The morning after the 2023 XBIZ Awards, Dillon Diaz awoke to an unusual text. It was from Michael Boston, the 2022 XBIZ Gay Performer of the Year, and it read simply, “Congratulations, babe!”
Diaz had been unable to attend the ceremony due to a work commitment, so he didn’t immediately make a connection, and Boston didn’t reply to a follow-up text. But as Diaz headed to the gym with his fiance, fellow performer Jake Waters, more congratulatory text messages began pouring in.
Finally, in between reps, Diaz was astonished to learn that he had won two XBIZ Awards: “Best Gay Sex Scene” for a notably sweaty seven-man orgy alongside Brandon Anderson, Killian Knox, Blain O’Connor, Dakota Payne, Roman Todd and Andrew Miller in Disruptive Films’ “Briar Basin Ranch” — and the coveted title of Gay Performer of the Year.
“I just kept looking at my phone in disbelief,” Diaz recalls. “I have to tell you, I sort of hid behind the weight bench and cried a little bit. Jake saw my face and came over to ask what was wrong and all I could do was just hand him my phone with the screenshot showing my name as the winner. I could not believe it. I am so bummed I couldn’t be there. It really means a lot. I usually make a point of going to all the awards shows, but I was just so exhausted. It had been a really rough week.”
Diaz’s emotional response was due, in part, to its timing.
On paper, he was at the top of his game. He had starred in a number of high-profile titles, from a headlining role in “Briar Basin Ranch” to a splashy supporting turn in “Ride or Die,” which claimed Gay Feature of the Year honors for Raging Stallion Studios. He was also at the vanguard of a steadily growing group of male performers who regularly cross genres from gay to bi to trans and even straight features. In fact, Diaz earned two additional 2023 XBIZ Awards nominations for his work opposite Kyle Connors in “The House Sitter” for Disruptive Films/Taboo Men, and as part of a rain-soaked orgy in “Scorpio Season” for Lust Cinema opposite Dante Colle, Cody Steele, Karla Lane, Freya Parker, Alexis Tae, Vanessa Vega and Maya Woulfe.
“I really love working for Lust Cinema. They’re story-driven and cinematic. They put everything into what they do,” he says. “They take care of everyone. Shooting for them has been transformative. I’ve never had that kind of experience before.”
The “Scorpio Season” shoot exemplified the kind of adult industry experience that Diaz craves. “We were in a parking lot in downtown Los Angeles with a rain machine pouring down on us. It was cold! But we had a great time. We just got into it. I remember how we realized it was something different and unique and special, and that we were going to look back at this moment in our lives and think, ‘Wow, I really did that.’ That was one of the highlights of my career so far.”
Yet despite riding the crest of a wave of acclaimed titles, work had nevertheless slowed down to the point that Diaz was questioning whether his time in adult had come to its natural end.
“Winning renewed my strength when I needed it the most,” he reveals. “I thought, ‘Okay, people have noticed you, they appreciate what you’re doing. You can’t stop now.’ It changed my perspective. And now 2023 has been really amazing so far.”
In addition to fielding new offers from a range of studios, Diaz has been invited to attend an array of events as a featured speaker, including the International Mr. Leather convention in May and a holistic wellness retreat for men in October, organized by Himeros.tv.
Diaz is savoring the opportunities to branch out, afforded by his XBIZ win. “The chance to instruct, or share, is really interesting and exciting,” he says. “I’m really enjoying that.”
XBIZ first profiled Diaz in 2021, three years into his career, when he was named Man of the Month by Noir Male, an imprint of Mile High Media, and had made his directorial debut for the label.
“I decided if I wanted to see people like me writing and directing, I couldn’t wait for someone else to do it,” he told XBIZ at the time. “I had to do it myself.”
Two years on, Diaz admits, the fire had dimmed a bit.
“Towards the end of last year I was feeling very angry and bitter. I wasn’t sure how I was going to move forward because it was getting to the point where I just felt like I was being choked. My creativity was being chilled and I couldn’t figure out how to break through,” he says. “I was like, ‘I think I’m gonna have to move on to something else because I don’t want to live this way.’”
Diaz cites a robust support system that carried him through his low points, among them director-performer Micah Martinez and 2020 XBIZ Gay Performer of the Year Pierce Paris, who urged his Twitter fans and industry colleagues to cast their votes for Diaz.
“Pierce was one of the first people I ever worked with in this industry. I remember when they told me I would be working with him, I freaked out because he was someone I knew about before I got into porn,” Diaz marvels. “He’s a big deal, but he was so kind and encouraging and really helped me get through our scene. We’ll go out to dinner now and we text back and forth. He’s a busy guy, but he’ll make time for me. So it was a huge gesture for him to say, ‘I already won this award, vote for him instead.’ I was floored. After that, I already felt like a winner.”
Diaz also praised the prolific Martinez for his advocacy.
“Micah has booked me for a bunch of jobs. I’ve seen him work behind the camera and I’m so impressed with him,” said Diaz. “One of the things he’s been doing is making sure he’s booking more models of color. His team of people is diverse. There’s got to be more people like Micah stepping into positions where they can make these kinds of decisions. It’s going to take time and persistence, but that is what is going to make a real difference.”
Diaz is frank about the platform the XBIZ win affords him as a performer of color.
“Racism has followed me; I never had to go looking for it,” he said. “Even all the way back when I was working as a go-go boy, the white dancers got a lot more attention and more tips. Usually, on a movie set, I am the only person of color in the whole building. And it’s fine, I’m comfortable with everyone there and people have generally been really nice to me, but you can’t help but notice things like that. I want to change that. There needs to be more diversity, and not just with Black people but Latin and Asian people, too.”
He singles out trans performer Natassia Dreams for exhorting the industry to hire more cinematographers and makeup artists of color, and happily described a recent shoot with Forplay Films that featured an entirely Asian crew, an energizing new experience even for Diaz, who seeks out a diverse range of opportunities whenever possible. “I just kept looking around at them and smiling,” he enthuses. “It was amazing.”
“I’m just going to keep putting out the best performances that I can, and try to make a good impression wherever I go, learn as much as I can and see what I can do to make change,” he said. “I feel like you can’t really expect people to do things for you in life; you have to do it for yourself. And now with this recognition, I’m at a point in my career where I can have an impact, like bringing more people of color in front of the camera and behind it.”
For several days following his XBIZ wins, Diaz was tagged in social media posts complaining that a cross-genre performer had won top honors in a gay category. However, that kind of backlash has steadily declined, he observes, citing performers like Paris and Dante Colle as role models.
“Dante won Performer of the Year and Pierce won Gay Performer a couple of years before that. I saw them crossing genres beyond just gay or bi to trans and straight shoots, and they were having a great time. I would see them and think, ‘I can do that, too.’”
As Diaz rides the tailwinds kicked up by his newly elevated status, fiance Jake Waters has been a steadying influence.
“He’s amazing. He’s always so positive and uplifting,” says Diaz. “Whenever I’m down, he knows how to listen and how to lift me back up. Whenever I need a kick in the pants, he knows just how much force to use. We’ll sit and talk about things with each other and when we’re done venting, we build each other up to go back out there and keep on doing what we’re doing.”
With fresh opportunities at his feet, the newly crowned Gay Performer of the Year stressed that he takes absolutely nothing for granted.
“I keep learning new things about myself,” Diaz notes. “That’s what gets me excited when I wake up in the morning. I was in my 30s when I learned how much I enjoy sex with women, and I learned that I love acting and the opportunity to play a character. If you give me a script and get me into wardrobe, I’ll come through for you. I love it all.”
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