Armond Rizzo
{{short description|American pornographic actor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Armond Rizzo
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1990|07|19}}
| birth_place = Aurora, Illinois, United States
| other_names = Joey Rodriguez
| occupation = {{hlist|Pornographic actor|model}}
| years_active = 2013–present
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| height = {{height|ft=4|in=11}}{{cite web |last1=Rodriguez |first1=Mathew |title=What Happens When You Win at the "Oscars of Gay Porn" |url=https://www.out.com/lifestyle/2019/1/23/what-happens-when-you-win-oscars-gay-porn |website=Out |accessdate=October 9, 2020 |language=en |date=January 23, 2019}}
}}
Armond Rizzo (born July 19, 1990), previously Joey Rodriguez, is an American-Mexican-French{{cite web |last1=Jansen |first1=Brady |title=In Living Color: Interview With Armond Rizzo AVN |url=https://avn.com/business/articles/gay/in-living-color-interview-with-armond-rizzo-861520.html |website=AVN |accessdate=October 9, 2020 |language=en |date=January 17, 2020}} pornographic actor. Over the course of his career, he has won several awards, including two GayVN Awards and one Grabby Award, and was one of the most searched-for gay porn stars on Pornhub in the late 2010s.
Early life
Rizzo was born on July 19, 1990, in Aurora, Illinois, to Mexican-French parents. Growing up, he practiced aikido for five years, while participating in theater at his high school.{{cite web |last1=Jansen |first1=Brady |title=In Living Color: Interview With Armond Rizzo AVN |url=https://avn.com/business/articles/gay/in-living-color-interview-with-armond-rizzo-861520.html |website=AVN |accessdate=October 9, 2020 |language=en |date=January 17, 2020}} During his youth, he also attended modeling school. After graduating from high school, Rizzo enlisted in the United States Navy, where he served on USS George H.W. Bush for four years.{{cite magazine |last=Franklin |first=James |date=February 1, 2019 |title=Porn Star Interview: Armond Rizzo |url=https://www.dnamagazine.com.au/product/dna229/ |magazine=DNA |publisher=DNA Publications |access-date=October 8, 2020}} After leaving the military, he attended culinary school, but eventually dropped out.{{cite web |title=Armond Rizzo: Exclusive Gay Porn Star Interview |url=https://www.queermenow.net/blog/armond-rizzo-gay-porn-star-interview/ |website=Queer Me Now |accessdate=October 9, 2020 |language=en |date=May 4, 2020}}
Career
Rizzo originally had hopes of being an actor, but worried he would not be tall enough to get roles. He decided to start performing in porn after meeting former pornographic actor Shane Frost through gay social networking and online dating application Jack'd.{{cite web |last1=Witchka |first1=Keith |title=Armond Rizzo Intimate Interview with Keith Witchka |url=https://www.jrlcharts.com/2015/03/05/armond-rizzo-intimate-interview-with-keith-witchka/ |website=JRL Charts |accessdate=October 9, 2020 |language=en |date=March 5, 2015}} In 2013, he appeared in his first pornographic scene with studio Randy Blue, for which he only shot one scene. Though he planned on quitting after the scene, he came into contact with fellow porn actor Bruno Bond, who encouraged him to apply for Raging Stallion. After applying, he appeared in a scene with Landon Conrad for the studio, which was followed by scenes with Falcon Studios and Breeditraw.com. His earliest scenes involving bareback sex were performed under the name Joey Rodriguez, while those performed using a condom were made under the name Armond Rizzo. In 2017, he was nominated for a GayVN Award for Best Ethnic Scene, but turned down the nomination.{{cite web |last1=Street |first1=Mikelle |title=Gay Porn Stars Clash Over The Term "Big Black C*ck": Is It Ever Acceptable To Say? |url=http://www.newnownext.com/gay-porn-stars-clash-over-the-term-big-black-cck-is-race-play-ever-acceptable/01/2018/ |website=Logo News |accessdate=October 9, 2020 |date=January 20, 2018}} Also in 2017, he was the third most searched-for gay pornographic actor on Pornhub.{{cite web |title=2017 Year in Review |url=https://www.pornhub.com/insights/2017-year-in-review |website=Pornhub Insights |access-date=November 24, 2023 |date=January 9, 2018}}
In 2019, Rizzo appeared in the pornographic film Big Black Daddy with Max Konnor for Noir Male, for which he won the GayVN Award for Best Duo Sex Scene (making Rizzo and Konnor the first actors of color to win the award) and earned a nomination for the Grabby Award for Best Duo.{{cite web |last1=Street |first1=Mikelle |title=Max Konnor Just Launched an Agency for Porn Performers of Color |url=https://www.out.com/sex/2019/12/19/max-konnor-just-launched-agency-porn-performers-color |website=Out |accessdate=October 9, 2020 |language=en |date=December 19, 2019}} That same year, he won the Grabby Award for Hottest Bottom. In 2018, Rizzo was the second most searched-for gay porn actor on Pornhub, becoming the third-most searched in 2019.{{cite web |last1=Stott |first1=Rob |title=Pornhub Has Released Its Year In Review, And Wow, You're All Horny For Fortnite |url=https://junkee.com/pornhub-year-review-2018/186633 |website=Junkee |accessdate=October 9, 2020 |language=en |date=December 12, 2018}} After being asked to work with studio BlacksOnBoys in January 2020, Rizzo declined, later revealing via Twitter that the studio paid performers who bottomed significantly less than performers who topped, and that the studio originally offered him between $400 and $500.{{cite web |last1=Milton |first1=Josh |title=Justice for bottoms! Adult film star Armond Rizzo drags porn studio for paying tops more than bottoms |url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/01/28/porn-armond-rizzo-adult-film-star-blacksonboys-tops-bottoms-justice-pay/ |website=PinkNews |accessdate=October 9, 2020 |language=en |date=January 28, 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Song |first1=Sandra |title=Gay Porn Star Demands Bottoms Get Paid Equal to Tops |url=https://www.papermag.com/armond-rizzo-bottoms-tops-porn-2644994334.html?rebelltitem=13#rebelltitem13 |website=Paper |accessdate=October 9, 2020 |language=en |date=January 31, 2020}} The instance led to Rizzo demanding equal pay for tops and bottoms in the industry.{{cite web |title=Bottoms Earn Less Money Than Tops? |url=https://instinctmagazine.com/bottoms-earn-less-money-than-tops/ |website=Instinct |accessdate=October 9, 2020 |language=en |date=January 28, 2020}}
As of 2019, Rizzo has never been exclusive to any single agency.
Public image
Adult Video News called Rizzo "the best bottom in the business" in 2019. Pedestrian TV referred to Rizzo as "one of the most renowned bottoms in the land".{{cite web |last1=Hanson |first1=Louis |title=Gay Porn Star Slams Film Studio For Paying Bottoms A Hole Lot Less Than Tops |url=https://www.pedestrian.tv/sex-dating/gay-porn-star-paying-bottoms-tops/ |website=Pedestrian TV |accessdate=October 9, 2020 |date=January 30, 2020}} CromosomaX included him on their list of the 10 pornstars with the best buttocks.{{cite web |title=Los 10 actores porno gay con mejor culo |url=https://www.cromosomax.com/33743-los-10-actores-porno-gay-con-mejor-culo |website=CromosomaX |accessdate=October 9, 2020 |language=es}}