Inside the Life of a Gay Adult Film Star — The Reality Behind the Camera
At just 21, Craig Marks entered the adult film industry with a simple goal: to fund his life as an aerial acrobat. Years later, he has become one of the most recognizable names in the business — navigating performance, intimacy, and the realities of a global digital audience. In this candid conversation, he opens up about creativity, chemistry, self-doubt, and what it really takes to sustain a career built on desire.
GWF: How did your journey into adult film begin, and what made you decide to pursue it professionally at such a young age?
I started at 21, I wanted to become an aerialist/acrobat and has been training for 6 months. Doing that along with my full time job was a lot. People on social media had been asking me to start an onlyfans page so I thought why not? It would give me enough money to survive while I trained to take on bigger aerial shows and make more money there. Little did I know I’d make a hell of a lot more than “enough money to survive”.
GWF: You’ve been in the industry for several years already — how has your perspective on the work evolved over time?
Honestly I find it pretty exhausting these days. Everyone has different marketing tactics and ways of working, there’s only so many people worldwide in the industry and if you’re not in the right place or willing to spend your money travelling to work with these people it becomes pretty difficult to maintain a constant flow of new content.
GWF: In what ways do you see your work as a form of performance or expression, rather than just content?
I do think I’ve made a lot of different styles of content over the years which I enjoy. I love coming up with storylines and scene ideas to fill out for people’s fantasies. Each particular character that gets created and acted out it’s a lot of fun.
You’re also an acrobat — what kind of acrobatics do you practice, and how does that training influence your work on screen?
I’m predominantly an aerial acrobat, we fly in the air. I always did duo aerial performances with one of my best friends from back in Liverpool. The training definitely keeps me fit and relatively flexible which I’m sure shows in my work on screen.
“…sometimes you have these phases of not wanting to be in front of a camera, self confidence issues…”
GWF: What does a typical workday look like for you, and how does it compare to what people might expect?
I get up have my coffee and reply to messages from fans. I scroll through social media for some content ideas and then head out to do some exercise and probably make some content for socials based on that. I’ll come back nice and sweaty, take a few nudes or videos for my site then schedule the posts ready to go out the next day(s). Then I’ll get round to making custom videos for fans and then editing and posting on social media in the evenings with the content I’ve made in the day. I think people expect it to feel quite easy but 6 years in, sometimes you have these phases of not wanting to be in front of a camera, self confidence issues, issues with how I look etc. Those times can make the days feel a struggle for sure.
GWF: What does your life outside of work look like, and how do you keep that balance?
My life outside of work is pretty boring, I do all my exciting shit on camera. I’m usually reading a book or cooking myself dinner. Weekends I do love to catch up with my friends and get out for the day and have a few drinks but most of that’s on social media anyways.
GWF: Your work is all about presence and chemistry — what do you think makes someone truly captivating on screen?
Being yourself even when you’re playing a certain character you have to find what you resonate with within that character to make it realistic. I’ve worked with so many people in this industry gay, bi, straight and honestly chemistry on camera comes from the vibes with your scene partner regardless of sexual orientation. I’ve worked with gay guys who wanna forget the camera is there which feels great in the moment but doesn’t translate on camera. Straight guys who don’t connect with you, always play to the camera and it seems too performative to be real. When you find the balance with people in between that it really makes a scene pop off.
“I love working with people who know where their cameras are…!
GWF: When you’re working with someone on screen, what qualities make them a great partner to perform with?
Someone who you can have a laugh with an improvise with easily, you have to be able to read each other without breaking the sexual chemistry. Example if I put my hand on someone’s body part and look them in the eyes I’m usually saying this arm is blocking my camera and you gotta move it haha. If they don’t I will just move it for them and change position. I love working with people who know where their cameras are it’s so important in this industry to have that subconscious awareness because then you can really get into the scene without so many cuts and changes in the edits.
GWF: There might still be many stereotypes around adult film work — what do you wish people better understood about it?
Nearly everybody has sex, just because mine is filmed doesn’t mean I don’t still hold myself to quite high values in life of trust, honesty and respect for others. We’re not bad people because of the jobs we do and if you’re really so offended by watching people have sex on a camera, you don’t have to watch it, nobody is gonna make you. I just wish people would stop complaining about an industry that has and will always be around.
GWF: Have you noticed attitudes toward adult film work changing in recent years, especially within the gay & queer community?
Honestly it varies on the country you’re in is what I’ve realised. I think over later years people are having more negative views towards creators as a whole, people in public spaces hate tripods or people filming content for social media and the dirty looks seem to get more and more. That’s why there’s such a lack of creators for social media platforms at the minute.
GWF: Looking ahead, how do you see your career evolving — both within and beyond the adult industry?
Honestly this is a great question because I have no idea what I’m doing. I don’t think I ever really have and I’ve always somehow made it work. I’m living in Sydney at the minute and with no creators really being out here and flights being so expensive it’s making my work harder and harder as time goes on. I have a lot of decisions to make about wether I want to stay in my career or stay living where I’m living.
