still jack off to International Male. It taps into that place even now.

Your site also mentions that you love architecture. What famous building do you want to fuck in, just to say you've done it?
Alcatraz! I want some other guy to play guard.

You also say on your site that you "love weightlifting." Tell me the truth. That's got to be a fib. No one loves to lift weights.
Honestly, I really do. It's like meditation for me. I just enter a different state of consciousness. It's my adversary. Okay, so I don't "love" it, it's my meditation. But then Madonna goes and says her years of weights and cardio were all a waste of time, that all she needs is yoga now.

Now that's a lie. Did you see Swept Away? Did you see her arms? You don't get that shit from just doing yoga. She's a liar.
That darn Madonna. [suddenly, that "Dilemma" song comes over the speakers. Kelly Rowland sings, "Nelly, I love you"] Hey, now I have a question for you. What's a "boo"? None of my friends can tell me. No one knows what it means.

Oh, like in this song when she says, "Even when I'm with my boo, all I think about is you"?
Yeah, that.

"Boo" is like hip-hop slang for "lover."
Really? Wow, now that song makes sense.

Glad to be of service.

Interview by Dave White


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