Jul 25
EDGE Interview: For Adult Content Provider Danny Wilcoxx, Careers Are a Balancing Act
Robert Nesti READ TIME: 9 MIN.
When EDGE caught up with Danny Wilcoxx he was multi-tasking – periodically folding some bread dough while editing content for his JustFor.Fans page. "I am getting some videos ready for August," the Chicago-based content provider and baker explains. "I always try to get my content ready at least a month in advance."
Danny's multi-tasking is not unusual for a provider of content to JustFor.Fans, the adult entertainment site that gives him direct content with his fans. He has been with the site for some two-and-a-half years and treats working on his content as if it were a 10-to-5 job, five days a week, which includes his time working out at the gym.
In addition, Danny works part-time at a Chicago bakery where he specializes in cookies – nine different kinds, plus one sandwich cookie, as well as scones and muffins.
Of course, being a baker has its issues, primarily the desire to eat what he bakes, which could prove to be problematic for maintaining the lean look he has for his JustFor.Fans and his adult content. "I know there are people within various niches with different body types and things, and I'm more of the twink type who is pretty fitness focused, as is my boyfriend, so keeping that in the back of my mind helps. And I don't have a super strong sweet tooth. I prefer savory foods, so that's always helped. My first job was working in an ice cream shop for about four years, and I still stayed real thin then, because I didn't eat too much of the ice cream, just a little taste."
What is distinctive about Danny's baking are his cookies designs, which include a popular series of Emoji-frostings. "I try to do like, a different array of emotions and things to see what sells the best, and people like seeing them. A lot of the ones we do are just faces. But I try to present a different array of emotions and things to see what sells the best." Towards that end, he asks customers how they are feeling that day and put that input into his designs. "It's a little engagement here and there that helps make my designs distinctive, and I get feedback that people really enjoy seeing how creative I can be with them."
But one thing Danny doesn't create are cookies with erotic designs. "I've had a few people ask, but at my bakery, we are limited with how far we can go in that direction, although for Valentine's Day, we did some rude heart cookies, like some of them said, 'Fuck off' and stuff like that."
Working on adult content happened for Danny while he was a sophomore in college. "I had hooked up with someone, and we were just laying down in bed chatting, and he said that he would pay to watch me in bed. And that just got me thinking, 'I don't really look down on the adult industry for any reason, and if it's something I could be good at and people could enjoy, so, why not?' Plus, I felt like I wanted to improve myself sexually and gain more confidence. I figured, 'what better way to do that than to put myself in a situation where I have to perform?' I have to get better at it, because if I'm not enjoying it, it sometimes shows. Once I felt more comfortable, I applied to different studios, and was referred to an agent. Then I got a studio shoot with, I think it was College Dudes, and then with Carnal Media, and it just kind of went from there."
But having sex in private is very different from performing in front of the camera. Did he ever have any issues with that? "I was surprised at my first shoot because I thought I was going to be really nervous and have some trouble, but I was able to get into it fairly easily, and it's just gotten more and more easy over the years. Because part of the reason I like doing what I do is that I think all people should be more comfortable with their sexuality and with sex in general, because it's a natural part of life."
Danny, who has a boyfriend, also sees the boundaries between emotional relationships and sexual ones, such as his work in the adult industry. "For me, there isn't actually all that much emotion involved in sex, typically, unless it's with somebody I'm actively in love with. I'm consider myself demisexual, and I get more aroused when I know someone. When filming, it does feel like a performance, because I am trying to play to the camera. And there are other issues, such as not knowing my scene partner very well, and the starting and stopping, which happens a lot. We often have to redo things, such as being told to show more expression, or be louder, or curl your toes – things like that. Being in front of the camera is very performative, but from the audience feedback I get, people really enjoy it.
"As for fansite content, I only film with somebody I have an attraction or good rapport with, because otherwise I'm doing it for the paycheck and not for the enjoyment of what I consider to be a very intimate art form. In my adult work, I try to always be engaged. But if it turns out that I am with someone I haven't as good chemistry as I thought, or have trouble getting into, I put on a little bit more of a performance. But more often than not, I try to really be engaged and enjoy it as much as I can, and try to help my partner enjoy it as well."
Asked what his boyfriend thinks of his adult content, Danny says he was upfront about it from the onset when they met some four years ago. "I was really open with him about what I do: I enjoy it. He's always been really cool with it as long as I was happy with it. But we are very careful about health issues. Over the years, we have developed a specific relationship in that it isn't open except for two times out of the year. He really isn't interested in other people, so during that I have sex with other people, sometimes for work and occasionally just for fun. The rest of the year, we're entirely monogamous. And when we are practicing non-monogamy, we practice safe sex with each other. We don't actually do oral at all, just because we are very careful about STIs.
"I do use Doxy PrEP," Danny continues, acknowledging the recent medical treatment for reducing the chance of getting a STI. "I use it for work, but I wouldn't want to be using it all that often because I think that frequent use of it can contribute to antibiotic resistance, but especially for people who are in any sort of adult industry. It really makes sense to use it, so long as you're being responsible with it. I have learned you need to be very open when it comes to talking about it with your sexual partners, in and out of the industry. I heard someone once say that if you can't talk to someone about STIs, you probably shouldn't be having sex with them."
In addition to his baking and adult content work, Danny had a podcast where he interviewed "people who were either in the entertainment industry, or who were avid consumers of a specific form of entertainment, and just kind of talk to them about what it was like being in the industry. And it could be anything from a chef who likes entertaining people with food to people who host shows; singers; people who work in the theater; photographers; all sorts of different things; and we would talk about what they do to make consumers keep coming back. And I even had one episode where I brought on someone else who interviewed me in my style. It was a lot of fun to do, but also a great deal of work, so I pulled back a little bit, although I'll still occasionally post some non-adult videos on my YouTube channel here and there.
And Danny also plays the cello, a skill he developed while in school and has pursued as a hobby over the years. "it's kind of like riding a bike," he said about returning to it after time away. "I am in the process of repairing my cello at present, but plan on playing cello versions of more modern music, and maybe some you know, like classic rock and metal type stuff. I was drawn to the cello for two main reasons. The first was that my sister had played the cello years before me, and she kind of was one of the role models in my life, and then she had a cello at home, so I could always practice there. But it also is the closest of just about any instrument to the register of the human voice, so it sounds very natural and soothing to the ear. And, well, I think the cello is sexy and cool."
For more on Danny Wilcoxx, visit his website.
Check out these posts from Danny's Instagram:
Robert Nesti can be reached at [email protected].