6 minutes read
Adult star reveals how OnlyFans saved him from Chemsex 'epidemic' that's claiming lives
Kim N.
An OnlyFans star has opened up about how turning to adult entertainment saved him from the Chemsex 'epidemic' that could have claimed his life.
Mason Cross, 38, owned a successful cleaning business when he fell into the world of Chemsex - something that would consume his life for four years.
According to the Awareness Centre, Chemsex is a "hidden subculture of gay society" in which primarily gay men "take drugs that enhance sex and make them feel uninhibited", using crystal methamphetamine, GHB (Gamma hydroxybutrate), and mephedrone.
Speaking on the Tea at Four podcast, Mason revealed: "I’d been taking drugs for four years and I started taking various substances, but then I got onto crystal meth, which in the gay world - or any world - is known as ‘Tina’."
He explained that he'd first started smoking crystal meth "on the pipe in group sessions", but things took a dangerous turn when he started seeking a greater high.
"After two years I made the fatal mistake of injecting it, and once you inject it, there’s no going back because the hit, the high you get is amazing. I’m not going to lie, it’s amazing. And then it just spiraled out of control, and this went on for two years," he admitted.
He revealed that Chemsex is a bigger issue than most people realize, explaining: "Chemsex is a massive epidemic, it’s going through the gay world and a lot of gay people meet up, and they’re doing all sorts of drugs, it isn’t just crystal meth, Tina. It’s GHB, which is the date rape drug, which I used to do as well, which you only use very little amounts of and it makes you woozy, but it can make you go under - hence the whole date rape thing. I’ve also known people die with that, because you’ve only got to do 1ml too much and it’s game over. There’s also MKat."
Mason added: "I think there’s a massive taboo, a massive stigma about it, and I don’t think people realize. When you talk to people outside of the gay community, they haven’t got a clue.
“The scary thing is, when we were younger you’d start on a bit of weed, or a bit of coke and you’d build your way up. I’ve seen 18, 19, 20-year-old lads and they’re injecting meth already."
He revealed that sex under the influence of drugs is common within the gay community, and while apps like Grindr don't support it, users find ways around the rules by using emojis such as the ice cube and code like 'HNH' - meaning 'high and horny' to signal what they're into.
Mason revealed that what had started as a recreational habit soon took a very dark turn, adding: "I had some really, really dark times. I caught sepsis because I’d been on it for four days, couldn’t find a vein in my arm and I was like ‘f**k, what am I gonna do?’
"I’d run out of the small, pin needles, and I only had the deep vein, long needles left, so I started jabbing at my feet and I couldn’t walk.
"I was crawling on the floor and I didn’t want my neighbor to know because me and her were very good friends, I didn’t want to call anyone over because I’d been on it for four days and there were needles [everywhere].
"So I had to call the ambulance, crawl to the door and let them in, and they had to take me away on a stretcher, obviously put me on a drip and all of that, and that still wasn’t enough to stop me."
As for the turning point, he explained: "[It was] exhaustion and [I was] just tired of it all, I just absolutely had enough. Four years of just feeling like s**t."
Mason credits his career on OnlyFans with saving his life, adding: "I got to a point last July or August and I thought ‘enough’s enough’.
"So I came off the drugs and I always wanted to do content creation but I was determined that I wasn’t going to go into doing content creation unless I was sober. With chemsex, I associated sex with drugs, so I never had sober sex for four years. So I wanted to make sure I went into this and never had the two together.
“OnlyFans has helped me to retrain my brain. It’s been like CBT therapy, it’s made me realize that I can have sober sex again and I don’t relate the two."
He revealed that while in addiction, he had been a functioning addict and was running a cleaning company while hiding his substance use.
One night, he recalled encountering a man injecting meth in the early hours of the morning, before getting up to leave for work 45 minutes later. When Mason asked him what he did for a living, the man revealed that he was a surgeon working at a hospital.
After quitting drugs, Mason chose to go into the adult industry to help him combat the dopamine lull drugs had left, as well as being something for him to channel his energy and time into.
It also helped him to discover sober sex again with other professional performers, though he admitted he has not had any intimate personal relations since coming off drugs.
Addressing what it was like having sex again without substances, he admitted: "Nervous. It was like being a virgin again. It was, because when you’re on drugs you become this machine, you’re like ‘I can do anything and I’m amazing’. But you build up your confidence again."
Now, Mason uses his platform to warn others of the dangers of Chemsex and to show them that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that recovery is possible.
Catch the full episode with Mason Cross on the Tea At Four podcast on YouTube and Spotify now.