'It's never too late to change path'
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From porn set to the pulpit.
A former adult entertainer is now working as a preacher after quitting his kinky career making X-rated movies.
Joshua Broome, who filmed more than 1,000 raunchy movies under the pseudonym Rocco Reed, quit the straight and gay-for-pay porn industries back in 2012, claiming they caused him a “tremendous amount of emotional trauma.”
“I literally lost track of who I was,” Broome told The Post on Tuesday. “Everything was lies and fiction … I wanted to take my own life and didn’t have the guts to do so.”
Broome, now 39, fell into the porn industry after moving to Hollywood in his early 20s in hopes of becoming an actor.
While working as a waiter, Broome had a chance meeting with a group of women who insisted that a porn scene would help bolster his chances of becoming a movie star. He took their referral and was cast in an adult movie just days later.
Soon, the then-23-year-old Broome was shooting dozens of scenes per month, and quickly became one of the most popular male stars in the industry — but fulfillment didn’t follow.
“I believed the lie that if I made money I would be happy,” Broome told The Post. “I made well over a million dollars. I travelled everywhere I wanted to go. I had all the sex I could have ever imagined. But once I had it all, my life fell apart, because it amplified the sorrow and emptiness I always felt inside.”
Broome shocked industry insiders when he abruptly quit the industry in 2012 after six years shooting steamy movies.
In a statement released at the time, Broome declared: “I would like to state that my time in the adult industry in every aspect has now come to an end … I would also like to state that I am not or never have been gay, just an adult performer. I am retiring not because of any other reason than its time to move on.”
Broome left Los Angeles and moved home to North Carolina. He says he struggled with depression and was “riddled with shame,” trying to conceal his former career while working at a gym.
Then, in 2014, he met a woman named Hope at the fitness facility, and the pair decided to go on a run together.
On the outing, Broome confessed his porn past and was stunned by the fact that Hope refused to judge him.
“Through her kindness and not rejecting me, she cultivated a curiosity in me,” Broome said. “The next weekend we went to church together.”
The porn star suddenly underwent a spiritual awakening, finding a fulfillment that the glitz and glamor of the porn world was unable to provide for him.
“I surrendered a lifetime of shame. I lived with an ‘I’m not good enough’ mindset my entire life, and I was able to let that go,” he explained of his newfound Christian faith.
Broome studied Biblical theology before marrying Hope in 2016. The couple now have three young sons together.
Broome is currently a pastor at the Good News Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and also teaches and preaches around the country.
The former adult entertainer additionally speaks out about the perils of porn.
“It’s so harmful,” he told The Post. “You are saying its okay to consume a person like a product, and if you treat people like products every aspect of your life is going to be detrimental.”
Broome also boasts a podcast and a popular Instagram page with more than 50,000 followers.
The preacher tells listeners it’s never too late to change paths in life, saying his extraordinary journey from porn star to pastor is proof in and of itself.
“It’s never too late to change what you’re doing,” he continued. “Is it going to take some hard work? Yes. Is it going to take time? Yes. Is it going to be worth it? Absolutely.”
The star says he no longer feels burdened by the shame of his former career, and his family life is “amazing.”
“I built a life I can be proud of, and when I lie my head on the pillow at night I’m not ashamed and I don’t feel guilty,” Broome told The Post. “You can allow your past to own you or you can take control and own your past.”
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