“SEX IS THE DRUG FOR ME.”
HE USED TO BE A “LEGITIMATE” ACTOR, BUT HANS BERLIN IS NOW ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR AND HARD-WORKING STUDS IN THE GAY PORN STABLE.
DNA: Did you name yourself after your favourite city in the world? Hans Berlin: Well, I lived in Berlin but I was raised in the southern part of Germany, where the hills are alive with the sound of music [laughs]! Hans is my middle name, so that works. When I was looking for a last name, a friend told me about ’70s porn icon Peter Berlin. I googled him to see if he died of AIDS – that would have been a bad omen. When I found out that he’s in fact alive and well, I thought choosing his last name would be a nice way of honoring him. Also, Berlin as a city stands for so much forwardness and culture, but also for lust and debauchery. A place full of contrast, much like Hans Berlin. How often do you go to Berghain? Funny that you ask, I’ve actually never been to the main club. I travel a lot these days and do live shows in clubs all over the world, so on my days off I’d rather take it slow. The nights in Berlin start so late and I don’t do drugs. In my mind, everyone who’s up partying so late is in fact “partying”, but I’ve been to the Lab.Oratory many times. It’s a sex club in the basement of Berghain and looks like a huge porn set. I guess sex is the drug for me. What do you love most about it? It’s a typical Berlin thing. You can have great, dirty sex there. The guys are hot and willing, but you can also just hang and have a beer and a chat with friends – clothed or completely in the nude. What’s your favourite night? I’m actually kind of vanilla, so a regular underwear or naked night is fine with me. I don’t really get into the watersports, fisting or rubber nights, but I do like some sweaty, real man-to-man sex. What’s the most shocking thing you have seen there? Me on a sex rampage [laughs]. How many years have you been doing porn and what’s it like working with Michael Lucas? I started in July 2012, so I consider myself fairly new to the industry. People warned me before I signed with Michael Lucas that he was not easy to work with, but I enjoyed our first and only scene together and I look up to him. I mean, from being an immigrant porn performer to building your own porn empire, that’s pretty inspiring, don’t you think? I don’t agree with current changes to include bareback scenes, but I see where he’s coming from. We all watch bareback porn, and the porn business got pretty tough with all the free internet porn. In order to stay alive, studios need to cater to a wider audience, but I think the acceptance of bareback porn sends out a wrong signal and is premature. Yes, we have all the new great HIV medication and PEP, but we don’t know the side effects in the long run yet. Teaching young gay kids it’s okay to have bareback sex with strangers is not okay. We only show sexual fantasies in porn, that’s true, but we definitely influence the way people have sex in the real world. How did you get into porn? I moved to Hollywood for real acting, but after a while the acting game got me really frustrated. I started seeing a therapist and was put on antianxiety pills. I felt I needed another drastic change in my life, like coming to America 11 years ago. Through my dance jobs in the clubs of LA and Las Vegas I was getting many offers to do porn. At some point I thought, “Fuck it. Why not?” and called Titan. I don’t regret anything. I believe that if you trust your life, it will show you the way. Some might call it God, I call it Life. Do you think you will ever go back to “legitimate” acting? I’m focused on writing these days, but yes, definitely. I’m actually a recurring character in a gay soap Boystown that you can watch on the LGBT YouTube channel, GayDirect. Where’s the best place for people to see your work? I love doing live shows. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook, and if you have a chance to see me live in your town, do it. It will be a very intimate moment for the both of us. Or Google my name and enjoy my videos in the privacy of your own home, but please don’t steal porn – we all need to make some money. I don’t escort, so movies and live shows are my only income now. You were in Australia recently. What did you get up to? I’d never been to Australia, so it was amazingly exciting. I had one show at the Sircuit Bar in Melbourne, then headed to Sydney for two shows and a week of vacation. I was also planning to find my future husband Down Under as three of my German friends met their significant others while traveling through Australia, so I will be back. What’s your message to the readers of DNA? My message to everyone who has sex is: make sure a condom is used, no matter if you fuck or get fucked. Don’t rely on the other person to take responsibility for you. If I ride in your car, I don’t put a seatbelt on for your sake, it’s for me because I want to live in case of an accident. Why do people think it’s any different when it comes to sex? And asking someone the derogatory question if they’re clean and STD-free is not safe sex. Be a selfish asshole and protect yourself – use a condom. more: HansBerlinxxx on Twitter or find him on Facebook: Hans.Berlin.3