François Sagat talks about being bullied as a teenager, body image issues, bad behaviour on set, and how working with his favourite porn legend wasn’t exactly what he’d expected it to be

At the age of twenty five François Sagat became one of the biggest gay porn stars in the world, with a body he’d carefully sculpted at the gym, and a tattooed hairline that became his trademark.

Nowadays he’s retired from the porn industry, but still does live shows across the world and has his own successful clothing brand.

This article was originally found in GCN December 2016 Issue 324, the first ever Sex Issue of GCN.

…growing up

I was a very shy and introverted child, always dreaming, expecting aliens to arrive in the garden and believing in ghosts. I was a very feminine teenager and I was bullied a lot. It was something I didn’t want to tell my mum about, that guys were treating me like I was gay. It was a very hard to say, so I kept it to myself and I suffered.

… coming out

I was saying that I was bisexual at the beginning. I wasn’t lying to myself; I was trying to go slowly because I didn’t have any sexual experience. My first gay sexual experience was at 19.

… body issues

After leaving college, I found myself going to the gym more than I was expecting, and I began to change my appearance. It was to do with issues of identi cation in the gay world. I was always a tiny little guy, always the shortest, the thinnest, the most discrete.

… the tattoo

I started losing my hair when I was 20. I didn’t like the shape of my head when it was completely shaved, so I came up with the idea of a tattoo. Getting it was a nightmare. Ten hours of pain and blood.

Now it’s been more than ten years and it’s fading away a bit, but at the time it was shiny and black, like boot polish. People on the streets would stop when they saw me.

Keep reading to see what François Sagat had to say about getting into porn, the first English he learned on a porn set, and drugs.

… getting into porn

Somebody came to me online to ask me to do porn. I had it in my mind because I liked watching porn. It was fascinating because it was more like a dream; they were like the chosen people, an elite.

At the time in my life I was not very sure of myself. It was new experience, and I’m very experimental, so I said to myself, ‘just do it, don’t think too much’.

… the first movie

It wasn’t very hard to do. There was a very small team, just the guy who was filming and my partner. With porn you know how to do it or you don’t, you make love to the camera or you don’t.

… learning English

When I made my first movie in America six months later, I spoke three words of English, so it was a bit complicated for me to learn the specific words for a porn shoot, like ‘bend over’. I didn’t know what ‘bend over’ meant. ‘Chin up, chin down’ – within a few months my English was a lot better.

… drugs and porn

For me doing porn was a great experience; I always enjoyed doing it. I’m not an angel, but I chose to be on set in good shape, after getting my hours of sleep. I was always disciplined. I’ve seen some guys on shoots who were not able to do anything because they were so high.

… sexual chemistry

When you discover some chemistry on set, it makes the scene amazing. I’ve been in scenes with people I didn’t really like, but I won’t name them. It’s a question of energy and style. There are good-looking guys, but it happens a lot that when they talk, it’s a turn-off. But then you focus on some detail and you can do the work.

Keep reading to see what François Sagat has to say about his future hubby, HIV and gay clubbing.

… listening

I had a few experiences where the guys were not very aware. If I was bottoming
and it was painful I’d say to the guy to be gentle at the beginning, but some of them wouldn’t listen. That’s the worst thing, when somebody doesn’t really listen to you. But in 99 percent of my movies, it was easy most of the time.
 

… HIV

I think the porn industry has a responsibility to educate younger guys. I come from a generation where HIV was still dangerous and could kill. I’m from the generation that’s aware of protecting yourself, of being conscious that you can’t really trust that the people you have sex with are HIV free. It’s about taking care of yourself, not trust.
 

… retirement

I haven’t shot any porn in ve years. I was seeing myself too much and if I was fed up with myself I was thinking people also had the same feeling. If I come back it will be more for fun than for my career. Of course there is money involved, otherwise I wouldn’t do it – it’s for money and fun.
 

… gay clubbing

I’m not crazy about going into gay clubs by myself. People want to talk to me, which is ne, but sometimes I don’t have the energy to talk to so many people at the same time. Sometimes you just want to dance or have fun, or you just want to kiss someone because you like him, and you don’t want to talk about your life.

… Kicksagat

My clothing company, Kicksagat, is three years old now. It’s evolved differently now because we’re more about underwear. The basics are still the best sellers, like total black or total white. The printed stuff is harder to sell. It looks good, but I’m not going to be able to sell that stuff because I’m a porn guy more than a designer, so I have to adapt.

… commitment

I have a little problem nding someone or staying with someone. I don’t get attached, so it’s not easy for me to keep a relationship. I’m a supporter of gay marriage, but marriage is not my first dream – unless I marry someone very rich!

 
Find out more about Francois Sagat’s clothing line at www.kicksagat.com