For the thousands of followers he’s amassed across Reddit, Twitter and OnlyFans, full-time porn performer Paul Schultz is the envy of lockdown. It seems that every day, he gazes down at a plethora of glistening, naked women, contorting themselves into impossible positions while he jockeys for an angle to best bone them. He’s in a committed relationship, too — his tattooed, raven-haired wife is featured in nearly all his videos, and a viewer might find her casually ripping a bong while a friend blows him, or letting “BF fuck [her] while [she] kisses [her] friend” (in knee socks, no less).
It probably comes as no surprise then to learn that Schultz, who goes by GothJock216 on Reddit and GothJockOF on OnlyFans, gets paid to let people in on his world. For around $11 a month, anyone with a credit card can inhabit his body, engage in some literal navel-gazing and live vicariously through his dick, a slick, average-sized affair that seems to be the focal point for the vast majority of his porn. Filmed POV-style with the drone-like camera hovering just a foot or so above his dong, it stars in scene after scene, rarely giving way to the rest of his body or his face.
This style of porn — where all the viewer sees is a performer’s disembodied penis going about its day — has become particularly popular during the pandemic. Though “POV” was already the third most-searched Pornhub category in 2019, a new generation of jobless, restless and horny content creators have been discovering just how easy it is to make porn in lockdown, leading to an influx of self-shot, close-up videos featuring little more of a performer than their floating, enviably busy peens.
“The perspective is just a solid fucking fit for the DIY format since you don’t need another set of hands running the camera,” says Geoffrey Celen, a porn expert and creator of the porn ranking website ThePornDude. “It’s also less affected by social distancing than the traditional porn industry.” Likewise, floating dick porn is economical, requiring little more than a smartphone and ready genitalia to pull off. As such, it can easily get away with being lo-fi — as long as there’s decent lighting, you’re in business.
According to redditor Ponchsanchez, an amateur cammer whose schlong has graced viewers’ screens since 2016, “POV [also] is great because the viewer really gets to experience it more firsthand.” Though what you’re seeing of the performer is only the dick-tip of the physical iceberg, this explains POV’s strange and potent intimacy — even when the penis is disembodied, you’re still witnessing its most personal and realistic forays.
Another plus is that POV porn allows parties to remain anonymous — i.e., heads (of a sort) need not be visible. “To be honest, filming our sex really turns us on, but showing our faces is a professional no-go,” says redditor close-upperfection, an independent porn actor who began filming in October and whose peen is prominent all over NSFW Reddit. There’s also the added bonus that POV is a nearly universally flattering angle — whoever possesses the penis (silicone or otherwise) looks large and in charge.
Most crucially, though, a successful disembodied dick doesn’t need to put its character center stage. It’s the penises of Schultz, close-upperfection and Ponchsanchez’s that act as the main-event money-makers here, not their bodies, personalities or minds. And while some may consider that objectifying, it’s also the whole point. “While I do feel a bit dehumanized at the idea of the world focusing on my dick, I relinquish control and let the consumer own what I have,” says Ponchsanchez.
In other words, it’s all about the mindset and getting into the ethos of POV. “That’s the kind of immersion we want to create — the look and feel of real intercourse,” explains close-upperfection. Schultz cites the same qualities as reasons to film POV: “It’s more immersive for the viewer, [and] we want to make it as genuine as possible.”
But filming POV doesn’t mean these guys still can’t put on a show. Ponchsanchez is a self-declared exhibitionist, and therefore, he feels proud to display his dick, even if his face can’t get recognition for it. In fact, he believes that his propensity for flaunting makes him well-suited to this style of filming. “I always wanted to be seen; the rest came easy,” he says. And people clearly want more of him. “Surprisingly, there’s an increasing demand for dick presence on screen,” he adds. Given that he splits revenue with his female partners based off of their relative screen time, he’s cashing in on his assets.
It stands to reason that a big payoff awaits those who make it work. Schultz began filming right at the beginning of the pandemic, and for him and his wife, being a disembodied dick has been a boon. They’ve now made filming porn their full-time jobs and have reached the top 0.22 percent on OnlyFans, where they boast almost 2,000 subscribers.
Of course, there’s a special alchemy that lubricates success. Because behind every great floating porn cock, there’s a great woman (or so the saying goes). To that end, all of the performers I spoke to boasted about their happy marriages, a variable that seems to be the secret ingredient for POV perfection — the closer, more available and more adventurous a partner is, the more performers can let their audiences see what their dicks do.
Both Schultz and close-upperfection spoke in terms of “we,” and Ponchsanchez is open about his devotion to his partner — on Reddit, he identifies as “husband of my amazing wife.” Close-upperfection exclusively works with his wife (and has no plans to change, thanks for asking), and while Schultz’s and Ponchsanchez’s quarantine bubbles stretch a little larger, they remain selective. “Although they have to be physically attractive to us, we make content with people that we’d actually want to be friends with,” says Schultz. Moreover, he adds, “This whole experience has made us so much closer.”
The irony is that as POV porn has strengthened these couples’ relationships, it’s also proven to be balm for those of us exercising social distancing — a stand-in, however paltry, for human connection. That said, the trend toward POV is slated to last beyond 2020. As the internet becomes more personalized, the future of POV points to virtual reality, which feels like the natural conclusion to this erotica. “The Oculus Quest 2 came out a couple of months ago, bringing us a step closer to sex helmets in every household,” says Celen.
What is it like to be that guy? is the question on every POV viewer’s lips. With the advent of new technologies, we’re about to find out. For now, though, Schultz’s disembodied dong is doing its best to fill in the blanks.
Maz Do
Maz is a freelance writer living and working in New York. You can find her work in Huffpost and gal-dem magazine, among many others.
