Meet intimacy artist and facilitator: only4thebrave.

Photographer and facilitator Marcus John. AKA only4thebrave invites us to

see the human body, and sexuality itself, through a lens of reverence.

For over 2 decades, he has documented people in their most intimate, honest moments: the quiet of self-touch, the pulse of connection, the beauty of existing in one’s own skin.

His work celebrates the body as art and sexuality as truth.

only4thebrave offers intimate photographic experiences that honour pleasure in all its forms, reminding us that acceptance begins with being seen.

How would you describe yourself in 3

words?

Curious, Thoughtful, Creative.

Tell us more about yourself and what

you do…

I’m a Artist and facilitator whose work, focuses on uplifting the human body and human sexuality mainly using the medium of photography. I capture people in their most intimate moments experiencing the fullness of being in their skin and the beauty of pleasure. Whether that be them pleasuring themselves, experiencing sexual pleasure with another, or just existing in their skin.

Meet Intimacy Photographer & Facilitator: only4thebrave

What services do you provide?

I capture humans embracing their bodies, pleasure, and sexuality.

What was your journey into this world?

My journey was straightforward, it came with twists and turns but I give you the short version, I grew up in a criminal family, wanted to be different, found photography from a young age, which led to college, university then psychology, yep full left turn. I always wanted to be a photo journalist but was born the wrong skin colour. Still loved photography uni taught me to shoot nudes, after uni I would shoot nudes for couples and individuals and a couple asked for something a little more erotic.

I got offers from adult magazines and video but thought porn was boring and lacked real people or real intimacy. So I ventured into BDSM, where the people seemed a little more free to express themselves.

I rarely find people who look like me, but I’m still trying, I guess only in London can you find an open mind and black folks that are not ashamed of their bodies. This is something that I would love to change.

I remember searching various porn sites for videos of “romantic black couples” when I was very young and only seeing a very homogenous type of white bodies, and the few videos I did see of people of color were raunchy and filled with stereotypes and tropes. This was not what I had seen, intimacy was not what mainstream focused on so again I wanted to capture something different, but not just black folks but all bodies, all shapes from all types of background

I kept my search going and the more and more I looked the more I realised that there was a major gap in content that showed sexuality in a way that uplifted it and that

showed how beautiful it truly was for all people and all bodies.

I became only4thebrave an artists that looked for the raw emotions, and that led to me creating the persona fEAR so that I could help create the scene people wanted to capture.

The rest is history..

Intimate photography by only4thebrave

Interested in having your intimacy beautifully captured?

Find out more here.

What do the first 60 minutes of your

day look like?

I wake up early, normally about 1hr before everyone else, first 15 minutes is meditation, I do move just mentally prepare. Then emails and messages as I rarely look at these things again till night time. Then I wake up the first child, and shower then breakfast.

Why do you do what you do?

I do what I do because I’m interested in people, sex and sexuality and believe in my heart that they are beautiful components of our human experience that do not get enough attention.

I know firsthand the damage that a repressed sexuality or view of one’s body can do one’s idea of self and how we connect to ourselves and I want to change that.

I believe that if we see imagery that shows our humanness, our skin, and our most of pleasure filled moment in an authentically honest way, more people will see the truth of their own pleasure. Which is that, it’s amazing and shouldn’t be suppressed and tucked away. And that if anything, the more we can embrace all parts of ourselves the more whole we will be and will be able to walk through life with more confidence

and self assurance of who we are.

What is an unexpected pleasure you

discovered in your work?

Seeing people’s reactions when they see their photos. People seeing themselves in such a raw, passion filled way would lead to the many times clients having cried tears of joy after.

I had no idea that people simply being validated for their desires and pleasures was so important. I can’t even count the amount of times after photo shoots I’ve received emails from clients thanking me for their experience and sharing what it meant for them personally. I started this work really to capture what I found

beautiful, but over time realised that what I was providing was so much more than just a photoshoot.

It was a therapeutic experience. So I created a business around it.

Intimate photography by only4thebrave

What should more people know about

your work?

It’s really about acceptance and courage. Accepting ourselves for who we are, what we look like, and what we are into. Finding out what for fills us and then having the courage to accept that.

We all need to know that our bodies, our desires, our experiences mean something and aren’t to be shamed or pushed away, we need to have the courage to accept our bodies how they are.

So many of us have had our identities and the most precious and intimate parts of ourselves taken from us and silenced by culture, religion, relationships, and just life…

My work is to help bring those lost parts of ourselves back so that we can walk in our truth with our heads held high.

What’s your superpower?

My ability to listen and see the beauty you can not.

We love vices. What’s yours?

Physical activity – I found BDSM a few years ago, and the freedom to experience and feel without judgement has led me to a path of exploration of the human experience

photography by only4thebrave

Who are your sensual inspirations?

My children. Nature. Trees. Plants. The wind. Slow touches. Great conversations. Quiet moments.

Curious about what an intimate shoot with only4thebrave looks

like?

Check out booking options here.