On Friday night in Southern California, gay porn star Trenton Ducati took home the Gay Performer of the Year award at the 2013 XBIZ Awards, the porn industry’s version of the Golden Globes or the Oscars. Certainly, Ducati treasures the prize.
But another achievement – a badge of honor, if you will – probably means just as much, if not more, to Ducati. On Saturday, Ducati marked the fifth anniversary of kicking his meth addiction. Ducati tweeted about the milestone using the Twitter hashtag #killmeth; some of his Twitter followers tweeted their congratulations and shared their own struggles with meth.
“Congratulations on your sobriety and your XBIZ award last night,” one Twitter follower wrote Saturday. “Your fans are rooting for you.”
In his relatively short porn career, Ducati – a former rodeo cowboy who grew up in New Mexico and now lives in Seattle – has appeared in more than 45 films and web videos, according to porn blog QueerPig.com. Ducati’s partner is gay porn star Tate Ryder.
Ducati launched the #killmeth campaign to put a spotlight on a drug that he calls “a killer in the gay community” and “a rite of passage” for some young gay men. A colorful graffiti-style tattoo on the muscle hunk’s left arm says, “Speed Killz.”
“No matter where the road of addiction takes you,” Ducati wrote on Twitter, “always remember there is a way out #love #killmeth.”
Meth, or crystal methamphetamine, is a cheap, highly addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system; it’s also known by names like tina, speed and crank.
It’s been estimated that meth use is five to 10 more times common among big-city gay and bisexual men than among other Americans, according to the International AIDS Society. Studies have shown that meth use prompts risky sexual behavior and promotes development of HIV into AIDS.
“Crystal meth’s ability to keep users awake and feeling good for long periods of time have made it a popular drug in the dance club scene and in circuit parties,” according to the Canadian AIDS Society.
According to a 2011 report from Quest Diagnostics, a provider of drug testing and other clinical lab services, the states with the highest level of meth use in the workforce are (in descending order): Hawaii, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nevada, California, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona and Kansas.
Ducati said in a video interview with San Francisco’s Nob Hill Theatre that he endured his meth addiction for 15 years. Being hooked on meth is “a terrible life,” he said in September.
“Meth is not cute,” Ducati said. “And if you are in the middle of your addiction, there is help and you get can get out of it. I did, and you can, too.”
He added: “I just really, really want to lend a hand to anybody who has trouble with, or at least be the person that is not promoting it.”
In April, Ducati told sex columnist Dan Savage that no one can “safely” use meth.
“Most meth addicts started out feeling like meth was the perfect fix to a ‘problem’ like needing extra time to study,” Ducati told Savage. “I started out using meth ‘occasionally,’ too. Pretty much all meth users start out that way. And it’s not novel to think your life is in control and that you've got it all together — everybody who gets addicted to meth thinks that.”
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