Not every profession lives up to its expectations, and one former adult performer has shared the trauma he endured during his time as a top star in the adult film industry.
Joshua Broome’s life has taken a dramatic turn from what it was just over a decade ago, having left the adult-film industry to pursue a life centered around Christianity.
This change marks an enormous shift in his life direction.
Though Broome has distanced himself from the industry, he was once a leading figure, known as ‘Rocco Reed,’ and claims to have appeared in over 1,000 X-rated films over six years.
While many might aspire to join the adult-film industry, Broome, now a Christian pastor, has become an outspoken advocate against pornography and has openly discussed the darker aspects of the business.
During an episode of the Mighty Pursuit podcast in March of this year, Broome provided an in-depth look at his time in the adult industry from 2007 to 2013 and the lasting impact it had on him.
Recounting his entry into the industry, he described himself as ‘very naive’ and thought, ‘I thought well what’s the worst that could happen? I’m going to have sex with this girl, I’m going to get paid for it… no one’s going to know.’
He expressed: “What’s unique about [porn], is that when an act of intimacy that is meant to be done in private is done in public, there’s this dissociation from reality.
“You have to disassociate yourself from reality to do that because you can’t just be in the moment because you that wouldn’t make a good scene.
“The performance is not for you, or for the person you’re doing it with. It’s for the camera.”
Understandably, this sounds like an incredibly unappealing way to engage in intimacy, yet it’s an aspect most people may not consider when thinking about the adult industry.
Broome also highlighted the slippery slope the adult film industry puts individuals on, as their boundaries and moral stances are constantly challenged, forcing them to reevaluate what they are willing to do.
He shared that his own boundaries became increasingly blurred under pressure from directors to create more extreme content.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1vlqRtdfDw
He noted: “Once you compromise what you would say yes to, then what does it matter? Your ‘no’ loses all validity and you think ‘Well this is the only thing I can do.”
“The further you go down the rabbit hole of doing those things, the more you leave yourself open to being willing to do things that you said you would never do.”
Following his departure from the industry, Broome eventually met his wife, Hope, at the gym. She invited him to church, where he experienced a profound spiritual awakening.
Broome went on to study Biblical theology before marrying Hope in 2016. The couple now has three sons together.