Blast From the Past: Colton Ford - A Pornstar Goes Mainstream

Colton Ford returns to Denver for PORNSTAR PRIDE presented by DJ Tatiana and Manhunt.net and sponsored by MileHighGayGuy.com. I'll be interviewing Colton before then but in the meantime, I went scrounging around my archives and found this interview I did with him way, way back in 2003 when he was just leaving the porn biz to reestablish his music career. Please to enjoy this blast from the past.

Colton Ford- A Pornstar Goes Mainstream

by Drew Wilson

After 20 years in the music biz, Colton Ford had some tantalizingly close calls, but fame and fortune always somehow eluded him. There was the time he was connected to Virgin Records through a Frankie Knuckles project that fell apart due to creative differences and then, only four short years later, he was thisclose to another deal with Virgin that ultimately got shelved because of a huge upheaval within the label. 

Frustrated, Colton’s career took a whole new path a few years ago when, as a last minute replacement, he stepped in to film a sex scene with boyfriend Blake Harper on the set of his movie Porn Struck 2. He was an instant sensation, garnering awards like Mr. All Worlds Bear 2001 and the 2002 GayVN Performer of the Year Award and working with some of the biggest names in the business. 

And wouldn’t you know it? After nine months of making porn, the resulting exposure has led to musical gigs, a new CD and even a brand new documentary about his life. 

“I’ve always been a performer,” says Ford, “ I decided to do porn just because my music was stalled. Because I wasn’t in my 20s anymore I wasn’t major label material anymore, so Ijust kind of reinvented myself. Porn helped me create something that I could use to draw attention to whatever else it was I was doing, so that’s what that was all about.”

So he’s now officially joined the ranks of the retired pornstars? “Yeah, I basically stopped doing films last July. I had done like 13 films in eight months and was get- ting a little burned out. Then I got a deal for a single, the documentary thing came about and all these doors were opening for me so it was just kind of a natural progression. But as for porn, I enjoyed it for what it was and I think I got everything out of it that I needed and I had a great time working with Chi Chi and befriended a lot of great people so, it was a positive thing for me.” 

The single, ‘Everything,’ is out now on a CD called Sexy House Vol. 1 and is available every- where, and the recently finished documentary, tentatively titled Mainstream (Note: the documentary was eventually retitled and released as Naked Fame. The trailer can be seen above), has been generating buzz and plenty of interest from the studios. 

“Basically, I hooked up with a gentleman from Miramax and he met Blake and thought our story was really compelling. As we were getting this deal together for the music, we thought, ‘well, why don’t we document the whole process?’ So he captured not only our experience in the adult arena but followed me out to New York to meet with all the different labels and all the different producers. It all opened up into something that we never really expected. A story that really transcends sexual orientation and lifestyle. It’s going to be launched during the fall/winter festivals, Sundance and the like, and then it will be released nationally.” 

Ford’s not concerned with being lumped into the pack with other pornstars-cum-singers like Traci Lords (1,000 Fires), Jeff Palmer (Envy) or even Jeff Stryker (Poke You in the Pooper).

“I think the key thing here is that I’m a singer first and foremost. This is not an afterthought for me. I did the porn thing for nine months and I’ve been doing the music thing since I was a kid and have been focused on it for the last 20 years. And I think my work will represent that.”

Colton Ford will be in Denver on Friday, June 15 as the star of PORNSTAR PRIDE presented by DJ Tatiana and Manhunt and sponsored by MileHighGayGuy.com.