The Cooperative is the best way I found to name the group of artists orbiting around Rhyheim Shabazz. I had noticed this collaboration style in their porn outlets before, and had the privilege to observe it in situ and in progress in Rio de Janeiro.

Something old and something new

Iconic picture from rio 2020 for the cooperative
In this iconic picture, Eyefimz’s talent captures the very essence of Neo Vanilla Porn. Inclusiveness and Joy.

The idea of human cooperation is as old as humans are. Despite mainstream beliefs, the truth is that selfish profit has not always been the main human motivation. Our species’ history is full of examples of cultures where private property did not exist, and goods were shared. I always loved the socialist aphorism  “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”.

However, modern cooperativism raised not as a moral alternative but as a defensive strategy. It was only logical, like Mr Spock would say, that consumers and smaller producers would associate to negotiate and compete in a stronger position against the bigger players. 

Although the idea is not new, I never heard of something like that in the porn industry. What I did hear many times was all kind of performers coming out and denouncing porn industry’s exploitative and discriminative practices. It is a legitimate complain, but almost never goes beyond the legitimate public denounce. So far, the best intentions had always translated into no collective action.

Perhaps the closest thing to cooperativism I have noticed before was the wave of independent collaborations in the fans pages. Yet, they were far from even approaching to organized cooperation.

But now, I feel confident stating that there is something new in the Porn Industry. What I am calling The Cooperative is an organized effort by a group of performers to collaborating instead of competing against each other.

The Cooperative is just born

Rhyheim Shabazz has led a porn revolution that we called Neo Vanilla Porn. As porn consumers, our first focus has been in the product at the beginning. Indeed, the voracious inclusiveness of Rhyheim and EyeFilmz’ work demanded our full attention. Once the last orgasmic spasms coming from the masturbatory wave triggered by the birth of Neo Vanilla Porn were gone, we started to pay attention to other things. 

For instance, we noticed that Big Bro would collaborate with totally unknown newcomers. That is not new, all stars need to show diversity. What was remarkable was the way he would support the new guy. He would not only agree on him publishing the collaboration first, but besides would put all the weight of his social network to unconditionally advertise him. And he would do this consistently, with most of his partners.

Please, notice the difference between regular collaborations and this kind of cooperation. Usually, big stars think they are beyond generous by only allowing newbies to have access to their following. They rarely do any extras.

In contrast, as Rhyheim’s and EyeFilmz’ porn production unfolds, we can notice a progression or evolution from this well intentioned, generous support to more sophisticated forms of cooperation. Our two porn geniuses added regulars to their partnership, and what they used to do in small scale (remember the European tour?) turned to be something else, much bigger and much better.

Clearly, it is the partnership with the Brazilians what consolidated smaller collaborations into a much more ambitious project. Not until then we can say that The Cooperative was born.

The Cooperative in action 

Last November, we had the privilege to witness The Cooperative in action. Not the whole thing, though. I was hopeful I would be granted access to backstage filming, but unfortunately I was not.

Despite  that disappointment, I was beyond pleased with meeting personally Rhyheim Shabazz and EyeFilmz, and with having full access to the live in the house before getting to do the hard work. I witnessed photo shots, interactions and prep talks about the incoming scenes to film, and the logistics of bringing and moving around so many artists.

This is not the first time that Big Bro attempts big collaborations (remember Rio? Remember Buzios?), but it is indeed the most ambitious of all. 

It is ambitious for the size of the production (about 20 artists from Brazil, Colombia, and the USA), but it is specially ambitious for its didactic intentions. Big Bro is intentionally fostering the skills to become owners of your own porn brand and independent producers. Starting by giving everyone a big kick with his Porn King Midas powers.

We witnessed how Rhyheim and EyeFilmz share their know how and wisdom with the less experienced performers. Even I got a few lessons. We witnessed a culture of upmost professional respect, embedded of personal consideration and affection, and where alternative leaderships are accepted and encouraged. 

The combination of cooperative work with Neo Vanilla Porn mindset, blossoms in Joy. Those performers were not only working together, but also celebrating their work.

The Elephant in the room

The fans pages were the first development to make independent porn possible in the Internet era. The Cooperative is the last. It is still a work in process, it is still a new form of working in the industry, but it is promising.

Of course, there is an elephant in the room. The Cooperative has only be possible thanks to Rhyheim Shabazz’ generous leadership. He is the force summoning all these artists and producing all the events. However, I have seen him fostering personal, creative, and professional independence in his partners. He is building a team, and modeling nurturing leadership.

We hope his efforts will be fruitful. Perhaps, slowly, Big Bro will step aside from being the project’s epicenter. Additionally, we hope the experience of this group of adult artists will spread all over the industry. We hope that soon there will be many cooperatives around.

Beyond future developments in The Cooperative, the door to cooperativism is open in the industry. The raise of Neo Vanilla Porn brought a revolution to independent products’ quality. Hopefully, The Cooperative’s success will inspire other artists to experiment whit new ways of artistic and professional cooperation.

Hasta la próxima pinga, amig@s!

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