Bruce Beckham: The Quarantine Q&A

During the pandemic, GayVN caught up with some talent in front of and behind the camera to see how they were handling the time off—and what they see ahead for their industry and community. In this installment, we chatted with GayVN Award-winner Bruce Beckham, who had a busy 2019 at Men.com—and literally put his money where his mouth was to help fight COVID-19.BJ: How do you think the people in your area are exhibiting safe behaviors?BB: NYC is an unusual case, because we're literally all on top of each other at all times. The average distance between human bodies is smaller here than in any other U.S. city, but I see a lot of responsible mask and glove wearing, and adhering to the six-foot rule when I’ve left home once a week to do grocery shopping.How have you personally been adjusting during COVID-19? How has life changed for you and your loved ones? I'm fortunate enough to be safe, fed, healthy and financially okay for a bit, so I've just adapted to a new routine of daily living room workouts, checking in on friends and loved ones, doing something career related every day, and looking for ways to help someone every day. My biggest challenge is filling the idle time as I'm a pretty proactive person. What has been the hardest thing for you, and what do you miss the most?Just having all this free time to fill has been difficult, but it’s a quality problem when so many healthcare workers are risking their lives and working long hours to save others. I miss the gym the most, both for the social interaction and workouts—as well as checking out hot guys working out.How have you had to adjust your exercise routine? How creative have you had to get?I’ve worked out a system of living room body-weight exercises and pullups on some abandoned scaffolding near my apartment. Plus, bike rides whenever it's warm using the NYC Citi Bike system. The key to surviving is to actively seek solutions in a constantly changing world, and to not give up when some solutions become obsolete or don't work. Keep getting up, keep trying.When do you think the porn industry can get back to creating content, and how will this affect how things are done in the near-term and longer-term?Studio porn probably won't start filming again until August at the earliest, I'd guess. I assume they’ll start things up exactly as they did in terms of travel and testing.How can performers on platforms like JustFor.Fans and OnlyFans get creative during this time and still provide new content?Lots of guys are doing more solo or at-home content, but I know a lot of performers have a backlog of content they’re releasing slowly.You donated your April OnlyFans revenue to COVID-relief charity. How did that idea come to you, and how did it all come together? When COIVD-19 first became a global reality, I started to see how many people lived paycheck to paycheck—and potentially weren’t even going to have money for food. I felt really strongly that if all my needs are met, who am I to not give back and help out? I researched charities through CharityNavigator.org and found The Center for Disease Philanthropy and their COVID-19 specific fund. Then I reached out to fellow performers and blogs to help spread the word. Through other people's generosity, we were able to raise almost $2,740 in April, and I donated that amount—100 percent of my April OnlyFans earnings—to The Center for Disease Philanthropy. I also sent my donation confirmation email to two major porn blogs for transparency, as well as tweeted screenshots for additional assurance of where people's monies went. I was really happy to be able to help, and I’m grateful for everyone who played a role. Through their generosity, food banks got restocked, medical care was given, PPE equipment was given to hospitals, and assistance was given to non-essential undocumented workers who are struggling and ineligible for government assistance. I also thought it was important to represent the porn community as philanthropic and invested in giving back, as the sex industry is often stigmatized.I’ve seen firsthand how many gay men on the hookup aps don’t seem to care about social distancing and are more than ready to still hook up with a stranger. How do you feel about that, and what would you say to them?I'm not one to police other's behavior in terms of their need for connection, but I do think the broad disregard for public health in the interest of fucking is pretty immature and selfish. We're all scared and worried and craving companionship right now, so I think safe efforts to address that are reasonable, but hosting orgies or drug-fueled hookups is particularly selfish and irresponsible right now. Jerking with someone on FaceTime seems a pretty responsible option.What's your reaction to the recent infamous NYC "rave" that took place and made headlines?I think a lot of sad individuals are addicted to party drugs instead of being able to cope with life not high, and that addiction informs their decision making—to the point where they choose to endanger other people's lives to party and brag about their lack of self-control. Unfortunately, there are many similar parties happening behind closed doors everywhere. I do believe they're a childish minority though, and the bulk of rational, responsible adults are working in any way they can to lessen and end this pandemic.Realistically, how long do you think it will be until gay men can feel comfortable hooking up on the apps? I think these are unusual times, and if all we're being asked is to jerk off and limit physical interaction until June or July, I think that’s not a lot to ask. We're adults, and sometimes adults put on their big-boy pants and do the right thing with some minor inconveniences. No one is gonna die if they have to jerk off or find one friend with benefits to ride out the pandemic with for the next several months. Or subscribe to my OnlyFans and watch me play with my giant cock.Talk about the importance of porn during this time for people, who need safe ways to get off and relieve stress. Now more than ever it seems porn is proving how much of a purpose it has.Definitely. Porn is sexual fantasy, but it's also distraction and stress relief and a way to feel at home in your own body. Adult entertainers are providing a much-needed source of relief to people, which makes it even more repugnant that "prurient” and sex-related business have been specifically exempted from receiving government small business bailout money. Every single porn studio is exempt from government help, while hypocritical lawmakers are furiously masturbating at home to their content.What lessons about life should this pandemic be teaching us?This is a great master class in the importance of connection and banding together to help others. This is time for selflessness, not selfishness.