An Interview With Ted Byrns: A Kinky, Redheaded Cub Nominated For The Hookies

You may have noticed before that Dewitt has a thing for butts, and particularly hairy butts. So if he goes missing at the Hookies on Friday, I’ll be sure to check the backside of Ted Byrns to see whether Dewitt’s done a face-plant between the young man’s furry cheeks.

Byrns is nominated in the Best Bear/Cub category, and the 24-year old Chicagoan will be on hand when the winner is announced. I talked to him the other day, and he filled me in on his background, his non-escort life and one of his favorite fetishes.

– Lawrence

Read our interview and see more pictures of Ted Byrns below:

Tell me a little about yourself. I know you’re in Chicago, but where are you from?

I’ve been in Chicago for about two years. Before that I lived in Michigan for a while, and before that I grew up in northwest Arkansas. There are a lot of hills and valleys—down there we call them gulleys—and there’s some wonderful architecture. I grew up on a farm, and now I’m an art and design student.

Do you miss the farm? Or are you a total city boy now?

No no no, no more farms for me. Although I miss being able to walk out of your house and go hiking in the woods. So Chicago is… Every time I’m downtown I think, “I’m actually living here. There are so many amazing people here and so many different artists who all do such amazing work.”

Will we be seeing you at the Hookies on Friday?

Oh yes! I mean I am nominated, after all. It’s an honor. It’s also my first time in New York ever, and it perfectly lines up with my spring break from school. So I fly in on the 20th, get to my place, take a nap, change, and I’m off. With the Black Party the day after, it’s another busy day. I’ve never really gone to a circuit party before.

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Me either. I’m sort of excited.

Well, I have some friends in Chicago that are going. I’m more excited to see a Broadway show, all the New York firsts I want to accomplish in one week. There’s a pretty famous pro-dom dungeon that I’ve seen photos of, but you can’t really get the full energy unless you’re there. I just want to see it and soak it all in.

And how long have you been escorting?

I’ve been doing it on and off for about three years, although I’ve only been with Rentboy a little less than a year. I like what I do. I’m highly involved with the leather/BDSM community, so being a pro/dom is within my skill-set.

Escorting has also allowed me the time to be a full-time student. I tried that in Michigan. I was working full-time as a server/bartender and going to school full time for microbiology. Now I’m comfortable, I’m really good with where life is. With the balance.

Red hair is such a thing right now. I imagine it makes you very marketable.

Yes, believe me I now. And I don’t really see what everyone else sees. When people say “these are my fantasies”, I don’t really grasp that. Like, okay, but why? Not that I have to understand. They find gingers so exotic, but I see red hair every day.

Somebody used a throw a party in New York called Fire In The Hole that was a gay dance party for men with red hair.

I know a lot of other gingers. There are others up for nominations, too, and then Seamus O’Reilly is up for Best Twink and Best Kink. Most people don’t usually put those two next to each other.

Do you know a lot of other escorts?

I mean, I know some other ones, but we don’t really talk to each other. I see Aleks Buldocek a lot. In Chicago, for some reason, when you know somebody, you end up seeing them everywhere you go. And I know Michael Phoenix and Seamus.

What got you started?

With me, I dated the first person I was ever with for about a year, and we were telling life stories. He was bisexual and escorted to put himself through his master’s program. Our relationship lasted about three years, and it didn’t end so well. I was living on a friend’s couch and working a full-time job, but it wasn’t enough to afford a place yet, so I thought why don’t I give this a shot.

Worst case scenario, I end up in some awkward positions that I’m sure I can get out of. So I saved some money up, got a place, got a better job, and ended up moving to Chicago. Once I got here, I stopped for a while, but I got tired of working for other people. And voila, now I can afford art supplies and do all this stuff that I wouldn’t be able to do because I was working too much.

Ever considered jumping over to porn?

I’m trying to network my way with several porn studios, and what I’m quickly finding out is that I’m not slender enough to work with certain studios and not buff enough to work with others. So I’m hitting the gym four or five times a week, and I do yoga or go swimming on my non-gym days. I was doing yoga already, and with it, you see differences in muscle tone, but it’s not going to build muscle. It also helps in my profession to be flexible.

Is there a specific type of client that you tend to draw?

Anyone who has a thing for gingers. Or are into one of the kinks that I like to do.

Do you get many kinky replies to your ad?

Not usually. Normally it’s just very vanilla.

What kind of fetishes do you personally like?

One of my favorites is cigar play. I subbed to a woman here who’s a really good friend, and she taught me things to do with cigars that I find very sensual.

Anything you won’t do?

Generally, if you know that you’re into a certain kind of fetish and you see that I’m into BDSM, then you probably know you can ask me about it, just to see. Once someone brought up PNP, and I said nope, I’m not going near that. The last thing that I want to do is have someone that’s tweaked out on drugs. The most I do is poppers, and that’s rarely. I don’t even really drink.

Got any advice for anyone who’s thinking about jumping into the escort business?

You know, be safe. Be cautious. And make sure it’s right for you. Mentally, it can be kind of strenuous. It’s not for everybody, and that’s okay. This could lower someone’s self-esteem. Also have an end goal. I’m doing this for my education, my degree, and that’s my end goal.

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