Markie More Interview: Shooting Gay Porn, Being Bullied, Coming Out & His Decision To Stay in Adult Industry

A Revealing Interview with Gay Porn Star Markie More by Rev Nighthawk.

Markie More sits in front of me, soft spoken, thoughtfully choosing his words. He stretches and twists the rubber band in his hands as he tells me about his decision to cancel his pending retirement from porn, just a few months after making the announcement which shocked and saddened the gay porn community. He has a strong jaw and blue eyes that are soulful, pensive and benevolent. His broad chest and muscled arms are lined in black ink and his strong hands seem unsure of what to do with themselves as he looks at the audio recorder.

The muscles and tendons in his arms flex and ripple as he fidgets; my eyes fall upon the tattoos that are on his forearms, which read ‘Be Kind’ and ‘Stay Humble’. These simple words capture two of the most immediately endearing traits about Markie and as he looks down at his hands I am floored at how beautifully genuine and sensitive he is. Markie has a reputation for keeping his personal life out of the spotlight, so this rare opportunity to get him to open up about himself was greatly appreciated.

Markie began his career in adult entertainment three years ago, spending the length of it exclusively with Next Door Studios where he is a contract star. I asked him about how he got his start in porn and this is what he had to say:

Markie More: “I’d never thought about doing porn before… obviously I always watched porn… (he laughs a little). I watched porn religiously growing up but I never thought about [doing] it myself. I guess everyone always sort of has that dream or thought that it would be cool, but I never saw myself doing it.

I was living in Colorado and I was working as a mover. I’d gotten out of the marines and I had a job doing security at a baseball field and the season was over because it was winter. I was also working as a mover, but it was commission and there weren’t many jobs doing that in winter either. I had been contacted by a porn recruiter to do it, but I sort of brushed it off because I didn’t really think I’d ever do porn. I always thought about it and I wasn’t opposed, but I just thought that I don’t have what it takes, so I brushed it off.”

Why did you think you didn’t have what it takes?

Markie More: “I just….um, I never thought of myself as attractive, um…so I guess that was basically it. I thought it was a waste of time and I wouldn’t really go anywhere with it, so I brushed it off the first time. Then a couple months later when i was between jobs, the same recruiter contacted me again and I needed the money so I decided to go ahead and do it. He set me up with Next door and I flew out to do a solo and just meeting anyone was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before and I finally felt accepted like, wow, I don’t have to hide anything, you know? It felt like a family so that’s the reason I kept coming back.”

What was your first scene like?

Markie More: “I did the solo and it was amazing and they offered me ‘gay for pay’ or at least that’s what they were calling it ”

Had you ever been with a man before that?

Markie More: “…actually when I was younger, I fooled around with my friend on a couple of different occasions and it got out. He ended up telling his big brother, I mean, I don’t know why, but then my big brother found out and then all our friends found out and so they started bullying me and my friend and it was terrible. It hurt so bad. So I decided I would never let anyone know about my feelings for men, I would never speak of it, nothing. I hid this for a long time and it wasn’t until I came to Next Door that I finally said ‘you know what, I don’t care what anyone thinks, I’m going to do this’. They asked after the solo ‘do you think you can be with a man’ and (he laughs a little) I was like ‘yeah…yeah I think I can do it’. I did my first full scene and I enjoyed it so much. Tucker Scott filmed it and I had a great time and I mean…It was just amazing.”

So was that your first real experience with a man?

Markie More: “Yes, actually.”

Your very first time, your very first experience with a man, something you’d been waiting for for so long, was caught on film?

Markie: “Yes.”

Wow.

Markie: “It was an amazing scene and I enjoyed it, had a great time and I just kept coming back. It wasn’t about the money, I mean obviously I needed that, but it wasn’t just about that. I looked forward to going out and seeing these people because they were like family; I felt comfortable, there was nothing to hide…it’s a feeling that I….it was just so freeing to be accepted, to really be accepted for who you are.”

When Markie decided that he would continue filming, he did so with a caveat: $250 from every scene he shoots would be donated to a charity that promotes unity between gay people and their straight allies.

Markie: “That’s why I want to donate to this particular charity: it is a charity that helps make clubs for the LGBT community and their straight allies to learn, to socialize, to be comfortable and get away from the hate. To be who they were meant to be, to be who they really are. I want to help people who are going through what I went through and what so many others have gone though. I want to do my part to stop the hate.”

When asked what made him decide to leave the adult industry to begin with, Markie had this to say:

Markie: “I’ve always felt that I needed to help people. I’m happiest when I’m making someone smile. I feel like I wasn’t doing doing enough and that I needed to leave the adult industry and move on to share my experiences and hopefully inspire people to be strong and be courageous and stand up for what they believe in.”

So what made you change your mind about leaving the industry?

Markie: “I had taken some time to reflect, time to myself and I realized that had I not started doing this, I don’t know where I’d be right now. I would still be that shy guy that was afraid to let people know who he was, who was afraid to be himself and I got to tell you: I was afraid. It felt kind of wrong to leave something that helped me so much and I realized that me doing this can help others. So that’s why I decided to stick with it and to donate a portion of my scene fee to charity. It’s only the beginning. I’m going to start a YouTube channel and coach people and I know I can make a difference in the world, because the world needs to stop hating, to stop judging. We need to support each other and love each other. I want to do as much as I can to help that. If we can change the mindset (of hate) then everyone will have a brighter future.”

The smile slips a little from Markie’s face as he reflects on the past.

Markie: “Growing up, I was so unhappy and I would make decisions based on what I thought other people wanted and it came to a point where I didn’t know who I was. I wasn’t living my life, I was living at the life I thought everyone else wanted me to live and I was not happy. I want people to realize that earlier on in life so they have much more time to be happy, they have much more time to go after what they want. You should be you from the day you are born and you should be supported, you should be loved and you should never hide who you are. It only leads to heartbreak and hurt.”

How do you think that a charity like that might have helped you.

Markie: “Honestly, if I would have been accepted earlier on I don’t know what I would be doing right now. Growing up, my family was really right wing and were against homosexuality. I was terrified to even let my family know who I was. Literally nobody knew who I was and in turn I didn’t even know who I was. It would have helped me to live a happy life, to be free, to be able to breath. Accepting who I was was like taking a first breath. It was an unexplainable feeling. All in all, had I not experienced, had I not gone through that I might not have the same will to help people. I’m not resentful of what happened to me because it made me who I am and I feel like that’s why it did happen and I also feel like I can make a difference now because of it”

It would have helped tremendously, I’m sure of it. They are helping people now and I want to do my part. I want people to understand earlier on that they are loved. Pursue what you want to pursue. Do what makes you happy. No one is meant to live for someone else, you are are meant to live for yourself and when you love yourself you have so much more power to love someone else. It’s difficult to love someone else when you don’t love yourself.

Do you love yourself now?

Markie: “I do.”

You said that this helped you find yourself.

Markie: “It did.”

So who are you?

Markie: I’m Markie More. I’m a kind individual. I just want the world to love and I want to help people. I’m attracted to all sorts of people. When It comes to sex, when it comes to actually being passionate about someone, I can see myself marrying a man, I can see myself marrying a woman, I can see myself marrying someone who is a trans, it does not matter to me as long as that person is kind.”

I’m sure you get the question all the time about your sexuality: do you mind if I ask you how you identify yourself in that regard?

Markie: “Growing up I was always told I was supposed to like girls, but then 90% of the time when I had sexual thoughts or even romantic thoughts I found myself thinking about men. But then I could also have these feelings sometimes about women so I didn’t know what I was. I’d heard the term bisexual, but I didn’t feel like I fell into that category. It was difficult and frustrating, but I know now that you don’t have to fall into a category, you don’t have to be a label. People want to label everything or put you into a category because it makes it easier for them, but, no, everyone is different. I honestly want to get rid of the labels.”

Do your parents know who you are now?

Markie: “Yes. My dad knows and he’s obviously against it, but he still loves me. My mom is completely accepting. They were separated before I can even remember. I mean, my mom was addicted to drugs, meth in particular, so I didn’t really see her much. I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew there was something wrong, but I also always knew that she loved me. I grew up with my dad and he was super conservative and outspoken against anything he considered against the bible. But he knows who I am now. He’s still against it, but I know he loves me.”

Do you guys talk about it?

Markie: “No. If it comes up, he’ll speak against it, but he’d rather just not talk about it. It’s difficult because I want this person in my life and I mean…he accepts me…but he doesn’t accept this …and if he doesn’t is it truly accepting me?”

Markie sits quietly for a moment before continuing, stretching the rubber band and letting it shrink between his fingers as he thinks.

Markie “I honestly never thought that I would come out. I honestly thought I would live my life with this secret. I’d accepted that. Looking back, I’m so happy that I made the decision to be who I am because I’ve experienced a sense of freedom the money can’t buy and you can’t get from someone else. There is nothing in this world that can give you that feeling other than you being comfortable with yourself, being strong and saying what makes you happy. That goes beyond just sexuality. You have to do what you want to do and be happy.”

I’m happy now and I want people to realize earlier on and especially if you are growing up in a family that is outspoken about who you are as a person, that hurts. I always feared what would happen if I would say if I did say that I liked men. What if my family, what if the only people that I thought cared about me said ‘we are done with you’? That takes the air out of your chest. I would have fear and anxiety about it and I swore to myself as a kid that I would never let anyone know that I had feelings for anyone other than women and that was in fact not the case. I would masturbate to the thought of a guy and as soon as I would finish I would feel ashamed about it. I don’t want anyone to feel that. I’ve been through alot in my life, different situations and different heartbreaks, but that is one of the most painful feelings that I have ever felt. I feel for anyone who is going through that and I want to spread the word, spread the message that you don’t have to hurt any more.”

You said you watched porn religiously. Was it gay porn? Was it straight porn?

Markie: Well, my big brother introduced me to my dad’s magazine and VHS collection and also to what masturbation was, but I didn’t see gay porn until a couple of years later because I didn’t have the access to it. I do remember looking through one of my dad’s magazines and they had ads in the back and i remember seeing one that said ‘a chick with a dick’ (that was their term) and it was a trans woman and I was so interested in it. I know now that I’ve always been open to everything. I didn’t watch gay porn until later on, but I had those experiences with my friend and feelings for a man without porn even being involved. I didn’t have access to gay porn, but I had my imagination and I used it to think about men.”

I have to help people. I have to make a difference. I feel as though I need to. That’s why I was on the edge about retiring. I felt like I wasn’t pursuing this and I wasn’t helping. I felt like leaving I would focus more on that. I don’t want to turn my back on who I am or the on the place that helped me really finally be myself though and I found a way to have both and I’m really happy about that.”

Markie stands up at the end of the interview and gives me a big hug. The soft curls that hang over the edge of his wire rim glasses brush my cheek as he presses his face into my neck. This is a man who lives up to the words inked on his skin: he is humble, he is kind.

+ Watch Markie More’s Sex Scenes on NEXT DOOR STUDIOS

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