Some of my work from Fly Magazine

Monday, February 8, 2010

AIDS Foundation gets into a rubbermatch with Porn Industry

Working hazards in the average person’s job may consist of smashing a toe, stapling a finger, slipping on some spilled liquid, or even falling on some ice. In the quickly growing porn industry the work hazards are far more severe in the form of diseases.

In the state with the largest amount of porn studios, California, the A.I.D.S. Foundation of L.A. has been fighting for law makers to force the porn business to use condoms in their productions.

Last August the advocacy group filed 16 complaints with state officials against porn companies citing them for violating workplace safety laws. They are fighting for rights so that the spread of the disease HIV will stop in the industry.

Since 2004 there have been a confirmed 22 cases of porn stars becoming infected with the deadly virus. To put it in perspective, in one case the performer and her husband had admitted to sleeping with at least 6 people each unprotected within the month of positive test. In all of the cases of infection it is easy to see how ones infectivity could trickle down into many people’s lives.

L.A. was responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace, according to the foundation. They filed suit against the county because of the constant STD infection of porn stars.

Michelle Avanti, a former porn star made a statement as a member of the Pink Cross Foundation revealing, “As I continued to do hardcore porn, I started catching STDs all the time." She continued to disclose information saying, “"My lower body hurt so badly and at times my private area felt like it was a blazing fire. I could no longer work because I caught so many STDs and infections. I believe that if condoms had been allowed to be used in my own films, I would not have suffered so many physical ailments and infections."

The Pink Cross Foundation is a civic aid organization devoted to offering adult workers in the porn industry emotional, financial and transitional support for those who want out of the adult industry.

A former porn star, interviewed by this writer, exposed the reason why it has not been as backed by current stars as former stars, “Some of these stars don’t want the forced condom use because plain and simply, they get paid more if they don’t use them. It’s about the money.”

The AIDS Foundation did a survey of 58 films made by the biggest companies that operate in California. Of the 58 films, which included films by Vivid Entertainment, and Hustler, two of the most prominent film makers in the industry, only two scenes used condoms.
The porn industry argues that regulations within the industry have done a wonderful job of containing all cases and maintain a strict testing policy of once a month testing. "If Los Angeles County chooses to enforce mandatory condoms, what you'll see is all adult production leave California. It will move to other places," said Steve Hirsch founder of Vivid Entertainment.

Despite these claims by the industry itself, another former star, Shelly Lubben disputes these claims. She says consumers need to become aware of what they are contributing to, "They're demanding harder and grosser porn. We want to educate them to exactly what they're watching -- diseased people ... It's illegal for bodily fluids to touch skin, and yet it happens every single day in the porn industry." She founded the Pink Cross Foundation because she contracted Herpes and HPV while in the porn industry.

Lubben Continues saying, "In my time in the industry, I did some very hardcore movies, and only drugs and alcohol could get me through them. I played a crazy game of Russian roulette with my life.”

According to the L.A. County department of health between 2003 and 2007 there were 965 cases of Gonorrhea, 2013 cases of Chlamydia reported by stars in the industry.
Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation talks about the epidemic, “This is not just about one industry, but about our entire community, as the spread of disease among adult film performers endangers themselves as well as their sexual partners in and outside the industry."

The simple fact is porn will continue to exist because of the demand. Have people in this industry become blinded by the money and lifestyle so much that they have put themselves in serious health risk situation? Should legislators step in and force the industry to adapt to the current landscape?

All Access Live

“Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder,” this quote from JFK perfectly describes the partnership developed between the founders of All Access Live.

Masterminds Reality, Joseph Salvador, and Prophecy are the masterminds behind the endeavor. Each are established experts in their fields who have come together to create a new media venture.

Joseph Salvador is the person behind the scenes of the new media machine, All Access Live. After operating several successful media ventures in the past, Baroptics.com being one of them, he created All Access Live in 2003. The name stems from the popular show All Access Live. His team wired over 65 clubs all over the U.S., creating a network channel in which venues stream live events. The innovative ideas from Joe Salvador have created a ripple effect on the networks of people around him, leading to new joint ventures and enabling him to work with many new faces.

Reality is one of those many faces. In the late 90’s when the poetry scene in Denver consisted of local coffee shops and a more conservative crowd, he jumped into the local poetry scene and found success. The real life stories, frustrations and everyday occurrences he shared with the crowd were received with open arms. Reality quickly became a name to those in the community, helping to move the poetry scene from the coffee shops to clubs and venues, perpetuating the urban appeal.

Reality’s stage presence, comfort level and the quality poetry he spoke made him an natural host for events. After gaining fame in the poetry scene Reality had his first encounter with Joe. Being in the same social network as Joe, the two acknowledged each other, but didn’t conceptualize a way to work together until All Access.

Prophecy brings the experience of the media world, playing a part in multiple successful ventures. He worked with some members of Simpsons Prophecy to create the label Mysitc Three, later known as Three Cicsym. It produced some marginal success and allowed him to work with some other artists such as Militia All-Stars, Mr. Tank, and Young Dizz. Prophecy’s story runs deep, but he stresses the importance of today when he says, “Yeah I made money from the Simpson people… today is a clean slate. I need to work with my new team and it’s about what were going to do, yesterday is yesterday.”

The trio aligned when Joe and Reality started using Prophecy’s studio in Park Hill, and Prophecy noticed the amount of work ethic and dedication they gave their projects. Being a self proprietor, Prophecy quickly realized he wanted to work with the pair. Prophecy has brought a successful network of associates and previously established business ventures to the table for All Access Live. Prophecy since has secured deals with people like Collipark Music, All Pro Sports and Entertainment and many others.

With their successful past secured and in the bag, All Access Live is all about the future, and for them, the future is now. The group functions on the idea that the company is natural. Take the established networks of communication and combine it with a grass-roots approach. This gives proprietors the opportunity to use technology and gives the media capabilities to successfully market a product, whatever it may be. Working with Lincoln Financial Media, newly acquired Clear Channel stations and having major deals within the music and entertainment industry, they are a foot into the game before fully launching.

As a media outlet, All Access Live is wrapped in the latest technologies. Joe describes it as a mix between streaming live video and Youtube. Partners working with All Access are able to deliver quality broadcast streams, manage all their media and market their products using all the latest media technology available. All Access is presently providing media and video production solutions for partners like KS107.5, KYGO, FM 104.3 The Fan, Clear Channel, beModel, jockLIFE and many more.

Since All Access is a multi-faceted media entity they also have Pay Per View solutions. All Access Live can broadcast a live show, from any of their venues, and charge consumers anywhere in the world to watch the event, therefore maximizing the audience reach for any occasion.
Companies are eager to work with All Access because of all the people who are using their network capabilities to find new opportunities. All Access Live content is regularly scoured by industry professionals to find the latest and greatest, making it the perfect outlet for anyone looking to take their craft to the next level.

All Access Live has made a dream a reality for multiple people. The culmination of talents assembled had shown these gentlemen they have the tools to make this another successful landmark on their road to prosperity. All Access live will soon be unveiling a social network that will be fully integrated with their broadcast capabilities, allowing people around the world to broadcast events and utilize All Access Live’s services.

Locally, All Access is eager to work with local artist, companies and venues. For the listeners, they will broadcast live shows from Herman’s Hide-Away, amongst other places, that can watch live on the internet from home of your own home. For business owners and entertainers, All Access provides a free web player that can reroute a live show through their network so their supporters can view their work easily.