The Bare Curious Interview: Roger Kint, Part 4
JASON: You seem to have a pretty clear understanding of not only the benefits of bareback sex, but the potential downsides. Last month a reader of your Tumblr asked, "You're doing a lot of bareback sex ... what sort of precautions do you take to prevent yourself from catching HIV?" You elaborated on your point of view and how you try to minimize exposure to HIV, and then said that it boils down to "a matter of judgement and calculated risk." That said, regarding HIV and beyond, any more specifics? For instance, are you vaccinated against Hepatitis A and B? Do you have any advice for guys who have very active sex lives like you do, and occasionally or frequently bareback — not just about avoiding HIV but avoiding other STDs?
ROGER: Yes, I'm vaccinated against both Hep A and B. I pay attention to a couple of barebacking sites, partly for meets, but mainly to keep an eye on who claims they're safe but isn't and who is always looking to get fucked by a dozen guys in some random club. It helps avoid what I see as the higher risk people. I think you have to just outright ask if some is HIV positive; not just say "are you clean" but poz or neg as well. No one is going to be offended by such a question. Then you just have to get a feel for how risky they are.
Ultimately, if you're going to bareback you're taking that risk to a much higher level than playing safe. I went out with a guy who was poz for a while, and if it hadn't been for that (and we played safe obviously) I don't think I would bareback as much now. But in that time I came to accept that I was probably going to catch HIV sooner or later. I do try and avoid it, I am careful, but sooner or later I wouldn't be surprised if I got it.
Ultimately, though, anything someone says about precautions they take when barebacking are just post-rationalisations for their behaviour.
JASON: I always say that the most important thing to emphasize is to get regularly tested, to visit the clinic on schedule for check-ups, and all that. It's all about knowing your status and taking care of your health no matter your HIV status. What many men who bareback don't quite understand is that it's actually safer to get bred by a poz top who is on meds that keeps viral loads undetectable, than it is to be bred by men who bareback a lot but whose status is "unknown." Men who bareback a lot and have converted but aren't on meds will likely have a high viral load — making them more infectious — by virtue of not taking care of their health and taking the proper meds. Whereas it's much harder to infect with an undetectable viral load.
ROGER: Yeah. I don't play with undetectable guys still, but maybe that is a stigma I need to get over. I need to do more research on it first I think.
UPDATE: Roger has researched the issue and has written about it on his Tumblr. Our exchange above took place on August 10, but on August 26, after Roger posted this video ("Hot couple take turns fuck my hole bareback"), an anonymous reader asked him, "I thought you didn't take poz loads from guys, but I see that you're okay doing it now. If I may be so bold, why the change of heart?" Roger offers his answer here and follows up in two posts: "Playing with HIV positive people" and "Playing with HIV positive people - Part 2."
JASON: In terms of your videos, what would you like to do next to top what you've already done?
ROGER: Where next? Well I wish I was able to produce better videos, but I'm not a creative person and struggle with aesthetics. What I really would love is to do some pro shoots, so if you know anyone put in a good word for me. ;)
JASON: I wish I knew some pro porn studios in the UK, but I don't. There are a number of pro studios in the US that I think would be interested in you, like Bare Twinks, but they have plenty of guys already who are based in the states, and I don't know how much money these sorts of studios have to fly talent in from foreign lands. ;(
Do you know Treasure Island Media? They're based in San Francisco, but I know that one of their most prominent directors, Liam Cole, is based in London and he regularly shoots there. He directs very horny bareback porn videos, and he's cast men of all body types, from daddy types to slim boyish types like yourself.
ROGER: I have heard of TIM but not sure to be honest. [UPDATE: Since the publication of earlier parts of this Q&A, and shortly after this portion of our interview was conducted, Roger studied up on Treasure Island Media and actually met with them in London to discuss... opportunities.] The few contacts I have had with possibilities in porn ended up going nowhere just because they were so unreliable. I had three photoshoots set up that either got cancelled last minute or they just never turned up. Very frustrating so unless they show some interest in me I'm not wasting too much time on the porn industry any more.
UPDATE: In the time since Part 1 of this interview was published on August 1, Roger's bareback videos on XTube have exploded in popularity as he's added more clips and as his notoriety has grown and grown. His videos have now been seen more than a quarter million times, with most of those views coming in just the past several weeks. (Thanks to all the new viewers who have been discovering Roger's videos from Bare Curious!) Studios interested in working with him, kindly inquire within.
