"Uno" my friend in a leather jock shouted. "That’s not fair, this is the third time you won," shouted a guy in leather chaps. "I wonder if he’s cheating," I said. "Where can I hide the cards in this outfit," my friend said. "I can name a few places that don’t require clothes," the other guy yelled! "Remember what the title of the movie is," I replied. This was no typical Uno game. We were playing Uno on the set of a soon to be released leather fetish movie. How surreal is this? The three of us were sitting in a dungeon set on top of a table that is definitely not used for eating lunch. For the past hour we were playing UNO while my friend and his co-stars relaxed between takes.

A few months ago I wrote about my friend the adult film actor who between jobs works at an upscale grocery store in San Francisco selling lotions, shampoos and other high end health and beauty items. After letting him know I was back in town attending an HIV/AIDS seminar and teaching a human sexuality course, he invited me to the film set to meet some of his friends in the adult film industry and watch them film a few scenes for a new movie. Little did I know I would be part of the action—at least the card playing kind.

For the next hour we played cards and dished about other adult film stars, hair care tips, body shaving ideas (they all wanted to strap me down on the set and shave off my goatee —um, yeah, I was tempted but I stayed strong and did not let them have their way! Do you realize how hard this was for me?). Eventually, the conversation moved away from basic chit chat to them asking what I was doing in SF. I explained to them that I came from Delaware and was in SF teaching and attending a course on human sexuality and safer sex options. I thought they would ignore me now because I would be labeled the "sex police" but they actually gave me some good insight into what they have experienced in their sexual lives. The main point they all got across—they practice safer sex while on the set and off the set. The company they work for has made it a policy to have all their actors use condoms when having anal sex.

The actor in the leather jock was all about safer sex. He gave me an analogy using safer sex and driving. "Taking responsibility for safer sex is kind of like crossing the road. If you are about to cross the road and see a car coming towards you, you stay on the sidewalk. Even though you believe the driver should stop or swerve to avoid you, it’s not worth the risk to your own safety. Similarly, if you are HIV negative and you’re having sex with a guy who is positive or whose status you don’t know, it’s up to you to take action to protect your own health. On the other hand, if you are driving and someone walks into the road, you swerve to avoid him. Even though you believe he should look out for himself, you don’t want to kill him. Similarly, if you are HIV+ and you are having sex with a guy who might be negative, even if he doesn’t insist on safer sex, it’s up to you take action because you don’t want to damage his health." Whoever thought porn stars were all about looks? They have brains, as well!

The director of the movie came over and told us that it was time to wrap up our Uno game and get back to filming scene number 2. This scene took place in a dark alley. I will leave what happens to your imagination. It was great seeing behind the scenes of a porn shoot but what was better was getting a chance to talk to the models. The conversation was great and really made me understand their world a bit better. These guys are really concerned about the choices other gay men are making and how these choices affect gay men’s health issues.