The XCritic Interview: Miles Long

May 30, 2020
DEMARKO

In part one of this interview we read that award-winning director Miles Long truly has two parts to his success in the adult industry. His first story is an introduction that has music, pop culture, nightclubs and a world that XXX once was and strives to become once again. In that chapter of Mr. Long’s life, the one constant that stood the test of time was that Miles never took rejection, change and judgement sitting down or saw it as hurdle or even a challenge in his career and personal life. No, I think personally Miles sees all those things much like he sees the cars that he loves and has shot for many years. It is like an engine adjustment that has to be fine-tuned so the car becomes what you wish it to be. Miles Long’s entrance into the world of acting, directing, advertising, music and photography all became a part of his very being because he never stopped working at it, he never stopped loving it, just like those amazing Subaru’s you will find on his social media pages. As his IAFD Award for Best Web Director proved this year, Miles has yet to perform and conduct his greatest concerto. He defies the odds and the critics with each production and what I can tell about Miles, he lets his heart guide him to success, never fear. Miles gives in times when most others are taking, just look at how he has given back during this pandemic. He is still teaching people life lessons. Ones of passion and power during a time when most others are locked behind a door in turmoil. This is the character we get to discover in part two and I think most will be surprised to find out that perhaps this journey is just beginning and we have "Miles Long to Go" before that mean has reached his creative peak

Don Juan: (Miles and I, we spoke personally for a few minutes off the record and then began to talk about taking “no” for an answer. He and I have always seen eye to eye on this because I would not say it is that we do not accept the answer “no” it is more like, well….let's let Miles tell the story shall we.)

Miles Long: Just because the person next to you can not do something it doesn’t mean that you can’t do it. I never do and maybe it is our mindset of being in the military for many years that makes it ingrained within me, so that I am going to find a way to accomplish the goals that I am going to set for myself. The second part is that you have to always set very high goals. Doing that presents these outcomes always. If you achieve them, great, if you meet them, fabulous. If you did not get there, you still achieved more if you set low goals and expectations.

Don Juan: You take the words right out of my mouth my friend because the next question I was going to ask you was, being the successful person that you are, I see so many of the guys and that gals aiming higher than I have ever seen performers do in the industry. My question is what do you say to the performer who wants to come up the way you did? Accomplish the things that you did.

Miles Long: The first thought that comes to mind is that nothing is impossible. That is a mind set, “impossible.” If you even for one second believe that word, you will never achieve your goals, even when you do. Dreaming big and believing that you can do something is what gets the wheels of your mind turning. I think that a common thing in today’s society is that some people assume that you can run twelve miles by basically going from mile one to mile twelve. It just does not work that way. True success comes from all of those miles traveled, one to twelve. I would tell a performer, it is all about putting one foot in front of the other and being relentless and eventually, you will get there. I think that once a person understands how to walk that path, they will see it become a part of everything within their life. You can not take the easy way out. It is all about your work ethic.

Don Juan: May I ask, what do you get asked the most about when you are offering this kind of advice to the performers that you are shooting and working with?

Miles Long: What I get asked all the time is just that, “how did I get here?” The answer is work ethic. I get up before you do, while you are sleeping, I am still burning the midnight oil. Editing, thinking, making things work, testing out new things. I AM FUCKING RELENTLESS! (Miles has always been a confident man. He is a man that has always walked that line of conviction and confidence well because the truth is, that is how he and I became friends. Writing at four in the morning just as I am right now and saying, “hello, my name is Don, you know my friend Lynn." That is how it all began and I see that every single day with Miles. It is not arrogance when you get things done and then come back the next night and ask for seconds.)

Don Juan: That is what I love about you brother. It is our work-a-holic-ism within us. I already know what the answer to this question is but I would love to share it with the fans. Do we love our workaholic nature?

Miles Long: Yes, we do. You have to enjoy the ride. You have to enjoy that run of twelve miles. Maybe it is that we are a bit OCD as well. There is a lot of OCD. in a lot of positive aspects of my life. It is why I won’t settle for anything less than the best that I can give myself.

Don Juan: Oh yes, and truthfully bro, a busy mind is what keeps you young. I have been discovering that as of late too.

Miles Long: Truly, truly my friend.

Don Juan: You know, I had to share this story, I sat down with Jane Wilde for one of these interviews and first off, I could not believe she was only twenty-one.

Miles Long: Yeah, she is a fucking cool kid man. I really enjoy her company and her character.

Don Juan: The first thing I was going to say, you had to have loved her because she knows the fucking score. I see a performer like that Miles and I see the people of the industry who have inspired her. You are a person, who so many have a respect for and what I would love to know, who were the people who inspired you when it comes to your work, your being and character as a director?

Miles Long: I would say without question those three folks, Laurent Sky, Michael Ninn and Chris Streams, right. Certainly, the biggest influence that encouraged me was that each of them cared so much about what they were doing so passionately. Each one of them is very different. They have things they care about and their eye differs from the next person. The way that they shoot is so different as well, and the way that they shoot shows just how much they care about what they do. It is all those similarities and differences that inspired me. I think that is why I ended up doing the same thing that they did in the industry. From their inspiration I was so jazzed about developing my own style. It made me become passionate about doing what I wanted to do. The thing that means the most to me is that all of those men who inspired me are also dear friends to this day. That is why I will always hold them in the highest esteem.

Don Juan: Brother, you are the man who is so honest with how things began. I say this so much, we all began as fans of something. That is where passion begins. You can tell which people have studied the art and in every single one of you, it shows in your camera work man. We have gotten to see a lot of Evil Angel stuff with XCritic, and when I see Chris’s work, when I see yours Miles, the pictures come to life, they tell a story. That is what your work always looks like to me man.

Miles Long: Thank you very, very much bro. You always flatter me so much man. It is very touching because you are a good friend of mine but at the same time I respect your opinion professionally. I am truly flattered. I appreciate that you notice it.

Don Juan: Well my friend I know how hard you work and to tell the truth to the performers, the fans and all the industry people, the world has changed, and it is not just the pandemic. You're talking about the year that was ninety-nine, that made me think of the years of graphic designers, marketing and design firms. They are all but gone these days and it is all about adapting and then doing exactly what you said, aiming as high as you can when things get harder. Our jobs these days are pretty much one person doing five people’s jobs. I agree with you, that is no reason to quit, no reason to give up.

Miles Long: That is just a reason for someone to become multi-dimensional and to have drive.

Don Juan: Mr. Long, it is time to talk about some philosophy. These questions that I have been wanting to ask you for ages. OK, well we have to start with a passion that we both have. The biggest question out of all these things is where did the love for Subarus come from?

Miles Long: It’s a funny story. So, I have always been a gear head, someone who is always into cars. I used to actually import cars. One of the first cars that I ever had been a Honda CRX. It was an 87 too.

Don Juan: Get the fuck out of here man. We are talking with that cute little hatchback and everything?

Miles Long: Yes, the hatchback. Man, I had tricked that car out. I had imported a twin cam Acura race motor from Japan. We changed the brakes on it, the suspension, we did so much to that car. This was long before you could just take out motors, upgrade things to become turbos. This was before that right. I had literally made that car into a show car. We removed the spare tire and built an enclosure in the compartment where the spare tire used to be. We literally built the thing from the ground into a show car. That was my first car and clearly I became an import guy forever after that. It was from that CRX that I began to trick out every car that I had after that. From there I started to really get into SUVs. It actually came from having to carry all of this stuff. The camera gear, the production gear. I had to have something that was able to tow a trailer when we began touring the country feature dancing.

Don Juan: Damn man, so literally this business has added so much to things you do and love in other realms. That is as real as it gets Miles.

Miles Long: Yeah, it was something that was there as I got my start, and I was towing a trailer for the feature dance act. At the same time I was tricking these cars and SUVs out with things like big stereo systems and that was also something that helped me to maintain my relationship with people in the music and nightclub industries. It was able to add so much to other things in my life and career like that. I still go to see those guys to this day whenever I get a new car and begin its additions and upgrades. It is also where along the way I began to pick up some bikes. Of course, I had to begin doing that same thing to my bikes. Changing everything from the rims and the chain, all the way to the motor. Things you only see on race bikes. I think you saw that picture of Prince and I and commented on it?

Don Juan: Oh hell yes. That bike was beautiful. (My voice and laughter just continues to get louder and louder. Miles is a guy that can truly paint you a picture of what his passions are. Being a big gear head myself, I found it the coolest of things to talk with Miles about such things. It is not very often we ever get to talk about cars he and I, we are always that busy. .)

Miles Long: So, Chris, he has always been an old-school Harley guy, and he has a couple of Harley's. So, right around the mid-two-thousands, I said to myself at some point, “maybe I should build a Harley.” Building bikes was something a little different from what I was used to, even though when I was in college I did work in a motorcycle shop, and they were all Japanese bikes. I had always wanted to build and chopper. You know, one of those traditional choppers but that just was not my speed. I ended up building a drag bike. It took me a year and half to build. I did everything except the paint. It was actually Chris’s friend that did that and what a job he did. This drag bike had everything. A secondary fuel pump to run the nitrous kit, dual spark plugs, everything. That bike took part in a lot of shows over the years. I even had an insurance company rent it from me to do a commercial. It was from there that I think I began to look more into cars that could do the same thing. I remember that I began watching Top Gear, the British version. Which is far superior to the American version if you ask me. It was there that I first saw the cars that you asked about. It is a program that shows the more obscure cars. I imported one of the last of those cars into the United States. I have owned that car since I ordered the chassis and imported it over here. It is a team PTI show car. Of course, it had to have that fifteen thousand dollar stereo, that I am proud to say that I installed. It had all the bells and whistles and that was a great Sunday car, you know what I mean?

It was from there that I got my first Forester and when I got that car, I saw how much could be done. I went all out with this thing. Turned every light that was red to green. I took apart the entire car. I changed everything man. We are talking even the backlights for the window. The lights for the AC. So now you know what I mean when I say every single button and light is red now. Getting to add all those little things, even the stickers than say sponsored by Kicker. This was a love that just grew inside me and as you see with our Subaru group, it is something that keeps growing every year.

Don Juan: Fuck yeah dude. Bro, I love that you are talking about a CRX. The first car that I tricked out was a 2000 Prelude. The last year Honda made that fucking car and I loved it to death.

Miles Long: Those cars are amazing. Those are the cars when you customize them you know that a person really loves to put in work. That is what being a gear head is all about.

Don Juan: To touch base again with the philosophical stuff and I love asking this one. I love asking this question to the male performers and industry members a tad bit more than I do the females. Miles, as an actor, a performer, a director and most important as a man of success in this business. What does the word sexuality mean to you?

Miles Long: That is an interesting question. You know, sexuality, it really means a girl who is comfortable in her own skin. At this point, with over twenty years in, there is no such thing as one definition for what a woman is. Tall, skinny, big boobs, small boobs, to me, the thing that really turns me on about a woman is one that is sexual. That is the biggest definition of sexuality. So, it is a feeling of comfort in your own skin and there is also that confidence in their thoughts. Then, that is where things become a huge turn on with everything you do. Once you have that, then nothing else matters. You are going to have chemistry, you will be able to figure out where all the nuts and bolts go afterwards. If someone has not really turned you on at your core and vice versa, you are not going to have anything. All you have with that combination is a scene and what that means in a relationship, is that you are just going through the motions of life and love. If there is one thing you do not want to do, it is had a relationship where you are going through the motions at home. You want to feel something. You want to be able to have that passion, you know what I mean?

Don Juan: Oh yeah my friend. I sure do. You know, the path we have walked in our lives is pretty damn similar in many ways. It is such a trip in life to say that I learned the value of a woman from dating a porn star. It makes me wonder how many over great truths there are hidden in this world we live in. There is nothing that compares to a woman who has discovered her sexuality and then has become empowered and confident. I can no longer date women who are not.

Miles Long: Oh for sure, for sure. Absolutely.

Don Juan: I also think that our girls in the business never get the credit for being those kinds of amazing women, you know?

Miles Long: I think that people pick up on it now. I do not think that they misunderstand it and mislabeled it as something else. They will look at a woman who is a porn star and mistake the fact that she is this confident woman who puts effort into all that she does and they say something like, “oh man, she is hot.” Or, some people will say, “damn, that gal knows what she is doing.” Those people fail to realize that those things come from a person who is confident. That comes from a woman who knows what she wants. She is a woman who wants to please somebody and wants to be pleased, and I am not referring just to those things that are sexual in nature. Those people fail to see that she has a lack of fear and asks for the things that she wants and will pursue those things that she wants to many great lengths in her life.

I think the part of “misnaming” those things in a woman in our business comes from society's tendency to try to put things into a much simpler term. Or try to label something that maybe does not have a name with a label or a classification. It becomes all too common to try to hit the nail on the head and find out the depths that these women have for so many things too quickly as they are very complex people.

Don Juan: Amen to that brother. The last two questions for you my friend and I will cut you loose. This one, I really have to know and I think that there are a lot of fans out there as well who would be very anxious in the best of ways to hear your answer. Miles, you are a person who has had a Hall of Fame career my friend and it is one that is well deserved. The question that I have is, if you were to hang it all up tomorrow, what would you say is your greatest work? What would you say to the fans is the film, production, photograph, that defines you?

Miles Long: I do not know if there is necessarily one thing, when I got into this business and I still say it to this day. I got into this business because at the end of the day, I wanted to make people happy. It was never about just making myself happy. Yes, winning a trophy for being a performer of the year, or being a director whose film gets you massive accolades, that is all wonderful and something to strive for but making something that other people could enjoy, that is what it is all about for me. Yes, at the end of the day, in many instances you must take care of yourself, you have to do things for your gain and your survival but there is always something that I think every person feels and that is you want the audience that you are having look at your work, enjoy it as much, if not more that you do. I look at my time in this business as time that I have spent making a lot of people happy, one person at a time, over twenty-one years. That in itself is what makes me happy and if I had to say what is the one thing that is my greatest accomplishment, it has to be that.

At the end of the day, you can have so many awards. You can have so many accolades but I do not think that they mean anything if you do not have the respect of your peers. All the money in the world does not add up to the value of making something that makes people happy no matter if they are the people who are watching it, or they are the people that helped me to see my vision of creation become a reality. There is a big truth that at the end of the day that it is the consumer that you did it for. There is a lot that I think a person needs to give up to the person who takes time out of their life to see the things that you create. Spending time, which is more valuable than anything to check out your life's work and get a feeling that what they are seeing and feeling is real and accepted on so many levels. Getting to put that smile on his or hers face, even if it was for only five minutes and the rest of the day before or after was not going so hot. For that five minutes, they were happy. That is priceless to me. To know that my work has been able to reach people on that level, it brings validation to all my work. I think that is why I can simply say that is one thing that defines what my work is.

Don Juan: Miles, this was truly the first time that I got to sit down and research for an article. Getting to put a friend in the subject line of something you create, there is nothing better. Going through all the websites, finding out about everything you have done big and small, I would find some websites would have your performance filmography. Then, on other sites it was an emphasis on the things that you have directed. This is nothing that I aim to expose any company that does not do their homework, or give the fine detail they should. I think the real truth is Miles you are a one of a kind in this business. You are someone who is as rare as they come in life and people are not used to seeing that at any point in their lives or careers. You have done exactly what you set out to do. Meeting you through Lynn, a performer who you worked with and inspired her to enjoy her time in the business, grew as a person. Getting to meet you through her has led to a lot of inspiration for what I can do by the example you set. You live the things you say, just as you proved now.

Miles Long: Man, I sincerely am flattered by that. It does mean a lot to me to be able to inspire you and her like that. To be a positive influence that means everything to me, especially at this stage of my career and life. It is something that I set out to do when I meet people in the business, when I work with them. I want to be able to share the things that I have. I want to be able to give people that chance in everything that they do. I want to help as much as I possibly can. I think I am at that point in my life where the feeling is bigger than it ever has been to give back to the industry and to the people in it. It has begun to spread to other places now. As of late I get that feeling to extend that positivity not just when I am working but with those around me. To my community here in Las Vegas.

Don Juan: Lynn is proof of that my friend. We were talking about you just the other day and I kid you not, we spoke about the things we go through in the business. We spoke about the ups and downs of life and how they play into being a performer. As I told her that we were going to be doing this interview, she spoke about how much she cares about you. How much you taught her and how you made her time in this industry something very special. Those are truly her words brother. You honestly helped her to grow and blossom as a human being with your ways and actions bro.

Miles Long: That seemed like that was part of her journey, part of her road to self discovery. To become something, like a butterfly coming out of a cocoon. I always tried to be there for my friend Lynn and not just in a production sense but in a personal way as well. I wanted to be that friend that was encouraging and offered advice, the next thing she knew she was going all over to shoot. She was a performer who I never wanted anything out of her, I just wanted to be a good friend because that is the only way that I know how to be when meeting good people like her.

Don Juan: To keep adding into these stories. It was through you and her that I was able to meet Abigail and get to meet another person who worked hard, who cared about other people and has that same type of drive and compassion for her fellow human being. It is the truth that surrounding yourself with positivity, it connects people who never ever thought they would be connected and it blossoms into something even more massive that one's creativity ever thought possible. You give the “corny” things that people do not believe in a coolness and a truth. I think that is as good as it gets my friend.

Miles Long: It is definitely an old school way of looking at life and the world as whole. You don’t see it that much anymore, especially in the younger generation. That “pay it forward” mentality is not the focus anymore. It has become something different. For me, it is something that became ingrained in the military.

Don Juan: You got that fucking right. My friend, it is time for the last of the Mohicans. What can we look forward to with the rest of 2020 coming from the Miles Long brand? What can we share with the fans today?

Miles Long: Well, we can certainly be looking forward to some more premium girl/girl and POV content first of all. Also, I am very excited about the relationships I have with some fabulous companies. Bang.com where they have really let me grab the reins with evrything from the script and the creative ideas within productions and let me do my own thing. Which has panned out extremely well. They were one of the companies who hired me specifically not because of the directorial relationships that I had, but because of my love, passion and dedication to photography. They asked me to shoot extra photography based on my understanding of media and social media marketing. They are a company that understands my ways and relationships with brand marketing. Their trust has allowed me to try different things in the social media world and I think that this is going to something fans are going to be just as passionate about as I am. I also want to say to the fans it has been one amazing year and there is a lot more to come. I want to truly that I was so flattered by IAFD awarding me the best web director. It always means something to me to get just a couple nominations for best director. For me to have now been nominated for seven of them and winning two, I was flabbergasted. I hope everyone out there knows how much this means to me and how much they mean to me.

With that, we end something that was truly special for me. As I got to tell my friend Miles how much he has inspired me on many levels and how many times his good graces to me and more so, to the models and performers of this business has helped us over the years. All I can say is that what I think always showed me who Miles Long was, it had to be the times when he lived up to things he spoke of in this very interview. When he was there in times of need. Many directors and producers say they do great things. They say they care. Then we hear about something dreadful and all of a sudden our worlds are turned upside down, literally. I have been in this business long enough to see veterans and I mean the people who work their ass, off go from working for the devil, to working for saints and those in limbo. Miles is one of the men people never talk about in this industry. He is a man who lives those words he spoke in this interview. They are not marketing tactics even though the man is a master marketer. The wonders of Miles Long are stories that may never be told. Stories of a man helping a person to find the right path even, if it was not in this business, or if it was in a line of work more suited for them. In an age where we talk about people who are monsters, who lie, cheat and steal, he is the man who does not make headline stories like that. His path is to make the person who has never felt welcome, become part of the family. That is not something that sells newspapers these days, or something an editor has a reporter write about. Miles is a man who when people talk about great change in this industry and seeing what the future can be, it is that honor, respect and passion that he has, that will be what the ground level of stability will be built on for the future of this industry and more. It is a thankless job but maybe that is why Miles Long has it because it is a job that is not about the money, it is about the emotions of others and where their own heart and spirit can take them. That is the journey that Mile Long blazes a trail for. It is a journey Miles Long indeed and thank God we have Miles Long to Go.