How to Make It in Porn

Screenshot via YouTube.

Markus Waxenegger, a stone-cold Steve Austin look-alike from the Alps, is Austria’s biggest porn export and the star of such classics as Rita and Her Fuckmares, Ass Is a Must, Cum from the Rooftop, and Hotel Fuckmegood (and no, the titles don’t sound less ridiculous in German).

He embodies the Alps like nobody else has done since the days of Arnold Schwarzenegger—and just like his idol, he uses the clichés people hold against stupid and primal strongmen and incorporates them into his gimmick. That’s why he regularly plays a bullying sexual predator with an ever-horny and always abusive agenda who nevertheless never fails to bring joy and happiness to the ladies he forces into having sex with him.

In Waxenegger’s porn universe, “I’ll put a stick up your ass” counts as foreplay, and “Shut up, bitch” is perfectly acceptable pillow talk. When he comes, he roars like a boar, screaming, “You pig!” and giving both male and female spectators something to think about.

In 2012, Waxenegger retired from active porn duty to get involved in some topics he personally cares about. At that point, he had starred in more than 1,500 movies and won multiple awards, such as the German Venus Award and the Erotic Lounge Award for Best Performer. But besides his notorious reputation as an on-screen rapist and his even more notorious lines that earned him the nickname World’s Funniest Porn Star, Waxenegger’s personal passion points do not revolve around porn or even sex. Maybe a bit surprisingly, the one thing on top of his list is animal rights.

I talked to him about his life in and after porn, his thoughts on romance and eating meat as well as Viagra, S&M, and his mom. Oh, and about what it’s like to spit into a gaping asshole. He was the nicest guy I've met in a while and during the interview, he kept his shirt off. I guess you can take the man out of the porn, and so forth.

VICE: You quit your career as a professional porn star in 2012—shortly after the Venus Awards. What are you up to at the moment? 
Markus Waxenegger: I am a trained chef. So I am back working doing that. A lot of people out there don´t know that I am not doing porn flicks anymore. But I made that decision and returned to my “normal” life. On top of that, my mom died of bone-marrow cancer at the end of 2012. That made me want to start all over again.   Are you satisfied with your job as a chef?
Well, its not bad. Although my long-term goal is to do something in the fitness industry—personal training, for example. I am also working with a company on developing nutritional supplements.

What was the cause of your retirement? Was it the death of your mother?
The death of my mother was one reason. She was never happy with the stuff I did, even though she accepted it. First and foremost, she wanted me to be happy. The main reason why I quit was the way the industry dealt with health issues. I don’t want to take part in this game of Russian roulette anymore. For me, it was always important to arrive and return healthy from the set. This is not the case anymore. A lot of girls will take part in a gang bang with 20 to 30, sometimes even more guys the night before, but don’t get tested and then come to work the next day. It just got too risky for me.

Why do you think the industry changed the way it deals with safe sex?
The internet played a big part in this. Companies work differently nowadays—they don’t earn as much money as they used to. Budgets are limited. That's why the actors have to resort to things like public gang bangs to earn their living. But I can’t accept that my private life has to suffer because of my career. Especially for so little money—it's just not worth it.

Do people in the industry talk openly about HIV?
To be honest, it is not really talked about. The producers would act differently if they took the issue more seriously.

How do you become a porn star?
I went into the porn industry because I was keen on having sex in front of a camera. I really liked it. The fact it developed into a real job was a coincidence. I actually just wanted to have fun. I was in a relationship that was pretty dysfunctional, and after that I just wanted to live it up.

How was your first scene?
I was unbelievably nervous and nothing worked out. I couldn’t get it up. The pressure to perform was just too high. My producer said that we would try it again in the afternoon. At this point the only people there were the camera guy, the sound guy, and of course the beautiful lady on set. I had not any other distractions. From then on everything worked splendidly. A week later I was shooting in Ibiza. That was really cool.

Sounds good.
It worked to my advantage that I was one of the few porn actors, if not the only one, in Germany that had a fit body. It was something very special, because everyone else looked just average. I was trained and potent.

Would you consider yourself a pioneer in the field of buff porn stallions?
I don’t know. All I can say is that it is still not a given that German male actors are well trained—at least in the hetero sector. In the US or the Czech Republic, that’s very common.

In your movies, you often played the role of the very dominant macho man, who takes what he wants without asking. Does this reflect your personality or did you just play the role?
I often tried to act like myself. Of course you have to play the role that the producer or the director asks you, but after a while I just went with the flow and I didn’t need any directions anymore. I have to say, I do like to just take the woman, but I always made sure that the woman had as much fun as I was did. I am not the kind of person who enjoys being humiliated—I'm more the type of guy who calls the shots.

So porn was fun?
I was able to do a lot of things sexually that I wouldn’t have done in my private life. Things that I wouldn’t even dare to try. Also some of the script don't correspond to real-life experiences. For example, I would never have sex with multiple women in my personal life.

What wouldn’t you have dared to do in private?
Anal sex with a woman. Or fucking multiple chicks in their asses. Sometimes it is even hard to get your own girl to do things like that. You just dip in the finger really quick and that's that. But I am talking about taking a closer look inside and spitting in it and so forth.

Where there any scenes that you didn’t like?
Of course. I mean, I did try a lot of things. I did some S&M stuff. I played the submissive, all chained-up. That totally didn’t feel like my kind of thing.

How did you manage to keep your boner and even get an orgasm then?
I always concentrated on certain parts of the body. If I, for example, liked the boobs, I focused on them. I also developed quite a good imagination. A lot of people think that you can get rock-hard with the support of certain supplements, but it's not true. You can nibble on a little bit of Viagra, but you won’t get horny just by doing that.

My experience is, the more practice you get, the more potent you get. Your hormone levels rise, and you are more likely to get off. I perform better sexually when I exercise on a regular basis. You should also never underestimate the importance of a healthy diet. If you eat fries drenched in mayo and ketchup all day and wash it down with beer, then you shouldn’t be surprised if you can't get it up.

Is it important for a porn star to also be an actor?
There are definitely movies for which filming takes a whole day. I think that's the time to flourish as an actor. In conventional films, in which you are in bed within the first five minutes, I could never deliver good acting performances. That's because my brain had sunk down in my pants already.

Screenshot via YouTube.

Do you watch porn yourself?
Yes, I do. I watched it before I started working in porn and for as long as my career lasted. I just try to avoid watching movies made by people I know—that can get awkward. So I watch foreign porn. If I know what the actors are like in their private lives, I don't get turned on.

Do you have any sex advice for our male readers?
Look into her eyes from time to time and try to understand whether she really likes what you are doing. Some guys are too shy to talk about what they want in bed or even talk to women. The question is, why? If I like someone—even if it's the girl at the cash register at the supermarket—I'll try to give her my phone number. One out of ten will actually get back to you. You just have to man up.

Last question—something besides porn: Is it true that you're into animal rights?
This is an important issue. I think it is very sad that a lot of people—too many people—have no respect for the environment. I am also looking at this from a chef´s perspective. It is quite sad how animals can be kept. I have seen a lot of misery in various places. Why do you pet and love a dog but treat pigs and other animals like trash? You don’t have to become a vegetarian. I eat meat, but only in small amounts. Either way, you should still treat the animals with respect. Today's technology has given us the tools to kill animals but not let them suffer.

I've seen cows being mistreated, and heard them crying. They know what is happening, it's horrible. In some slaughterhouses you see cows cut open in half, still alive, hanging from a hook. That's pure torture. I think it is important to help the weaker links. Everyone should have a voice.