How Do Guys In Porn Last So Long? - Ask Bish

How *do* the guys in porn last so long? I asked one. Here’s what he said.

Hi Bish,I am 17, from London, a guy.I wanted to ask: how do the guys in porn last so long? I am young, and I can last only about 5-10 minutes max when masturbating to porn, but the guy in the video will go on for an hour?? Magic? A drug? Or could it impossibly be the fearsome video editing software?Cheers,ABB

Hey ABB

Thanks for your question. I thought I’d ask my porn star pal. Here’s his answer.

***

“Interesting question. It’s one that I used to have too. I think the main answer is that the mental space you inhabit while masturbating to porn is almost the opposite of that you inhabit when you’re performing in porn, so your sexual response is naturally different.

I will tend to reach orgasm pretty quickly in that situation

When you’re masturbating to porn you’re probably alone, in control of your own space, probably relaxed, have found videos and ways of looking at them that engage you and turn you on. You masturbate in the way you know you like without having to think about it; it’s basically an ideal situation for stimulation, and like you, I will tend to reach orgasm pretty quickly in that situation.

Read: How to be Good at Sex

When you are performing in mainstream porn it’s a completely different mode of sexual engagement. The film, your pay-check and to a degree the progress of your career relies on your body behaving the way everyone expects it to: that is to say that you get and maintain a hard-on and get to orgasm when it’s called for. That’s a whole bunch of pressure to start with, but there are a few more things that make a difference too.

You are performing, sometimes unnaturally, rather than pursuing anything along the lines of your peak erotic experience as you would when masturbating. You probably haven’t met your co-performer before and you can’t negotiate as effectively while you’re having sex, so there is always some second guessing going on as to what they would respond well to. You are trying to maintain focus and stay totally engaged in the moment while not thinking about staying focussed and while keeping in mind what the director needs.

Given all that, it is little wonder that the most common challenge male performers face is not that performers will come too quickly but that they might not reach orgasm at all or that they struggle to maintain an erection. Plenty of people who have always been quick to get erections and easily achieve orgasm suddenly find that the pressure of a shoot takes all that away from them.

Performers can even take a total break that will be edited out of the final movie, so there can be some movie trickery involved

There are three addenda I should add to all this:I have worked with performers who feel themselves heading towards orgasm before they want to. When that happens they can change position or movement or tempo, use their hands or mouth to touch their partner or themselves differently, or even take a total break that will be edited out of the final movie, so there can be some movie trickery involved. In my experience I find that I can hit a wave of stimulation early on, but if I can get past that then I will keep going for a pretty long time.

See all the posts about how to have more enjoyable and consensual sex

The second is that there is obviously a statistical bias at work in looking at dudes working as (mainstream) porn performers. If on camera you can’t keep fucking for a fairly long time, your porn career is probably not going to take off so it’s unlikely that your correspondent will get to see those guys very often.

Lastly, I should be honest and say that one of the reasons I last a long time is as a side effect of some medication I take for depression. So yes, I suppose that that is a drug that helps, albeit tangentially. The flip side is that staying hard is more difficult and getting to orgasm, if the producers require a cumshot, is often a challenge.

That’s a long answer to a short question, but I hope it helps.

Parker Marx”

***

Massive massive thanks to Parker for his amazing answer 🙂

Here are some more links and advice from me

An Educational Guide to Porn – some more general advice about porn and sex

How Men Are Supposed to Look – like Parker says, if you don’t look or perform in a particular way you don’t get paid

How to Last Longer – here’s more advice about lasting longer (and why it’s not that important)

Solo sex – here’s some advice on how to enjoy wanking.

Balls and Cum – what happens when you ejaculate and what happens after

Try not to beat yourself up about not lasting as long as porn guys. Just try to enjoy what you enjoy.

Hope that all helps!

Justin (Bish)

© Justin Hancock, 2025 Find out more about me and BISH here.

BISH is run by me, Justin Hancock. I’ve been a trained sex and relationships educator since 1999. I’m a member of the World Association for Sexual Health. As well as BISH I also have resources, a podcast, and a coaching service for over 18s, as well as some of the best RSE teaching resources around. Find out out about my other work at justinhancock.co.uk. My work has featured (positively) in the media, like the BBC, Financial Times, The Economist, The Guardian, Sky One, and Novara Media.

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