“Do you go to school here?” the UC Berkeley School of Law’s library manager asks Jeremy Long, overlooking the “UC Berkeley School of Law” clearly emblazoned across the top of his T-shirt.
“Yeah, I don’t look like it,” Long says. “But I do.”
Lofty, tatted and muscled, Long, who asked to be referred to by his stage name, physically dominates a space — but he’s not intimidating. He scurries ahead of us to hold open each door, and I’m surprised to hear that he’s soft-spoken. Bay-Area-born, Long got his undergraduate degree in rhetoric from UC Berkeley before earning a masters in business from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Now back in the Bay, Long is working on a law degree with the goal of one day becoming a public defender.
Long is also a porn star. Boasting hundreds of thousands of views per video, he is making a name for himself as one of only a handful of Asian male performers in the American sex industry. The Daily Californian sat down with adult actor Long to learn why a full-time law student is building a lucrative side career in the sex industry — and how he’s not going to quit until there are more Asian guys in the game.
The Daily Californian: So you’re kind of like a unicorn in the porn business?
Jeremy Long: I’m pretty wild. My friends knew these people who were doing it, and I saw it as a chance to represent Asian males in the industry. It’s unique because there’s no other major producers doing this genre. There are in Japan, but that’s a completely different situation — they have censorship laws, so they can’t even show genitals. It’s not really marketed for anyone outside of Japan, so you can find it, but you have to look for it.
DC: Do you think there’s a lack of demand from American audiences or is it that Asian Americans are just less likely to go into porn?
JL: There’s no evil guy behind a desk being like, “Oh I hate Asians, fuck them.” It just happens based on what’s around (producers), and there aren’t many Asian guys in those circles. The threshold for demand to warrant producing Asian male porn is really low, but to get it going would require them to deviate from what they’ve been doing for years.
DC: Does any of that have to do with stereotypes or perceptions of Asian sexuality?
JL: I think what we’re trying to do is an impetus to get rid of those. I don’t think there’s anyone out there that wants to keep Asian guys out of porn.
DC: What do you have to say about the small-penis stereotype?
JL: The responsible thing to do if you’re curious about it is to go sample some.
DC: Fair enough. But if you’re in the industry to defy these stereotypes, why do a lot of your video plots rely on them — like when you play the nerdy math tutor?
JL: Since the issue is stereotyping to begin with, we’re just trying to throw in some humor.
DC: In another video, you play a Berkeley admissions rep; you’re wearing a Cal polo. Are you worried about getting in trouble for that?
JL: I mean, it’s fair use. I’m a law student. They are the ones who taught me that.
DC: What’s the technical, behind-the-scene stuff that people don’t know about shooting porn?
JL: Most videos last about 15 minutes post-edit, but they take like six or seven hours to shoot. We take breaks and order food, so I’m not literally hard the entire time. But for half of that time you have to be hard. … In the beginning, some of my cumshots were pretty subpar. We have to do it standing, which is something that I’ve never done before — it kind of threw me off in the beginning. So at home, I would have to practice masturbating standing up just to get comfortable.
DC: Does it feel like hard work? No pun intended.
JL: There are a lot of puns in porn. I always consider it more like art. (Having sex) is something we’ve all done, but it’s in a really different context when you’re not doing it for yourself or the other person but for a third party. Probably the worst thing I’ve experienced doing porn was that I was asked to not masturbate for three days before our shoots. It’s pretty torturous for a guy with a really high sex drive like me.
DC: Do you ever worry about performance issues?
JL: I get a lot more chances than anybody else would. The thing they need with male talent is reliability: “Show up and get the job done, or we can replace you.” But as one of the only Asian males in the industry, I can’t be replaced. So I get a lot more chances and more accommodations than any other male talent would. I’ve had it easier.
DC: How else is sex on camera different than off?
JL: It’s exhilarating — you’re going to be seen by hundreds of thousands of people. That makes it more exciting. The main technical thing is camera angling. You do positions so that the camera is angled in to get a certain view. Of course, in real life, nobody’s doing that.
DC: How does the industry treat male performers differently than female performers?
JL: As an Asian male, I’m treated very differently than any other male talent, so I can’t really say. Most porn really focuses on the girl — the guy is just some faceless cock. But with me I’m more of the feature than the girl. So my experience in porn is totally different than any other male talent’s.
DC: People talk about Asian female sexuality as being fetishized. Do you think that’s true for Asian men as well?
JL: I don’t think men, except in the gay world, are fetishized. It’s not really an apples-to-apples comparison.
DC: So right now you’re a student at Boalt. Where are you hoping that’s going to take you?
JL: Career-wise, I want to become a public defender. It’s a career that impacts a broader group of people than just myself personally. And success in this field is obscure and not easily recognized — it’s less about winning cases than it is helping people go through a very difficult time.
DC: Do you worry about porn becoming a liability to your professional career in the future?
JL: You gotta take risks, or change won’t happen. I’m in an extremely fortunate position at an elite school — all of us here are. We have lots of options available to us that others don’t. But my goals in life aren’t measured or pursued in purely practical terms. Porn, in this very unique context that I’m in as an Asian male, also impacts a very broad group of people — my people. So I don’t really consider this out of line at all with my career goals. I’ve always followed my passion. Porn and law school just both happened to be means to those ends.
DC: Do your classmates know what you do?
JL: Yeah they do. I’m really open about what I do. I get a lot of support. I’m proud to be a Boaltie.
DC: What about other people in your life?
JL: Everyone has been really supportive. People who aren’t familiar with the porn industry will say, “Oh you’re going to get AIDS” or something. I think it’s the least risky sex activity you could have, unlike going to the bar and meeting random people who don’t get tested every two or four weeks.
DC: But you don’t use condoms?
JL: Because it’s so safe, it hasn’t been a concern for me.
DC: You say it’s a controlled environment, but in between testings, you could go to a bar and meet up with someone and then expose the girl you’re working with.
JL: Within the industry, the perspective we have is that offscreen sex with random people is dangerous. You don’t do it because you’re going to fuck up your career. On screen is the safe stuff. It’s the other stuff you have to be worried about.
DC:If there was one thing you could change about the industry, what would it be?
JL: I would want to change how the industry is perceived by the public. There’s a big barrier between porn and the real world, and there’s a lot of stigma — I think people really think the opposite of what’s going on.
DC: So what really is going on? What porn myths do you want to bust?
JL: It’s not like people are abusing us. People feel like women are being abused, but it’s not like that. People are professional. People are all really cool. We all have fun, we’re all there consensually, and a lot of us like what we’re doing.
DC: Are people in it for the money?
JL: It’s a job — to some extent, we’re all in it for the money. But I think everyone in porn had other options and they chose porn because it was something that they wanted to do.
DC: Do you have a dream shoot?
JL: I wanna see other Asian guys get in the industry with me, so I think a gang bang would be awesome. That would be making history.
DC: What’s off the table?
JL: I’m pretty much down for anything. Everything that I do in porn is what I do in real life. I could never get into fake rape scenes or anything like that. Something I wouldn’t do off screen I wouldn’t do on screen.
DC: But at the end of the day, onscreen sex isn’t the same as offscreen sex. Do you think that porn gives young people an unhealthy perception of sex before they experience it for themselves?
JL: Porn is something enjoyable, it’s entertainment, and it’s something that should be integrated into people’s sex lives and sexuality — not distinct from it.
DC: Do you watch your own porn?
JL: Yeah, I love my work.
DC: Can you get off to it?
JL: No comment.
DC: What’s one sex-related thing that you think everybody needs to try?
JL: Couples need to bring the camera out and experiment a little bit. You can really improve on what you’re doing if you can watch it.
DC: Speaking from experience? Does being in porn complicate your personal romantic relationships?
JL: I don’t have a girlfriend. I think there are people who are understanding and people who aren’t.
DC:What would your eHarmony bio say?
JL: I know what I’m supposed to say: “I really like sex!” But I’m really into fitness. I like to lift weights. You can catch me at the bench at the RSF.
DC: How long do you want to be doing this?
JL: I wanted to get involved to do my part. I think it’s really important for Asian men to be involved in porn, so while there are no other Asian males in the business, I feel an obligation to continue.
DC: So what happens if you’re 75 and there are still no other Asian male porn stars?
JL: I’ll still be there. I mean, yeah, I’m pretty committed!
