Naked Men Talking: Ryan-Michel
We talk expecting the worst, Gran Canaria, and the importance of making authentic connections.
For our podcast, Naked Men Talking, I caught up with content-creator Ryan-Michel to debrief on the Grabby Awards Europe and his plans for the future.
In the conversation, we talk expecting the worst, Gran Canaria, and the importance of making authentic connections.
How was your experience at this year's Grabby Awards?
It was intense and overwhelming.
It was my first time - I didn't really know what to expect.
Even the build-up to the event was intense.
Why was that?
I think for neurodivergent people - which I am completely - it's chaos.
Once you enter the Grabby bubble - months before the event - you get added in all these WhatsApp groups with all these creators that have massive followings.
You DM them to ask about a collab and it doesn't even get read. I was overthinking everything.
How did those anxieties play out when you got to the event?
I expected the worst but once I got there, friends were waiting for me and it was like a warm tight club of people - about an hour in, I'd already forgotten all my dramas.
For my own safety, I'd given up on trying to plan one-on-one collabs - I decided just to focus on the groups.
The first group was an outside shoot at the beach in Malaga. It went great - because I expected the worst it could only get better from there. It felt good to get texts from people saying, thank you so much for bringing great energy to the shoot.
Travel is one of your passions - you're currently in Gran Canaria. What are your plans while you're in Gran Canaria?
Following the Grabbys, suddenly all these new guys want to shoot. I've tried to not fill it up too much so I also have a few hours of beach.
After this, I think I need to land a little bit at home but I'm already thinking that London is one of the next trips, I'm also planning a trip to Barcelona because there's people there that I absolutely want to work with.
My DNA is Spanish and I miss the sea, I miss the sun. I want to be on the move at some point. I want to relocate - that's the dream for the future.
When you say that there are people that you want to work with, is there some kind of criteria that you're looking for or is it more instinctive?
It's a bit of an instinct kind of thing - I look at their profiles and stuff, then I reach out. How they respond and how they communicate gives you a sense of whether or not there will be a connection.
I'm quite selective - I really don't do everybody. This is also the case when it comes to dating guys.
You're saying that you navigate intimacy in your personal life the same way you navigate intimacy on camera?
Yeah, it feels hard to connect sometimes because I need trust for this - I need emotional safety. Not everybody is capable of giving that. But I need a good connection to have good sex.
I don't do 10 shoots a week, but the things I do shoot are completely real. You can see two people actually wanting each other. I like that in porn for myself.
Given the journey you've been on and the work that you've done, are there any insights or lessons that you wish that you'd learned earlier?
Everything happens at the right time for the right reason - it has to be the right time, place, moment, people - I don't think it could have gone any different.
But I would say just go for it. Don't let anybody tell you what to do.
Gareth Johnson