LOS ANGELES — Prince Yahshua tells XBIZ the past year has been humbling for him.
After suffering a freak “broken penis” during a sex scene on Aug. 23, 2010, Yahshua received an outpouring of support from his legion of fans in the weeks and months that followed. The encouragement fueled his recovery, firing him up to get back to performing and keep his production company Silverback Entertainment among the industry leaders.
People recognized Yahshua in airports and other public places, coming up to him and showing their respect.
One loyal fan that he met on Twitter, an up-and-coming rapper from New York named Black, even created a Silverback theme song after Yahshua sent him a beat. Now it’s the ring tone on Yahshua’s phone.
Then Yahshua was humbled again on Saturday night at The Vault in downtown L.A., when he repeated as the winner of the Urban X Award for Male Performer of the Year at the fourth annual ceremony.
Now widely considered one of the industry’s top studs, Yahshua is a survivor who turned his life around during his seven-year run in porn. His current status as CEO, producer and bankable star seemed improbable during his gritty days on the streets of Chicago.
“I sold drugs, I was gangbanging, I’ve even been in prison. It’s no secret,” Yahshua says. “To know I rose above just being another number in the prison system. … It’s a true testament. This dude did it.”
He wears Silverback across his chest “like a badge of honor.”
“I can’t react to things like I used to,” Yahshua says. “I write checks now. People’s families depend on me. I think about that like, ‘Wow, it’s just funny where life’s journey takes you.’”
The 41-year-old leaner, more focused Yahshua says “it’s a whole new me.”
“I lost the excess weight and I’m going to start taking better care of myself,” he says.
He is also making moves that will set him up for years to come. He recently brought on an experienced mainstream executive named Jeff Romano to manage his day-to-day operations and tighten the work-flow.
Romano is a former executive chef who also sold performance automotive parts before he joined the Silverback camp. He says that Silverback is about “dependable people committed to making a great product.”
“You know what you get when you’re getting Silverback,” Romano tells XBIZ.
Yahshua closed a DVD distribution deal with Black Market that started with “The Best of Black Assassin: Vanilla Edition” in May. The next titles hitting the streets are “Interracial Heaven,” “The Black Out 2” and “Punishing That Azz,” all featuring Yahshua taking on a variety of starlets.
And he plans to expand his brand this Fall with the launch of two membership websites, the flagship PrinceYahshua.com and the B.J. site InYaMouth.com that will include scenes with popular performers such as Lisa Ann, Carmen Hayes, Phoenix Marie and Vida Valentine.
“We’re going to have a giant web presence,” Yahshua says.
Yahshua also tells XBIZ that soon he will take another important step in ensuring his recovery is permanent by undergoing penile implant surgery.
“I’ve been at about 80 percent [performing], so within the next two months I want to get it reconstructed the way I want it,” Yahshua says. “I want to get the surgery right now or there’s a fairly good chance it could happen again. I want to make sure it will never happen again.”
The four-hour procedure requires only a one-night stay in the hospital and two-week recovery period, he says.
Once the surgery is complete, he’ll begin work on a special project called “Undisputed” that will be not only the culmination of the comeback that started with his career-threatening injury, but also what Yahshua believes will be the defining movie of his career.
“I’ve documented everything that happened to me already, even the raw footage of me sitting there bleeding,” Yahshua says. “This movie will be everything from the build-up to showing what’s happened, what I’ve overcome and what I still am today.”
