Christopher Zeischegg performed under the alias Danny Wylde for roughly 10 years, during which time he featured in approximately 600 scenes.
Zeischegg landed himself a career in porn essentially because he needed a job while he was in school. After trying his hand at nude photography as an “art model” he saw a listing for a porn shoot which he tried for a “crazy, one-time experience”.
“I was naive enough, at the time, to believe that the extreme, BDSM nature of the shoot would prevent my family members from stumbling across it,” he told The Independent.
After a former girlfriend introduced him to various adult producers and directors in Los Angeles, Zeischegg was able to carve out a successful career for himself in the industry.
Starting out earning around $300 per scene (£245), he could eventually command between $500 – $700 per scene and landed a year-long contract with a production company who paid him $4,000 per month (£3,300) despite having only to work six days out of the month (This was perfect for me, being a full-time film student.”
Women typically make more money in the adult industry, usually around $1,000 for a standard male-female scene, but they can receive significantly more for various scenes – especially if they are doing them for the first time.
Zeischegg says that despite the disparity in pay between the sexes, he thinks men still have the upper hand financially as they are able to work more.
“There’s much less work than there used to be, and so many more performers. If we’re talking about straight porn, the guys can work for the same company over and over again. While the women may have to wait months, or even a year, before they can shoot for the same company or website.”
