4 Craziest Fixtures In The Brooklyn Porn Scene
By Rachel Hodin
1. Joanna Angel
What started as a website that her and her Rutgers University roommate made during their senior year is now a tremendously lucrative and popular alternative porn website and studios. After graduating, Joanna moved to Williamsburg in 2002, working mainly out of her loft. As her company grew, Joanna officially opened up the Burning Angel studios in Williamsburg. At the time, Burning Angel parties were frequent, often held by Joanna and DJ Jess. Like most people in the porn industry, as Joanna became more successful, she eventually made the obligatory move out to Los Angeles. But Burning Angel is still fully alive and well in Williamsburg, run by a guy named Mitch.
2. Cockyboys
Perhaps you remember a New York Magazine article published in July 2012 on the founders of the porn company Cockyboys, three men who live together as a “throuple.” Well, Cockyboys is also based in Williamsburg, as are the model houses—a dorm-style building where most of the talent resides. Cockyboys is known for showcasing “twinks”—that is, effeminate, typically blonde gay guys—as well as their well-produced videos.
3. Porn Union
As might be expected of the DIY capital of the world, most of Brooklyn’s porn industry is very grassroots in nature. And spearheading this trend is Brooklyn’s porn union, an unofficial union consisting of about 7 black men and veterans in the porn industry. Among some of the members are Moe the Monster, who has moved to Los Angeles in the past year. Moe is known for a more aggressive style—“I’ve done abusive scenes, I’ve done some bondage scenes,” he told me, “you know, tying girls up, I had a scene with ball gags, I have done deleted scenes where they want me to spit on the girl or slap the girl or step on her head, all kinds of crazy stuff, you know?” Interestingly, Moe’s career got underway after a spur-of-the-moment decision: taping himself having sex with a girl on the A train. Another notable member of this crew is D. Wise, a Brooklyn-based porn star who likes to think of himself as a connoisseur in the MILF department. The AVN award winner has a series of “Chasing Booty” videos—“Chasing White Booty,” “Chasing MILF Booty,” “Chasing Asian Booty,” and “Chasing Latin Booty”—if you’re so interested. He also has a telling Vine, under the handle D Wise.
4. Violet+Rye
Violet and Rye is an alias that the Brooklyn-based married couple operates under when on the Internet. Fed up with the porn that saturates the Internet nowadays, the two started making their own porn videos. But since they didn’t want to jeopardize their day jobs, they decided to make themselves anonymous. What sets them apart are the style of their videos—sensual, but still kinky. Though they’re all shot on a handheld camera, the videos are still quite aesthetically impressive. It’s obvious that they come from an arts background. Expect warmly-lit ambiances, a Frank Ocean score, and pegging.