Ion Davidov, Manshots, December 1998

by Jerry Douglas
Interview appeared in Manshots, December 1998.

Ion Davidov is in something of a hurryâ??in a few hours, he has to catch a train back to his home in Romania before his visa to Slovakia expires, and he is preoccupied with the upcoming travel. He is wearing an oversized tee shirt and jeans, very much in the current American style, and we settle in to the comfortable upstairs office-study in George Duroy's home in Bratislava. Davidov sprawls on the couch, a bit apprehensive, for he has never done an interview before, and he tells me in his cautious English that he cannot imagine why anyone would want to interview him. It is June 12, 1998.

Manshots: You are one of the few performers for George Duroy who is not a Slovak. How did you get to him?
Davidov: I'm from Romania. In 1993, I went to Budapest to find some work. I worked at like, building...

Manshots: Construction work?
Davidov: Yeah, construction work. I'd come from a smaller town outside Bucharest. And then I went to Budapest. There, I was a go-go dancer.

Manshots: Was this stripping or just dancing?
Davidov: No, no, no. Just dancing.

Manshots: Are there discos in Romania?
Davidov: Yes, but only completely heterosexual ones.

Manshots: How did you get from construction to dancing?
Davidov: I met someone, and we became friends. Weâ??me and my friendâ??we were walking on the street, and one man came to us and gave to as his name card and told us, "If you want, you can call this number and somebody can talk with you about work." So I called this number, and he asked us if we want to work as models, for Iike, photo stuff, so I said, "Yes."

Manshots: So, you began as a model?
Davidov: Yes.

Manshots: You began working for George Duroy as a model?
Davidov: No, this was before the first one was shot for George Duroy. The first episode I was in was for Kristen Bjorn. It was a small episode in "The Vampire of Budapest." The problem was my body, because Kristen Bjorn usually worked with people who are more developed. So, this was a problem then.

Manshots: But he filmed you, even though he thought your body wasn't good enough?
Davidov: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I don't know. Maybe for my dick or my face. I have no idea.

Manshots: Probably for both.
Davidov: I don't know...

Manshots: Do you think you have a big dick?
Davidov: I've seen much bigger. George Duroy is working on a new video called "Some Like It Big," and the guys he's using in that video are really enormous. But I always have a perfect erection, and I believe that is most important.

Manshots: And you seem very comfortable in front of the camera. Were you from the beginning?
Davidov: Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Manshots: Tell us about Romania. What it was like growing up there?
Davidov: I don't like to speak about Romania, because it's... I don't like the country. Not the country. I don't like the mentality of the government.

Manshots: And so you left as soon as you could?
Davidov: Yes.

Manshots: These days, do you have any contact with Romania at all? Your family?
Davidov: Yeah. Of course, of course. I go there, but as I said, I don't Iike the mentality of the government. Like, last time I was home, I went to the train station to get a ticket and for information. I went there to ask about some train, and the woman, she was looking at me: "Wow! How

Johan Paulik, QX Magazine, October 1998

by Karl Andersson
English translation of the interview which appeared in the Swedish gay publication QX, October 1998.

Johan Paulik is suffering from stress, but is prepared to give me and the QX readers half an hour. I meet him in Bratislava, where he lives with his parents.
I don't know what I'd expected, but Johan Paulik is more ladish than a Swedish straight lad, in a positive way though. He appears confident and radiates star status. But a star is something he doesn't want to be.

"My career and fame don't mean that much to me. Being happy is much more important. I'm not interested in buying expensive cars and stuff, I'm just an ordinary bloke." It was in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava (in the former Czechoslovakia) he was born. "I'm Pisces, whatever that means," he says laughing, because horoscope doesn't interest him the slightest. Instead he constantly wants to talk about his Enduro, in other words his new motor bike. Ladish was the word. And yes, he's just as good-looking in real life as in the pictures. And constantly he has this kind of significant gaze. I therefore naturally wonder if he really is gay and also single. "I like both girls and boys," he says and gives me yet another irresistible smile. "I have a partner, but I don't want to reveal if it's a girl or a boy."

Johan Paulik was discovered by porn movie director George Duroy ... [when he was just 18]. ... Johan worked as a ballroom dancer when George spotted a photo of the dance team in a Slovak newspaper. He tried to persuade Johan to do some nude photo sessions for him, but Johan declinedâ??he was too shy. So what was it that eventually made him accept and by that start his career in the gay porn business? "I admit that it had something to do with money. When George offered me more, I thought about the stereo that I wanted to buy at that period of time..." Maybe it's just as well that Johan isn't dreaming of more expensive items than stereos, because according to him he doesn't earn more than that he can support himself. Five years later, Johan is a mega celebrity in the gay porn industry. He has appeared in more than a dozen porn flicks including romantic soft core pornâ?? for the ones who have just come out of the closetâ??to hard core porn which shows everything. The hard core flicks are sold in the USA and the soft core ones in Western Europe. ...

"I don't want to spread my hard core movies in Europe, because that's too close to Slovakia." That's something which the Bel Ami office respects, where Johan slowly starts to move from the space in front of the camera to the one behind. "I'm not stupid, I know that nothing lasts forever, especially not good looks." As the ruralâ??but exceptionally sexyâ?? peasant boy he looks like, he surprises me a bit when telling me that he doesn't care about his body. He would never set foot in a gym (unless a movie was set there). So is it just a coincidence that he has such a stunning body? "Have you really seen any of my movies?," he wonders and starts laughing.

So now he is learning editing and shooting, at the same time as he is handling the unglamorous paper work at the Bel Ami office. No, he's not a typical star. Accordingly we're gonna see less of Johan in the future, but more of the models he is scouting for at clubs in Central Europe. Bel Ami today has almost 200 models, both straight and gay. "An American in Prague" is the name of the latest movie in which Johan has appeared. The title makes one think about the criminal sex trade involving young Czech rent boys and movie productions. The Johns of Prague are mainly Americans or Western Europeans. This reality, which is described by the Pole Viktor Grodecky in the movies "Not Angels But Angels" and "Mandragora," is totally unfamiliar to Johan Paulik. "Bel Ami is a serious company and none of us t

Chance, Muffin's Place, February 1998

by Muffin
Interview appeared in Muffin's Place, February 1998.

The front-boy for Club2001, he's the lucky American who got to work with Johan in the filming of the recently released "An American In Prague." The word is that although Chance had a somewhat rocky, nervous first time in front of the cameras, by the end of filming he was performing wonderfully. As most of you clamored to know about this new pornstar, I interviewed him, and here is what he told me:

Muffin: Hi, Chance. First of all, "The Question," what everybody is wondering: which do you prefer, boys or girls?
Chance: Everyone wants to know this, hmmm... well for the most part I am "sexual." Meaning that I am not into labels and I look at people (guys or chicks) as individuals and I am attracted to both. I enjoy spending time with the boys and just having fun, more than with girls... though I generally hang with a mixed crowd...

Muffin: Do you consider yourself gay, gay-for-pay or simply bisexual? If so, what's your opinion about homosexuality?
Chance: I again am not into labels. My feeling on strict homosexuality is very positive, standing up for who you are and what you want to do with your life. I live my life standing up for gay rights doing nonprofit functions like Gay Pride Parades and photo shoots for condom use, AIDS awareness and drug abuse...

Muffin: When was the first time you lost your virginity, both with girls and boys?
Chance: I was 15ish with a chick, and 18-19 with a guy.

Muffin: Do you really love to make love with men?
Chance: Most of the time I have sex with guys I do not make love... I fuck for pleasure. It is pretty physical! I can feel closer to a man without having sex than after I do. There have been a few that I broke that barrier with though.

Muffin: Have you ever thought of bottoming in film or in real life?
Chance: Bottoming remains a mystery.

Muffin: How does it feel, making love in front of a camera? How do you manage to get an erection there?
Chance: It takes a special person to be able to do this work. It is a place that you have to find within yourself that gets your testosterone flowing and you charge yourself up. This helps you get into the mood and forget about your erection and the guys filming your ass. If you're thinking about your dick you'll most definitely have some problems.

Muffin: What is your favorite way and place to make love?
Chance: I like doggy style the most, and I love to do it in the most attractive part of the earth: nature... the woods, water, beach, in public.

Muffin: Do you like flavoured condoms?
Chance: Not really.

Muffin: What do you think of porn producers who don't use condoms in their movies?
Chance: I think they're stupid, selfish, and inconsiderate; they are putting their models at risk and they have to realize that the models sell the film... they should be treated right.

Muffin: Are you into young men, or do you prefer older people? Would you like to make love to a black or Asian man?
Chance: I like younger men, but I surround myself on an intellectual level of the older crowd. In fact, some of my greatest friends are older. Again, I take people as they are, no race or sex inhibitions.

Muffin: As you probably know, Johan Paulik has became one of the gay idols of the '90s. Did you feel a little nervous meeting such a porn superstar for the first time?
Chance: Nervous? No. I don't really watch porn at all so this was news to me. I was impressed by the way he carries himself and I was pleased, after learning of his stardom, that