Here at Fleshbot, we've had the pleasure of interviewing some of the greatest performers in the adult industry and some of the great filmmakers who work behind the camera. For the first time, we are talking with someone who is a master of both. Steve Cruz was already a hot name in the adult industry when he began working behind the camera as well. It was here that he found his true calling and is now one of the most acclaimed and in-demand directors in the entire industry. He joined us for an exclusive interview to share his story.
Photo courtesy of Steve Cruz
How is 2025 going for the legendary Steve Cruz? What is the latest?
These are insane times for all of us. I channel my Project 2025 anxiety into keeping busy. I am super grateful for my job that keeps me focused on the creative. We just returned from a two-week double production in Mexico. In the editing room, I am putting finishing graphic touches on the open credits of a content creator written project. I just finished the screenplay for my next Falcon project, which I am directing. The working title is ‘Joyride'. It’s nice to be writing again. It’s about an uptight delivery app driver who collides with a sexual tour de force and how his day gets derailed in the horniest way. I love comedic, playful scripts. We go into production later this month.
Could you tell us about your background? Upbringing? Education? Early career?
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. My home life was a little unstable, crazy really. My parents split early on, and my mom was poor, raising three kids on her own. One of them queer, all of them different races, different life challenges. My great-grandparents helped raise me, and for a time, I lived with my best friend’s family in high school. I always knew I was queer, came out at age 14 in the mid late 1980s. Went to my first Pride and Folsom Street Fair that year. They were relatively small events back in 1987. A few city blocks versus taking over the entire city like Pride does today. Coming up in the age of AIDS was just different; I was always anxious. You lived with the reality, you saw people who were sick, and then you didn’t. And in the 1990s, we partied to forget about it. My professional background was graphic design. My client list included Crystal Geyser Water, Hasbro Toys. I did web and print design work for the non-profit sector and community outreach. Harm Reduction, Sexual Health. I kind of just fell into the porn industry.
Photo credit: Steve Cruz
How did this lead to the world of adult entertainment?
Over the years, I have known different people in the industry. Shante did casting, Roma did graphic design, and I knew a few directors. I was this kinda cute bottom-type at 28, and they asked me a few times to be in movies, but I wasn’t ready. I met Chi Chi LaRue at a funeral. Did she try to recruit me? Not telling. Newly clean and sober as we were entering the millennium, I thought, ’This is way too much.’ Waiting was a wise decision, looking back.
I pursued my interest in 2006, once I was older and more put together. By then, I was 33, grounded in who I was. I did a Raging Stallion movie with Jake Deckard and Colin O’Neill first. Then followed up with a scene with Francois Sagat for Titan Media. I shot a couple of movies for Chi Chi and Steven Scarborough. I hit all the available studios I could before signing an exclusive deal with Raging Stallion in 2007-2010. In that time, I achieved awards I never knew existed. Best newcomer at Grabby’s, Performer of the Year at Grabby's and Cybersocket, Naked Sword Man of the Year. Best Supporting Actor, GAYVN. My entire life changed forever. I still have a hard time believing it happened to me.
In 2008, I was approached by an exec at Falcon to start directing for their Mustang line. I had ideas but no experience. When the ex-director of the line called the cops to shut down my first shoot, I took that as a sign that I should really excel at this. Determined, one project turned into a year of steady work. In those days, a director sat at a monitor. Nowadays, most directors are videographers too. When Falcon merged with Raging Stallion the following year, I learned the rest of the tools of the trade from studio founder Chris Ward. Videography, Editing, Producing. And I’m still here... and it’s never boring.
How do you look back on your time as a performer? Favorite scenes? Memorable moments and collabs? Gossipy stories? What made that time so special?
It's all one big montage of crazy moments in my head. Most of them fun. What made those times so special? The friendships I was making along the way. My scene with Francois was confidence-building; he just made me feel at ease (H20 Titan). On the set with Chi Chi (When Bears Attack), I was performing with Arpad Miklos and Cole Ryder on a beat-up old truck. A dust storm kept kicking up, and we took refuge, naked, in the cab of the truck. I swear it was so random and strong, we thought the scene would have to stop. In the cab, we bonded, and we stayed friends. he would stop by my apartment to fuck or I went to his hotel when he was in town shooting… execs hated that. In those days, the studios wanted every bit of you sexually and resented if you had a personal life on their watch. They would not understand the world of content creators today. But fucking off set was part of the fun, having little infatuations with costars.
Other low and high lights include rolling around on the world's filthiest floor at a meat-packing plant basement. That was commitment. Shooting on a catamaran off the coast of Maspalomas was a dream come true, until the cameraman dropped the cinema lens into the ocean. On the set of Mirage, Jake Deckard flying a little Cessna into the windiest airspace in the Coachella Valley and thinking, I’m going to die today. Speaking of dying, I had to die in 25 takes for a porn noir called 'Focus/Refocus.' Laying in pool of cold red syrup, and having my throat cut, first kicking a screaming then dying perfectly still. The director was meticulous. Each take I had to control my breath for up to 2 minutes, 25 times in a row? Good Times haha!
You've shared that you dealt with some serious demons at this time. How were you able to overcome these while some of your contemporaries of the time, like Erik Rhodes and Roman Heart, were not?
I am still here on Earth because I struggled with addictions before public life. I waited. 2012 was a really bad year for death - we lost Roman Ragazzi, then Arpad, then Erik, and then Wilfried Knighy, all in a matter of months. I was in shock. I almost retired. Sometimes I am still shook by little facts, like, in that three-way with Arpad Miklos and Cole Ryder, I am the sole survivor. I have this pink beach towel I bought with Peter, Arpad as the image. It was purchased as a gag gift years before. I hold on to that thing because it's real and tangible, and sometimes I feel like the memories are not. Sometimes I feel like our moment in time was just a fantasy or a dream. Erik and I were working together in the studio the week before he passed; he was directing, and I ran the camera for him. I listened to him talk about what he was going through. It was just his way to make light of the crazy life he led. You are powerless in these situations. All you can do is be there, but I had no idea it would be the last time we would be together. I loved him. Wilfried was also special to me; he was just so sweet and funny. We performed together, and I directed him frequently during that time. That was very, very hard because he was actively engaging us in texts telling us he was feeling suicidal, and he really fought it. He was mourning the tragic loss of his life partner, and eventually he chose to 'be with him.' Nothing prepares you for how to cope with these compound losses. I chose to remove myself from public life. Before that, I would blog, tweet, and engage the fans directly… but I just shut myself into my work and let the studio marketing department and the work itself be my sole voice for many, many years. I found the general public absolutely cruel. Blaming the industry… sensationalizing the issues, these were my friends. But have you ever read a comments section? I was already behind the camera by the time these events happened.
How does working behind the camera compare with being a performer?
I really enjoyed my time in front of the camera; I became an entirely different person. I got exactly what I needed from the experiences, and then one day, I stopped enjoying the performance. So I retired, and that's really how it happened. In my last scene with Heath Jordan, I was so attracted to him, a huge crush. But it is so boring to watch us because we're just staring into each other's eyes, having this real internal experience, and not doing much else, haha. Best sex ever, though. All the feels. HAHA!
I would say I am right where I am supposed to be. The performer life opened the door for the real work to begin. I was always a pain the director’s ass on set, asking too many questions, offering suggestions, getting too into the roles. I didn’t realize it then, but I wanted to direct, write, and produce. That’s why I am here.
Do you like being behind the camera better? Why?
Yes. I think I got what I needed from being the performer, primarily the experience and knowledge to become a good director. The joys of directing and the other aspects of my job: videography, motion graphics, and editing, all keep me fully engaged! As a creative, I find it super fulfilling on a level that being a performer never hit.
Do you think your time as a performer helps you as a director? How so?
I do. I feel a connection to the talent in ways someone who has never done that job probably does not. Experience helps. The only thing that gets in my way with maintaining this connection is my perfectionism. —Doh! I am in therapy, working on that. But yeah, in general, my instincts are there with models, I think I get better performances by staying attuned. When I lose touch with the model experience things just don’t go as well.
Photo credit: Steve Cruz
Do you have a process as a filmmaker? Take us through one of your shoots. How do you create the best sex on film?
The best sex on film is channeled by the models. As a director, I set up the scenarios that I hope will best facilitate a great sex experience. I guess each set is a little different based on the energies of the models that day. So, maybe I push when it's necessary, but with another model I won't. Maybe I remind them of their bodies if they forget posture. Anyone can have sex, but real models open up and show it off to the camera. Sometimes they are new or forget, or perhaps they have been monetizing in an environment where they don't need to. My best scenes come from this balance, where the models and I collaborate, they go deep and find the motivation, and they bring it. Now, the scripted work is much different than directing an ‘All Sex'. Directing movies with a story, I apply a different approach. I will help them find motivation and a reason behind their words, paint a picture of the kind of performance we need. I do a lot more coaching. We may spend hours before we ever get to the sex. The gifted stay in character through the sex without being obvious about it. Some sexual performers and content creators need the extra care. And this is why you will see directors go to the same models sometimes for scripted projects. We need a type of performance, and we need experienced models to deliver that.
What are your thoughts on the ongoing evolution of the industry as the studios continue alongside the content platforms? What do you and the studios plan to do to continue to thrive?
Independent content creation has changed our relationship with models. It will not be the end of studio, just a change in the way we produce. There will always be a customer who wants solely what content creators provide. Before this, we called them web producers, or Pro-Amateur… it has been many things over the decades. The studio I work for is adapting as they have through these market changes of the past. Others seem to be following. In addition to maintaining the same product we always have, we are also providing opportunities for content sharing with talent, which I think is great! Allowing talent to monetize the content, it's working quite nicely.
I produced and directed the first of these types of productions for our studios, alongside head of production Trenton Ducati. I did not know what the response would be. Yes, two models I approached refused. Meanwhile, many, many others were all over the opportunity. I had more options than I could cast. Naturally, the content itself was fire, that's what we do best. Content creators are not always editors and videographers. The producing part can be difficult and very costly for some. So there is a benefit to the creator who needs quality content. As I see it, things are just falling into place in a new way. This only means more opportunity if you are a model who can move between both worlds. If I see any beef, it's from those who are comfortable where they were and unwilling to embrace the changes that are already happening. I would love to venture deeper into the independent world of content creation. I love how flexible and free things have been in that environment, and I could explore that more, allowing it to break me down creatively in the best possible way. Challenge me to be more fearless. I could benefit from embracing a more fearless life. We all could.
What are some of your favorite scenes and why?
In my recent work, my new favorite scenes are in ‘ROUGH’, a Raging Stallion production. Specifically, the Sir Peter scenes. Here is one of those performers who brings the fire. Every. Fucking. Time. I love him very much. He and Heath Halo serve it up! That will go down as one of my all-time favorites, and right with that scene, he delivers again with Ian Sterling. He completely dominates this man, picks him up by the hole. This is not a light person. Incredible! The fisting that happens was not planned, I had to decide to let it happen or cut. I am glad we went for it. What a way to open… literally open, haha. And it’s a gorgeous movie. One of my favorites of all time, the scenes in Timberwolves 2: Blood Moon (Raging Stallion Studios). The acting, the kill shots, the sex— it's all fire! The cast was so dedicated. Every scene is amazing. Especially the all-cast moment where a principal character gets shot and the entire room explodes into chaos, perfectly choreographed chaos. Career highlight for me. Working with my co-directors on Men’s Briefs (Falcon Studios), each director brought their own flavor to the project. Leo, Boomer... I really enjoyed what each fresh talent brought to the table. I grew so much and learned so much, especially from Max Konnor. He was so eloquent about his direction and how he asked for exactly his vision. All of these sex scenes are fire. I would love to do another project like this soon. Mentoring is really more like collaborating for me, necessary. And of course, the sex scenes from 'Tongue In Cheek’, another of my favorite projects, co-directed with Ben Rush for Raging Stallion.
What scenes and scenarios do you still want to film?
I mentioned that we are filming a lot of content creator work this year, but I still have a few fun, scripted ideas I want to get produced, ideas I have just been sitting on. In these times, we need humorous stories. The last time the community faced a rise of conservative values, my writing became more lighthearted. Here we are again. I find it hard not to despair. Some days it's work to just show up. If this is you, I feel you! So maybe our entertainment becomes an escape for a little while from the doomscroll. An escape into joy. Flexing our freedom while we have the freedom to flex.
Tell us some more about you. Interests? Hobbies? Beliefs? Who is the real Steve?
Some of my personal hobbies and interests pop up on my Instagram (@stevefurreal), which, if you are a fan, might seem really confusing. I just post whatever is going on, I don’t think about it, right next to our production stuff. A nature hike, a kayak day, my abstract paintings, photos of a cake I baked, practicing my bass guitars, and a Deep House mix I posted (RadioSteveCruz.com). I have a lot of creative interests. And I love my cats more than most people, no shade. But apart from work, I am so mellow. I like riding my bike on the greenways, going to natural parks and beaches. I am not religious, but if I had a religion, it would be nature. Or ‘Life' would be my religion, like David Bowie once said. And the temple would be nature. Instead of streaming movies and TV series, I switched over to a Course Lecture Series, and currently it's Western Civilization with a focus on the rites and beliefs of polytheistic cultures. I am fully immersed in Ancient Greece. I feel compelled to learn as much as I can right now. Who knows what learning will be like as we introduce AI into the mix? Oh, and I play a lot of Pokémon Scarlet right now. My Level 100 Garchomp slays!
