Carlo Masi

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Carlo Masi
Carlo Masi.jpg
Born
Ruggero Freddi

(1976-10-06) 6 October 1976 (age 49)
Rome, Italy
Alma mater Sapienza University of Rome (BS, MS, PhD)
Other namesCarlo Masi
Years active2004–2009
Employer COLT Studio Group
Spouse(s)
Giovanni Ravaschieri Fieschi Del Drago
​
​
(m. 2015;died 2016)​

Gustavo Leguizamon
​
(m. 2018)​
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsSapienza University of Rome
Thesis Morse index of multiple blow-up solutions to the two-dimensional sinh-poisson equation  (2020)
Doctoral advisor Angela Pistoia
Massimo Grossi  [ Wikidata ]

Ruggero Freddi (born 6 October 1976) is an Italian mathematics lecturer and former gay pornographic film actor known professionally as Carlo Masi. He was married to a member of the Roman noble family Del Drago, holding the title of prince, and became his widower following his husband's death.

Contents

Early life and education

Freddi was born in Rome in 1976 to a poor family. His parents divorced when he was three years old. [1] At the age of 14, he began to work out at a local gym, practicing bodybuilding assiduously. [2] [3] [4] In 2002, when he was about to complete his first cycle of study at the Sapienza University of Rome, he moved to Canada, and subsequently to New York. [5] [3]

Career

In 2003, Masi completed a Master of Science (MSc) degree in computer engineering [6] [7] [8] at the Sapienza University of Rome and worked in an artificial intelligence laboratory. [9] [10]

Pornography

In 2004, after being contacted by a Colt Studio Group (CSG) recruiter, he made his debut in the gay pornography industry participating in his first porn movie, Big N 'Plenty. [3] After his debut, he signed an exclusive model contract with CSG. He has advocated safe sex in some interviews, fraternising with the Italian LGBT community. [11] [3]

In 2006, he was selected to appear on the cover of COLT 40, [12] a coffee table book published to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the production company. [13]

In 2007, Masi and his future husband, Adam Champ (Gustavo Leguizamon  [ Wikidata ]), were selected to appear on the cover of the Damron 2007 Men's Travel Guide. [14] [15]

In 2008, reportedly, CSG and Calaexotic released a dildo reproduction of Masi's penis. [16] That same year, he was named the first and only Colt Man Emeritus and his contract was extended to a lifetime one. [17] In 2008, Masi and Champ, were selected to appear on the cover of Adam Gay Film & Video Directory Magazine. [18]

During his porn career, he was a guest on national Italian TV shows such as Chiambretti Night  [ it ], L'Infedele and Sugo  [ it ]. [19] [20] [21] Moreover, he was featured in several tours across America, Mexico and Europe [22] [23] [24] to promote the CSG brand. His porn career lasted six years (from age 28 to 34). Following a disagreement with Colt in 2009, Masi retired from the pornography industry. [25]

In the essay Pornage. Viaggio nei segreti e nelle ossessioni del sesso contemporaneo (Il_Saggiatore_(casa_editrice)  [ it ], 2018), [26] the author devotes a passage to Ruggero Freddi, citing him as an example of a former pornographic actor who transitioned into academia.

In 2011, he was included in the anthologies Porn from Andy Warhol to X-Tube [27] [28] and Gay Porn Heroes: 100 Most Famous Porn Stars. [29] In 2013, he was interviewed for the documentary HUSTLABALL BERLIN - A Documentary That Bares All. [30] In 2014, he was included in the coffee table book produced by Colt entitled Hairy Chested Men. [31]

Theatre

In 2009, he made his theatre debut with Senzaparole, a reinterpretation of Samuel Beckett's Act Without Words I , [32] [33] directed by Andrea Adriatico  [ it ] and staged in Bologna with the Teatri di vita  [ it ]theatre company. [34] and later in Rome at the Teatro India  [ it ]. [35] [36]

The production is documented in Non io nei giorni felici. Beckett, Adriatico e il teatro del desiderio (Titivillus_Mostre_Editoria  [ it ] , 2010), [37] a volume on Adriatico’s Beckett cycle that also highlights Masi’s role as co-protagonist. [38]

Academia

After working in the theatre, Masi decided to return to the Sapienza University of Rome. There he earned a Bachelor of Science degree (cum laude) in mathematics, with a score of 110/110 and then a Master of Science degree (cum laude) in mathematics with a score of 110/110. [39] [8] [3] [40] In 2020, he completed a Ph.D. in Mathematical Models for Engineering, Electromagnetism and Nanosciences at Sapienza University of Rome focusing on the application of Morse theory to a Dirichlet problem traced back to Poisson equations. [39] [41] His doctoral advisors were Angela Pistoia and Massimo Grossi  [ Wikidata ]. [42] [3]

While he was working on his doctorate, he was a lecturer for Analysis 1 [25] [43] and Analysis 2 [8] courses at the Faculty of Engineering at the Sapienza University of Rome. [44]

His works have been published in peer-reviewed journals indexed in major scientific databases, including Analysis in Theory and Applications, [45] Scientific Reports , [46] and Journal of Neural Engineering . [47]

In 2020, Freddi was dismissed from Sapienza University of Rome. He stated that he believed the dismissal was related to his past career in the adult film industry. In 2023, an Italian labor court ruled in his favor, condemning the university for vexatious litigation (“lite temeraria”) and ordering it to pay damages and unpaid wages. [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54]

Freddi continues to work in the field of artificial intelligence research.

Media attention

In 2017, an article published by la Repubblica [55] [56] revealed his past as a pornographic actor, [57] a revelation that attracted wide international media coverage. [58] [59] [60] [61] [62] [63] [64]

He has appeared on several television programs across Europe, in addition to the ones already mentioned, among them are La vida con Samanta , [65] I fatti vostri, [66] Pomeriggio Cinque [67] and Tagadà. He has also been a guest on numerous radio programs, including Radio 105, [68] Radio Colonna, [69] and La Zanzara on Radio 24 [70] .

In 2010, he was officially announced as a permanent member of the cast of Saturday Night Live Italia but he never appeared on the show. [71] [72]

In 2020, writer Strega Prize winner Walter Siti published La natura è innocente – Due vite quasi vere(Rizzoli). [73] This book is a double biography, told in alternate chapters, one of which is that of Ruggero Freddi. [74]

Personal life

In 2015, Masi married Prince Giovanni Ravaschieri Fieschi Del Drago  [ it ] in Porto. [75] [76] [77] Del Drago died in 2016. [78]

During his participation at Pomeriggio Cinque , [79] [80] he proposed to his partner, Gustavo Leguizamon  [ Wikidata ]. [81] [82] The civil union was celebrated on 4 May 2018, [83] and was broadcast live on Pomeriggio Cinque. [84]

Selected videography

YearTitleStudioDirector
2004Big 'N Plenty [85] Colt StudiosJohn Rutherford
Muscle Up! [85]
Buckleroose - Special Collectable Edition
eXposed: The Making Of A Legend
2005Minute Man 23 [85]
Wide Strokes [85]
2006Dual: Taking it Like a Man [85]
Man Country [85]
Waterbucks 2 [85]
2007Naked Muscles: The New Breed [85]
Hawai'i [85]
Paradise Found (no sex) [85] Buckshot ProductionsSteve Landess and Kristofer Weston
2009Hot Bods [85] Colt StudiosJohn Rutherford
MuscleHeads [85]
2010Colt Icon: Luke Garrett [85]
2014Top Shots [85]
Top Shots 3 [85]

Awards

YearAwardCategoryFilmPartneredResult
2005 GayVN Award Best Sex SceneBig 'N Plenty (2004)KarimNominee
2006 HeatGay Award Best Actor––Won
2008 XBIZ Award [86] LGBT Performer of the Year––Nominee
GayVN Award [87] Best Sex SceneNaked Muscles: The New Breed (2007) Tom Chase Nominee

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Matthews, David (May 17, 2018). "Interview with Ruggero Freddi". timeshighereducation.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  2. ↑ Siti 2020, p. 72–73.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Morgana (2017-11-11). "Ruggero Freddi biografia: la storia di Carlo Masi". WDonna.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  4. ↑ Corbelli, Giulio Maria (June 2, 2005). "Un ragazzo molto Colt – Intervista a Carlo Masi" (in Italian). CulturaGay.it. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  5. ↑ Siti 2020, p. 128.
  6. ↑ Siti 2020, p. 132–134.
  7. ↑ "Facevo il pornodivo per pellicole gay. Oggi sono docente di ingegneria a La Sapienza di Roma". L'HuffPost (in Italian). 2017-10-27. Archived from the original on 2018-01-06. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  8. 1 2 3 Giovanna, Cavalli (2017-10-27). "Porn star turned lecturer earns students' respect". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2018-04-16. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  9. ↑ Siti 2020, p. 133–134.
  10. ↑ Arcolaci, Alessia (2017-10-28). "Basta col porno, adesso salgo in cattedra". Vanity Fair (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  11. ↑ Siti 2020, p. 317.
  12. ↑ Rutherford, John (2006). Colt 40. Colt Studio Group. ISBN   978-1-933842-15-8.
  13. ↑ AVN, Peter Johnson. "COLT to Celebrate 40th Anniversary AVN". AVN. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  14. ↑ Gatta, Gina (December 2007). Damron Men's Travel Guide. Scb Distributors. ISBN   978-0-929435-62-6.
  15. ↑ XBIZ (21 September 2007). "COLT Exclusives on the Cover of Damron Guide". XBIZ. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  16. ↑ "Carlo Masi Teams With Cal Exotics for Casting". AVN . 2009-03-04. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  17. ↑ Spencer, Jeremy (2008-04-04). "COLT Studio Renews Contract with Adam Champ and Carlo Masi". XBIZ . Archived from the original on 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  18. ↑ Adam Gay Film & Video Directory Magazine Carlo Masi & Adam Champ 2008 Single Issue Magazine – January 1, 2008. Archived from the original on May 22, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020– via amazon.com.
  19. ↑ "Sugo - Carlo Masi". YouTube . 24 February 2010.
  20. ↑ Magnani, Niccolò (2017-10-26). "CARLO MASI/ Ruggero Freddi: da porno attore gay a professore all'Università La Sapienza (Pomeriggio 5)". Il Sussidiario (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  21. ↑ "Porn Actor Carlo Masi attends 'Chiambretti Night' Italian Tv Show..." Getty Images (in Italian). 30 April 2010. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  22. ↑ "Parte il Tour degli uomini Colt: ecco chi ci sarà e le tappe". Gay.it (in Italian). 2007-11-10. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  23. ↑ AVN, G. Zisk Rice. "COLT Men Ready for Mexican Tour AVN". AVN. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  24. ↑ AVN, Peter Johnson. "Europe on Four COLT Exclusives a Day! AVN". AVN. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  25. 1 2 Carradori, Niccolò (November 26, 2017). "I Went From Being A Porn Star to University Lecturer". vice.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  26. ↑ Costa, Barbara (2018-06-14). Pornage: Viaggio nei segreti e nelle ossessioni del sesso contemporaneo (in Italian). Il Saggiatore. ISBN   978-88-6576-650-7.
  27. ↑ Clarke, Kevin (2013). Porn: From Andy Warhol to X-Tube. Bruno Gmünder Verlag. ISBN   978-3-86787-591-2.
  28. ↑ "La storia del porno gay in un volume". Gay.it (in Italian). 2011-09-03. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  29. ↑ Adams, J. C. (2011). Gay Porn Heroes: 100 Most Famous Porn Stars. Bruno Gmünder Verlag. ISBN   978-3-86787-169-3.
  30. ↑ Amos (2014-05-25). ""HUSTLABALL BERLIN"— A Documentary That Bares All". Reviews by Amos Lassen. Archived from the original on 2014-09-03. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  31. ↑ Colt (September 2014). Hairy Chested Men. Bruno Gmunder Verlag GmbH. ISBN   978-3-86787-761-9.
  32. ↑ "Masi, pornodivo gay per Beckett interpreta un desiderio impossibile - la Repubblica.it". Archivio - la Repubblica.it (in Italian). 7 September 2010. Archived from the original on 2014-01-19. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  33. ↑ Sassi, Edoardo (2010-09-04). "Ingegnere e porno divo va in scena con Beckett". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  34. ↑ Trobetta, Sergio (2010-12-08). "Il porno o Beckett è tutto spettacolo". La Stampa . Archived from the original on 2010-08-14. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  35. ↑ "Senza parole - Teatri di vita per Short (hot) Theatre". Teatro e Critica (in Italian). 2010-09-06. Archived from the original on April 24, 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  36. ↑ Siti 2020, p. 128-129.
  37. ↑ Non io nei giorni felici. Beckett, Adriatico e il teatro del desiderio a €13,60. Bestseller per Titivillus | Libreria Universitaria (in Italian).
  38. ↑ Giulia Tonucci, “Recensione: Stefano Casi (edited by), Non io nei giorni felici. Beckett, Adriatico e il teatro del desiderio”, Antropologia e Teatro, n. 2, 2011, pp. 256–260, Università di Bologna, PDF.
  39. 1 2 Siti 2020, p. 315.
  40. ↑ "Darauf kommen Sie nie! | Früher war er Porno-Star – doch was ist er heute?". bild.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  41. ↑ Siti 2020, p. 325.
  42. ↑ Freddi, Ruggero (March 2022). "Morse Index of Multiple Blow-Up Solutions to the Two-Dimensional Sinh-Poisson Equation" (PDF). Analysis in Theory and Applications. 38: 26–78. doi:10.4208/ata.OA-2020-0037. S2CID   244866305 – via Morse index, sinh-Poisson equation, eigenvalues estimates.
  43. ↑ "Matematik profesörü porno yıldızı çıktı - Son Dakika Dünya Haberleri". CNN TÜRK (in Turkish). 2018-01-02. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  44. ↑ Siti 2020, p. 315-316.
  45. ↑ Ruggero Freddi (2022-12-09). "Morse Index of Multiple Blow-up Solutions to the Two-Dimensional Sinh-Poisson Equation". Analysis in Theory and Applications. 38 (1): 26–78. doi:10.4208/ata.OA-2020-0037. ISSN   1573-8175.
  46. ↑ Freddi, Ruggero; Cicala, Francesco; Marzetti, Laura; Basti, Alessio (2025-10-06). "A mean-field approach to criticality in spiking neural networks for reservoir computing". Scientific Reports. 15 (1): 34709. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-18004-y. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   12501264 . PMID   41053236.
  47. ↑ Nigrisoli, Diana; Russo, Simone; Freddi, Ruggero; Seseri, Nicolas; Corti, Stefania; Ottoboni, Linda; Barbieri, Riccardo (2025-10-01). "Statistical characterization of cortical–thalamic dynamics evoked by cortical stimulation in mice". Journal of Neural Engineering. 22 (5): 056027. doi:10.1088/1741-2552/ae0966. ISSN   1741-2560.
  48. ↑ Coviello, Monica (2023-03-02). "Ruggero Freddi, ex pornostar e professore universitario: «La Sapienza mi ha cacciato, ora deve risarcirmi»". Vanity Fair Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  49. ↑ "Professor and ex-gay porn star wins unfair dismissal lawsuit". 2023-03-10. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  50. ↑ "Gay Ex-Adult Film Star Sues University for Firing Him and Wins". www.advocate.com. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  51. ↑ "Former Gay Adult Actor Wins Lawsuit Against University That Fired Him". www.out.com. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  52. ↑ bea@gcn.ie (2023-03-03). "Former gay porn actor wins court case against university following unfair dismissal". GCN. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  53. ↑ "Gay Ex-Adult Film Star Sues University for Firing Him and Wins". The Advocate via Yahoo News. 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  54. ↑ "Ruggero Freddi, chi è l'ex porno attore cacciato dalla Sapienza". la Repubblica (in Italian). 2023-03-02. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  55. ↑ "Il prof era un pornodivo: gli studenti lo scoprono su Facebook". Repubblica Tv - la Repubblica.it (in Italian). 2017-10-26. Archived from the original on 2017-12-05. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  56. ↑ Butterworth, Benjamin (2018-01-04). "University lecturer opens up about his 'Big N Plenty' pornstar past". PinkNews. Retrieved 2025-04-18.
  57. ↑ Com, Cribeo. "La estrella del porno que abandonó su carrera y ahora es profesor universitario de Matemáticas". Cribeo.
  58. ↑ 夏洛特 (2018-01-02). "羅馬大學教授fb曬爆肌 被揭曾是同志AV男優 教授：我有型又聰明". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  59. ↑ "大学生发现数学老师秘密身份：同志成人片男演员". news.ifeng.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  60. ↑ "Professor porn: Maths teacher's x-rated past revealed". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  61. ↑ "Mahasiswa Baru Sadar, Profesor Matematika di Kampus Ternyata Lakoni Profesi Tabu". Grid (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  62. ↑ Maharana, Kabita (2018-01-01). "Former hardcore gay porn star Carlo Masi is now a professor at an Italian university". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  63. ↑ Siti 2020, p. 318.
  64. ↑ "Students accidentally discover their maths teacher is a former gay porn star". Attitude. 2017-11-06. Archived from the original on 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  65. ↑ Redacción (2019-01-27). "Samanta Villar viaja al pasado con los menonitas: "Ni tele, ni radio, ni música"". Vertele (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  66. ↑ "Ruggero Freddi a 'I Fatti Vostri': «Sono un ex pornoattore gay, non vogliono che insegni all'università»". www.leggo.it (in Italian). 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  67. ↑ "Ruggero Freddi, quando il professore di matematica è stato un pornodivo". La Stampa (in Italian). 2017-10-27. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  68. ↑ Connexia, Team (2017-10-27). "Ruggero Freddi, professore a La Sapienza con un passato da pornoattore gay". www.105.net (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  69. ↑ Redazione. "Da pornodivo gay a professore di ingegneria alla Sapienza". Radio Colonna (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  70. ↑ "Da pornostar a docente alla Sapienza: la storia di Ruggero Freddi". Il Secolo XIX (in Italian). 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  71. ↑ "Riparte con Mary Carbone Saturday Night Live - Affaritaliani.it". www.affaritaliani.it. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  72. ↑ advertising, Nectivity Ltd For; Releases, Press (5 November 2010). "Mary Carbone, Giovanni Conversano, Rocco Pietrantonio e George Leonard al Saturday Night Live – MondoReality" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  73. ↑ Siti 2020.
  74. ↑ Serino, Gian Paolo (2020-03-10). "Walter Siti mette a nudo la natura (innocente) dell'uomo". ilGiornale.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  75. ↑ Siti 2020, p. 290-291.
  76. ↑ Borella, Andrea (2020). Annuario della nobiltà italiana: nuova serie 2015-2020. Royal, peerage nobles families books editions (33 ed.). Teglio: Annuario della Nobiltà italiana foundation trust. ISBN   978-88-942861-0-6.
  77. ↑ Comune di Porto (Portogallo), Assento de casamento n 37 do ano 2015 - Processo n 322/2015
  78. ↑ Siti 2020, p. 307-308.
  79. ↑ Da pornodivo a docente all'Università - Pomeriggio Cinque Video , retrieved 2020-04-15
  80. ↑ Tropea, Serena (2017-10-26). "Da pornodivo gay a professore alla Sapienza: Carlo Masi in cattedra contro i pregiudizi". Agenzia Dire (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  81. ↑ Proposta di matrimonio - Pomeriggio Cinque Video , retrieved 2020-03-25
  82. ↑ "Rom: Zwei schwule Ex-Pornostars geben sich das Ja-Wort". queer.de (in German). 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  83. ↑ Besanvalle, James (2018-05-05). "Gay porn star couple wed, 12 years on from their first gay sex scene together". Gay Star News. Archived from the original on 2018-07-09. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  84. ↑ "Matrimonio in diretta a Pomeriggio Cinque, Ruggero Freddi si sposa e Vladimir Luxuria celebra le nozze". TgCom24. 2018-05-04. Archived from the original on 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  85. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Carlo Masi: Gay Erotic Video Index". www.gayeroticvideoindex.com. Archived from the original on 2010-07-06. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  86. ↑ "XBIZ Awards (2008)". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  87. ↑ Naked Muscles: The New Breed - IMDb , retrieved 2020-04-14

Bibliography

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