New York Fashion Week. The iPhone X. Potential Folsom ensembles. These are things you might expect to crop up in conversation during a Loverboy shoot. The concept of Grounding on the other hand is not. But then Tegan Zayne is not your average porn star. You need just skim over his Twitter feed and you’ll find the only commentary on gay culture you’ll ever need with a little philosophy on the side – from Jasmine Masters’ gifs to self help quotes, he’s got it all – oh and a video of Colby Keller eating his butt.

When we caught up with Tegan, we shot him in New York, first on the roof of his apartment then we ventured out into the park where he got back to nature and told us why we all need to be grounded from time to time….

With the likes of yourself, Colby Keller, Francois Sagat…there seems to be more room for ‘personality’ within porn these days. Is that true? How important is that to viewers and studios?
First off, categorising me with such legends is quite flattering. Yes, I do see the personalities of certain porn stars coming out more and more, particularly the newer faces. With the advent of social media being a part of everyone’s lives within the last five years, it only makes sense that those who seek to utilise modern tools to manipulate their careers, can go as far as they like.
There are many viewers of porn, and developing a brand based on certain aspects of your character can draw a certain tribe to you. This is good because you can take your brand to the next level and earn money via social media promotion and creating ideas utilising your brand and trade. And, your fans can be there for you and you for them. The possibilities aren’t endless, but there is a lot to work with being a 21st century slut. Now we have the option to market ourselves however we want and interact with people we otherwise never would.

Do you want porn to be a platform to something else?
Porn has definitely been a platform for several different characters.  Modelling seems to be the general go-to transition, but that, like porn, is also a fickle industry. People are becoming desensitised to nudity and sex. You can’t escape it online or in the media, and it’s only a matter of time until you will start seeing porn stars crossing over everywhere. Your doctor could be a porn star. Your next president could be a porn star. Your favourite pop star could be a porn star…I mean look at Cardi B. A self-claimed ‘stripper ho’ landing in the Billboard Top 10. Ultimately, I would like to see peers in my industry succeed in whatever endeavours they have envisioned for themselves. If that includes crossing over into any mainstream professions, break the boundary!

You’re a big fan of Twitter. What would you say people can expect from following you?
Second-hand embarrassment… Joking aside, I can safely say Twitter is the one and only social media platform that I use. I don’t agree with Facebook or Instagram’s policies (my Instagram having been deleted twice), therefore I stick to Twitter. I primarily use it for connecting with fans, channeling humour and a thoughtstream.  A lot of my humour is very queer-specific and tailored for the platform. Also, I don’t hold back what I say, which may or may not have gotten me in trouble before with the grapevine gossipers.

You were telling us that if you’re critiqued for how you’re fucking, it’s basically like being critiqued on the most intimate and personal thing you do. Can you tell us a bit more about that?
To be constantly be judged on one’s sexual nature is overwhelming for an individual who otherwise hasn’t established confidence from within. As much as it is sex, there is just as much acting. Take into consideration the tasks of being a model or an actor. There is a lot you give up and are judged on; your looks, your skill, overall performance, marketability, public image, etc. Actors get down and dirty, simulating all ranges of emotion and even sexual scenarios. But, what the individual actor/actress is selling is virtually the same thing as a porn actor, only without the focus on sex/nudity ( in most cases, at least). The actor is selling a face and a body, and an image which the audience can create whatever they want with the material given. The faces of fantasies.
However, when the audience’s focus is on the penetration, it takes away any credibility that there is any acting at all. Some of my most acclaimed scenes there was little to no chemistry, and all acting. This gets overshadowed due to the sexual nature of porn, which is inevitable seeing as how most indulge for its carnal nature. But there is a hidden art to porn, and there are those who can recognise that. And those who do not tend to scrutinise the less important aspects of the work, including the actors’ personalities, sex drive, physicality, and whether or not you would have sex with them based on a projected moral judgement of their character.

Is there anything else that has surprised you since getting into porn?
It is extremely easy to get lost in one’s ego. Being in an industry where you sell every aspect of your physical person, you need to have a level of disconnect from it all. There is a piece of yourself that you can keep for yourself, and it is imperative a performer discovers this.

You seem to be a big Jasmine Masters fan…
I have something to say…I always liked Jasmine; she was one of my favourites when her season aired and I was sad to see her go, but I was even more disappointed with the amount of hate she was getting online. Back when I was on Reddit, I was consistently one of three people defending her. It makes me happy to see now other people enjoying her drag and giving credit where it’s due. My constant display of love for her is just me celebrating with everyone getting their jush.
Do I have a favourite queen? I don’t think I could name one, I have so many that come to mind. One of my favourites is Biblegirl! She’s an entrepreneur queen and it’s been awesome seeing her succeed and only want to see her go further. She actually took me to DragCon on Sunday and it was amazing! I thought it would be one thing, but it was the total opposite. Very overstimulating. I had a good time and next year I might go in drag.

Lastly we are named after the infamous Mariah song, ‘Loverboy’. What is your favourite Mariah song?
I didn’t realise that, how festive! And my favourite Mimi song? ‘Honey, I cant describe how good it feels inside.’ If I was a hooker in the 90s that song would probably be the only cassette I owned.

Oh, we meant to ask, on set you were discussing the concept of Grounding. Can you tell us more about this? 
Grounding is something I was taught by a mentor when I was coming into adulthood and learning of the energetic universe around us. To put it simply, grounding is the idea that in our society, we are far too disconnected with the harmonic frequency of Earth. We need to take time, periodically, to tune ourselves into the natural frequency of the planet. It can be more of a meditative action, but it is just as simple as walking the Earth barefoot, or resting against a tree; tuning in through any connection with the natural world, really. There are those who have taken a more literal scientific approach and found there is a difference in levels of energy in the body when grounded as compared to when exposed to radiation. People say that animals heal faster than humans, and maybe this could be a contributing factor.
There is a lot of research and information on this topic, so it is best to be your own teacher. Investigate further if you wish to, but be weary of potential scams and misinformation.

Follow Tegan on Twitter.
For photographer Roman Udalov’s work see www.romanudalov.com or follow him on Facebook or Instagram.