He’s already taken XTube by storm, and now the 20-year-old man behind the bandana and the LEDs is working on a feature film version that further explores his persona, his fantasies, and the debate over what is art and what is porn. While I was reluctant to talk to someone who, literally, wouldn’t tell me their name, Black Spark ended up being as open and forthcoming as anyone I’ve interviewed.
Behind the mask and behind his piercing blue eyes, there’s a sincere, thoughtful person who, yes, loves and needs to have sex, but more importantly, loves and needs to connect with fans through his films:
The Sword: Hi, Black Spark. Actually, what do I call you? I mean, just “Black Spark” or “The Spark”?
Black Spark: I guess you can call me Spark, that would work.
Okay, Spark. When did you start making movies?
I started filming the XTube movies in November, but I’ve been filming other things my whole life.
And why did you start the XTube movies?
I think there was a lot bothering me in my everyday life. I’m a very sexual person in my everyday life, but the people I have to be around keep me sort of fenced in. So this was an outlet to share my inner most desires. I had secrets that were eating me alive, and at one point I wanted to go to therapy. But I found my own therapy through making these movies.
What do you mean by “fenced in”?
Well, I work on other things to make money, and I have to be conservative in my other work, which has nothing to do with XTube. Right now I’m filming a full length independent movie that I hope will make it to the film festivals, and it has nothing to do with Black Spark. At the same time, I’m working on a full length Black Spark feature, which is actually about fifty percent completed.
Does that get complicated, working on two projects at the same time, especially when one of them is not traditionally “mainstream”?
I think the Black Spark could be mainstream.
But with graphic adult content, how mainstream can it be?
Yes, it is for adults, and not every adult will accept it. And some people will call it porn. I worry about it being considered porn every day. But it’s like, wait a minute, people complain about how things are boring in our culture all the time; how America is always censoring art. How you here that “this is ok here” and “this isn’t ok here.” So, I wanted to do something to hopefully break some barriers. But it’s always in the back of my mind that what I’m doing–the sex and the adult content–could hurt my career down the line. But I think it’s worth it.
Is that your main intention with Black Spark then, to break barriers? To challenge censorship?
I started doing this for a lot of reasons, but sure, challenging people’s preconceived notions is a big part of it. There was this turning point for me when, believe it or not, I was listening to a Kanye West song. It was playing in the car and my friends were saying things like “Kanye’s a dick,” yet someone bought his CD and they were playing it in the car. In the song, Kanye was talking about putting the power in the hands of people, and he says something to the effect of “people won’t even get up and shoot a viral.” So it hit me that you don’t have to have these huge resources to get a message across. It got me thinking that we have the power in our hands to do more than we think we can do. I wanted to find a way to get people behind me. And I want to let them form their own opinion, even if they don’t like what I do. If I can make people talk about censorship and acceptance, then I’m doing my job.
And what about the people who aren’t interested in censorship or even art? There’s a lot of people who are watching you simply because you’re hot and have a big dick. Do they detract from what you’re trying to accomplish?
No, not at all. I don’t mind those people at all. I appreciate that the audience gets out of this whatever they want to get. That’s fine. Like I said, I’m an extremely sexual person and I fully understand someone wanting to experience pure, carnal pleasure. As long as I make people feel good, I’m okay with that, and I guess that’s another way that I’m doing my job.
Assuming there is one, tell me the meaning of Black Spark?
I don’t even know where the name came from completely. It was just one those things. I was wearing what people know as the costume–the mask, the lights–and a friend asked me who I was supposed to be, and it was the first thing that came to my mind. Black Spark.
There are other “sparks” in your videos, and people behind the scenes, too. Tell me who’s helping you.
Me and one other person do all the filming, but he’s not in any of the scenes. There are actually five “sparks” total. People think it all revolves around this one guy–me–but there’s a lot of other guys. And they’re all the coolest kids. Some were already friends or they were friends of friends, and we all just shared this vision of what we wanted to do. I showed them the concept and it all just came together. I’m so grateful to them, and I really can’t wait for people to see more of them in the feature. I wish I could show you their faces because they’re gorgeous, amazing, and wonderful people.
And where are you filming? In one part of a video, you’re having sex in a video store. How do you get to film in public places?
It’s tricky, but we pull it off. We have friends who help. Having sex in public really turns me on, and it speaks to my own desires. I’m an exhibitionist, obviously, and I love to be naked, so when I see a public place that I’d like to have sex in, I have sex there. Right now I film in Chicago, but I’ve also filmed in LA and New York, and I’m about to film in Tennessee. We’ve been meeting with people across the country actually.
How did you come up with the lighting ideas?
I have a bunch of nerds on my team, and all the lighting is LED based. I’m actually building some LED armor that’ll you’ll see soon. There’s nothing complicated about it, it’s all just good old fashioned tech-nerd junk.
You say “old fashioned,” but one of the main things people say about your work is that they’ve never seen anything like it, especially in the context of porn. What do you make of the state of porn today?
I think it’s stupid. Porn is boring, or, it’s gotten boring. I miss the old stuff. I’d get off to something like The Other Side Of Aspen before I would any of the new stuff. I mean, the guys are hot, but it’s all the same. Personally, I need more.
Last week, some commenters on other blogs thought they had discovered your true identity. I know this pissed you off, but aren’t you kind of asking for it–to be “unmasked”–given the way you physically present yourself?
Absolutely. It incites nosy bastards to try and figure out who I am. And I’m okay with people trying to figure it out! But, if you expose me, I can no longer do what I do. If, at this point in time, this becomes something that my family knows, then I’m not going to be able to do it. If you figure it out and you know who I am, fine. But please don’t throw me under the bus. Keep it to yourself. I want my fans to know that I love them, and there’s no gimmick when it comes to how much I appreciate them. I don’t wear the mask when I meet fans, and I’ve met a lot of them.
The mask has become a recurring theme, if not the main theme, of the videos and of your entire presentation. Do you wear it because it’s who the Black Spark is, or are you wearing it because you’re concerned about your privacy?
It’s both. I don’t know if it’s a 50/50 thing, but in that mask I’m sexually uninhibited. I’m able to be more free sexually, and I feel like I have more power. I think the mask has made me a better lover off camera, too.
Are you in a relationship now?
No. I was deeply in love for a very long time, and when that ended it allowed me to explore all the things I’m exploring now. I am absolutely single right now.
Can you tell me anything more about the upcoming Black Spark feature?
There is a story to it, with dialogue and a plot, unlike the XTube videos. XTube is just a means to an end. The film explains more about how the Black Spark came to be, how this whole fantasy came about. I can’t wait for people to see it. There’s a website and blog that will tie it all together, and I’m just waiting for the right time to launch it and reveal all the content that we’ve already prepared.
Your fans are extremely loyal and passionate about your work. What do you say to them before I let you go?
I want them to know how much they mean to me and that I hope this project helps connect us even more than we already are. I want us all to be able to support each other and grow together as a unit. In and out of that mask, the connection that I have with my fans is 100% real.
oh, come on … this is soooooooooooooo boring! someone trying to sell cheap porn as avantgardistic art: ridiculous!
meh. shittiest music. barebacking wooo. aids!
meh
Well, he’s got a good internet gimmick. But his mask is meant to conceal his identity from people who would recognize him if he were unmasked? You’re kidding. He must hang around with a bunch of Ricky Ricardos who never could tell it was Lucy.
He is amazing, i have been following his videos since he started.
I agree with Doug. At this point, I’m watching for mental stimulation along with the spice which is appropriately peppered in, but not to get off, just to admire. As told, that genre usually means long boring scenes. I’m reminded of Andy Warhol films of the early days when we sat on folding chairs in small basement theatres. How perfectly decadent we felt.
We tend to forget that everything can be art, that all things are inherently beautiful if you look at them close enough or from the right angle…and we also forget that art is intrinsically erotic. The work this guy has put out is phenomenal. I can hardly wait to see comes next from him!
The reactions that Black Spark’s work or “I want your love” have incited prove to me another point. Today’s porn is clear in it’s depiction of the sexual act, but it lacks the eroticism of story-telling. And we sure miss it.
Very astute on the art, grasshopper. I like the Corbin Fisher type stuff but agree it could use a change of scene now and again. But you put two beautiful people on a bed with a camera and I’m there. I often think of the stupid acting and horrible stories of yore, however, and realize I usually skipped through them anyway. It really rather demeans those poor guys who only came to fuck but had to learn lines, and did them terribly. Jeff Stryker for instance, should never have opened his mouth except for… you know. Now, whenever I think of him, I cringe remembering, “You both broke the window, you both suck the dick.”
I’ve watched a few of his vids and really enjoyed them on multiple levels and would hope to see more. Spark also comes across as a real nice guy, and I love his ability to be innovative and how he challenges traditional barriers/lines between ‘art’ and ‘porn’! However, and I hate to be the one who says this, if he thinks he can go on preserving his anonymity for an extended time, then he’s living in a fool’s paradise. I would not be at all surprised to find out there are people out there who already know and are simply waiting to drop their ‘bomb’ on Spark when they think he’s most vulnerable, both personally and professionally. I hope I’m wrong, but there are simply too many hide-bound, small-minded, vindictive jerks out there for me to feel much confidence in hoping so… If one prepares for the absolute worst, then all surprises are pleasant!
.I think he is a art-porn is genius! I was bored of porn till I saw BLACKSPARK. The sex appeal and the kink are fab. I just wish it was longer I am so fascinated I can hardly cum in the short clips. But I’m deff. Hard for the BlackSpark
Love his work and cannot wait to see what he comes up with. Black Spark is hott and sexxxy.
you know what would be great? Using a condom. Cuz I can’t help thinking this guy’s hot but he’s playing russian roulette with his health. Then I lose my hard-on…
I’ve never ever commented on any site related to porn whatsoever, however enough is enough…
I can’t believe how trendy its become for others to see people go without condoms and for them to comment in some manner, similar to what you just did, without all the facts. Not you specifically, but people like you make it sound like no one, for any reason and under any circumstances, should ever have bareback sex. Bareback does not equal AIDS. HIV won’t magically materialize, yet that’s how people make it sound all the time.
In this interview he makes it sound as if he personally knows and trusts the people he’s having sex with in the videos, and I would guess that they are taking all the necessary precautions for condom free sex. In my mind, bareback sex is reserved for people you trust most and who you know you are safe with, so for me, it’s a turn on when I see it.
Is it possible he isn’t? Sure. But if you don’t know for sure, then just leave the assumptions to yourself. Ignorant comment, seriously.
I love this kid.
I agree with Doug both in the legs comment and the getting off comment. Now w the latest videos I do get off to them, but all of them I can just watch for the joy of watching them wo getting off, when’s the last time you said that about ‘porn’. Now I’ve been lucky bc I’ve gotten to know him outside his videos and he really is as great of a guy as he is a videographer/producer or whatever it is he wants to be called. I’m not in his inner circle so he’ll probably be mad for me saying this but if you like what he’s doing please support him both financially regardless of amount and by talking to him on facebook or xtube. He loves his fans and he’s a good person to get to know.
I think I love his legs even more than the cock. The videos are hot, but I’ve never actually gotten off on them, so I can totally buy that they’re not porn. They’re stimulating and arousing, but I tend to just sit back and watch them for their own sake. I’m really interested in his full length movie.
You are beautiful and you inspire me. I came to you for help and you opened your arms you are a actual superhero.
I love it! Love his work! …and that big cock!