Cobra Video

Cobra Video is an American gay pornographic studio.

History and methods

Since its establishment in 2001 by Bryan Kocis^[1] (also known as Bryan Philips), Cobra Video produced movies starring "twinks", exclusively in the 18–23 age category. Kocis cast and directed all Cobra productions until his death in 2007.

Initially, Cobra Video mainly showed young men in solo performances, masturbating themselves to orgasm. Cobra's first production, Ethan's College Buddies, is a typical example of this. Later, the studio moved to productions depicting men having oral and anal sex, both in couples and in larger groups. Characteristics of Cobra Video sex scenes include long camera shots, usage of natural sound without dubbed music, facial and anal cum shots, well-lit close ups of all cum shots, and bareback sex. The bareback aspect created controversy because the studio's films show young men having unprotected sex in the wake of rising HIV figures.

The studio almost exclusively uses models who have not worked for other studios before they joined Cobra. Cobra is often categorized as an "amateur" studio, due to its use of low-cost filming locations (such as hotel rooms or rental apartments), lack of well-known performers, and limited use of specific lighting or model styling. This amateur status appeals to Cobra's customers who are attracted to the sense of reality. Almost all casting sessions conducted to test new models are released in the Casting Couch product line.

In late 2004, Cobra released its first video starring a well-known "twink" porn star, Canadian Brent Everett, performing with regular Cobra-exclusive actors in Bareboned Twinks. The pairing of Brent Everett and Cobra performer Brent Corrigan was hailed by many fans of the studio. In 2005, the studio released another video starring Brent Everett and Brent Corrigan.

Cobra Video filled a market segment (ultra-smooth, very young-looking men having bareback sex with obvious enjoyment) previously uncovered by the large and well-established gay porn studios.

Legal issues

In 2002, police found a videotape in the home of Bryan Kocis (then 39) engaged in sexual activity with what proved to be a 15-year-old teenage boy. Kocis, then owner and producer of Cobra Video and owner of a local adult-video store, met the boy on the internet and transported him to Kocis' hometown. Kocis pled guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a child; he was originally charged with child pornography and transportation of a minor for sexual purposes. Kocis claimed as a defense that the teenage boy lied about his age.^[2]

Pacific Sun Entertainment (Cobra's distributor) advised its retail sellers, in September 2005, to withhold from further distribution four of Cobra's most popular videos (Every Poolboy's Dream, Schoolboy Crush, Bareboned Twinks, and Casting Couch 4) when reports surfaced that a featured model, Brent Corrigan was, at the time of filming, under 18 years of age.^[3][4][5][3] Pacific Sun Entertainment further advised, via an industry-wide email, the removal from availability additional Cobra Video product titles (Campus Boys 1 and Campus Boys 2) without reason except that in the past such action stemmed from a problem with distribution of questionable product such as performer's age.^[6] The Kocis murder was motivated by a rival studio power play involving Corrigan.^[7]

Chad Noel had a scene with Corrigan in "Every Poolboy’s Dream", and he performed in the industry under several other names, sometimes bareback: Donny Price, Kyle Young, and Craven Cox. He died in March 2010 from an illness related to HIV complications. He was 25 and a native of Laramie, Wyoming.^[7]

Kocis death

On January 24, 2007, Bryan Kocis was found dead in his Dallas Township, Pennsylvania, home. According to the Luzerne County coroner investigating the death, Kocis was stabbed 28 times and his throat was cut before his body was left in his house, which was set on fire after he died. A folding-style knife was found in the house near Kocis' body. Officials used dental records to identify him, as his body was burned beyond recognition.^{[8] [9] [10][11]}

In May 2007 Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes, both adult film actors/producers, were arrested and charged with his murder. Police took the pair into custody after discovering evidence on Kocis' computer hard drive, which survived the fire. Police theorized that the pair killed Kocis because they wanted to work with a particular actor who was under contract to him. Prosecutors believed that one of the suspects e-mailed Kocis, assuming the identity of an aspiring porn actor, and arranged to meet him on January 24, 2007. The e-mail's sender asked to meet Kocis alone. The pair appear on video surveillance buying a gun and a lock-blade folding knife at a local pawn shop. The knife is consistent with the one used to stab Kocis. Additionally, police have audio recordings of one of the suspects saying, "Actually seeing that fucker going down, it's actually sick, but it made me feel better inside. It almost felt like I got revenge and I know that sounds fucked up." In a search of the pair's home, police also found video equipment they believe belonged to Kocis.^[12][13] The pair claimed they were innocent, and set up a MySpace page to state their case. Both have been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Notable performers

• Ethan Armstrong
• Lance Evans
• Brent Everett
• Brent Corrigan
• Brenden Michael
• Brandon
• Cameron Lane
• Kaipo

See also

• List of pornographic movie studios
• Bryan Kocis

External links

• Cobra Video's corporate web site
• Cobra Video's Site for Brent Corrigan

References