Having never attended the Grabbys Porn Awards or International Mister Leather, or even visited Chicago for that matter, I had no idea what to pack for the weekend. My more experienced followers recommended a handful of shorts, tank tops, and jockstraps. I landed in Chicago on Wednesday afternoon, checked in to my room at the Hard Rock Hotel, and turned on Grindr to inspect the locals.
As the official host for the Grabbys Porn Awards, our hotel’s cleaning staff was prepared for the weekend ahead and made sure we had everything we needed for a comfortable stay. After cleaning my dildos one morning I left them out on the sink to dry and left for brunch with the boys. I returned later that afternoon to one of the cleaning ladies exiting my room with a smile on her face. “Have fun this weekend, and don’t forget to be safe!” she exclaimed as she closed the door behind her. My dildos were neatly organized in ascending order on a towel atop the bathroom counter. I decided to tip her extra for her troubles.
While in town I had dinner with J.P. Barnaby, whom I hadn’t seen since Hustlaball New York last year, and was joined by Perry Cavalari. Afterwards, I made my way to Hydrate Bar to dance for Chi Chi LaRue’s Grabbys kickoff party with Christopher Daniels, Draven Torres, Hans Berlin, and Levi Karter. A highlight of the night was meeting fans between sets, taking photos, shots, and generally getting myself into more shenanigans. Thanks to everyone who came out to party!
During the day I explored the city and gay neighborhood of Boystown. Later in the evening I invited the CockyBoys to my room at the Hard Rock Hotel, which was an easy elevator ride for them since we all stayed at the host hotel. Imagine an entire hotel filled with your favorite porn performers- it was delightful! At one point in the night, Ricky Roman thought it would be a great idea to open a window of my room on the 31st floor to let in some fresh air. Max Ryder stuck his head out of the window, encountered a spider, and screamed his heart out in shock, prompting the Twitter hashtag of the night: #SpiderAttacksCockyBoys.
The challenge with weekends filled with events is that it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to synchronize your schedule with everyone you want to see. Fortunately, I was able to catch up with some of them at the awards show for a quick interview, reunion hugs, too many cocktails, and behind the scenes gropes. The videos will be up on Rentboy’s YouTube page later this week, so be sure to subscribe to see all the action!
We also hosted a farewell party at the Rentboy suite during our last night in Chicago, which quickly led to a horde of drunk boys back in my hotel room. What happens when you give a group of porn performers alcohol, a camera, and a hotel room? The behind the scenes footage would get pulled from YouTube faster than you can moan “harder”, so here are some screen captures from that night instead:
After a week of debauchery, I was ready to return home to Manhattan. The adventure never seems to end, especially when a lot of the boys who were with me in Chicago also live on the island or will be coming for a visit very soon. I have to give a huge thank you to Rentboy for sending me out to Chicago this year for the awards show and conference. Next time I’ll keep a daily blog to keep y’all more updated!