I caught up with Bryan Knight for a behind-the-scenes look at his sex-work inspired comic, Velvet Collar.
The origin story
“The initial inspiration for Velvet Collar was the 2015 raid on the NYC office of Rentboy…” explains Bryan. “But now, it’s become more than that.”
“Velvet Collar is about remembering and celebrating the best of the workers and clients. It’s about being honest that the job is not always easy or pleasant, but demonstrating that there is joy in this work.”
The political landscape
“Biden will spend his term fixing the damage caused by the sociopaths in office before him…” says Bryan, when I ask him if he’s hopeful that a new President and changes in Congress will improve working conditions for sex workers
“Kamala Harris was a nationwide proponent of targeting websites that offered sex workers a means of identifying and vetting potential clients. She was one of the primary sponsors of SESTA/FOSTA – laws that stated they would stop sex trafficking. The laws were absolute failures. They made sex workers more vulnerable and more unsafe.”
“Now, Harris claims to be for decriminalization via the Nordic Model, where clients are criminalised for solicitation and purchasing. But this is also a failure in other countries that have tried this. How many active sex-workers inform any of her policy decisions? Zero.
The general public support tighter regulation of sex-work because they’re afraid for their children. Even in the sex-positive aspects of our LGBTQ community – such as the leather and kink community – support for sex-workers is low because the impact of SESTA/FOSTA hasn’t yet popped their porn bubble.”
“But the federal administration doesn’t create safety for sex workers. It’s local elections. Candidates like Tulsi Gabbard are working to decriminalise and make sex work safer – she needs our support.”
The production schedule
“I’m currently working on Issue #4 of Velvet Collar…” confirms Bryan, when I ask when we can expect new instalments in the series.
“Issue #3 is nearly ready to publish – the art-work is all done but obviously there’s been a few challenges for everyone this year, so it’s taken longer than expected.”
“Byron Power is the artist who’s created the illustrations for Issue #3 and Issue #4. He’s very talented.”
“Everything has evolved quite a bit since I began Velvet Collar. The characters have become more fully-rounded, more human, and I’ve made a determined effort to write an original adventure without being intellectually and creatively lazy.”
Because the characters are all based on real people – the sex-workers, the clients, other people in the stories – it’s forced me, as a writer, to really listen to the nuances of their voices and experiences. Not all of them want the same things, and not all of them agree on what sex-work should be. They don’t always even like each other, and they’re not always good or heroic.”
“So far, the series includes the experiences and thoughts and conversations of 50 different characters – 50 different real people – it’s like a cauldron where you put everything in and cook it slowly until you’re left with what’s new and true. Through that process, I’ve had to learn patience and humility.”
“Feedback that I’ve had from sex-workers who read Velvet Collar is that they think it’s cool. They like feeling included in the conversation. They like when they read insider details that civilians wouldn’t notice.”
The changing perception of sex-work
“The explosion of guys creating fan-subscription channels has been part of a broader change in sex-work…” says Bryan, when I ask him about the potential impact of the rise of platforms such as OnlyFans and JustFor.Fans.
“Porn is sex-work – just with a camera and more paperwork.”
“One in five sex-workers are men, so our contributions are part of the bigger contributions of our sisters and siblings across the country. The work is about making money doing something that is not criminalised if we do it for free. Sex-work decriminalisation is part of the effort to end mass incarceration, transphobic policies, police violence, racial profiling, the demand for a social safety net and protections for workers. By connecting to these important issues of the time, sex-work becomes more understandable.”
“It’s important to highlight just the basic reality that money pays bills. The more people that have done sex-work – or sex-positive work such as fan-subscription channels – the more the public recognises that sex-workers are people that they know and can care about.”
“We’ll know that our profession as sex-workers has become normalised when a stranger asks what you do for work and you don’t have to make up a clever response to obfuscate.”
Fulfilling the fantasy
Bryan describes himself as a giant – he’s a big guy with big feet. I was curious as to whether most of his clients are specifically drawn to his size.
“A giant is mythical…” explains Bryan. “A giant inspires stories of heroism and adventure. It also inspires clients to conquer their fears of approaching someone bigger than them in heart and size. They also want a monster to conquer and feel powerful.
Planning ahead
“My plan is to publish Issue #3 and also Issue #4…” says Bryan, when I ask what the next few months might hold in store for him. “I want to get strong and healthy again. I want to expand my filming options as we ride out COVID-19.”
“I’d also like to love more and be less anxious.”
Follow Bryan Knight on Twitter
Preview of Issue #3 of Velvet Collar
Issue #3 of Velvet Collar includes appearances from a number of real-life porn stars as characters in the story.
In Issue #3 you’ll find Dallas Steele, Tank Joey, Niko Reeves, Seth Knight, Scott Reynolds, Jacen Zhu – with more to come as the story unfolds.
I’ve always liked this guy. Tall guys make me weak. Love hearing that he’s not a trumpanzee like colby keller.
Unfortunately, he IS a Tulsi Gabbard fan. This is a woman who heartily endorsed her father’s efforts to overturn Hawaii’s marriage equality ruling and then, after she got into the Hawaiian State Legislature, she fought against even civil unions. Then, in 2012, she *suddenly* decides she was wrong to fight marriage equality. And since she decided to run for President last year, she chose not to run for re-election to the House and then dropped out of the Presidential race. So. What does she do as one of her very final acts as a member of Congress? She co-sponsors a GOP bill that would restrict Title IX matters in school athletics to being based on “biological sex” as decided at birth.
Additionally, he comes off as politically stupid when he talks about “local elections” and then mentions Gabbard who is NOT a “local” politician (well, at this point, she’s not a politician at all). For most of the last decade, she was a member of Congress, and she voted FOR FOSTA (SESTA/FOSTA was known as SESTA in the Senate and FOSTA in the House) so, maybe she’s not as much in favor of decriminalizing sex work as Knight seems to think she is.
Ugh. I’m fully aware of Gabbard. Fortunately, she’s in the minority. Even before it became a thing, i always felt sex workers were entitled to the same rights, respect, and safety as the rest of us. so FUCKING tired of what religion has done to society.
Since we are looking at him naked, though, how about i just gag him or limit him to grunts and groans as he uses me? 🙂
Cheerful lad.
He is woofing gorgeous!!!!
i wouldn’t mind playing with him
Mmmmm..Big Beefy and cute. Love that hairy cock!
Bryan Knight is and has been one of the sexiest men in the industry! So damn handsome, beefy and that smile!!!!
Ironic or maybe hypocritical that Squirt doesn’t allow/support sex workers on their site, but I guess telling sexy stories about them in their “Daily Squirt” that’s OK?