Naked Men Talking: Daddy John
In the conversation, we talk bartending, Freud, and why he was born to be a Dom Daddy.
For our podcast, Naked Men Talking, I caught up with Daddy John from DJ Productions, a queer film studio in Montreal.
In the conversation, we talk bartending, Freud, and why he was born to be a Dom Daddy.
You launched DJ Productions in 2024 - why was this a project that you wanted to focus on?
We had a desire to make more creative adult films - a more erotic, 70s, Tom of Finland style.
In the work that we do, I have two modes - Daddy or Sir.
When you see the black backdrop like this, with the cigars and the whiskey, that's Sir mode. When you see white sheets and big windows, then it's Daddy - it's more cuddly while still maintaining that erotic sensuality.
How did you get started in the world of adult entertainment?
I started working in bars in 1979 - I was 17, underage. I became a career bartender.
Working behind a bar is already a situation where I am semi-selling sexuality - here's a drink, give me your money - it isn't a huge stretch to say, could I add a penis with that?
I remember being young in the 70s and desperately wanting to be comfortable with myself - with my body, my penis, my everything. It was the 70s - there was a lot of that going on - be cool with yourself, be cool with your sexuality.
I was very good at bartending. I've always been a bit of a charmer. After so many years of doing it, you become comfortable with who you are, what you look like, how you address people - when in doubt, I can just tell myself, be the bartender, and everything is kind of easy.
Filming was just one more step. You want to see me do it? It's more of the same show.
What was your relationship with your body like when you were growing up? Have you always been comfortable getting naked in front of others?
I come from a very rural family. It was very body-closeted.
I remember being in my early twenties and I was working in leather bars - I remember still being very uptight about it. I remember going for a piss in a bar in Montreal in the early 80s - it was a urinal, wide open, with guys just lined up pissing. Everyone was looking and I just can't pee.
After that, I told myself that I was never going to be ashamed about anything. You can't present all that shit behind the bar and then not be able to go for a piss. Don't be a hypocrite. I had to walk the walk as well as talk the talk.
In terms of the Dom/Daddy aspect of your persona, was that something that developed through the filming?
That started really young.
I was drawn to the work of Tom of Finland because it resonated with who I was already.
I was a man born to be in leather. I look really good in a suit as well. I look really good in masculine archetypes. I love playing with that.
Masculinity doesn't have to be toxic - you don't have to be an asshole.
With DJ productions, you're in front of the camera and your boyfriend is behind the camera. How has that shaped the way that you experience intimacy together?
We started DJ Productions outside of a relationship - it began as an easy collaboration. He was already a photographer and has studied film extensively and is very creative. It adds to the sexuality. It's fun. It adds a sense of fun to the sex.
What's on your vision-board for the months ahead?
There's a million things.
We'll be doing a Christmas thing soon - the Bad Santa.
We'll be filming a lot of Sir stuff at my house here in Montreal. I love smoking cigars - that's a fetish I've learned late in life. There's nothing better than having a cigar in your mouth and having a cigar in someone else's mouth. If you need Freud to unpack that, you have a lot of other things to unpack.
Given the journey that you've been on, are there any insights or lessons that you wish that you'd learned earlier? Anything that you wish that you could tell your younger-self?
I am the person I am right now because of the things I've done and I've tried.
I can't say that I would change anything only because then I wouldn't be who I am.
I would definitely do exactly what I did, so that I can be exactly who am now.
Image credit: DJ PRODUCTIONS
Gareth Johnson
Gareth Johnson