Cliff Jensen Talks His Porn Journey, Meeting Fans, and 13 Years In The Industry

Cliff Jensen has been in the adult entertainment industry for almost 13 years. Now that's a lot of porn! He's worked with numerous studios such as Icon Male, Next Door Studios, Naked Sword, and Men. He's even busted into the bi and trans world as a truly universal crossover model! His story is quite riveting and touched my heart to hear. Cliff recently returned to Next Door Taboo for his first scene for the studio in 11 years, a scorching hot threesome scene “Step-Dad’s Hot Date.”

Cliff is here to tell his story and share with you an inside look into his journey.

You've been part of the porn industry for over 12 years. How and why did you get into adult entertainment?

Well, when I was17, my parents dropped me off at a homeless shelter, so I was kind of on my own. I managed to get myself into a little bit of trouble right at the beginning of that time. The probation officer told me, “You know, if you can't come up with this amount of money that you're in arrears, I'm going to have to violate your probation,” which meant prison. I went home and brainstormed for a few days, trying to figure out how I was going to manage this. At that point in time, I only had seven packages of ramen noodles to last me for 10 days, so for a couple of days I would have to split up some of the ramen noodles just to survive.

After a few days of brainstorming, I remembered an offer I had gotten from Fabscout Entertainment to do porn, so I called up Howard and asked him if the opportunity was still available for me. Howard said, “If you can get down to Fort Lauderdale, you can DEFINITELY have a shoot.” So, I went down to Fort Lauderdale and did my first-ever porn shoot with Dominic Ford. The film was called So You Think You Can Fuck? Incredibly, the scene caught traction. I had a girlfriend at the time but when I did that first film, we were on a break. Shortly after, we ended up getting back together. After doing that first movie, I was so curious about it that I kept looking it up on the internet. One day I Googled it, and it was there. I thought I had deleted all the history and cleared the evidence from the computer, but my girlfriend was able to find some of the stuff on the computer and eventually found that movie. It turned out that she was extremely homophobic. She printed out pictures from the film and hung them all over the college campus I was attending, as well as all over the town in which I was living. In effect, outing me to everyone I knew. At that point, I figured I had nothing more to lose, so I dove head-on into porn.

If you had to pick a favorite scene from your catalog, which one would it be and why?

"Lower My Tuition." I liked this scene because it was completely improvisational. I had a detailed talk with the director beforehand about what the studio wanted, how they wanted it to be shot, and so on and so forth. I thought about the character, went outside, and set up, pretending we were at a college campus. Once ready, I just went! The best part about it was during the sex. My scene partner was so surprised, shocked, and scared yet he was utterly enjoying himself. The entire time he kept looking over his shoulder, and looking back at the director and the videographer, even posing his shoulders up like, “Is this OK? Is this what's happening?” They reassured him with a “thumbs up”, in the most “please continue with this” kind of way, and to keep going. It was cool because he didn't know if I was going fully psychotic, or if I was completely in character, or maybe a little bit of both? It was hilarious. He was genuinely like, “What the fuck did I get myself into? Oh my God no one's ever thrown me around like that.” Yeah, those were the good days!

You're quite universal, as a crossover model you not only make gay porn but also bi and trans. What is it like to have such a broad range like that in the industry?

I feel like it's a blessing because when I got into the industry over 12 years ago, this was something that I was told you weren't allowed to do. Coming into this business and getting into gay porn yet wanting to be a bi and straight performer as well. I was almost immediately told, “Since you've done gay porn, you're dirty, you probably have HIV, you can't work with us, and we can't associate with you.”Being shunned by people hurt me. I don't think anybody deserves to be judged on their orientation, their sex, their gender, their race, none of that! You know, you should be judged on the content of your character.

Now, after all these years of dealing with that negative judgment being put on performers like me, it's really heartwarming to be accepted and treated like an individual. When it comes down to it, it’s not if you’re gay or straight, it’s how you carry yourself. Are you keeping yourself clean and respecting the validity of the test you take for work? Or are you running around acting a fucked up animal, seeing tons of clients and being a fucking mess?” People should be responsible and fucking handle their $hit, but you can't just throw somebody out of a picture because they might do a gay porn movie or a trans movie.

Outside of being a sexy porn stud, what interests and hobbies do you have?

​I’m a foodie. I love traveling and trying the best foods that each region or location has to offer. ​Off-Roading, racing, gaming, the gym, crystals, rocks & gems, competitive AIRSOFT with ex-military friends. Oh yes, and also, sex, sex, and more personal sex.

What are some positive impacts that porn has made on your life?

It enabled me to be independent. I haven’t needed to call my father for help in over 10 years. It’s allowed me to travel. Most importantly, it’s brought some good people into my life and helped me make some lifelong friendships.

Do you ever get recognized in public for your porn career? Do you like meeting fans?

Yes, I do get recognized, and I love meeting my fans, especially when they're respectful. It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it and there's a time and a place for everything. It's not that you’re going to approach me or try to get an autograph. It’s how you approach me that makes the difference.

How has the industry changed and evolved in the 12 years you've been performing?

In the beginning, when I got into the business, it seemed like it was reaching the end of an era. There was a different type of dynamic in place. There was this camaraderie, this companionship. We would have these big productions and afterward, we would all (the directors, the videographers, the models, the crew) go out and get drinks and eats and everything. You know, it felt like a family. We got familiar with one another. Even when we wouldn't see each other for 2-3 months, when we would fly out to the next big production and run into each other, it was just like, “Oh my God! Hey, how’ve you been?” It was just fun. It made for better content and better shoot days, too. And the shoot days were longer. Things were different. The lights were hotter, but there seemed to be more money, care, concern, and effort put into treating everyone better.

Now, there are still some solid companies. The big, major companies that still have proper food and snacks, and order lunch for the models, and provide reimbursement for things like gas or Uber expenses that aren't a part of the average, daily function rigamarole. But things have eroded and changed a little bit because times are changing, taking power away from the major companies and putting the money into the model’s hands.

What's next for Cliff Jensen?

​I’m going to start a podcast. I’ll keep working on my health and my recovery. I want to do more ​strength training. I also want to spend more time traveling. I’m also planning to start a non-profit that will provide necessary personal items to homeless people. Maybe not in this order, ​but these are the things are I want to work on this year.

A huge thank you to Cliff Jensen for allowing me the privilege to interview him and also for being so open and candid. I look forward to seeing what is next from him, however, in the meantime, you can find him on Next Door Taboo. 

Follow Cliff Jensen on Twitter.

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