My Life in Porn: The Bobby Blake Story [Paperback]

Bobby Blake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 2008

The most successful African American in gay adult film, Bobby Blake has appeared in over one hundred movies. In My Life in Porn, Blake for the first time goes behind the scenes of the sex industry to reveal intimate stories that are sexy, fascinating, and sometimes disturbing. Blake also shares his private spiritual struggle and the quest for love.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Toby Thompkins, Author of "The Real Lives of Strong Black Women"
"Mr Gaines life story unveils the journey of the strong black man, as a prodigal son to all that is Black and all that is American. He reminds us that all roads, no matter how dark or dreary, lead us back to ourselves if we will only follow the light. This is within every black man."

About the Author

Bobby Blake lives in Memphis, TN.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (June 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786720964
• ISBN-13: 978-0786720965
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #977,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Often Told Tale With A Twist, June 15, 2008

By 

Superstarr65 "Superstarr65" (Houston Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Life in Porn: The Bobby Blake Story (Paperback)

My Life In Porn: The Bobby Blake Story is a entertaining and insightful tale of Bobby Blake, birth name is not revealed in autobiography, arguably one of the most popular African Americans in Gay Pornography. The book chronicles Blake childhood. He was raised mostly by foster parents because his biological mother had nervous break downs during his youth. His biological father was basically just a sperm donor. Bobby Blake also spent almost two years in Tennessee Prepatory School a state run school for displaced youth.

Bobby Blake say that he is bisexual but by his own admittance "all the serious relationships of my adult life would turn out to be with men". Blake admit to being in love with a girl during his youth but some of his comments about women, later in the book, sounds misogynistic. Also, later in the book, he define himself as gay which leads one to think at fifty Bobby Blake is still unsure of his sexual orientation. Beginning as a male dancer at mostly gay clubs, he move to Los Angeles and begin starring in gay and, on occasion, bisexual pornography. On camera, Bobby Blake is a aggressive, sometimes violent, top. Privately, Blake say he is "more broader". Bobby Blake is dark skinned, tall with a body builders physique and a simmering sexuality. Deep voice with a southern accent; there is a Mandingo quality about Blake thus he becomes a star.

Blake description of the gay porn entertainment business is informative and titillating. His services as an "Escort" was requested by married closeted movie stars, down low professional athletes and the powerful and wealthy from all over the world. He made lots of money as an "Escort". He have worked with some of the most prominent people in gay pornography such as the drag queen pornography director Chi Chi Larue. He also assess his rivalries in the business such as Tyger Tyson.

What make this autobiography truly unique if not special, is that Bobby Blake address issues rarely discussed in these types of autobiographies. Bobby Blake discuss double standards towards many black gay performers in the gay adult industry. Most importantly, it is Bobby Blake critique of Christian Spirituality and the role it play in his life. Bobby Blake was a minister in the Methodist Church and currently is a church counselor. He encourages gay youth not to deny or abandon their spirituality because of the anti gay, hatred filled dogma spewed from organized religion. The only disappointments in the book are there are no photographs. Also, Bobby Blake is against gay marriage because most African Americans do not support gay marriage. Also, Blake say gay marriage is a "white gay agenda" and white Gay America want black Gay America to support their agendas but white Gay America is often unsupportive and exclusory, if not racist, towards black Gay America.

My Life In Porn: The Bobby Blake Story is controversial. It is also an entertaining , insightful and titillating. It is an often told tale about superficial success and redemption told from a unique perspective. I recommend reading My Life In Porn The Bobby Blake Story.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THOUGHTFUL, INSIGHTFUL, AND OVERALL GOOD READ!, June 18, 2008

By 

J. Jimenez "my pen name" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Life in Porn: The Bobby Blake Story (Paperback)

I enjoyed reading this book a lot. I did find myself re-reading many paragraphs to get the meaning correct--not that it was a confusing read, but instead I wanted to make sure I understood where the author was coming from. Mr. Blake took a big risk exposing himself like this, letting his feelings and vulnerabilities out for all to see.

Regarding the first few chapters, I really enjoyed reading about the many forces that came together to shape him. Everyone has a story to tell about how they came to be who they are. I personally always enjoy learning about what makes a person, any person, tick, but I found Mr. Blake's story much different from what I expected.

Throughout the book there were many sad moments, and while I didn't mind reading about them, I had to stop reading a few times because things like remembering different friends/family dropping like flies in the 80s, the pains of breakups, let-downs by friends, etc.

His thoughts on church and religion were particularly well written. It made me think: Can you imagine what would happen to so many of these churches if every gay and lesbian, bi and transgendered person just got up and left???? I have been for a good church over the years because of this, and am still looking for a good fit for me in NYC that is inclusive without me having to part of an exclusively gay congregation.

I found the porn industry chapters fascinating. These are the parts of the book I had to read twice, particularly the rivalry chapters (Bam, Tiger Tyson, etc.). At first I thought, "is this guy for real? he seems a bit full of himself" but after re-reading it, its not that at all. In business, regardless of the industry, you have to be smart, sometimes ruthless, and cunning. God gave us wisdom and cleverness to work our way through the minefields of life. This is exactly what Mr. Blake's done, and in spades! Well done.

It's great that he wrote about how he stood up for himself within the porn industry. Some people are naive enough to believe that in the porn industry, people are so liberal and open-minded that they are all passed the racist and ethnic hatred and bias found in other industries. His book is an important tool for the young ones looking to get into the industry, a reminder that things have changed, but not completely, and the best defense is a strong sense of self, confident and proud.

But the chapters about Flexx-Deon were very sad. I'm glad he wrote about the experience, and I hope people don't think its just him "throwing him under the bus" as they say. I don't know Mr. Flexx-Deon so I won't put his life o the spot, but speaking in broader terms it's true that so many gay guys don't plan for their future, particularly hispanic and black gays. They don't spend their money properly. They don't think about their needs 10 years from now, or even 10 weeks from now, living check-to-check. They don't think about what will happen if they lose their jobs ( guess they move back home or live with family or friends), or what happens if a family member becomes ill and is unable to care for him or herself. We live in such a self-absorbed world now. Perhaps with some luck some of these guys will read Mr. Blake's book, so they can see themselves from the outside in, and realize that they are not just doing damage to themselves, but end up leaving a long trail of collateral damage in the form of loves ones.

Of all parts of the book, I liked the ending the most. It shows Mr. Blake having come full circle--literally, since he's living in the house he spent many of his early years in.

Well done, Mr. Blake.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bobby Blake a man Id like to meet., June 9, 2008

By 

T. Houston (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Life in Porn: The Bobby Blake Story (Paperback)

This book was really enjoyable and a good read. Since I'm from the same town as he I could relate to the places and mannerisms of stuff he talks about. The one thing that really disappointed me was that there is NOT 1 SINGLE PHOTOGRAPH in the book. I wanted to see pics of him as he grew up and such but there is nothing which is a shame it would help his fans really get to know the MAN and not the persona. I hope to meet him one day and get him to sign this. I do highly recommend this book.

Tim from Memphis