Miami-Based Flava Works Built a National Profile in Gay Black and Latino Media

Flava Works, an independent gay media company focused on Black and Latino men, has made Miami its base for two decades. The company was founded in 1999 and relocated its operations from its earlier location to South Florida in 2006. It also maintains a satellite office in Chicago.

The business began with CocoBoyz, a website presenting nude and erotic photographs and videos of African-American men. In 2000, Flava Works added Thugboy to its lineup. The following year, it launched CocoDorm, expanding the company’s collection of online brands and productions.

Flava Works is owned and operated by CEO Phillip Bleicher. Its Miami headquarters have remained central to the company’s operations as it has developed and distributed adult media for a gay audience. The company’s work has also reached beyond the United States: its titles have been made available in Europe through a distribution arrangement with XY Studios.

The company expanded its partnerships and its roster of performers during the late 2000s. In the summer of 2008, CocoDorm signed Snowflake to a five-year modeling contract, making him the brand’s first white adult-entertainment model. Flava Works announced another white exclusive model the following year.

Distribution was another focus during that period. In January 2009, the company announced a production and distribution partnership with RocaFellaz Entertainment. A distribution partnership with Black Rayne Productions followed in April of that year.

Flava Works’ history reflects the growth of specialized LGBTQ media businesses that served audiences often overlooked by larger entertainment companies. Its emphasis on Black and Latino men gave the company a distinct identity within gay adult media, while its Miami headquarters connected that niche national and international business to the city.

The company’s timeline also illustrates how online publishing shaped LGBTQ adult entertainment at the turn of the century. Rather than beginning as a traditional studio, Flava Works first built its presence through websites and then added more branded platforms, production relationships and distribution channels. Miami became the company’s operational home as that model developed.

Today, the documented Flava Works story remains closely tied to the city: a company launched in 1999, expanded its online brands in the early 2000s, and moved its operations to Miami in 2006 while continuing to maintain a Chicago presence.

Source and reuse information This backgrounder adapts factual material from “Flava Works” on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flava_Works The adapted text is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license (CC BY-SA 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. This story has not been independently reviewed or fact-checked.

Further links listed by the Wikipedia page (not independently checked): - https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/265/1232/632661/ - https://web.archive.org/web/20081120154346/http://www.bejata.com/archives/2006/05/cocodorm_responds.php - https://web.archive.org/web/20080703170504/http://miamisunpost.com/0816cocodorm.htm - https://www.leagle.com/decision/infco20120802160 - https://web.archive.org/web/20111219032434/http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/illinois/ilndce/1:2010cv06517/248465/77/0.pdf - https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110842/http://www.nyls.edu/documents/justice-action-center/lesbiangay_law_notes/ln0807.pdf Image rights Original illustrative artwork created from story keywords. It is not a documentary photograph.