At time of writing, toward the close of the last decade (November 2018), Rapid was just five scenes short of his 200th scene with the studio, and while his age was beginning to count against him, remained a major player-ranked Men’s “most liked” performer with more than 6,800 audience ‘thumbs up’. Johnny Rapid began his porn career at the start of the 2010s as a fresh-faced 18-year-old, shooting scenes with Boys First Time and Bukkake Boys before signing with Men as an exclusive and releasing his first scene in November 2011. Through this reflection, I arrive at the conclusion that the time was right for an aging twink performer to be freshened-up by a transition to bareback-similar transitions of which have become widespread across the gay porn landscape in the intervening years between the 2015 Johnny Rapid Goes Bareback event and the present day, thanks in no small part to advancements in HIV prevention technologies. I read the case study in line with the concept of time, which has particular resonance with bareback. Yet I also take the opportunity-writing several years after this critical moment in Rapid’s career-to reflect on the success of the campaign. The analysis reveals a decidedly negative reception of Rapid, the promotion of bareback as event, and the quality of the bareback performance itself, all of which I read in accordance with what these narratives have to tell us about bareback at the time. This article explores a critical moment of going bareback in the career of arguably the biggest gay porn performer of the 2010s, Johnny Rapid. You can find Jake Bain on Instagram or on Twitter and Hunter Sigmund on Instagram. By being themselves at a time in life that is very challenging, the couple have done a lot to end stereotypes and increase acceptance. In the fall, Sigmund will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an honors student, while Bain will attend Indiana State, where he will also play football. But the students, faculty and administration at Burroughs have been ultra-supportive of Bain, who drew a protest from the Westboro Baptist Church homophobes after his coming out as a high school football star became national news. While having openly LGBT couples at proms is not rare, it also remains an issue in many parts of the country. It is nice to be able to go to prom with whoever you want and not have to worry about what other people might think.” Hunter Sigmund, left, and Jake Bain. “We have been the only openly gay couple at Burroughs since I’ve been here, but it isn’t a problem at all at our school. “This is the second year he and I have gone together, as well as to our homecoming dance the past two years, so this wasn’t the first time,” Bain, the school’s high school football captain, said. “It was my fourth school dance with Jake and I couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend our last high school dance.”īain, 19, and Sigmund, 18, are the only openly gay couple at John Burroughs School, but their being at the dance was old news to the students there. “Prom this year was amazing,” Sigmund, a swimmer and water polo player told Outsports. Louis athletes made the most of it this weekend. For seniors Jake Bain and Hunter Sigmund, it was their final high school dance together.