Tayte Hanson Talks About How His Parents Approved His Porn Career, TV Stardom, and Bisexuality

Only a few months after winning Cockyboys’ So You Wanna Be a Cockyboy? contest, Tayte Hanson made it to the top of The Sword’s “Which 2014 Gay Porn Newcomer Gets You The Hardest?” poll, beating out newcomers like Rocco Steele and Cam Christou. Clearly he’s got something special, something that makes him stand out from the pack — and not just the long dirty-blonde hair that echoes the porn stars of the late eighties and early nineties.

The 25-year-old has a background as a professional dancer, big plans for building a personal brand, and a genuine sweetness about him that doesn’t seem to be covering up a dark or dishonest side. Though I half expected him to ask to meet at some swanky place, more associated with those — as Tayte seems to be — on their way up, we’re sitting across from each at a crowded Chipotle, as he awaits my go ahead to scarf down three delicious tacos. We talked about what motivated him to get into porn, sex with the high-school football captain and why his mom loves that he’s a porn star.

Tayte: Sorry I ordered already, I was so hungry.

Adam: That’s okay.

I couldn’t wait to eat. Chipotle’s my thing.

Is it really your thing? When you said to meet here, I wondered if you really liked eating here or you were just on a budget?

I love Chipotle. I’m from New Mexico so I’m all about Mexican food, and though Chipotle is not a good representation of it, it’s quality food. It’s cheap which, it is what it is, but it gives me enough calories to last me through the day.

So what are you eating?

I always eat the same thing. Three hard tacos with black beans and brown rice, sofritas, sour cream guacamole, and cheese, and hot sauce. I like it spicy.

Don’t let me stop you, feel free to eat. Where do you live?

I just moved to Astoria.

tayte-hanson-cockyboys-intWhat precipitated that? Did you want to be closer to Cockyboys?

Well I was living with family. My parents have a house here, so they would be in town, once in a blue moon, but I just wanted a space of my own. I put a photo studio in my new apartment, because I’m doing a lot of photography on my own, so it’s perfect. There’s space, it’s right on the park, and it’s a house. I love suburbia so much more than the city.

I know you’re a nature boy.

Yes. It’s the New Mexico thing. I grew up riding horses and barrel racing and riding my motorcycle. Now I live here.

No offense, but then if your parents have two houses and you grew up doing all those fabulous things, it doesn’t sound like you’re from a lower income background.

I’m from an upper middle class family so money’s never been super abundant, but it’s been good. You know? It’s not like I didn’t have anything.

That is far from the normal story for most of the porn stars I talk to.

Yeah. Because a lot of times with porn stars it’s easy money, and that’s why a lot of straight guys do it. The money’s always the first answer. For myself there were two things that I required of myself before I started porn, which was, that money and fame were not the reasons I was getting into porn. If I had reasons other than that, I would let myself do it. But those are the reasons I would never do it because that’s when I see people get trapped in it. I was fortunate enough to go to college and I have three college degrees. I have an education and I can support myself in many different ways. But this is what I’m choosing to do. Which is nice, not everybody has that.

So what precipitated this choosing? Were you hanging out with a lot of porn stars? Were you in that world? How were you introduced to it?

Yeah, I was friends with a lot of Cockyboys, and I slept with a lot of porn stars in the past. It’s always a world that’s fascinated me and I considered it in high school and then decided no because I thought, I’ll be famous and I can fuck hot dudes, and then I realized I could fuck hot dudes anyway. Then Jake Jaxson approached me about two and a half years ago when they were doing Project Go-Go Boy. I was go-going for all the Boy Party events, because I love Justin Luke, and that was a nice little outlet because I’m a super exhibitionist. I love being up on a box and having all these people stare at me. It is what it is. That comes from the dance side of things. I’m a professionally trained modern dancer and that’s what I’ve done for most of my life. So something about being onstage and people seeing you, no matter what the venue is, it’s hot. But why I chose to approach Jake Jaxson right before So You Wanna Be a Cockyboy is that I developed a program to essentially teach adults how to teach children about safe sex and make it sexy, and my platform is “#SafeSexIsSexy”, that’s what the name of the program is. I needed something to spring that off of. I needed a fan base, which is growing slowly but surely. I needed a way to prove to people that I’m having sex safely and that it can be sexy. So I did it for this program that will be coming out in the next two years.

It’s an interesting idea, and of course, a totally unique reason for getting into porn. You’re using porn to springboard into a health education program.

Which seems so backwards.

Well Tyson Tyler told me he wants to work in HIV prevention, too. But you run the risk of people saying your opinion’s not valid because you’re a porn star.

Well I question why that opinion exists, because why does a porn star not have the right to talk about sex and sex education? Aren’t those the people who have it the most? Granted, they can pull the card out that says, “He’s a dumb porn star.” Because a lot of people assume that. But it’s funny to me, I look at porn stars, and rentboys and people of this nature and they go about it and do what they do and are successful about it, and I think they’re actually the smarter ones, because they are using what they naturally have been given to make money. Not to say that’s better or worse, but it’s all capitalism within itself. It’s either capitalism of something that you create with your fingertips or it’s something that nature created with its fingertips.

With all you’re doing, it seems like you’re somebody who is, as they say “actively cultivating a personal brand.”

Yes. Totally. After I started, I sat down with Jake Jaxson and he talked about creating something that was greater than what a porn star is in terms of scenes, because a lot of times you see people who come and go like that. It’s because the body, this part of you is totally limited. You can only see someone’s dick going inside of another person a certain amount of times before someone gets bored of it. So it’s really about cultivating other parts of you to keep you interested. Which is great. I’m down for that. I like doing a lot of things. On my website, TayteHanson.com, there’s three sections now. There’s a link to my webcam portal, and it’s a live show, being that I just move, I set up the new cam, twelve cams, so you can watch whatever you want. Another section is my Tatye TV, which is actually a platform that got picked up by a TV station, which is not able to be announced yet. But this is the springboard for that. It’s the YouTube channel, which is interviews and workouts and it’s all under PG-13, and then you go to the other section which is the XXX section, which has all my affiliate programs and sells all of my things. I have a shirt line and a bag line. So it’s becoming a thing where you’re like, what can I add on.

 

You came out of the gate with all these plans for tie-ins.

I’m a Virgo. It’s a big planning thing.

So you have this great background, and you’re a dancer and entrepreneurial, what do your parents say? Are they so liberal that none of the porn stuff matters?

It’s interesting because my father’s not the most liberal. He’s decently conservative. But if you’re in the inner circle, he’s very liberal. If you’re close to him, it’s like, do whatever the fuck you want. But if he was looking at this on someone else he’d be super judgmental about it. My dad didn’t like it as much as my mom. My mom loves the idea for it. She loves the idea of prostitution and all that because she’s a mental health worker in New Mexico, so she’s been working on establishing the legalization of brothels. She wants to be a madam for a house like this, because it is much safer, 90% of the time, keeps them off the streets, keeps them in an environment where they’re loved, allows them to make money, in a safe way. So she was totally cool with it. She was like “Do your thing.”

That’s amazing.

It’s awesome.

Then I assume you came out early?

I came out when I was 17.

So their liberalism didn’t necessarily make it easier for you?

Well, I like everything, boys and girls. It was never something like, I had to be out like that. I was sleeping with guys when I was 13 and I was sleeping with girls when I was younger than that.

Do you consider yourself actively bisexual?

I consider myself actively open. The reason I don’t say bisexual is because people confuse it, and think it’s a 50/50 line. I don’t consider the male sex and the female sex to be gender related. Sure one has a penis and one has a vagina, but there are so many other factors to a person that trigger attraction. I can meet someone with a vagina who acts more masculine, and that could attract me because of those factors. There’s a million reasons to be attracted to someone and the idea to say someone could only be attracted to someone because of what’s in their pants confuses me. I’m not attracted to the sex, I’m attracted to the person.

That makes sense.

A lot of times I will have women who are very good friends of mine, who I’m not necessarily interested in having sex with, not because they’re not attractive but because I’m not attracted to them. And I’ll cuddle with them and whatever. A lot of gay men are like that. So what’s the point that you are attracted to someone so much, and you’re like, “Oh they have a vagina, so what? They have another piece.” It’s just my opinion, I guess. I get a lot of flack for that one though.

Let’s talk about that. Our commenters are constantly hating on bi guys.

Yeah and it’s a funny reaction because within this gay community we are pursuing this equality thing constantly. We just got five new states for gay marriage added to the list and everyone’s so excited. Then when we look at equality and differences within our own community we get out pitchforks and fire and are like, “Fuck you!” It really confuses me, because it’s like if you really want equality then accept me for liking all these other things. It’s also a fear-based thing a lot of times. I love asking people what their fetishes are, do you have anything that you’re interested in, and people’s answer 99 percent of the time is, no I don’t have any fetishes, I’m into the ordinary whatever. I like vanilla sex. I always laugh and say, I’d love to go through your computer history and see, because a lot of people are just scared in the forefront of it, to even say. Who knows? Maybe there’s one woman out there that all gay men like.

tayte-levi-01So you said you slept with lots of porn stars. Can you name names?

Well some have been released. J.D. Phoenix, a picture of us got released and that was three and a half years ago. I can’t say the others, I know they would kill me.

Why would they kill you?

I’m not sure.

Were you the other man?

Yes. Most of the time, or it was like, after a nightclub, whatever. Yeah. There were only four of them total.

The commenters can try to figure that one out.

I’m sure I’ll release some one day. I have a backup drive on my computer and it’s got lots of photos.

So when you have sex you like to take photos?

Yeah, I like that. If it starts in text conversations, I’ll always ask, “Are you interested in getting the camera out?” It’s only hot if they want it. If they’re into it.

What kind of camera do you use?

I use a bunch of different cameras. Professional cameras, I use two Canon 7Ds. I’m about to upgrade to the Mark III. I want the C100 series. That’s beautiful. It’s above my price. Eventually I want the Redbox. One day.

Just keep eating at Chipotle.

Yes. I’ll have enough money soon.

When did you first get into dance?

I started dancing when I was 17. A month before I came out of the closet. Two months after I quit playing football. I played football for six years, baseball for eight.

That sounds hot.

It was. The first guy I ever slept with was the quarterback for the football team. It was amazing. I have a book coming out, it’s essentially a series of short erotic novels. You know Chelsea Handler? She has this book called My Horizontal Life, and this is basically that, but a little more descriptive. A lot dirtier.

True sex stories.

Obviously all the details are changed. I’ve had some exes hear about that it’s happen and be like, “Excuse me? What’s this?” Don’t worry though, everything has been changed.

Let’s go back to the quarterback of the football team? Give me more details.

He has two kids now and a wife who was one of my good friends in high school. He was just sexy. He had an eight and a half inch uncut dick. Gorgeous uncut dick. He came over to stay at my house. I had taken him on a trip with me when I was younger, over the summer. And he came over to stay at my house one night, and we were playing pool, at the house. We had the cue stick and we started doing that kind of youthful playing around where we were hitting each other with the cue sticks on the butt and it escalated and there you go. The rest is in the book.

So you have a book, photos, TV shows, porn, health campaigns, and you also dance.

Yes. I tour with an international dance company from Australia, and we only tour from February until October.

Oh, only 8 months of the year.

Yeah. The company only performs outdoors, so we can only perform when it’s not cold. It’s nice. But I just got a promotion to director on tour of that company. So it’s a lot, but it’s good.

It’s one thing after the next with you. It’s really something.

It’s funny because there’s so much every day for everything, but it’s all little things. It never feels like I do anything. At the end of the day I’m like, I wrote another chapter, and did this and this, but nothing is finished.

When I interviewed Ashley Ryder next week, he was saying how he was looking for a professional dancer to foot-fist him. In the interest of being a good matchmaker, is that something you’d be interested in?

That’s intense. He needs someone with really great feet. That’s so funny. I love that. I do a lot of crazy things. Have you seen that I do a lot of work with Fort Troff? I was just up there. They have everything up there. Cuffs and blindfolds and gags. We used all that stuff, and I loved it. I’m into it. I’m the kind of person who will just say yes until it doesn’t work for me, and then I’ll say no.

So what are you into specifically?

I like all kinds of things. It’s kind of ridiculous. The funny thing is I like all of these things but I won’t necessarily do all of them on camera. But I love uncut penis. That is one thing, lord. I am really into feet. I think that’s a dancer mindset, because I’ve never met a dancer who’s not into feet, and I think it’s because we obsess over them all day.

The foot is a holy object to dancers.

It’s funny if you watch a dance show with a dancer, and you see someone with hooked feet, that’s the only thing they’ll notice. “Oh my god, look at those feet.” I love outdoor sex, that’s one of the hardest things about Manhattan, you’re stuck inside all of the time. I love the idea of double-stuffing. I’ve done it to someone before and it was not as great as the ideas in the mind, but in terms of visually, that’s one of my favorite things to see. My favorite activity in the bedroom is rimming by far. If someone just wanted to sit on my face all day I would probably been okay with that. Which is wonderful. The scruff really helps with that. I’m really into bondage. I love tying someone to my bed and leaving them there for a while and getting around to them whenever the time is right. There’s something so fantastically erotic about not having control over anything. So having someone lie there while I have every ounce of control, it’s a very trusting thing. What else? I love dildos. Dildos are fantastic. In terms of topping and bottoming, I prefer to top, on the emotional side of things. I’m the kind of person who feels like, sometimes I’m less if I’m bottoming, which is why I don’t want to bottom for guys who are bigger than me. I don’t want to feel like I’m being dominated. I want to feel like I’m giving them a gift. If they’re smaller than me, I want to feel like, “Okay you can tap me now.”

So you’re in control and the energy is directed back at you.

I want to feel like even if they’re fucking me I could throw them off the bed and beat the shit out of them if I want to. You know what I mean? Feel free to quote that shit. But I love riding a dildo. Physically, bottoming feels amazing. I have learned something about myself in recent times. I don’t really feel pain like a lot of people do. I always thought it was strange that this first guy I was sleeping with, when I was thirteen years old, he had an eight-and-a-half-inch dick, he put it inside of me with just spit, it was no problem. I wondered why I wasn’t screaming. Then I look back at the exes I had, I realize, I would fuck them and once a month they would fuck me, and I would be fine, you know? I’m just lucky I guess.

You project an aura of ease and assuredness that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s not something I encounter a lot. Not with the people I interview, normally.

That’s interesting. I wonder what that is. Thank you though. I’ll take it as a compliment. Maybe it’s the understanding that everything is going to work out exactly as it is, and it doesn’t really matter. Really none of this matters. Does that make sense?

My cynical side will wonder if it’s connected to the ease with which you grew up. You were on the football team, the baseball team, your parents were upper-middle class. I’m sure you were Mr. Popularity. You got what you wanted. You didn’t have a struggle to go through, and so it seems like, there’s a confidence in that belief that everything’s just going to work out. Which isn’t a belief that people who grew up without had.

Well I guess my main struggle was when I had testicular cancer. That would be the main struggle that I ever had. But within itself it’s a bitch to go through, but it’s not the end of the world. That’s where the mindset changed.

tayte-hanson-8You had a second chance.

If that hadn’t happened I’m sure I would be a stuck up rich snob. Which is also probably the reason I’m so interested in heatlh in all facets.

When was the cancer?

They chopped the testicle out when I was about three years old because it was un-descending and they said “There’s a chance it will develop into something greater, so we have to chop it out.” But they didn’t get all of the tissue out and that is what developed within my high school years as the cancerous cells. After they talked about it later on when I started going through chemo, we realized that had they not done anything about it when I was young, there was a 50/50 chance it wouldn’t develop into anything. By them fucking with it, it created this serious tissue that screwed me up. They didn’t do it correctly and there you go. So that’s that. Honestly though, I was a very fortunate sufferer. I had lots of willpower and many hours spent sitting in a stupid hospital chair.

Were you freaked out when you found out?

I never freaked out. It’s funny because I never freak out about the big things that are huge and life threatening. I always freak out about the small shit, like getting to Chipotle on time to meet you. Being diagnosed with cancer was not something I freaked out about. Because of the fact that I knew that there weren’t many options for it. You either got it taken care of or you didn’t. If I have too many options I freak out.

What was your most memorable fuck offscreen?

After my most serious relationship that I had — he broke up with me on my birthday a few years ago — after that I had had a trip planned to see him anyway, because we lived in separate cities. So after he broke it off, I was supposed to go there in two weeks. So I did the trip as planned. I wasn’t going to waste the money. I was a college student. So I went and I was there for two nights and on the second night we both knew that that would be the last time that we would ever fuck again and it was extraordinary. The sex with him was always perfect. But this night was extraordinary.

 

Adam Baran is a filmmaker, blogger, former online editor of Butt Magazine and co-curator of Queer/Art/Film. His short film JACKPOT, about a porn-hunting gay teen, won Best Short Film at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and was recently featured on The Huffington Post, Queerty, and Towleroad, among others. He is a features programmer at Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival and NewFest in New York. In his spare time, he complains about things to his friends. “Fisting for Compliments”, his weekly musings about the intersection of sex, art, porn, and history, will appear every Monday on TheSword. You can contact him at Adam@TheSword.com and follow him on Twitter at @ABaran999. Check out his previous columns in the Fisting For Compliments Archive.

25 thoughts on “Tayte Hanson Talks About How His Parents Approved His Porn Career, TV Stardom, and Bisexuality”

  1. He’s (tayte) not gay if he enjoys women sexually. Stop trying to change what gay means. Labels are not evil or bad, they’re necessary. It’s not an insult to anyone.

  2. again, there are no 100% gay porn models in gay porn, even they say gay in interview, twitter, fb etc, they lie and they are big liars. they are just prostitute or whore, they fuck everything and they’ll say it just “sex” and they like it. its so hard to find “a real gay man” in gay porn. just tell me if you can find real one ?

    1. There are plenty of “real gay men” out there, just not in porn. I’ve never known of a performer in the biz, male or female, who wasn’t into pussy. And for the scant few entering the biz who may not be, it’s pretty much guaranteed they will be by the time they leave. A young guy was featured on here about five years ago who was talking about his gay porn career on reddit. When asked, “Are you g4p or really gay?” he replied, “I’m really gay” but was curious about sex with a woman. Well, it wasn’t long before he satisfied that curiosity and turned into a total pussy hound. He just got married a few weeks ago to a woman. So much for that “really gay” statement.

  3. “The reason I don’t say bisexual is because people confuse it” ppl confuse it ???????????? its reversed, obviously bi guys like him are confusing.

    1. Speaking of confusing, he says, “I’m not attracted to the sex, I’m attracted to the person…. But I love uncut penis.” Uh…you’re only gonna find that on a man, so I guess the sex DOES matter.

  4. what ive figured out about gay porn is no 100% gay porn models in this biz. they love have sex with men and women, ruinning my fantasize about “gay porn” itself. why no bisexual porn industry ? so those bi models can be totally themselve in there ?

  5. Love that he loves uncut dick. I have a huge fetish for it myself and wish the interviewer had probed him more about that. Have just about worn out my husband’s uncut dick over the years and even now am popping a boner just thinking about it. I never get tired of playing with that sweet, sexy skin.

    Never have understood the foot fetish thing. Oh well…

    Am a little sick of hearing the “gays hate on bisexuals” thing because by and large it’s just a very small number who are biphobic. Most gay men are accepting of bisexuals, but if we aren’t attracted to them or interested in dating them, that doesn’t make us biphobic. Most bi guys are going to end up with women, so it’s foolish not to consider that if you’re out there looking for a potential husband. And most people are educated enough to know that most bisexuals aren’t 50/50. Plus, there are a lot of bisexuals who freely label themselves as whatever they want (gay, straight, or bi) depending upon their situation, and that’s also annoying.

      1. I noticed during Pride over the summer that bisexuals were really lashing out at gay men in particular in various articles. Very counterproductive to act that way toward an ally.

  6. I love Tayte I think he’s really hot! I do think he’s changing his orientation somewhat to accommodate the large part of his fan base that is female. In the last interview of his that I read, he said that he was like 98 or 99% gay and only rarely attracted to a special woman. In this interview it almost sounds like it’s a 50-50 attraction. Which is it Tayte?

  7. Not “which seems so backwards,” just a rationalization! You can rationalize anything when you have “three degrees!” But having “three degrees” clearly doesn’t make you logical, as in having porn sex makes you successful at sex. Having porn/video sex can be totally unsuccessful – does not project fantasy, half-limp dicks, not “hot” for the viewer, doesn’t arouse the viewer, cannot act, etc.

    More rationalization: “…teach adults how to teach children about safe sex and make it sexy, and my platform is “#SafeSexIsSexy….” I needed something to spring that off of…I needed a way to prove to people that I’m having sex safely and that it can be sexy…” So those of us whose values, self-respect, and boundaries wouldn’t allow for having sex on video with many strangers somehow manage to TEACH safe sex practices? “Sexy” is what happens between to individuals as shared, SUBJECTIVE experiences. What are those “three degrees?”

    Aren’t those the people [“porn stars”] who have it the most?” Says who? LOGIC?

    “… They are using what they naturally have been given to make money…” Then according to his twisted logic, every prostitute/“wife” is “smart.” Another reason why he wouldn’t be a creditable sex educator!

    “He’s [father] decently conservative and “my mom loves the idea for it [son do porn] because she’s a mental health worker.” You don’t have to be smart or wise to be a “conservative” or a “mental health worker!”

    “I’m not attracted to the sex, I’m attracted to the person.” This would be true for gay men as well! Don’t get it twisted. Again, another reason why being a “successful porn star” doesn’t qualify a person to be a sex educator.

    “…To say someone could only be attracted to someone because of what’s in their pants confuses me.” It wouldn’t if you were heterosexual or homosexual or a sex educator!

    “Maybe there’s one woman out there that all gay men like.” Really! And if possible, NOT! We wouldn’t want to have sex with her, at least I wouldn’t! I’m not attracted/stimulated by human beings with vaginas.

    Too used and all over the place for my taste. But to each his own.

    1. Well based on the fact that he says he’s attracted to masculine woman, it sounds likes he has a set view of what makes gender/sex attractive ( “Macs4Masc macho aggressive”).
      Most bisexuals think everyone is bisexual and are suppressing one of either side. It would be good for him to know that masculinity or femininity aren’t necessarily a factor for homosexuals attraction to one another but being a man definitely is.
      I also don’t understand this idea that gay men hate bi’s; most gay men I know would screw the first hot bisexual they meet, but also many of us don’t see you as the same as gays.
      If a Bisexual finds a heterosexual relationship, publicly and socially they can do whatever the hell they want, wherever they want, but Gay men still don’t have that luxury.
      As for that fear of bisexuals he says gay men have; It’s a little alarming for some gay guys to start a relationship with a guy who could potentially leave you for a woman that
      he can impregnate and start a family with but will only see you for booty calls. No gay man want’s to be Jennifer Aniston!

  8. This interview was late already but it opens up more info about Tayte. Glad his Mama accepted him. I believe he’s gay but has a huge female fan base that’s why keep denying it. Im a virgo too and dated a jock as well who has two kids. What I couldnt believed in when he had sex at 11 years old, really could we get horny that young? Anyways I like Tayte and almost all Cockyboys, I do hope next time Mr. Adam gonna interview the equally or more popular Evan Parker as we know he also has a lot female fans but proudly admitted that he’s gay. Thanks/Salamat!

    1. Lol yeah I think he’s covering his ass and saying all to pander to his female fans, but it’s cool that he’s open-minded when it comes to sex and other things. A really smart and nice guy, a rarity in porn really.

    2. why cannot you accept that someone can.be.just.bi?!
      I don’t think his female fanbase would mind!

      I understand that some time ago there was a kind of stigma towards bi because many of them were gay who didn’t want to admit it, but now like he said we gay tend to become blind and prejudiced like people were towards gays 40-50 years ago.

  9. I think Tayte is a sexy beast. His hair, I love it. Something about long hair on a guy, I dig it. And who cares that he’s bisexual. He’s an open person, aint no shame in that. I wish I could find someone like him. He seems like a down to earth guy that is also trustworthy. Looking forward to more of his videos in the future

  10. Fantastic interview & I loved how u followed up on the prior ?’s, encouraging more but not in ur face about it. One of the best interviews with Tayte that I have read yet. Great job.

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