LOS ANGELES — Shawn Mayotte, a notable beefcake star of all-male adult films and magazines throughout the 1980s, is promoting the release of his new memoir, "Mayotte: The Musings Of A Narcissist: A Survivor's Story."
Mayotte's book describes, with brutal detail, a childhood scarred with physical and sexual abuse, his struggles with addiction and how he managed to navigate burgeoning gay adult stardom as the industry was being ravaged by HIV and AIDS.
Today the author is a working musician, happy and healthy, and proudly calls himself, as the subtitle of his memoir demonstrates, a survivor.
In 2006, he Googled his former nom de porn and was startled to discover that the Internet Age had resurrected the legacy of "Shawn Mayotte" and that he now counted a new legion of admirers across the globe.
As he explored how to properly tell his story, Mayotte became fiercely determined to preserve the memory of long-lost friends and colleagues.
"I guess [a] message of my book is that prostitutes, adult film actors and addicts matter and are as human as a trust-fund baby," he told Boy Culture in January. "We don't deserve derision or mocking."
"Everyone counts or no one counts," he added.
Purchase "Mayotte: The Musings Of A Narcissist: A Survivor's Story" on Amazon. A second tome, a photobook titled "Shawn Mayotte After Hours: Naked & Unashamed," is on the boards.
Image (right): Courtesy Mayotte
