# Carlo Masi

Ruggero Freddi (born October 6, 1976) is an Italian mathematics lecturer and former gay pornographic film actor known professionally as Carlo Masi.

## Early life and education

Freddi was born in Rome in 1976 to a poor family. His parents divorced when he was three years old. At the age of 14, he began to work out at a local gym, practicing bodybuilding assiduously. 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.

## Career

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

### 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. After his debut, he signed an exclusive model contract with CSG. He has always promoted safe sex, fraternising with the Italian LGBT community.
In 2006, he was selected to appear on the cover of COLT 40, a coffee table book published to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the production company.
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.
In 2008, CSG and Calaexotic released a dildo reproduction of Masi's penis. That same year, he was named the first and only Colt Man Emeritus and his contract was extended to a lifetime one. In 2008, Masi and Champ, were selected to appear on the cover of Adam Gay Film & Video Directory Magazine.
During his porn career, he was a guest on national Italian TV shows such as Chiambretti Night [it], L'Infedele and Sugo [it]. Moreover, he was featured in several tours across America, Mexico and Europe 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.
He then entered the theatre industry. 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. In 2011, he was included in the anthologies Porn from Andy Warhol to X-Tube and Gay Porn Heroes: 100 Most Famous Porn Stars. In 2013, he was interviewed for the documentary HUSTLABALL BERLIN - A Documentary That Bares All. In 2014, he was included in the coffee table book produced by Colt entitled Hairy Chested Men.

### Theatre

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

### 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. 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. His doctoral advisors were Angela Pistoia and Massimo Grossi [Wikidata].
While he was working on his doctorate, he was a lecturer for Analysis 1 and Analysis 2 courses at the Faculty of Engineering at the Sapienza University of Rome.

## Media attention

In 2017, an article published by la Repubblica brought to light his past as a porn actor, causing a media frenzy. The story was picked up by numerous newspapers around the world.
In 2020, writer Strega Prize winner Walter Siti [it] published La natura è innocente – Due vite quasi vere. This book is a double biography, told in alternate chapters, one of which is that of Ruggero Freddi.
In 2023, he returned to the media spotlight, after winning a lawsuit for unfair dismissal against his former employers at the Sapienza University of Rome because they fired him without cause and refused to pay him for work done in 2019. The university was ordered to pay him €2,500 for his hours worked and damages of €1,500 for "unjustified dismissal".

## Personal life

In 2015, Masi married Prince Giovanni Ravaschieri Fieschi Del Drago [it] in Porto. Del Drago died in 2016.
During his participation at Pomeriggio Cinque, he proposed to his partner, Gustavo Leguizamon [Wikidata]. The civil union was celebrated on May 4, 2018, and was broadcast live on Pomeriggio Cinque.

## Selected videography

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

## Awards

| Year | Award | Category | Film | Partnered | Result |
| 2005 | GayVN Award | Best Sex Scene | Big 'N Plenty (2004) | Karim | Nominee |
| 2006 | HeatGay Award | Best Actor | – | – | Won |
| 2008 | XBIZ Award | LGBT Performer of the Year | – | – | Nominee |
| 2008 | GayVN Award | Best Sex Scene | Naked Muscles: The New Breed (2007) | Tom Chase | Nominee |