Walter Crasshole is a US-born writer and porn performer, and founder of new men’s sex website, Dandy Dicks (NSFW). Amy Middleton caught up with him in Berlin to ask about his work, sex, erotica and identity. 

A: Tell us about your project, Dandy Dicks.

WC: Dandy Dicks is a new online erotic gay magazine that not only gives gay men something for their sexual appetites, but their intellectual appetites as well. It’s porn and editorial, side-by-side. We have videos of guys alone or in pairs enjoying themselves as well as interview videos with the performers on everything from their day-to-day to what they like to do in bed. Along with that we’ve got blogs, interviews and articles on everything from music to film to culture to humorous rants and anything else. We’re open to so much different content. And while the site is for gay men, we’re happy with whoever wants to enjoy our content! Lots of people can come along on our Dandy Dicks ride!

A: What’s the project’s approach to sex?

WC: The sex we want to portray is “natural” sex, as in that we don’t use professional actors or sets or pre-fabricated situations. We take guys as they are and want them to enjoy themselves like they like to. I think when it comes to porn people want to see other people have sex, obviously, but what’s lacking, even in gay porn, is the way people really connect with one another during sex. We’ve got that in spades. In other words, just show us what you’ve got: we want to see!

A: How would you describe your own identity, and how has this developed over time?

WC: My identity is pretty much on my sleeve. I’m a gay man – a classical faggot with a punk rock twist. I would say I could be classified as queer as well, both in that I wasn’t always exclusively with men and I fit in with a more alternative type of person and I have never been, nor am I interested in being homosocial. I need all sorts of genders, identities, people in general in my life. But still, I’m pretty much a gay man.

Walter Crasshole. Image by Christoph Kassette

A: How is sexuality treated in Berlin?

WC: Sexuality in Berlin is incredible. The attitude in Germany in general towards sex is quite amazing. Just last week at the beach I ended up randomly sitting next to a group of bi-sexual middle-aged swingers talking quite openly about their exploits and feelings towards sex – and this beach was in the German countryside, not Berlin. Naturally attitudes in the capital are even more progressive. There are all sorts of representations here in Berlin from the PornFilmFestival, to sex clubs open to all genders (some not, of course), to sex shops and workshops, to the city’s magazines not shying away from these topics. Sometimes the biggest drawback to Berlin’s relationship with sexuality is either not being able to keep up or getting overwhelmed.

A: How would you change how society treats sex?

WC: I think the simplest thing is just the way we talk about it. And I don’t just mean in the political sense. If people weren’t so squeamish about it in general and I didn’t feel there were situations that I thought sex was totally inappropriate to talk about, we would all get on with it a lot easier. Still, we’re raised from early on that talking about sex is taboo and even I can feel the unease in certain situations when the topic is raised. But if we could freely speak about it, other changes could come much more easily.

A: What tips would you give someone who is confused about their sexual identity?

WC: I think the first step is what I was speaking of earlier: talk to someone. Younger people do have an advantage over older people in the sense that there are myriad resources on the internet that can help them figure out who they are. At the same time, the danger of the internet has grown exponentially with cyber-bullying. It’s hard enough for young people to be bullied about their identity by their peer group around them, but with the potential for it to be so public and so massive, the consequences can be very tragic. I still think young people can benefit from finding resources on the internet, but then the best thing is to find someone IRL that they can really find some answers from. If that’s not available wherever they are – move to the next biggest city when they are old enough. These are the central meeting points for queer people to this day. And is likely the best way to find support they need.

A: What’s next for Dandy Dicks?

WC: The world! No, but almost! We want to do a lot! We want to keep bringing the best quality porn to people and sharing guys like no one else is currently doing. At the same time, we hope our editorial grows and grows and that we can tackle all sorts of topics along the way – from culture to current events. Currently we’re working on some video content that we know is going to be super great – a lot of fun stuff for people can get into. We’re young and the future is wide open, so we’ll just have to see.

Archer Asks presents Q&As with the world’s most interesting voices on gender and sexuality. If you know someone with a fresh, diverse perspective, or someone doing cool stuff in the worlds of sex and gender, drop us a line.