Fabian Thylmann | The Reason You Have A Porn Addiction

Fabian Thylmann - Wikipedia

When people think of porn, they usually think of the performers, the videos, the endless categories to browse. But what most don’t realize is that one man — Fabian Thylmann — quietly built the infrastructure that turned pornography into a never-ending dopamine machine.

If you’ve ever felt like porn is everywhere, like it’s too accessible, like it’s gotten more extreme over time — you can thank Thylmann. He isn’t a performer. He didn’t direct some scandalous adult film. Instead, he built the empire that weaponized porn consumption, turning it into an industrialized addiction machine.

And like every good empire, it wasn’t built for your benefit. It was built for profit.

Who Is Fabian Thylmann?

Fabian Thylmann is a German businessman who figured out something most people didn’t: The future of porn wasn’t in making movies — it was in controlling the traffic.

In the early 2000s, most porn was paid content. You had to buy DVDs, pay for access to adult sites, or go to seedy theaters. It was a scattered industry — there were no monopolies, no centralized control.

Thylmann changed all of that.

He created MindGeek, the company that now owns Pornhub, RedTube, YouPorn, and Brazzers, among others. He bought out the competition, absorbed independent studios, and monopolized online pornography in a way that no one had ever done before.

And then? He made it free.

This was the biggest turning point in porn history — the moment it stopped being a business of selling individual products and became a system designed for mass consumption.

And like every system engineered for mass consumption — social media, fast food, streaming platforms — it was built for addiction.

How Thylmann Engineered a Porn Addiction Machine

1. He Made Porn Free — But At a Cost

Before Thylmann, people paid for their porn. That meant limiting consumption — you only watched as much as you were willing to pay for.

When Thylmann introduced free streaming, he removed the barrier. Now, porn wasn’t a choice — it was an unlimited supply. And like any other free platform (think Facebook or YouTube), the real goal wasn’t to give you something for free — it was to make you the product.

MindGeek made money through:

• Ads — the longer you watched, the more ad revenue they generated.
• Premium subscriptions — by teasing more extreme, exclusive content.
• Data collection — tracking habits and selling insights.

You weren’t paying with money — you were paying with your time, your attention, and your escalating habits.

2. He Created the Infinite Scroll of Porn

Think about the first time you watched porn — what did you search for?

Now think about what you watch today. Chances are, it’s more extreme, more niche, and more intense.

This isn’t an accident. Thylmann **applied the same algorithmic strategies used by social

The problem isn’t just that porn is addictive — it’s that it rewires your brain over time. And once that happens, it starts affecting every part of your life:

• Your Sexual Preferences Change — What you used to find arousing doesn’t do it anymore. You start craving novelty, more extreme content, things that might even disgust you in real life.
• Your Attention Span Shrinks — Porn is instant gratification on demand. Your brain gets used to rapid stimulation, making real-life sex, intimacy, and even conversations feel slow and uninteresting.
• Your Dopamine System Gets Wrecked — Every time you watch, your brain gets a dopamine spike. Over time, it takes more intense stimulation to get the same high, just like any other addiction.
• Your Confidence Drops — If you’re consuming porn daily, you might notice a creeping sense of dissatisfaction with yourself, your body, or your real-life sex life. Porn makes fantasy seem effortless while real intimacy takes effort.
• Your Relationships Suffer — Whether you’re single or in a relationship, porn alters your expectations. You start comparing real partners to unrealistic performances. You may even struggle with arousal because your brain is so conditioned to pixels instead of people.

This is not just a theory — it’s a documented effect of chronic porn consumption. And the worst part? The system is built to make sure you never stop.

The Porn Industry Doesn’t Want You to Stop

Fabian Thylmann and MindGeek didn’t just create a monopoly on online porn — they created a monopoly on your mind.

Porn addiction isn’t an accident. It’s a business model.

• They make money off your attention — every second you spend scrolling is ad revenue in their pocket.
• They make money off your compulsions — knowing you’ll keep coming back for more.
• They make money off your escalation — knowing you’ll eventually seek out premium content, private videos, or extreme categories.

In the same way fast food is engineered to be addictive, porn has been scientifically crafted to hijack your brain and keep you coming back for more.

The industry doesn’t want you to be satisfied — they want you to be permanently chasing the next high.

Breaking Free: How to Take Back Control

If you’ve ever thought, “Maybe I should quit porn” or “I feel like this is messing with me”, then you already know — something isn’t right.

And that’s the key: The first step is realizing you’ve been conditioned.

Here’s how you take back control:

1. Recognize the Frame

Porn has been framed as something that’s harmless fun, but the reality is different. You’re not just watching for pleasure — you’re consuming something designed to keep you addicted.

Once you start seeing it for what it really is, it loses its grip.

2. Reduce Your Exposure

You don’t have to quit cold turkey, but start noticing when, why, and how often you watch. If you reach for porn out of habit, stress, or boredom, you’ve already been conditioned.

Try cutting back and seeing how it affects your mood, energy, and confidence. You might be surprised.

3. Rewire Your Brain

Your brain has been trained to seek instant dopamine spikes from porn. The only way to break free is to replace it with real, fulfilling experiences:

• Exercise — Helps reset dopamine levels.
• Real Social Interaction — Strengthens connection and attraction.
• Sexual Reconditioning — Focus on real intimacy rather than screen-based arousal.

4. Question the Industry

The porn industry is not on your side. It’s a business designed to keep you watching, not to help you grow, improve, or feel good about yourself.

Ask yourself:

• Who really benefits from my consumption?
• Am I in control of my desires, or is something else shaping them?
• What would my life be like if I weren’t addicted to this?

Because here’s the truth: You don’t need porn. But porn absolutely needs you.

And as long as you keep watching, the Fabian Thylmanns of the world will keep winning.

The Final Question

So, now that you know the game — are you still going to play it?