Buck, you are known worldwide as ‘the man with a pussy’, how did you get into the porn industry?

“I started doing porn nineteen years ago because I didn’t see a representation of myself. The Internet was still a new thing and pornography was way different. There were films with transgender women and chicks with dicks and there was shemale porn, but there were no videos featuring transsexual or transgender men. There was nothing. And then this idea popped up in my head: ‘Buck Angel, the man with a pussy’. A friend told me: ‘Dude! You have to do this, you are going to change the world!’ And I was like: ‘Change the world?’ I didn’t want to change the world man (he laughs). I just wanted to make porn and have fun!

I made the first two videos on my own. Back then nobody wanted to help me. They were too scared. It was difficult because I was creating a space for people that had never been acknowledged. So I went on YouTube to learn how to use a camera and shot it myself. It blew the porn world away, but I got way more negative reactions than positive ones. People were angry because I was talking about being a man without having a penis. I got death threats from cisgendered men, the transgendered community was upset and gay men were confused because they felt attracted to me even though I had a vagina.

If there’s one thing I have it is determination. That initial pushback made me want to realize it even more. I got signed by a company and made three movies – each targeting a different audience because I didn’t know who my customer base was – one with me and all women, one with me and all men and one where I had sex with both men and women. The all-male video took off. The reaction of the gay community was amazing. If it hadn’t been for gay men I wouldn’t be here now. They are the ones who really helped me. They weren’t just understanding, but they also blocked the hate in a lot of ways.”

Trans people have become much more visible this decade. You yourself identify as a transsexual man and not as transgender. Could you explain to our readers what the difference is in your opinion?

“For me it’s two different identities. I’m going use myself as an example. I am a transsexual man. I was born female, I have ‘gender dysphoria’ and I have had an actual sex change to become a man through the use of medical technology and testosterone injections. Transitioning is a life changing experience and I can never go back to being a woman. The term ‘transgender’ is an umbrella term for all kinds of different ‘gender identities’ such as gender non-conforming, trans masculine and so on. It’s important for me to explain this to the readers, because there are people out there who are confused about their own identity. They need to understand the difference between living masculine through your appearance – for example by wearing clothing meant for men – and having a full sex change. You can compare the term ‘transgender’ with the term ‘gay’. Not everyone is gay. There are lesbians, bisexuals, queers, etcetera. They are not all the same. Not all transgender people are the same either. I have nothing in common with a gender non-conforming person because I live my life as a man and I have a medical condition that almost made me kill myself. Some transgender people have that same medical condition, others do not.”

Let’s get back to the reason why you are in Amsterdam. You are not just a pioneer in the porn industry but also in the field of female to male sex toys. What can you tell us about the new line of FTM toys that you created and developed with the help of Perfect Fit Brand?

“The first toy I came up with was the Buck-Off. I created it because I felt the desire to masturbate – it’s one of the best things in the world (he adds enthusiastically) – and there were no toys for transsexual men out there. So I made my own by reshaping another sex toy. I must have gone to 500 sex toy companies in five years and nobody saw the future in it. They didn’t understand that trans men are here sexually. And then I went to Perfect Fit and Steve Callow, the CEO, thought it was a no-brainer. They made the design better, we went into production within six months and the Buck-Off became the fastest selling toy in the porn industry. I cried when I used it for the first time (Buck laughs at this). Yes, I cried when I was masturbating. How do I explain this? I had thought of this thing for such a long time and suddenly it was a reality. I knew it was going to change the lives of so many transsexual men out there. Walk into a sex shop and there are toys for men, women, gay guys, lesbians, anyone. You have to understand that that’s a privilege. Never ever in the history of the world there existed a product like this one for transsexual men. It’s a huge thing that we have one now and that it is available in shops worldwide. It validates our sexual needs. That’s what made me so emotional.”