The Award Winner knew me before I knew him. I didn’t know it when we first shoot hands, but Cumbang is a really popular site from his part of the world, which is somewhere far, far east of Porn Valley. It’s east of London and Paris, too…I just don’t recall if it’s the Ukraine or Russia, but it’s over there, somewhere. But hey — give me credit, at least I know the difference between the two.

After we shook hands that first time, and he told me how much he loved my work, he proceeded to just kill it on set with September Reign for We Fuck Black Girls. A superb performance.

Next up, another phenomenal job, this time in an Ashley Pink gang bang.

He’s the best male newcomer I’d ever seen, and he might be the best ever to step foot into Porn Valley. He did have an outstanding coach, though — namely Rocco Siffredi; in fact, he kinda reminded me of a young Rocco when we met.

And word spread fast. I know, because every time I tried booking him from then on, I couldn’t. The date was taken. When he left his agent, I started contacting him directly…which is when his rate changed. It went up. Way up. But that’s cool, cause if anyone deserved a rate increase, he did.

Fast forward to January, and his big day at AVN’s.

Fast forward to today, when I reached out to see how far out he was booked and to congratulate him for all the AVN success…which, I suppose, I should have done sooner.

Which is when things got weird. It got even weirder when he called me…instead of replying to my text. “Hey dude!” I said, answering the phone in my nice-guy voice. “Thanks for calling. I’m not sure why you’d think I’d ever mock your rate. It’s something I wouldn’t do to a performer.”

There was a few seconds of silence. Then, in a sort of sinister, intimidating tone (I know I’m showing my age, but think Boris Badenov from “Rocky & Bullwinkle”): “This is how it’s going to be. When I call you, I do the talking and you do the listening.”

Which, of course, isn’t at all how it’s “going to be”.

At all.

After I terminated the call, I thought a little bit about all the different personalties in my industry: the good folks and bad; the narcissists and the meek; the porn stars and the performers; the pervs and truly perverted; the psychopaths and sociopaths.

A long time ago, when I first started driving girls out to the glory hole, one model showed up and asked what we were shooting.

“Didn’t your agent tell you?”

She said, “no…he doesn’t communicate very well.”

After I told her what was expected in the scene, she picked up her bags and left, saying, “I’m at AVN Award Winner. I don’t do blowjobs anymore.”

I’d tell you who, but that wouldn’t make any difference. You wouldn’t remember her anyway. It took me a couple minutes poking around the site to recall her name.

Or, in other words, one minute you’re working on your mainstream TV show and the next you’re worried if you’re going to be back on a porn set..and if you can still get your rate.

As I bang this blog out, there’s AVN Awards winners and Hall-of-Famers living in the back seat of a car and there’s some jumping into their car about to start their Uber shift; there’s some sitting in a single-wide out in the middle of nowhere about to start another cam show and there’s some sitting in their single-wide smoking meth and there’s some who have died, alone, out in the middle of nowhere…in their single-wide.

And there’s some who are doing really, really well.

At any given time, every one of us is replaceable. Whether you’re in management or the work force, teacher or cop, producer or a director, male or female talent, make-up artist or production assistant, it really doesn’t matter. We’re all here, fighting the good fight, and then, one day, it ends — awards and Hall-of-Fame status mean nothing.

And don’t ever forget this: time is never your friend.

POST SCRIPT: I received a phone call — and an apology — from the subject of this blog, and we are working together again. An understanding has been had!