Interview: Rob Piper, Leader of the Gang

This article originally ran in the May 2016 issue of AVN magazine. Click here to see a copy of the digital edition. Home City: New Orleans | Age: 32 | Height: 6 feet | Weight: 200 pounds | Eyes: Brown As difficult as it is for women to achieve any kind of longevity in this business, it’s arguably much, much tougher for guys. So the fact that 2015 AVN Best Male Newcomer Rob Piper has only elevated his profile since claiming that title into the ranks of the industry’s genuine leading men is a major accomplishment in and of itself. But Rob Piper has a lot more than mere longevity on his agenda. Having already amassed a considerable legion of fans he christened the “Piper Gang,” the self-styled Renaissance man has his eyes on any number of arenas to conquer—including but hardly limited to the novelty sector, which he officially enters in May with the debut of his own Doc Johnson toy line. “I want to be able to be your Dwayne Johnson, I want to be your Russell Simmons, I want to be your Sean Combs, I want to be your Shawn Carter,” Piper told AVN. “I want to be [one of] the pioneers of African Americans who are actually successful in different ways. I want to be a household name and a person from this industry that when you speak my name, you speak life, you speak possibilities, you think, ‘OK, it’s possible.’ Nothing in life is impossible. If you can think it, you can do it.” Originally from New Orleans, Piper said he’s been a fan of porn since he was 13, but didn’t come to L.A. with any intention of pursuing it as a vocation. “Situations in life led me to following an ad,” he explained, “which led me to Sandra [McCarthy, of OC Modeling]. I sent her pictures, and she and I talked back and forth, and that’s how I got here.” While he may not have dreamed of triple-X stardom, Piper revealed, “I lived the lifestyle before porn, so for me it was just being myself, being natural. I’ve always been a friend of porn forever, and I always watched it for bettering myself. It wasn’t a perversion thing; it was more of a learning thing. I’m a highly sexual person, so for me, I wanted to better myself at anything that pleases a woman.” Still, as performers frequently stress, having sex at home and having sex on camera are two very different beasts, so for pointers on the latter, Piper consulted an established pro. “When I first got into the industry, Prince Yahshua and I became real close,” Piper imparted. “I learned a lot of things from Prince. He told me a lot of information about the industry and how to perform and different ways to do certain things. He is someone who I really look up to as a black male performer. He does his thing and he’s one of the great male performers in the industry right now.” Piper also tipped his cap heartily to reigning AVN Director of the Year Greg Lansky, who’s made him a staple player for the wildly popular Blacked.com.  “I think he’s one of the greatest directors in this industry as far as the picture he paints,” Piper said of the auteur. “I feel like a lot of fans appreciate what he’s done. I think the industry appreciates what he’s done, and me as a performer, I appreciate overly what he has done. Interracial is the highest peak of performance right now.” Looking ahead, Piper listed directing and intimate apparel design as two of the lateral endeavors he plans to add to his dossier. “As a performer, I still have a lot of things to do,” he professed. “I still have a lot of work to do and I still have things to cover. I love being versatile. At some point, I do want to direct. At some point, I do want to get into every aspect of what this industry represents for all the right reasons. “I actually have my own underwear line coming out that people can actually get into and feel like they are a part of me and I am a part of them with their everyday lifestyle,” he continued. “The underwear line is for girls and guys. Bottoms for guys, and tops and bottoms for girls—sports bras and bottoms that you can wear in your house, you can wear it on stage, you can wear it on set, and there’s a lingerie style too.” Though he didn’t yet have a date set for the launch of his underwear line, Piper indicated that it was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what’s on the horizon from him. “I hate the fact that there are people who say once you’re in porn, you can’t do this, you can’t do that—I feel like that’s a lie,” he said. “If you have your own money, if you have your own contacts and resources, this industry is a big industry and you can do whatever you want to in it. “People say the sky’s the limit, but the sky’s not the limit. Beyond the sky there is something else. So what I want to do, and what I’m going to do, is really flourish in ways this industry has never seen.” Join the Piper Gang by following its fearless leader on Twitter @RobPiperXXX and Instagram @Only1RobPiper.