A Big Teddy Bear

Former homoerotic wrestler of the month (October 2011) Aryx Quinn has one of the fiercest and most quickly mobilized base of fans of anyone featured on the pages of this blog.  Just about any poll he’s ever been part of here at neverland has resulted in his victory because within moments of the poll going live, his people are tweeting and retweeting instructions on stuffing the ballot box to over 9,000 followers.  I’ve been fascinated by his comic book proportions (tiny little waist and insanely wide shoulders) since I first saw him bring his particular brand of sexy to the BG East ring several years ago.  The opportunity to interview and get to know the curiously personable infamous heel was a pleasure for me, and the coincidence of getting to chat with him as his newest match from BG East was released, in which he takes full possession of sexy Alexi Adamov’s rippling muscles in Ring Revenge, was just fortuitous timing. The following is an odd mix of intimate self-disclosure and enigmatic diversion, which I suppose in some ways is emblematic of the complex young man who strikes terror in the heart of wrestling opponents and ecstasy up the ass of porn co-stars.

—————————
Aryx Quinn likes it hot

Bard: Just following you on Twitter is exhausting! Your travel schedule is mind-boggling! So I’m extra appreciative of you being willing to take a little time to answer some questions at neverland for your homoerotic wrestling fans. Most wrestling fans probably know you primarily as Aryx Quinn, while fans of mainstream gay porn may more readily recognize you as Tristan Baldwin. Any other names you’ve worked under? What should I call you, and where do your stage names come from?

Drake Marcos,
“time to do some fact-checking, son!”

Aryx: Thanks for the opportunity for an interview so that all your devout neverland followers can have answers to the questions that may have been itching at them over the years. Let me first begin by saying that your interview with Drake  Marcos was phenomenal. However, I think the kid’s tone in referring to wrestlers who are retired or out of the scene is somewhat off. Time to do some fact checking, son…because some of the wrestlers he referred to are very much NOT retired [laughing].
     As far as the ‘nomenclature’ or name game that seems to follow me – here is the reason why: the Aryx Quinn character’s origins were actually when I was a young teen playing Dungeons and Dragons. Yes, I was a total ‘dork’ in society’s eye, but I could care less – I’m happy with me. Aryx was everything I wasn’t: tall, strong, handsome, confident.  For a pimply faced, unpopular, weak teen, he was a vessel in which to throw my dreams. Never thought I could be him,  until you fast-forward 10 years, and a stint in the 82nd Airborne later…came out as a changed boy into a man.
     Aryx was born, and into BG East he went. Out of respect for Kid Leopard, I kept the character’s name separate when taking it into a purely sexual role. The Tristan Baldwin moniker was a hybrid of two things.  Apparently, I look a bit like Stephen Baldwin, and some of my favorite characters have been named Tristan – namely Brad Pitt from legends of the fall, and Tristan from Tristan and Isolde. Other than that? There aren’t any other names I work under, and in retrospect, I wish I had just stuck with the basic Aryx Quinn for it all.

As Tristan Baldwin, Aryx gives gang-bang porn two thumbs up

Bard: You give courage to the legions of pimply faced, unpopular weaklings out there dreaming of growing into hard-bodied fight and fuck machines! I hope that’s not over the top… you’re absolutely phenomenal when you wrestle, and though I don’t spend a lot of time in mainstream gay porn, you’ve got a reputation as a crowd pleaser there as well. Since you brought up young Drake Marcos’ fawning, if slightly misleading, comments in his recent interview here, let’s start out with you telling us about where you are in your career right now. Definitely not retired, obviously! What projects are you working on now or expect to be soon?

Talk about “it gets better!”  Pimply faced weakling no more!

Aryx: Thanks Bard! I’d hardly consider myself an icon or motivator to legions of pimply faced fans, but at least I feel I would be representing my own kind well. As far as being a hard-bodied fuck machine, your’e making me blush. Don’t share my secret too much, or I won’t be able to find future victims. As far as my status with porn and also with wrestling, I’d like to think that certain aspects are like wine: they only get better with age. Right now, I’m at closest to the largest I’ve ever been in my life based on strength and muscular density. Given that I’m at my peak muscle-wise, why on god’s green earth would I stop wrestling? Although there has been a slowdown at Can-Am regarding production of a lot of wrestling videos, it is my intent to jumpstart that soon. Although there are a lot of talented wrestlers I’d like to face that are in BG East, given that the two feds do not intermix, it is unlikely that these matches will come about. Thus, Drake Marcos is safe for the time being.  As a slippery little snake you can’t get your head cut off if you don’t crawl out of your hole, after all. More likely than anything else, I’ll be participating in a bodybuilding show in the spring. Just to say I did one, after all.

Aryx trains for a bodybuilding competition

Bard: Your secret is way, way out when it comes to being a hard-bodied fuck machine, Aryx! And you say you’ve got more muscle now than ever!? I hope you’ll send me photographic evidence of this to share on the blog. I’m glad to hear that you’re planning on stirring the pot at Can-Am again. You infused a ton of character and story into their catalog when you arrived, which is something I appreciate in wrestling. But tell me, what’s up with the deep divide between Can-Am and BG East, do you think? It seems like more than just market competition. And when you arrived at Can-Am and laid down what has to be the sexiest trash-talking homoerotic wrestling challenge in history with a naked, sweat and cum soaked Rusty Stevens in Arena 1, there’s some pretty explicit Boston-trashing going on from both of you. Are there any hard feelings between you and the BG East boys?

Did Aryx cross a line
with Rusty Stevens?

Aryx: I’ll definitely keep you posted with updated pictures. As far as infusing energy into their product, I’m not the one with the checkbook, so unfortunately I don’t have the last say. Ron is doing very well with his main stream porn product line so the wrestling has, unfortunately, fallen to the wayside for him. I’m hoping to convince him otherwise. He has a great flair for the dramatic and knows what wrestling products will sell well, but there is only a finite limit of how much time there is in the day to produce content. As far as Rusty Stevens goes, I have no comment. Anyone who researches the history of things knows what was said and what was out of line. And we are talking about character and how to tell a story. IRL- In Real Life.
     As far as the comments trashing the East Coast and a certain Boston-based company, all I can say is that loyalty to a person should exceed everything else. The same mindset is not embraced in the leadership at BG East. For every new fish you think you’ll hook on the line you lose two that you already have on the strainer. Hard feelings? Lots of them. If you don’t know a good thing when you see it you’ll certainly know when it hits you with a clothesline.

Bard: Cryptic and pointed all at the same time! You’re a complex man, Aryx Quinn. Since I’m the one that has you on the line at the moment, so to speak, I don’t want you to get away without telling me some juicy bits about what you think are the highlights of your wrestling career thus far. Like I said, your verbal tussle with Rusty in Arena 1 followed by your full contact physical tussle in Arena 2 are some of my all time favorite mat moments. If you had to put your finger on one or two most memorable wrestling moments for you, what and who would you finger?

Nick Archer impressed Aryx with brains, brawn and bravado

Aryx: Well Bard, I do agree that the battle with Rusty Stevens was one of the most climactic in my career. Both muscle wise and verbal wise, he’s one of the few that could bring it to the next level. Other guys that I absolutely enjoyed wrestling were guys like Nick Archer. Such brawn, such brains, such bravado. Mike Colombo was another great wrestler that I loved squaring off with.  However, we never taped anything for BG East. It was all outside the ring. Perhaps I can release the one tape I do have of it in my own chronicles someday.

Aryx grew unintentionally stiff with Brad Rochelle

     Wrestling with Brad Rochelle was also interesting. At one point in the match (the Contract) I legitimately hurt him…was unintentionally very stiff. Brad absolutely lost it on me and for a good 10 minute segment of that match.  It was full-on real wrestling.

Mitch ripped out both of Aryx’ nipple rings

Another similar moment was when I was facing off against Mitch Colby for BG East, down in Florida [Ringwars 20]. At that time I had my nipples pierced, and I asked him if he was going to be punching me to make sure he kept the shots low and in the gut rather than high up on the chest. In all the confusion and hectic-ness of the match, he ended up punching and tearing out not just one, but both of the nipple rings, and I was literally bleeding and in intense pain during the match. It was not an easy one to work through.
     From a humor standpoint I remember during a taping when I was battling against Jimmy Gee.   Jonny Firestorm was just outside the ring. I continually was calling Jimmy a slob over and over and over again, and Jonny was just in stitches laughing.  It’s become a nonstop joke between us ever since.

Bard: You’ve got your own private collection with a Mike Colombo match?! I can name a dozen fans that would pop a cork to see that! It sounds like both the major bumps and bruises as well as the humor and good fun stand out for you. I’m glad your nipples have recovered from Mitch’s punishment! Are there any matches that stick out as particularly sexy from your perspective as a wrestler? Any particular opponents that turned you on hardest? Any particular moves, maneuvers, gear or settings that get your engine revving loudest?

Who else wants to see the lost tapes with Aryx wrestling Mike Columbo!?

Aryx: Thank you for being glad that my nipples survived Mitch’s punishment. I’m glad as well! Yes, the Mike Colombo tapes are great, but they’re very raw and rustic. It would take a lot of finishing work to make them good video for commercial use. Some fans might actually prefer that they’re so raw and rustic. As far as matches that stick out in the sexy category, to me sexiness is associated with suffering and dominance. The match with AJ Irons definitely falls into that bracket. To see him suffer so beautifully, such a great body on display, crying and murmuring in pain, is hot to me. He takes his beating like a real man, and he came back for more later, trust me. I love singlets especially singlets that are pulled halfway down from the shoulders, pinning the arms. Also love trees of woe and holding guys in the corner and in the ropes. See, you can beat them mercilessly… fuck them as you see fit.

AJ Irons “was born to be a jobber”

Bard: I’ve only seen pics from your match with AJ Irons. It sounds like that needs to go on my list of matches to see! From the promotional photos, it looks like AJ gets the full treatment, including an incredibly sexy tree of woe session. Since you’re training toward a bodybuilding competition, let’s talk for a moment about your body. At this point, when you’re at the top of your conditioning, what part of your physical development are you proudest of? What parts of your incredible physique are mostly genetic gifts, and what parts do you have to work at more?

Bulging shoulders and biceps

Aryx: Yes, AJ takes a beating like you’ve never seen before. Ron actually had to stop the taping at one point because I was throttling him so hard. But he was loving every second.  That kid was born to be a jobber.  I wouldn’t say I’m at the exact top of my point of conditioning, but I’m getting there. Once I do a few ” supplements” I think I’ll be in a better position to be competitive. Plus, I really need to tighten down the diet. My shoulders and biceps are always the biggest naturally and easiest part to train, whereas my chest and legs are the worst. I really have this mental block against training legs, unfortunately, just because I travel so much. I mean who really wants to be walking or stumbling around an airport after doing squats the day before and being unable to walk long distances necessary. It really is torture on yourself. How about you? The faceless being behind the website? What parts would you need or like to work on. Perhaps we can push each other! [laughing]

Bard: Why, thanks for asking! My core has always been my major strength. I can do an ab workout for hours. Quite a bit of Pilates and yoga have probably helped accentuate that over the years. My top weakness is the same as yours. I just despise leg workouts. I don’t enjoy them and seldom prioritize them, so it shows. Tell me the secret that works for you once you find it!

Aryx: Chances are I’ll never find. After all, the process of searching for something means you’re going to fail may times before you find it. I really don’t feel like failing that many times with legs before I find the right answer on how to do them. [laughing]

Bard: What are some things that fans don’t know about Aryx Quinn? What are some of your passions, other than dominating an opponent and fucking him dizzy?

Who’s top dog here?

Aryx: Outside of wrestling and working out, Aryx Quinn adores a tiny little black puppy named Madison… dresses her up in outfits and the whole 9 yards. I’ll have to send you some pictures. Throw those in the interview, but it might ruin the tough guy image. It’s pretty sad, but despite being a muscleboy, I still take orders from her. She’s just so damn cute. In the military I served as a paratrooper, so skydiving is still a great past time for me. I just don’t have the time to do it as much anymore. I have a personal rig and everything, but just don’t jump that often. I actually love to cook and am a huge fan of swordfish, steaks, scallops, shrimp, and especially clams like little necks, cherrystones, and quahogs. I think the real reason I like seafood is that it’s drizzled in butter. Probably why I’m such a huge fan of asparagus just because of the hollandaise sauce. Did I mention my diet needed some tightening down?  [laughing]
    Huge fan of the outdoors and being in the sun, so places like Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles and Florida are on my list of priorities, year round. Prefer to be hot than cold any day. Aryx Quinn went to college for criminal justice but obviously not into enforcing the law …I’m into breaking it. [laughing]

Aryx “detains” and pats down hunky Alexi
in BG East’s new release Ring Revenge

Bard: Criminal justice!? Now that does surprise me. I’d have guessed economics or marketing. Then again, advanced training in involuntary detention and social deviance totally makes sense, having seen your wrestling repertoire! And the fact that you’re bonded to a dog is only further evidence of my long-standing theory that guys with dogs are automatically many times sexier. Please do send me pictures of you and Madison! I don’t think it will do anything for your image other than make you that much more of a fan favorite. Muscleboys infatuated with their puppies are incredibly hot! Can you tell me any more about your paratrooper days? My entire frame of reference for military service is limited to bad gay porn involving guys in fatigues throwing down in the barracks and fucking each other for hours on end. It’s just like that, isn’t it? [laughing]

Aryx: As far as economics or marketing, I’ve definitely always had more of a business mind than a law-enforcement mind.  However those skinned up hairdos and tough alpha male looks always attract me. Social deviance. That’s me in a nutshell. Do you know that during the polygraph screenings for the state of Connecticut for the majority of the police departments, there is a section entitled ‘deviance?’ Here there are a variety of questions that they ask you about inappropriate things you might of done at work or during sex, and believe it or not, one of the questions pertains to homosexuality… almost as if it’s a deviant topic! Why list it under this heading, unless they clearly don’t approve? So politically incorrect it’s not even funny.

Aryx stokes my military porn fantasies

     The army was an interesting time for me. I grew up very small – not very muscular – just lean and fast, but not very bulky. I swear, I put on 30 pounds the first summer when I enlisted. It really did make a man out of me. I was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina with the 82nd airborne, and then later with USACAPOC, part of SOCOM (special operations command). Although our soldiers typically aren’t paid very much – the sheer majority live at or below the poverty line – it was one of the most fun and exhilarating times my entire life. Because your basic needs of food and housing are taken care of, it allows you a lot of time to concentrate on what you really enjoy… your body, going out, reading, movies. I really feel like I had less stresses when I was in the military than any other time in my life.
     Bard, you laugh! Your “bad porn” fantasy of guys in fatigues throwing down in the barracks isn’t far from the truth. It was always commonly known that if you wanted something it could be had. There was also a room at the end of the hall where we put extra mattresses… entire room was covered them. We called this the boom-boom room. If two guys had an issue they could go into the room, fight it out, wrestle it out, choke each other out, beat each other, get it out of their system. Hot, hot stuff.

Bard: Damn! I’m going to have to reevaluate my “military” wrestling porn! And I took what was, I’m sure, the same standardized mental health test that you’re talking about, for a job I once had. I was also shocked about the homosexuality questions. That test was originally developed over 70 years ago, and there are a lot of ridiculous questions that never made good sense, but today they’re downright insulting. I’m glad that times are changing when it comes to recognizing what’s “normal” is broader and deeper than what many people used to think it was decades ago.
     So I just saw on your Twitter feed that you were named Escort of the Year. Congratulations! I was just getting turned on by reading several of your clients’ extremely satisfied reviews of their time with you. It sounds like a lot of them find it a special treat to have you put on some wrestling gear and work them over as a dominating heel. What do you think about the role of wrestling kink, pain, and domination in the sexual fantasies of so many gay men?

“… at least 30 to 40% of my calls involve
wrestling or gear.”

Aryx: Although many people would look at winning an award like escort of the year and laugh about something like that, saying it’s nothing to be proud of, etc., the way I look at it is that if you’re going to do something, don’t do it half assed. Whatever you’re going to do, be the best at it. I try and bring a ton of energy to every session, and whether the guy is a great-looking muscle boy or an older, heavyset guy with physical limitations, you as the escort have the sole capability to make that person feel good. To me, I enjoy making others in this world smile. Whether it be what I do on tape or whether it be what I do in person.  It’s always nice to be remembered.
     Let me tell you, the wrestling and gear fetish is much more widespread than people think. When I say that at least 30 to 40% of my calls involve wrestling or gear of some kind… it’s pretty cool. Also, it makes you wonder. Given that there so many people out there that are into this, how come people from global fight don’t actually link up more? It seems like there are so many flakes out there or people are too closeted about it, when there is no reason to be. It’s completely normal, and if you think you’re alone, you’re not.  There are a shit ton of people into this.

“Whatever you’re going to do, be the best at it.”

     As far as pain and humiliation in the fantasies of gay man, I actually have a negative outlook on it. I get a ton of requests (that I refuse to honor) of guys that want to be punished because they are gay. Many were raised in households where it was thought to be an embarrassment, where they had to keep it closeted, so they thought they were letting their families down or were disappointments. They don’t realize that times have changed. I cannot tell you how many requests I get for being called a ‘filthy worthless faggot’, and have these fantasies about being punished by ‘straight’ jocks. I just won’t do calls like this. Physical pain and humiliation/dominance I will, but that kind of disgusting mental stuff is too much for me. I actually am a big teddy bear, believe it or not.

Bard: Regarding the “punish me” aspect of homoerotic wrestling, I’ve often wondered how much internalized crap there could be in some corners of our kink world… the “hurt me ’cause I’m just a little faggot” self-hatred script…. I’m glad to hear it’s a line you won’t cross. When I see the “smear the queer” theme in wrestling products, I have a similar response. I just walk away.

Aryx: I couldn’t agree more with the total disgust towards the ‘smeer the queer’ direction that not just some wrestling products, but mainstream porn too, is heading in! Men.com is infamous for having ‘gay-hazing’ scenes, and I cannot understand for the life of me why people are purchasing such a product! It’s disgusting! I’ll never cross that line, no matter how much you pay me. Or…errr…well….it’d have to have a lot of zeros…and then when it clears, I’ll come and kick the ass of the person who produced it,
for real. [laughing] … and use the money for my legal defense.
     By the way, boy do I have news for you! A guy who enjoys wrestling that I connect with outside of work, is friends with Drake Marcos. He FaceTimed..which is a live connection via phone like Skype… with Drake while we were wrestling together in a hotel room. So Drake saw me battle my friend for over two hours! Isn’t he just a cute little thing?! Cheshire Cat, indeed. As I was putting my friend into hold after hold, I was sure to look at the phone and give the finger and talk shit to him…and I cannot wait for the day that we get to battle.

Maddy and her muscleboy

Bard: Hot damn, that may be one of the hottest erotic wrestling fantasies I’ve heard in a long time! I have it on good authority that Drake was blown away by the opportunity to see you in action live. The voyeurism, the trash talk toward Drake while working over his buddy… holy shit that sounds so… damn… hot! That infamous grin on Drake’s face is going to be permanently tattooed there!
     On the theme of you being a big teddy bear, I just got the pics you sent of you and Maddy, and it’s clear that that girl’s got you wrapped around her little paw. Adorable, and that adoring smile on the face of notorious wrestling badboy Aryx Quinn is astonishingly sexy. Love it!
     You’ve been really generous with your time during a busy time of year. I want to thank you for being so patient with me in getting this interview lined up. Anything else you’d like to say to your legions of wrestling fans?

The one in the driver’s seat…

Aryx: Bard, you haven’t been a burden on my time at all! It’s a welcome opportunity to address the fans directly, without the censorship or ‘character’ or the respective federations kinda enforced upon it. I think it’d really blow a lot of the fans’ minds, if they saw what some of the BGE and Can-Am guys were like, ‘out of character.’ Total role reversals. Thanks again for your time too, stud, and I hope you have a great upcoming year! Give me a buzz or an email any time.

Mahalo, Aryx!

One thought on “A Big Teddy Bear

  1. Damn, Aryx–you blow me away! Why is it that we're shocked when a guy with an awesome bod turns out to be well spoken instead of an idiot? I look back on my own experiences in college and law school and not only wasn't there a divide between looks and intelligence, if anything, probably because working out hard and eating right takes so much determination, so many of the most fit were among the best students, too. This is the best interview I've yet read from someone in the biz. Absolute kudos to both you and Bard (a bit of specific praise for Bard for tracking down, cropping and posting so many relevant photos, too. The amount of work that takes is staggering). It's so good in fact, I think your honesty, openness and sheer range of perspective is so impressive this interview may very well get fewer responses than some, simply because there's so much insight most of us won't know where to begin!I'll begin with a bit of gushing appreciation for one thing you said. I can't thank you enough for deciding not to cater to the "punish me because I'm gay" fantasy. I love all types and styles of wrestling, but I have a particular penchant for the straight up squash job scene, the hunkier the "victim" and the more surprising, malicious and reprobate the "heel" the better. Part of the problem I have with that scene is how readily it devolves into one wrestler coming off as a "real man" and the other as nothing more than a pussy, a sissy, a, well… we all know the word that starts with f and ends with -ag. It doesn't matter to me if the wrestlers are really nice guys in real life and just playing a role. I can't help but feel like the fantasy is inherently demeaning.The single thing that most impressed me about Aryx Quinn, the wrestler, the character, the heel, was that you never did that. Obviously you've done a ton of flexing and ass kicking and reveling in your gleeful sadism, with the broken bodies on your record to prove it. But you were also as likely to do the big mouth trash talking thing only to end up pulverized and punished for it: Joe Mazetti, the BBW, and perhaps most famously, Brad Rochelle. Two of my favorite Aryx matches embody that: your match with Steev Steel on BGE's Ringwars 12 and your Director's Battle with Jobe Zander at Can-Am. In both you start out bragging and preening, gratuitously flaunting your physique (thanks for that!), but they build to a classic reversal of fortune. When both Steel and Zander stripped you bare ass, and then hoisted you up (Steel with a hangman, Zander with a reverse piledriver) and then knocked you out, not only was the literal visual image stunning (few things are more enticing to me than a pumped up pretty boy all vulnerable and wounded), so was the drama.It's the rare wrestler who has the sack to look beaten, period, let alone beaten and literally and psychologically stripped to boot. Reading now so many years later that those matches weren't just in the moment coincidences but an actual product of your personal convictions only makes me more impressed. And I was already damn impressed. All I can say is, if a gay wrestling video company doesn't get you back in the ring in front of the cameras PDQ, they're missing the boat.

Leave a comment