In Interview with Alternativa, we had the honor of discussing JotaPê’s artistic journey, from his early artistic steps to his future projects, including his experience with Rhyheim Shabazz and VoyR.
Disclaimers about our Interview with Alternativa
This conversation took place in April of this year, at the VoyR studio in Rio de Janeiro. Unlike other reports, this interview with Alternativa was actually a relaxed chat that we recorded without video, capturing only our voices.
Due to our private enjoyment of gossip, the chat was full of details we can’t share publicly. We have edited out all those moments from this version we’re sharing, so you may notice some inconsistencies. I apologize for that.
However, we have preserved the fluid style of the chat, just as we transcribed it from the recording. Please be tolerant of grammatical errors and the lack of written language conventions. Additionally, the conversation was in Portuguese, a language this blogger does not master, so there may be some inconsistencies here and there. I apologize to JotaPê if I have misinterpreted some of his words.
Instead of editing it to give it a structure more akin to a conventional interview, I have kept the flow of the conversation exactly as it occurred. To facilitate reading, we have only added comments and subtitles.
JotaPê generously discusses the process that led him to become an internationally recognized pornographic and homoerotic artist, his experience working with La Cooperativa and the VoyR team, and his plans for the immediate future. I hope you enjoy our interview with Alternativa.
A dancing entrance into pornography
ILP – ¿How old are you?
JP- I’m 35.
ILP – ¿Where are you originally from?
JP – I am from right here, Rio de Janeiro.
ILP – Since when have you been working with photography and video?
JP – I started taking photos in 2017.
ILP – Oh, did you start with homoeroticism from the beginning?
JP – No, I started by taking wedding photos or at a kid’s birthday party. Things like that came up because I was working with dance, I always worked with dance. Since I was 15, I’ve always worked with dance.
ILP – Photographing dance or dancing?
JP – Dancing. Photography never crossed my mind. In 2014, there was a growth in dance-focused YouTube channels in Brazil. So I said, I’m going to open a YouTube channel to make dance videos for my students and with my students. That’s where the channel grew…
ILP – With your students? So you weren’t dancing, you were a choreographer, a teacher?
JP – Yeah. Then the channel grew and I always liked having quality videos, and my phone didn’t have good quality. So I thought about buying a camera but didn’t know how to use it. I thought, I’ll buy a camera to give these videos better quality, but I need to learn how to use the camera. So I started studying a bit of photography.
So I bought the camera, a used, simple camera, to be able to record videos for the channel, but it was very difficult to handle back then. So I started looking on the Internet, in books, on how to learn to use a camera and everything. I watched a lot of YouTube tutorials. And with that, I started using my family to practice using the camera. I photographed my mom, my sister, my husband, who was just a boyfriend at the time, I photographed my cousin, everyone who had a little kid, I photographed them.
First professional steps
ILP – But what was your first professional experience?
JP – There was a party once, and I was taking photos. That’s when the first contact to do this professionally came up, people wanting to pay me for it. I was still working with dance, teaching classes. I did wedding and party photography for a long time. Until I wanted to start doing photo shoots, like I do nowadays. But I did female shoots, I did male shoots, and they had an urban photography look. I really like photographing on the street. So I enjoyed doing sensual shoots on the street. But here in Rio, most photographers did female photography. So there was a lot of competition, and almost no one was doing male shoots. So I thought, okay, here’s a space, so I’m going to improve in this space. Working with women was very easy for me because I always taught women. I taught stiletto classes, which is a dance that uses high heels. So working with female sensuality was always very easy for me because it was a world I was already a part of. I wanted to work on my own, dance, I got into it, really into this niche, I wanted to do more. I wanted to challenge myself to do different things and be able to break a bubble because I was just starting. So I started photographing men, and I was taking photos on the street, doing male shoots. And I have a lot of dancer friends, so I started doing a lot of dancer shoots. But with my style. Then, in 2018, I did…
ILP – We’re still not talking about anything sensual, right?
JP – No, I wasn’t even thinking about that. In 2018, I did a photography event. That caught people’s attention, where I mixed dance and photography within the same universe. There, I exchanged experiences with people who were just starting in photography. This event had two editions, one in 2018 and another at the end of 2019, which was very successful, very successful. It was even documented in the newspaper of the time, and I did everything in the downtown area of Rio, which has many historic buildings and everything. I managed to get brands to help finance the event. We got help from people who worked with artistic makeup, and it was great.
Approaching eroticism
ILP – When did you start working with erotica and sensuality?
JP – At the end of 2019, I met Italo. Italo Andrade, who at that time was with Rhyheim and was the apple of his eye. He hired me to do a shoot. He wanted to do a street shoot but wanted it to be more sensual, but only shirtless. That’s when I did the shoot with Italo. Just him and me. Weeks later, I sent him the results of the photos, he loved them, and in December, that was in November 2019. And in December 2019, he messaged me again saying he wanted to do another shoot. But this time, it would be at a house in Leblon with other people, and he wanted to do a more daring shoot. Involving nudity and everything. I said, great! A day before this shoot…
ILP – But it wasn’t explicit?
JP – Nothing explicit. He wanted to do something more artistic. So a day before the shoot, he told me that Andy Rodrigues and Will Prado would be at this house and asked if I could photograph them too. I said, no problem. Then I did Italo’s shoot, I did Will’s shoot, and when I was about to do Andy’s shoot, I met Rhyheim, who had just come back from the beach and was there… There were many porn creators in the house that day, there were a lot of people, about 10 people, who had just come back from the beach. Italo quickly introduced me to Rhyheim, who barely looked at my face and barely said hello. Italo even joked with him, “Oh, he’s going to take some pictures of you,” and Rhyheim said there was no way that was happening. Rhyheim hates having his photo taken. He hates being photographed, hates having a camera pointed at him. When he shoots films, it must be the biggest punishment for him to have a camera pointed at him so he can do his job. So he barely spoke to me that day. In January 2020, he needed to come back to Brazil, so Rhyheim asked Italo to contact me, saying he needed someone to make his videos because his cameraman couldn’t come with him to Brazil and he wouldn’t have anyone to film him.
ILP – At the Vidigal house, right?
JP – Yes. But the house he came back to in January was in Joá, in Joatinga, in Barra da Tijuca. Also in Rio, just in a different neighborhood. Then Rhyheim wanted me to work for him, to film, to take photos, and everything. But I said, “I’ve never made a video.” I had never made a video. I had never done anything involving adult content, pornography, nothing. I made that very clear to him, I said, “I don’t know how to film, I’ve never filmed a movie, I have no problem doing anything else, but I’ll try to do it…” “It’s not the universe I’m in, so I don’t know how to film it, what angle to take, I have no idea, I don’t know how it’s done.” Rhyheim told me there was no problem. He would come talk to me, and we would do a test film, and if I felt comfortable, we would continue working together. So I told him the problem wasn’t about feeling comfortable, but about delivering material worthy of him being able to use it. Because until then, I didn’t know how to do it. My camera was simple at that time. It wasn’t focused on video, it didn’t have a series of functions that I use today.
Learning with Rhyheim and The Cooperative
ILP – What do you think when you see today those first videos you shot back then?
JP – I have them all saved. I say, wow, what the hell was I doing here? Hahaha. I talked to Rhyheim, he came last month, I think he was here last month. On his last day here, he came to my house. Then we recorded an interview with him that will be released soon, with Pedro interviewing him. (Note from ILP: remember this conversation was in April 2024. The full interview is available here.) And then I said, oh, I have to show you something. I have a hard drive at home with all the movies. Everything I’ve done with you, from the first to the last video. Then I showed him everything. I said, look at this, look how horrible it was. The camera was shaking because it had no stabilization, I was filming handheld. I had no technique to hold it. I couldn’t focus properly. I remember back then people said there was no light in the house because they thought the movies were dark.
ILP – You had no idea what awaited you in that house in Vidigal…
JP – No! I didn’t even know they made porn. I found out that same day. I arrived, and Italo said, we make porn, I don’t know what… For me, anyway, it made no difference to my work, but I didn’t get to see them working. I started working with EyeFilmz after the pandemic. Because he came in January, it was January 2020, I only worked with Rhyheim because EyeFilmz didn’t come to Brazil. So I stayed in the house, me, Rhyheim, Italo, Andy, and Will, and the other people who came to film. At that time, I was still teaching classes, I would go, film Rhyheim, and go out to work at the gyms. Because I still needed to teach. So it was a very intense month. I just worked from morning to night.
ILP – Even when you told him you didn’t know how to do this work, did Rhyheim give you the freedom to film what you wanted?
JP – He said, do what you think you have to do. If it gets worse, I’ll let you know. Well, he never said it was bad, but as far as I know, it was bad. But we got closer. As the days went by, I tried to improve with the little I had, we bought some equipment to improve based on the feedback people gave. “Oh, it’s dark,” so we went and bought more lights to put in the house, and that’s how we started working within that month. Then we got very close and kept talking, discussing that we were going to work together. Until the pandemic hit. Then no one saw each other anymore, no one worked. Until the first flexibility came, and he invited me to join him in São Paulo. That’s when I met him and EyeFilmz in São Paulo, they were together. It was the first contact we had to be together and work, but EyeFilmz was the main cameraman, and I was just there to take photos. I would take some occasional photos, do some more sensual videos. Because… with the pandemic, I had more time to study and find another style I wanted to do. So while I couldn’t do anything, I trained with my husband at home, making fashion films, making videos of him. And with that, I evolved. I already had another camera, I had managed to buy another camera and evolved even more. Then in 2021, we went to São Paulo for a week. Then we shot in a sauna. It was crazy, we started at 9 in the morning.
ILP – Had you seen EyeFilmz’s work before you started filming?
JP – No,
ILP – You didn’t try to do the same as him?
JP – No. Rhyheim would say: I need you to take a photo of so-and-so. I’d go there and take a photo of so-and-so. I need you to do a solo video… Because until then, until this first contact with EyeFilmz, I was only doing solo videos. Videos of people in a bathroom, masturbating, or a sensual video for Instagram. That was my job for the team at that time. Occasionally, Rhyheim wanted me to do something for him. But there, alongside EyeFilmz, never solo.
Making the decision to work in the industry of adult entertainment
ILP – Did you ever work for Rhyheim and at the same time for other independent creators here in Rio?
JP – No. Only for Rhyheim. Ah, because it wasn’t an area I wanted to get into. I didn’t want to work in that niche. It wasn’t prejudice, but I didn’t want to be pigeonholed into doing just that. Because I was still doing other things, still in transition. I hadn’t reached the epiphany: “I’m no longer JP, I’m Alternativa.” This style of being Alternativa has only been around for about a year. So, for me, it was very complicated to work with this in Brazil because it opened doors but at the same time closed others. And I didn’t know if I had… I didn’t know if I had the qualifications to establish myself in this area. I didn’t know if it would work, I didn’t know if what I was going to film would be liked by people on the other side.
ILP – But did you know you wanted to move from photography to video? Or not?
JP – Yes, yes. I was already doing a lot of videos at that time. My Instagram even lets you follow a bit how my styles of photos and videos changed. But I didn’t want to, when Rhyheim asked me, I said no, I don’t want it. I’ll work with you, when it’s with you, I’ll do it, when it’s with someone else, I won’t. Because here in Brazil it was very complicated. And working with pornography is very undervalued. But in 2021, there was an absurd growth in OnlyFans. It had an absurd growth. So, the mentality of content creators in Brazil is very different from people outside Brazil. For example, Rhyheim is a guy who grew up, today he has his own production company and sees OnlyFans as a job. He sees it as a tool to have financial stability, to help his family, other people, and to have a comfortable life. Here in Brazil, there were young people with empty heads who had the body and physical beauty but had empty heads. It was an easy way to make money because it’s earned in dollars, and the dollar is worth five times what the Rial is worth. They didn’t want to invest. For example, you are a content creator. I shoot the film, a film for you, I won’t use your material, so you have to pay me for my work, but they didn’t see it that way. They wanted you to work for free and many didn’t pay. How do you survive in a world like that? How do you pay the bills?
Nowadays, people’s mentality has matured, and so they come, look, how much does your work cost? So it’s a different mentality. At first, when OnlyFans’ growth skyrocketed, no, the same thing happened on Instagram, a lot of people wanted free photos. Oh, I’ll let you know when you take a photo. How do I pay the bills?
So I was very scared. Because I’ve always worked since I was 11 years old, I started working in a video store, I’ve always loved cinema, I’m addicted to cinema, so anything that comes out I’m watching, so I started working very early, so I’ve always had a lot of responsibility. I’m an older brother, today I’m the one who helps at home, I’m the one who helps my mother, I’m the one with the better economic life, but I’ve always had a lot of responsibility. A long time ago, when Rhyheim told me to work, I was scared. Because people didn’t want to pay for the work. They saw me as a tool to make money because my work would give them money, but they wouldn’t recognize me for it. Because they didn’t pay me and didn’t recognize me with a tag on social media. So I was very scared. But when I worked with Rhyheim, it was extremely different. He was someone who paid me, he was someone who valued my work. And look, at first my work was horrible, but he valued it, gave me tools so I could work, gave me a camera so I could work, gave me all the tools so I could grow. As he said, the tools are here, you do the rest.
Working with Rhyheim
ILP – One of the things people who don’t like Rhyheim say is that he comes to Brazil to exploit local content creators. What do you think?
JP – I can only speak for myself, but I never felt that Rhyheim, with me or with all the guys he worked with, was ever a foreigner looking to take advantage. If today I am Alternativa, it’s partly because of my work but also because he believed in me and gave me the tools to work. He gave me… he opened doors I never imagined I’d have. I never imagined living in Copacabana today. Copacabana is an expensive neighborhood to live in, and I can afford it, you know? Because of the work I do exclusively with him. So he was a guy who always opened doors for everyone. He was always very generous. He is always very generous. When we started… when he started talking to me about wanting to launch VoyR and wanting me to work with him, I felt very flattered because until then I wasn’t his main cameraman, so he was giving me the opportunity to grow even more with this. To meet more people, to be seen. He never took advantage, he drives me crazy many times. He makes me extremely… There are moments when I want to kill him! But he’s like… I’m not even going to say a father, but he’s like an older brother. A very responsible person. He talks to me, asks if I’m okay, if I need anything, if my family needs anything. So he was never, I’ll never see Rhyheim as someone who wants to take advantage. I’ve seen him help a lot of people. So it would be very frivolous and very reckless of me to say he’s taking advantage when he’s not. I think the people who use this term of being “just another foreigner wanting to take advantage” are people who really wanted the opportunity like so many others who passed by and couldn’t reach him somehow. So it’s much easier to defame this person than to celebrate their qualities.
ILP – But these people are also other foreigners who don’t understand the reality of South America, who speak from a well-intentioned social commitment without understanding that Rhyheim positively changed the lives of many people.
JP – Yes, and in fact, I can mention countless names of people whose lives changed. Today I have financial stability, I have my house, beautiful as I want, I can help my mom, I can help my dad, I can help my siblings, you know. I can do it. Now I live, in the past I survived. Every day was a battle.
International recognition is here
ILP – You’ve gained recognition… Do you want to talk about the awards?
JP – For me, it’s very surreal, it’s very surreal. Working like this with Rhyheim, since I took over, started taking on the role of cameraman, director, and everything, I celebrate every million views. I would say, look Rhyheim, another miracle. Another million. I had just shot a video with him and I’d say, we already have a million. I joked a lot about this because there have been so many millions, I can’t count them since we started working together. The first time I received an award, not directly me, but the films I shot and competed with, I was very happy, I said damn, here comes the recognition. But I had never been directly nominated, as Alternativa, never been recognized, only the films, which for me was already incredible because I was the one who produced them, I was the one who shot them, I was the one who edited them. Today I understand that we are a huge structure of two people with Pedro. Because from what I see, others have a lighting person, an audio person, someone who does the set, another who will direct other cameras that will shoot, that goes to the editor, and we are like this, two people. You know, I feel very flattered when a film I made just with Pedro competes against huge teams. So I feel very flattered and say, “our genius.” There was this recognition here, it was incredible. When at the beginning of the year, or rather at the end of the year, I received my first GAYVN award nomination for best director, I almost died. I was scared, I was sleeping because we have a 5-hour difference with Los Angeles, so the message arrived in the early hours of the morning, so I was sleeping. When I woke up, it took me a while to wake up, to understand what was happening, then I said, I got nominated, and soon after came the nomination for the US Grabbys, in the same category. I see that I’m on the right path, in a very short time. Because it’s been about a year and a few months that I’ve been doing nothing but this. So, for me, it was very rapid growth. And working with very little.
ILP – And here in Brazil is there something like…
JP – Here in Brazil, we don’t have gay porn awards. There are studios, there are three major studios in Brazil. But there are no awards for this industry. Generally, the studios themselves do something within the studio, but they do it behind closed doors. They don’t make categories… It’s not open to the outside. Do you understand? Now there is something for straight porn, but for gay porn, it’s very difficult here in Brazil.
The challenges of the Brazilian gay porn market
ILP – Do the Brazilian studios have a friendly relationship? Or is it one of fierce competition?
JP – I worked at a Brazilian studio, and it was not a pleasant experience.
ILP – In São Paulo?
JP – Yes, I worked for them for a year. The first few months were great; I had the freedom to do whatever I wanted. But after a while, it got a bit complicated because they wanted to copy other studios at the same time, and I was being used because I was the guy who worked for Rhyheim. So they wanted to use the little influence I had at that time with Rhyheim to use my image to try to get rid of their bad image. And it ended badly.
ILP – Is there no good relationship between the Brazilian studios?
JP – They don’t have a good relationship with each other.
ILP – How is the struggle to hire actors? I imagine Brazilian actors want to work with VoyR, because of Rhyheim. It’s a gateway to the US market.
JP – Here in Brazil, it was very difficult for us to get Brazilian artists to work with us. Because the studios, I won’t say most, but many have had bad experiences with studios here. So they thought they would have the same kind of bad experience with us. They came more with the idea of, “ahhh, I’m going to work with Alternativa, I’m going to work with Rhyheim.” They have more of that mentality about who they will work with rather than which production company. Now that people have more experience talking to each other, it’s easier to attract these creators to work with us. Because at first, it was very difficult since they didn’t have good experiences with other studios. There’s always a stigma, always a problem, but since then it’s been easier. I think in the meantime, more creators have also emerged. Many of them have never worked with a production company. They own their own business. So it has been easier. Because word of mouth has been positive. Because we work with a lot of people in Brazil. And these people all know each other, so they end up speaking well of us, and that’s beneficial for us because we have a way of working more like a family. We play, lighten the mood, have a recording that doesn’t last hours, make the person feel free, so they can use that content. So in the end, they work for themselves, not for the studio. Because that material will also be shared with them. So I think this policy and this work mechanic we have serves this purpose. That’s why nowadays it’s very rare that we can’t work with someone.
Artist’s self-reflexion
ILP – Is your relationship with video changing your relationship with your first loves? Your first love was dance. Your second love, photography. How are you doing with photography these days? I really like your photo shoots.
JP – Right now, I feel very… I’m in that stage where I feel like I’ve done it all. And I feel like I’ve reached that part at the end of a hallway and I don’t know which door to open. Like, what can I do? How far can I go? What else can I do? What else can I add? So I think I’m in this phase, every artist, every person goes through this, reaching this door, right? Thinking you’re stuck in something. I really want to do different things within photography and also within VoyR. But I reached a point where I created an identity. I have an identity in my photos. Just like I have an identity in my videos. So, generally, people who come to me and want to take photos with me want me to follow the same line of what I’m doing. And I want to go beyond that. But since I’ve already built a reputation and an identity, people want me to do it from there. So sometimes I feel, in photography, locked inside a box, like I have to follow the same script. And at the same time, I no longer have that free time to invite someone and do something new. That’s what I want to do. The same freedom I had before to call whoever I wanted. So right now, I’m stuck at this door, and I need to open it.
ILP – Okay, but you have time to create, imagine, dream whatever you want.
JP – Currently, I see my photography in a more cinematic style. A more film-like photography. Because there’s more lifestyle photography, more sensual photography, I see my photography evolving more into something cinematic. I don’t know if I managed to explain it well. But I want to bring… Because I have a great passion for cinema. I have a great passion for 80s movies, for example. So I like the aesthetics, I see a lot of my photography, both my photography and my films, leaning more towards this cinematic side, with a different style.
with the audience always in mind
ILP – You’ve forgotten your love for dance…
JP – I retired from dance. I haven’t danced for three years. Between takes, I dance a bit. But I retired. There was a point where I could no longer reconcile the two things. I’m getting older, I’m 35, my knee is not the same. My back is not the same. My foot has many sprains. So I couldn’t continue anymore, but I’ll… My relationship with dance today will be to enter a classroom as a student. To do it for pleasure, not to do it out of responsibility, not to be there to earn a salary at the end of the month. I want to be there in a pleasant way, for it to be an escape valve. I’m changing a bit; in the past, dancing was my job, and photography was my escape valve. Today, photography is my job, and dance will become my escape valve. In a way, it has reversed.
ILP – And speaking of changing. You are an artist; you have a certain imagination, style, things you want to do. How do you manage the balance between what you’d like to do and the things you have to do? Commercial things, because you have to pay the bills… how do you approach this conflict?
JP – I don’t live this conflict within me. Surprisingly, I think dance gave me experiences in the classroom, dealing with all kinds of people. For example, I had a group of older people. So I had a lot of experience throughout my life in dance. So every time I shoot a movie, I understand it’s not for me, so I can’t impose my tastes. I can’t impose my sexual preference when I’m shooting, nor can I impose my aesthetic style because the final product is not for me; it’s for someone else to consume. I am the beginning of this end, but on the other end, someone else will consume it. So I have always understood that my taste cannot interfere; my vision and direction will be towards that consumer at the end. I’ve always been a very basic person, even in bed. So if I had to do something for myself, there wouldn’t be any missionary or doggy positionss, you know? That’s why I always understood that I’m making the film for those who will consume it. Of course, I use my vision, I use a more delicate and less explicit way of filming certain things. For example, I get messages on my OnlyFans saying I need to show more open butts. “We like to see a well-opened hole as soon as the dick goes out.” And I don’t have that explicit characteristic of filming an explicit scene. I think that even if it’s an explicit scene, it can have delights in the middle, it can have subtleties up to a point. It’s not always the open butt that turns someone on. And I have to navigate all these environments. Sometimes there are people who like more labored breathing, or the exchange of glances between actors, or a tighter penetration movement, so I have this million things in my head for the other end, for the audience, and not for me.
Within The Cooperative
ILP – And now that you’re working with VoyR, are you part of the model selection, or is it just Rhyheim…?
JP – No, it’s all of us together. We all have a say. Rhyheim usually sends us who he wants us to work with, sends the profile, usually talks to the person. But we also see people and send them to him and say, “look, I found this interesting.” Or I shoot the film and send it ready for him to see that person in action. Because, for example, here in Brazil, most of the big adult content creators are also influencers. So, usually, it’s a very messy profile. And you can’t really see that person working. So I prefer to show that person’s potential on stage rather than just promising they’ll be good, you know? For example, we worked with Samuel Decker. I spent months trying to convince Rhyheim to work with him. And Rhyheim was very resistant to working with him because he thought he was more of an influencer than a performer. So I said, “give him a chance, give him a chance.” One fine day, I brought Samuel and started filming with him. Then he saw that he was really good.
ILP – Do you think it’s appropriate when I talk about La Cooperativa?
JP – I think it’s great because we really are a cooperative. We are minds working together for one thing, but VoyR came with the baggage that is Rhyheim, who is the face of VoyR and has to carry all this aesthetic. I think in a few years, we’ll have to separate and create something smaller than what VoyR is today. It will expand to other places. The only thing that won’t change is the way we work. We are always very united to make it work. And I understand that in a few years, today it’s Pedro and me, soon there will be more people working to make this work.
ILP – Are you a mentor to Pedro?
JP – I don’t see myself as a mentor to anyone because when Pedro started, he was like me, thrown into the middle of this world. Now you’re doing this. So, unlike Pedro, I didn’t have someone with me who could help or instruct me. I had Rhyheim who gave me tools, supported my work, but he doesn’t understand the technical part. He doesn’t know how to turn on a camera; Rhyheim opens his phone, records, and doesn’t even clean the lens. So he will never understand this technical part. How it needs to work. So when Pedro came in, I didn’t want him to be a shadow of me; I wanted him to be a person who walked on his own feet. I want people to see the film and say, “ahh, that was Alternativa, that was SouVoraz.” I don’t want him to be, to see me as a mentor; I’m someone who got close, I’m there with him, I taught him. But I don’t like the title of mentor; I think it’s very arrogant to define oneself as a mentor, as a reference. I can’t have that self-esteem no matter how many times I get messages saying, “ah, your work inspires me, I like how you do it…” I, JP, can’t have that vision. I think it’s also largely due to how people work at VoyR because we all get along well, we all help each other. You just saw it, I finished filming the scene, I cleaned up, made the bed, so we help each other in everything. I don’t know if I’d be a mentor.
More reflexions about his work
ILP – Thinking about what you’re producing at VoyR, if you had to choose one thing, what would be your favorite, your best achievement? And one thing you still need to improve, what would it be?
JP – That’s a tough question. Let’s start with the more difficult one, what needs to change. I think what needs to change is my mindset. Because sometimes I impose more challenges and changes on myself than I really need to. So I think if I could have more fun while working, not letting the recording be easy. But at the same time, I laugh, joke with people, I’m very worried and focused on everything. To make it perfect. And I need to open up… for example, you love it when there’s wind noise or something natural. That annoys me, it makes me very angry. What needs to change the most is that in my head. Because what was a huge flaw for me wasn’t for you. (Note from ILP: he refers to the scene between Sandrías and Elijah, which I chose as one of my favorites of 2023.) I think what really needs to change is my way of having fun with what I’m doing.
ILP – As the Americans say… Let it go.
JP – Exactly, let it go. Let it flow. Rhyheim has a habit of telling me that I’m always anxious and nervous. He’s always relaxed, and I’m always nervous. So I think that needs to change.
ILP – What do you like the most?
JP – What do I like the most? Oh, meeting people. Since we work with so many people from all over the world, there are times when people speak Portuguese, French, Italian, and I don’t understand anyone, and yet we understand each other. We work together, share. There are people I met when I was at home, by myself, watching that person on TV and masturbating… Today, I have that person’s contact on my WhatsApp, and we work together, and they know who I am. So, this part of meeting people you never imagined you’d meet is really great. And also the work itself, it’s a good job, it’s a cool job that we can live on. I’ve had very, very difficult jobs, and this is the easiest job I have. The biggest challenge is myself. And dealing with my perfectionism is something I strive a lot for. On my first trip to Europe with Rhyheim, I saw cinemas that project adult movies…
Future plans
ILP – You traveled to Europe with Italo and Andy…
JP – Andy didn’t come along. It was Italo, Rhyheim, and me, just us, there wasn’t a big cast at that time. And that’s when I discovered that there were cinemas and awards. Until then, I didn’t know that there were production companies making movies like cinema to shoot adult content, and I would love, I think I will feel professionally fulfilled when a movie I make is shown in such a cinema and receives an award or something like that. Then I’ll say, “okay, I’ve finished, I’ve made it, I’ve arrived, there’s a movie of mine here.” Look how beautiful, look how cool. I think that’s my goal now. To evolve more, to add more professional experience, to be able to sit in the director’s chair without a camera in my hand.
ILP – And to finish. Any projects you’re working on? Alone or with The Cooperative? Anything you’d like to share.
JP – Things I can’t talk about. But I will. We’re trying to incorporate some different styles into VoyR, and I’m trying to create a new kind of content on my OnlyFans. That will try to mix a little bit of everything. “What do you do today in your day?” As if it were a documentary. I’m going to take Rhyheim, for example, we’re going to document one of his days there, with movie scenes that are made, a part focused on something more fashionable, something more commercial, more pornographic, but showing people that the world behind the cameras is not the same as they think. Because people think I’m filming naked and putting my dick in the mouths of the people there, and it’s not like that. The work place is very respected. That’s why I wanted people to also have this knowledge of the behind-the-scenes. I do these backstage videos; we have a lot of fun, but they’re far from the material I want to deliver. I want to take these backstage videos to another level. And at the same time, offer new content. I have three scripted films ready, which I want to release. I don’t know if it will be on VoyR or my OnlyFans. But they are horror films with pornography. My favorite film genre is horror. I love horror and science fiction. I adore them. A film that really combines the two styles I love is “Alien.” Because it has horror and science fiction, and I love it. So I have three films in this vein. I have one kind of inspired by virtual games…
ILP – Are you talking about film or video?
JP – Film, I don’t know… Let’s say a short film. A film is very long; a short film fits better. So I have one that is based on virtual reality, where you put on glasses and end up in another world. I’m going to participate in this one. I’ll be a character, but I’ll have an avatar in this short. I have one inspired by “Psycho” and another more focused on horror. I’ll try to release at least one before the end of the year.
ILP – Anything we haven’t talked about that you’d like to share?
JP – We’ve talked a lot, haven’t we? Hahaha. I even said things I shouldn’t have. I liked it. I don’t have anything in mind. But this film will be released at the end of the year. There’s even an actor for one of them, Markin Wolf, he’ll be the star of one of them. This is a spoiler.
End of Interview with Alternativa
Stay tuned!
Hasta la próxima pinga, amig@s!