"Shaken"
January 27, 2007

So I get home Thursday and do my usual virtual beachcombing of Google Alerts, Wiki Warnings, Newsgroup notifications, RSS feeds and other factual detritus marooned on the electronic shores of my in-box, when I stumbled over the last piece of information I ever expected to see:

"Cobra Video Porn Producer Bryan Kocis Murdered."

That's not good.

I was familiar with Kocis from having cast Sean Lockhart, of "Brent Corrigan" fame, in my most recent short film. Sean and I'd become friends afterwards.

Along the way, he told me about his experiences as an under-age model in the porn industry, a bit about his personal and professional relationship with Kocis, as well as what he was hoping to do with his life. (I later wrote about all of this for an article in GayWebMonkey magazine.)

Those details as well as information about Sean's and Kocis' battle over the name "Brent Corrigan" are freely available all over the web. No need for me to rehash it. I will say though that the most accurate information can be found in quotes from either Sean or Kocis directly; details provided by "friends of friends of friends" aren't worth much.

Last week, Sean told me he thought he'd finally reached an agreement with Kocis. Earlier this week he'd confirmed that the deal was in place. They'd been able to work something out that made Kocis happy an allowed Sean to continue on as "Brent." What really surprised him was that in the middle of all the negotiating, Kocis turned around and did him a personal favor, completely at odds with the spite and vitriol that had recently passed between them. Unexpected but appreciated, according to Sean.

The February settlement was supposed to take everyone out of the limelight, establish a new status quo, and get all parties back to work.
And then this horrible news hit.

We texted earlier Friday afternoon. Sean said he was pretty shaken by everything and trying to make sense of it all. Rollercoaster. Pretty normal, considering. No, he didn't tell me any details. No, I didn't ask.

Of course my first sympathies are with Sean. He's a friend. I know him. Back when I was social worker, I knew a lot of people like him. I learned how complicated relationships like the one between Bryan and Sean were. "Shaken" understates the emotions of a situation like this.

Still, despite how I might personally feel about Bryan Kocis, his history, ethics, and videos, it is pretty awful how he died. Condolences to his friends and family. No doubt he meant a great deal to them.

To Sean, I know it feels like another punch after a host of others. Hang in there, regardless. You are a tough and you have lots of shoulders to lean on. Myself and the rest of your friends, we know that in the end you are going to be alright.

Posted by Jody at January 27, 2007 12:09 PM

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Posted by: DewayneinSD at January 31, 2007 04:47 PM

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