This has been one of the worst months in my professional career in this business. Two things have inevitably collided - the explosion in the number of performers in addition to the proliferation of a wider range & more frequent health testing. These 2 factors have NOT however, come with an increase in personal performer responsibility or producer & agent scrutiny of those performers. The past thirty days there has been a syphilis scare that turned out to be untrue, a veteran male performer was faking his health tests for up to 3 years because he was Hepatitis C positive, and now a girl and most like her boyfriend are HIV positive.
I have long passed my 10th year as a performer, I have spent 3 years as a producer/director, and this is my 5th year as a serious affiliate (salesman). I have had so many thought about getting out months ago, and this current situation has only exacerbated my angst and dread about my future.
It's common that anytime a health scare pops up within the industry that people freak out and announce that they are making changes, leaving the biz for good, etc. I have never been one of those people.
I choose to not assume the worst will befall me in life. Every 2 week health testing for me & my partners, giving the eye test of my partners, living a drug & alcohol free healthy lifestyle, being sexually responsible outside of work, and the natural strong immune system of my body are all factors that will accumulate to save me from anything incurable.
But let's be honest, there is always that one in a million shot. Much like winning some sort of reverse lottery, it is always possible. Scary times indeed my friends.
I turn 40 in May. My best friend in the biz is moving to Las Vegas in October. Four of my best friends in this world that have been my friends since BEFORE I entered this crazy biz live in Las Vegas. My goal now is to figure out a way to swallow a 40,000 dollar a year financial poison pill and rotate into the real world to Las Vegas. It is not going to be easy (nor much fun) but at this point I don't feel like I have a choice. My mental well-being demands it. I am very thankful that my parents taught me good financial principles and that I was disciplined enough to follow those principles myself. This allows me more time & peace of time to make this transition seamlessly. Las Vegas is perfect because it allows for a slow transition and not a complete 100 percent change immediately. Now let's get started!
Why I choose to express my negative nancy nonsense here with you people, I will never know....I guess it's cathartic in a way.
P.S. I am 100 percent completely healthy in every way, shape, or form. And just so you know that for sure - here is my health test from August 24th. lol