Hoffman Hardballs Hardcore
interview by David Hoffman
Tuesday, February 11, 2003

Perverts love him. Porners hate him. Puritans would like to incarcerate him.

His name is Max Hardcore. His real name Steiner and probably half-a-dozen others, he landed on the LA porn scene like a big, messy SPLAT in 1990 after tiring of tricking vacationing co-eds into being surreptitiously recorded in the act of fornication.

His unique line of vulgarity includes: The Adventures of Max Hardcore, Anal Vision, Cherry Poppers, Hardcore Schoolgirls and Max World.

Hardcore's techniques of tactile torture include anal fisting and gaping, saliva-drenched throat-f-cking complete with vomiting, lighted medical speculums in the vagina and anus, oral and anal golden-showers, pussy finger-f-cking through the ass, anal piss-drinking, and of course the obligatory degrading name-calling.

Featuring teenage-looking girls with pigtails and shaved pussies, Steiner's Schoolgirls series was considered so harsh it was even banned in sexually liberated Sweden! His own website describes the horrors of his sexually perverted Disneyland:

"… Max also developed new and more offensive methods of sexual mistreatment. Max pioneered Throat f-cking, where he would drive his cock down a girl's throat until she gagged on it - and in some cases, even puked on it! This inspired the trade-marked 'Splatter Cam' shots, where Max works up tremendous amounts of saliva in the girl's mouth by repeatedly f-cking her throat until the spit would be flowing out of her mouth and all over her face! Then Max has his girls blow huge bubbles with the mess - 'Just like bubble gum, you little cunt' Max would say!

"… Max's next breakthrough routine is the creative and lecherous use of lighted medical speculums to pry open the mouth, cunts, and ass-holes of his girls. Max likes to use one to stretch open the pussy of a girl, then finger her pussy through her ass-hole. After that humiliating treatment, Max force-f-cks her ass-pipe with the speculum still spreading her pussy! You can actually see his cock going in and out of her ass through her gaping pussy!"

This all culminated in 1998 with Child Pornography charges being leveled against Steiner by the Los Angeles District Attorney, involving Max Extreme 4: Extreme Team, Vols. 18, 19, 21 and 24, which ended in a hung jury and a mistrial. The case went nowhere after the U.S. Supreme Court voided sections of the Child Pornography Prevention Act that criminalized adults in sexually explicit conduct with those who "appeared to be" under the age of 18. That left only the Distribution of Obscenity charges, which resulted in a deadlock.

Similar obscenity charges against Adam Glasser (Seymour Butts's "Tampa Tushy Fest") and Jeff Seward ("American Bukakke 11") were plea-bargained down to public nuisances. It is uncertain whether the real public nuisances, Assistant DA Michelle Anderson and her cohorts in the LAPD, have given up hope that they can still become Attorney General John Ashcroft's official apple polishers.

Extreme Associates, which had distributed Steiner's material, refused to cooperate with the defense in producing records relating to sales statistics of similar films, then posted a missive decrying their former business partner as a "rat." Even Patrick Collins of Elegant Angel, a producer of gangbangs, called Hardcore "a boil on the ass of pornography."

Yet at the recent Free Speech Coalition symposium, Hardcore's name evoked a round of applause by the porn high-rollers in attendance; and his fans have rewarded Max-the-Pervert with a generous income that's managed to perch him in a lofty four-story house high atop the Pasadena hills.

As someone said, either you love Max Hardcore or you hate him.

******

DH: What kind of photography were you doing in Florida? Was photography what you were doing for a living? And how, exactly, did you "trick" tourist girls into posing and f-cking for the camera? I find this statement rather amusing.

MH: I was an all around photographer, for the paper, some fashion for the local stores, and the theaters in town. I was also a carpenter, an auto mechanic, and whatever else I could do to make a few bucks. But it was the photography I enjoyed the most of course, because the easiest way to separate a girl from her clothing is with a camera.

I had a scam where I would go to the popular tourist spots and meet girls who I could see liked to party, and that was most of them. I'd take their pictures, chat them up, and offer to show them the hot spots in Key West. If things worked out well, end up taking them home to my place. There I had a camera hidden among the stereo equipment facing the couch were we were sitting. Whilst turning on the stereo, on would go the camera. If I was real lucky, I'd soon be f-cking the girl and taping the whole thing! I've probably got around a hundred scenes like that and they're always a pleasure to watch. Of course, I had no ID shots or model releases on the girls so I could never put the scenes into commerce. But it did inspire me to make videos in California, so after making a few connections, I moved out to LA, and started in earnest.

DH: How do you get young girls to consent to do such extreme, kinky things like peeing in their mouths and asses? Were you doing such things in Florida?

MH: I wasn't doing that stuff in Florida, hell, I didn't even know about that stuff! But I was f-cking them in the ass, and found that most girls I met loved getting treated like a tramp. Over time though I needed stronger 'medicine' to treat my perversion, and got into fist-f-cking and pissing. The way I get the girlies to do this nasty stuff is to treat it like it's all normal. This is how it's done by all the cute girls I shoot, and it's how you're going to do it as well. Any questions? Okay, let's get started.

(Note: not sure what Steiner means by this.)

DH: Tell us how you developed your niche. What, if any, problems, other than the obvious hate you encountered?

MH: I basically do what I like to do and that happens to be extreme porn shot from the guy's perspective, so that has put me in a position of authority on the matter. As time went on, I perfected my techniques and developed new ones, and became a successful leader in the field. And when you're at the top, it's inevitable that people are going to take shots at you, but I don't give that much consideration. My job is to please the fans. The funny thing is that some of my most vocal detractors are trying to do similar things with the girls. The most vivid example of this is when I created the 'Cherry Poppers' series in the early nineties. It was roundly condemned by many in the industry saying I had gone too far and all that crap. But what happened? Many copied me so that nowadays you have dozens of teen-themed series. I told them to mind their own business then, and I just laugh about it now. In any case I'm not worried about it in the least because no matter what else happens, there is only one Max Hardcore.

DH: Why do you call your work your "revenge", which it states on your website?

MH: Well I say a lot of things on my website, in an effort to describe all the things a viewer will encounter. One of those things is a common theme among men, and that is the grudge or revenge f-ck. Almost every guy has been unceremoniously dumped by a girl they thought loved them. After that, it's natural to get a little jaded about relationships and take out their frustration on girls they meet after that. But it's not always possible for a guy to do that, and that's where Max comes in. I'm simply a surrogate for all the men out there who have been sh-t on by selfish women. Go Max, Go!

DH: Tell us about your move to LA, and how you financed your business, if you don't mind talking about such specifics.

MH: Of course. I am totally self financed. I made the money I needed by any way and any job I could. I never liked the idea of having investors. It never seems to work out. But I had the advantage of my brother paying for my apartment in the early days, and I just slowly built it up.

I did a lot of things early in my life which prepared me for a career in business, such as school and working for others in many fields. But after I discovered the camera, my path was set. I came to California to set up a business with my brother, who had for years been in the adult videoshop business. He had the contacts, and I met them and after many rejections, I was given a shot by a legend in the industry, Bobby Hollander. He told me what the viewers wanted to see, and basically how to shoot it. But I did all the work, booking the girls, locations, scripting and filming. We started shooting Amateur scenes for the 'Mr. Peepers' series at first. Back then in the early 90's, there were very few girls and even fewer guys to choose from. So after a couple of bad scenes by the guys, I just said f-ck it, I'll do it myself. I immediately found that I had an affinity for the work, and had no problems with cameras and crew. So Bobby let me create my own series, called Anal Vision. I just started shooting and shooting, and the rest, as they say, is history.

DH: What's happening with your obscenity case?

MH: The LA District Attorney can still file charges against me, because the jury was 'hung' at my last trial (against Max Extreme 4). They know they can't convict me, so maybe they are thinking they can spend me out of business. But that's not going to happen. I believe in free speech, and I believe that I will prevail and even grow stronger as a result. As I like to say, the best is yet to come.

DH: What, specifically, were the charges? What exactly were they based on?

MH: They first filed 3 counts of obscenity, but we got 2 tossed in the prelims. The final charge is obscenity for a girl who looks like she's 25 saying "f-ck my 12 year old ass" in a fantasy sequence of hers. The prosecutor is Michelle Anderson in the LA District Attorneys office and you're welcome to call her, but it's doubtful she's going to respond. She has a female boss, but I can't remember her name. I only know of her responding to questions from big news organizations….

(Note: I did call Anderson. She didn't respond.)

DH: I knew an actress - a French-Canadian gal who you shot with - who told me she was treated very nicely by you, and thought you were pretty cool.

MH: That's the norm. I treat em like princesses, and explain all.

DH: I've also received word that you are being sued by some girls, and that at least one police report has been filed against you for abuse. This included making an experienced girl deep-throat until she vomited repeatedly, not paying her fee, and letting her leave in tears - highly traumatized. I've also been told that this alleged abuse has been accompanied with occasional threats.

MH: Total nonsense. You're talking about a girl from England named Felicity, and I don't have time to go into it now except to say that it was a set-up by a British TV station. We hardly got into the scene and she bolted. She didn't get throat f-cked, nor did she vomit. Just left the set for drama. I never released the footage of the pix. There's been a lot written about it and a thorough web search on my name will lead you to it. The whore that sued me is named Olivia, and there's been plenty written about that as well, and again, you should be able to get all the info you need through a web search.

DH: No, I wasn't referring to Felicity (never heard of her), and I already know about Olivia. I was referring to a nice gal that I've spoken with about half-a-dozen times. I can't say her name, as she's frightened. Although she is an experienced kinky nymph, she told me she was very traumatized, and the fear and emotion in her voice was palpable. She even went to the police.

MH: I think I know the cunt. She got through the scene and we got a very nice exit interview on her. She couldn't throat, so I gave up on that. Really pretty useless girl from the San Francisco area into the goth scene. She called the HIV clinic and the police and all that crap and they basically told her that she was full of sh-t and it's her own f-cking fault, which it was because all girls are told ahead of time that you have the right to say no or even leave if you're not feeling comfortable. I make pretty good sex scenes but I can't read minds. And the idea of retaliation is just idiotic. I forgot about that whore, and will forget again shortly.

DH: In the Olivia case, it is rumored that she came back for a second filming. Is that true? I know the DA dropped the case.

MH: Yes. Same activity. 'Cept the second time I didn't let her take drugs or drink. Case was rejected by DA summarily after I showed the pre-scene interview where I explain the scene and have the girl agree to do it. But that part that locked it for me was when they saw the part where I piss in her mouth and she says it's not that bad. She must have forgotten about that part, but that's what happens when you do too much drugs.

DH: There is a website put out by Extreme: www.extremeassociates.com/max that demonizes you, saying you ratted out people in the industry:

"Speculation is running rampant that Max Hardcore was whoring out other production companies in order receive immunity from his conviction. When asked if this was the case, Max would neither deny nor confirm these allegations"

MH: Credence to anything Extreme has to say? Zero percent. Remember these are the guys that stole Gene Ross, one of AVN's top writers, had him say all sorts of nasty sh-t about AVN which caused AVN to ban them from the big conventions. Then they fired him. They also bounce checks on talent, suppliers, etc. But even if none of that were true, if I ratted out the industry, who else got busted? No one. Nobody gives a flying f-ck what Extreme has to say.

DH: One of the afforementioned girls, when she learned I was interviewing you, said: "Ask him why he hates women so much, and what his mother did to him." These are some serious charges. How do you respond?

MH: I have already. It's nonsense as well. I had a great childhood and you won't hear me crying about not getting enough attention, like so many in this blame-game society. And I don't hate women, I'm just a performer doing my job.