Grabbys Shock: All Past Six “Best Newcomer” Winners Are Retired From Gay Porn!
With the 2014 Grabbys just two months away, I’ll be periodically highlighting some of the most controversial nominees, past winners, and select categories in the lead-up to this year’s “Oscars of gay porn” in Chicago. Today, I’m taking a look at the recent history of the Best Newcomer category, and the statistics are SHOCKING!
For starters, all six of the past Best Newcomer winners retired from gay porn within one year of winning their newcomer award! Is the Best Newcomer award a CURSE, sort of like the Grammys Best New Artist curse!? Not in every case, but here’s a closer look at the last six winners from 2011, 2012, and 2013.
2011 Best Newcomer Winners: Steven Daigle & Riley Price
Where Are They Now: Steven Daigle retired from gay porn in 2012, but then semi-unretired for one movie in mid 2013. The movie? Treasure Island Media’s Cum Whore. Riley Price may have won his newcomer award in 2011, but his infamous curbside meltdown the next year after losing all 11 of his 2012 nominations was a true Grabbys tragedy. He abruptly retired from gay porn, although recent tweets indicate that he’s in a much healthier and better place.
2012 Best Newcomer Winners: Marc Dylan & Andrew Jakk
Where Are They Now: Marc Dylan didn’t show up to receive his award in 2012—sources tell me Dylan doesn’t attend award shows because he considers them “annoying” and “pointless” (oh well, so much for his beloved fans), although I’ve always assumed the real reason he doesn’t come is because there’s no food—and maybe that was for the best. The very next year, Marc Dylan retired from filming porn to sell lube and become a racist on YouTube. Andrew Jakk, on the other hand, was there to accept his award, and after another year of filming with Randy Blue, he retired gracefully and without incident.
2013 Best Newcomer Winners: Max Ryder, Tate Ryder
Where Are They Now: Even before winning his award in May, 2013, Tate Ryder had announced his retirement in March. He, of course, changed his mind and made a brief foray into bareback porn later that summer before finally retiring permanently in December. Max Ryder made his decision to retire from porn in January of this year, but he’s still active with CockyBoys and happily working on multiple non-porn projects in New York. As he explained recently, he’s still here, you just won’t be seeing him naked anymore.
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Of course, not every past Best Newcomer retired within a year of winning. Kyle King and Cameron Marshall won in 2009 and were both actively working up until last year. And 2010’s Best Newcomer winners, Samuel Colt and Austin Wilde, are obviously still very much around. Maybe the past six winners’ consecutive early retirements are just a coincidence? Will one of this year’s newcomer winners actually remain a gay porn star and break the streak? Uhhh…check back next year!
In the meantime, here are the 2014 Grabbys Best Newcomer nominees. The winner will be announced this Memorial Day weekend in Chicago. (Note: Connor Kline has already retired.)
BEST NEWCOMER
Boomer Banks
Blue Bailey
Johnny Blum
Joey Cooper
Donnie Dean
Mike DiMarco
Colton Grey
Levi Karter
Connor Kline
Kevin Lee
Jessie Montgomery
Hunter Page
Nick Prescott
Adam Ramzi
Armond Rizzo
Billy Santoro
Damien Taylor
Tyson Tyler
Austin Wolfe
Shawn Wolfe
