Louie Damazo – The Godfather of Brazilian Trans Erotica – RIP

The force that is Louie ‘Don’ Damazo has left this planet.

It’s with a very heavy heart and an enormous amount of sadness that I announce the sudden death of Luiz Damazo on Saturday 29th August 2026, at his home in Brazil through natural causes. He was my friend, my brother, my compadre and my comic relief for over 25 years.

Once met, never forgotten, Damazo was the life force that ran Brazilian Transsexuals and our Brazilian operation since 1999. He was an integral part of our company and one of the founding fathers of trans porn, likely the most prolific producer of trans content of all time, having worked with over 1700 Brazilian trans models, debuting many and becoming a focal point for trans performers in Brazil and beyond.

We met in 1999 in New Orleans, where I’d invited him up as the newest producer of our team, and the business partner of our new Brazilian arm. When we discovered that Louie wasn’t getting paid what he was meant to, we ejected that partner and teamed up together, and the craziness ensued. Frank and I travelled to Brazil regularly, working with Damazo and his crew, all in our early 30s and looking for adventure and fun – and man, did we do it all? From the Grooby trips where we hired boats to take our staff and models around the bay of Rio, to getting guns put on us by cops/robbers (they’re often the same down there) multiple times, we had shoot weeks at VIPs in Rio, filming 5-6 scenes a day with a stream of gorgeous trans models coming through the doors. We went to Thailand where he lost his passport on the way home, Vietnam where he got stuck in a Vietcong tunnel, Las Vegas, Phoenix and my home in Hawaii, where in typical Damazo fashion, he destroyed my guest room in 24 hours. If you were unlucky enough to get a look at a hotel room that he’s been in for an hour, you’d see a mad mess of chaos and craziness. And that was Louie – he was chaotic, hilarious and utterly frustrating at times. Frank and I often wondered how he functioned through life, but when you actually got him one to one, there was a lot more intelligence and introspection beneath the surface. He was the clown, but you don’t run a Brazilian team producing adult websites for over 25 years without knowing exactly what you are doing and being loved by the models and crew

Louie loved nothing more than being with friends. Frank and I were his close friends for a long time, and I believe we changed his life – and he certainly changed ours. He loved being around people and attending the TEAs where many met him was top of his list—giving him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023 was a highlight.

If we ever get around to writing a book about the company, Damazo will probably fill up over half of it. I could write pages about the comedy and crazy times. He was the gift that keeps on giving, and while our lives are going to be less colourful without him, the stories will endure, the laughs as we relive them and remind each other of his funny translations, his absolute lack of self-awareness, his huge bear hugs, the hilarious bickering act between Frank and he, his dreadful impressions (The Predator), his weird eating habits and inability to dress himself well, will live on.

There are many people mourning their loss of Damazo.  His siblings, his Brazilian crew and friends, and the trans porn community there, the 100s of models for whom he became a focal point and support network in Brazil,  everybody at Grooby who he touched,  and of course the many fans of his work.

Damazo’s long time camera person, Andre send me this and I thought it was extremely pertinent to who Luiz was behind the big front;

Farewell my brother. You will never be forgotten. The stories are lore. And I know you’ll be reading this smoking a cigar (probably backwards), eating a rare picanha, thinking of ways to annoy Frank and eyeing up some big butted Brazilian girl. You were an original.  – Steven Grooby

 Louie ‘Don’ Damazo – 30 April 1968 – 29 Aug 2026

“I’m so sorry. I’m speechless and truly shocked. This seems so surreal, we were just emailing back and forth a couple of days ago.  He was one of the nicest guys! My heart goes out to everyone who knew and loved him.” – Alex, Grooby Asset Manager”

“Oh Louie.. every time I saw him, he greeted me with the biggest smile and hug. A simple greeting that would make you feel so happy with his child like excitement and genuine warmth.. just the absolute nicest guy. Heartbroken for this loss and sending extra love to Steven and Frank” – Shannon, Grooby Office Manager

“Was really shocked and saddened to hear that not only us, but the world, has lost Louie. Genuinely one of the sweetest, daftest, genuine and blissfully excitable bloke I’ve ever known. So many incredible and happy memories of hanging out with him around the world – he was the one that was guaranteed to lift the mood of the worst hangovers, or enjoy holding court when the opportunity arose.”  – Russ, Grooby

“It must be impossible to not feel warmth and authenticity from Luiz. I only met him in person at the TEAs. I can’t say anything but that it was a joy knowing him. We kept in touch on whatsapp a lot. We would talk about camera gear and software. I don’t know why, but he really reminded me of my little brother. He might have been 15 years older and had 10 times my life experience, but he had a certain earnestness and a little mischievous twinkle in his eye that was disturbingly familiar.” – Moe Scoville, Grooby Producer

“Damn that’s really sad news. I remember first meeting Louie at a Grooby trip to Thailand in ‘08 or ‘09 and immediately thinking… this is a good guy. I can definitely get along with him. It was always great to see him throughout the years.  Frank and Louie were like a comedy duo whenever I was with them. Like an old married couple arguing about weird funny shit. Obviously very good friends. RIP”  – Buddy Wood, Grooby Producer

“I was a fan of louie from the internet before i met him, so when i got to the awards for the first time and i met him,i was kinda star struck lol, i feel silly..i though immediately what a kind and funny guy!  He called me Don Vito lol.  My heart goes to you guys who were closer and his family and close ones of course.. I am grateful I got to meet him.” – Vee Soho, Grooby Producer

” I remember him being as animated and silly and warm as the lore about him claimed. He would always give me a giddy full body hug the few times I saw him in person. I also have a random memory of me being stressed out at the TEAs (I think) when he attended and I remember him telling me that if someone hated me, then he automatically hated them and thought they were a bad person because nobody hated me LOL It was a silly moment that reminded me of how generous and effusive he was” – Kristel Penn, Grooby

“Louie lived life to the fullest, on his own terms, always with that boyish smile and an unmatched enthusiasm. He’d meet you with the biggest smile and a bear hug.  I met him for the first time in New Orleans in 1999 and had a blast hanging out with him – on the Brazil trips he was larger than life, talking non-stop, showing us Rio, arranged parties and boat trips that became the stuff of legends. Louie was in my life for 27 years and will be missed dearly.” – Alexander, Grooby Chief Webmaster

“We have lost a great man, a true pioneer of our trans world. Someone who made history at a time when many of us were young and watching his scenes, when there was barely any trans content available. I’m deeply saddened that we have lost our master. I love you, Louie. Wherever you are, keep sending us that smile and that incredible energy of yours. I’m sure we’ll continue to feel it, always, every single day. ” – Dave Khull, Grooby Marketing and Producer.

“There really aren’t many people you meet in life who are genuinely one of a kind, but Luiz truly was. Funny as fuck, chaotic, and completely incapable of being anything other than 100% himself.  I think it was around 2014 when I first met him in LA and I just clicked with the guy immediately. I’ve lost count of the amount of bear hugs and barrel rolls I’ve had from him on various trips since. A proper big cuddly bear. We have a term which I’m sure originates in the north of England; ‘Daft As a Brush’ – which feels quite fitting here.  It’s just bizarre and hasn’t quite sunk in yet, knowing he isn’t still out there somewhere, talking too loudly in a posh restaurant, taking more of his fair share of the meatballs and loudly interrupting the conversation with something warped, off-topic and hilariously zany.  A proper character in every sense. There’s always gonna be a Damazo shaped hole in the history of the company, but fuck me, do we have the stories … Rest easy mate. You were an absolute legend” – Mike, Grooby Marketing Director.

“I am deeply saddened and still in shock over Luiz’s passing. It happened so suddenly that it’s truly hard to process or believe.  I will miss him terribly. I am forever grateful for his affection and for the opportunity to work alongside him at Grooby for nearly 20 years. We stayed in touch almost every single day, and he truly was the heart and soul of the websites. It is honestly difficult to imagine continuing the sites without him.” – Razor, longtime Brazilian webmaster and friend

“Damazo was family. We spoke more often than anyone else in my life for years. We laughed exponentially more than we fought. We shared each other’s pain and success. We helped each other learn and grow personally and professionally. He was always optimistic and encouraging about the next step, or “evolute,” as he called it. We talked a lot about health and aging lately. He had just finished his second major back surgery and was in a lot of pain. He had started rehab after the surgery, and we talked about how painful and stressful it was.  He loved Grooby. He spread happiness to everyone around him.  I hope we can gather and share stories of his life and our lives with him in it. If not here, then over a cigar and drinks somewhere to be named later.” – Frank, Grooby.