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Interviews by David Hoffman Wednesday, January 15, 2003:

Tricia Devereaux, Violet Blue, Tera Patrick and Jeremy Steele Talk about the Real Issues Facing Adult Performers

While reporters often seek to sensationalize personal conflicts within the adult business, I took the opportunity to examine day-to-day issues affecting adult performers: breaking in, working environments, relationships, medical and financial issues.

Former adult star Tricia Devereaux consented to talk to me about her career. With the immensely appealing look of the voluptuous girl-next-door (I never did go for silicone platinum blondes who look like Barbie Dolls on steroids), Tricia jokingly refers to herself as a "nerdy high-school wallflower. After a brief career stripping, she moved to LA to do videos for large companies such as Vivid, Wicked, VCA and Elegant Angel. I interviewed Tricia at Evil Angel, where she currently works in production and sales. We talked about some of the stresses frequently encountered in the porn business.

Perceptions

"Just being a member of the industry in general, we have to worry about some of the perceptions that people have of the adult business, she says. "That's my main conflict that I deal with on like a daily basis.. I have to think about, if it wasn't for people that don't even know me, probably being very happy to look down on me because I'm in the adult business.

Male performer Jeremy Steele who I spoke with concurs with Devereaux on the subject of relationships. "A girl I liked dropped me when she found out I was a porn star, said Steele. "She was shocked; she never called me back.

As Violet Blue, winner of AVN's "Best New Starlet of 00 and "Best Supporting Actress of 00", says: ". A lot of things get fabricated into a lot worse than they are. It's kind of like reading The Sun or something because no one really knows about the adult industry in the outside world so things that are perfectly normal to us are outrageous and degrading to them.

As Devereaux adds: "Actually my friends and family are fairly cool, but there's lots of people that I don't even attempt to make friends with, because I think that, you know, if they got to know me too well and found out that I worked at a porn company. Even now, with me just working inside the company, as a behind-the-scenes person, even that, like I don't really blurt it out because I'm afraid of what their idea of me is going to be..

A bright woman with a Bachelor's Degree in Biology, Devereaux was [illegally] kicked out of Medical School due to her video work.

"I then decided I didn't want to be part of such a hypocritical community anyway, she said, no pun intended. "For me, definitely one of the reasons I came into the business was because I wanted to be able to explore more things and be with more people without having to do it in the so-called real world. And part of that was because I didn't want to bring in emotions that bordered on relationships. As Tricia says, laughingly, "I hate first-dates, they suck!

As Violet Blue says, most girls are in it for the money or fame. "Some come for the drugs I guess, but I never went that route so I wouldn't know. I came to have sex. Lots of sex.

As Steele adds: "Girls in this town are usually after one (actually two) things, money and fame. If you're not a stepping-stone to either of those two things, it's not worth their time...

As for the drugs, Steele says, "It used to be that girls didn't show up on time or were on drugs. It was a minor annoyance [to me]. Now it's getting better.

When she first started, Devereaux was "nervous that I really wouldn't know what to do. It was a new situation that I didn't know if I was going to end up being comfortable with. I was just nervous that I going to feel stupid. But the first couple of shoots went really, really well. I think if the first couple of ones had been a nightmare, I think it would have totally scared me off forever.

AIDS

Much to her shock, Devereaux discovered that she was HIV-positive immediately after winning "Best All-Girl Sex Scene at the '998 AVN Awards.

In spite of her HIV status, Devereaux hasn't been scared off from the business at all. She still does magazine layouts, dances, and is looking forward to directing her own movie with the help of husband Stagliano, who is also HIV-positive.

Regarding HIV, she says: "I was a really trusting person, and I trusted that, you know, a person telling me that they got a test, and then seeing a photocopy of some test from a clinic that I didn't know what it was, I'm like 'okay, it's cool.' And, you know, one person lied to me.

That person was long-time porn performer Marc Wallice, who starting in '998 was infamously considered (though Wallice would say rumored) to be "ground zero for a spate of HIV infections that spread through the industry. Known as a "woodman famous for anal sex scenes, Wallice had been performing since the early '980s.

As Devereaux says, "I definitely believe that [Wallice] knew. [But] that could have easily happened if I had been promiscuous outside the industry as well.

Says Violet Blue: "Sometimes people forget to bring their tests, but most of the time you can just call AIM and get the results over the phone. AIM is also setting up an Internet site where selected Production Managers can look up and print talents' tests from the Net.

Tricia and her husband John Stagliano recently gave birth to a baby girl, and both parents and daughter are doing fine. The child is negative and Tricia claims no health problems in spite of five years living with HIV.

"I go see a doctor every three months. They do a full panel of blood tests to see how my whole body's doing. And I've been doing fine ever since.. Every once in a while I'll think that I'll be feeling something, then I'll think back and realize, 'Wait, no I've gotten that before.'

She adds: "During my pregnancy I took the cocktail.. I'm not a health nut, Actually I ate at Arby's today. (laughs) In fact John yells at me because he likes to eat healthy. and he'll yell at me about how much I eat at McDonalds and stuff!

Benefits

Another potential source of stress in the adult industry is the fact that most performers work freelance and don't have the benefit of company insurance or worker's comp.

As Devereaux says: "I don't have an insurance plan through the company here, but I make enough money that I go out and I get my own insurance. I talk with a financial advisor to help me figure out how to budget my monies so I don't end up with absolutely no money in my retirement.. I always make sure that I'm okay for myself.

Porn superstar Tera Patrick, coincidentally, also has a degree in Biology. A former nurse and fashion model currently on contract with Digital Playground, Tera was baffled by the issue of company benefits. "Workers comp? Are there that many people in my industry claiming on workers comp? asked Patrick. "Injuries? What? I have really never seen much of this in my industry. I have full medical and dental benefits and I have never had a need for workers comp.

As Violet Blue says: "We do have some funny problems in the industry, like getting too much lube on you and sliding off the table you're getting f-cked on. Or not being able to hold your ass cheek open for the camera because of too much lube. Shaving rash is a big problem because most the guys shave and two shaved whooies makes for a ruff ride! Lights falling or catching on fire, PA's feet being in the shot, running out of baby wipes, and when the crew eats all the food before you get too it. Those are a few of the major problems.

Adds Violet: "I think the most f-cked-up shoot I ever had was for Jill Kelly. We were in a mansion in the middle of summer and the kitchen was about ''0 degrees. I did a DP with Dillion Day and Chris Cannon on the counter and it took about three hours because Dillion Day had wood problems from the heat. I don't know how I made it through that one.

Hardly the stuff Valium prescriptions are made of!

Male performer Jeremy Steele, known for his ample cum-shots, ironically says the biggest pressure he faces while performing is the cum-shot. "My biggest problem is sometimes it takes me too long to pop, says Jeremy, "but I always give a big pop shot.. As for the girl, she can always fake an orgasm. There's an awful lot of patience you have to have as a performer. It takes a lot of patience in terms of... you're not going by your own grooves alot, there's so much sh-t going on, You have to use your most basic, most animalistic form of lust to propel you forward.

Breaking In

Tricia Devereaux handled potential stress issues coming into the business by "approaching it as a career, and by thinking 'what can I do to make it the best thing for me at this time?' And I don't know that a lot of girls do look at those options.

"I sought to be friends with the companies and especially the owners that treat their girls really well, adds Devereaux. "Like I worked for Evil Angel a lot, I worked for Elegant Angel a lot, I worked for Wicked and Vivid and VCA. And I worked for some of the smaller companies now and then and that was fine. But I really made it a point to make friends with people that could help me and make everything a better situation for me."

As Tera Patrick says: "Any job has stresses involved.. I am sure that people who work everyday jobs 8am to 5pm have it much worse than I do.

As Violet says: "I only work about four times a month at most so I really don't have any stress concerning the industry.

"Stress is something that you allow to happen to, says Steele. "You have to get to the point that you don't allow it to faze you.

However, Steele admits to being oversensitive at times.

"There was time that I actually cried - It was my first year in the business - a combination of emotional sh-t going on and an actress who was being a bitch, she wasn't even looking at me. I needed some kind of attention for the pop-shot, she said something like 'it's not my job.'

Says Devereaux: "It seems like there's always been the girls here and there who've been able to handle the stresses better than others have. Because there's always been girls like Serenity and Julie Ashton. there's been Tina Tyler, and before that there's been girls who could handle it mentally and emotionally, and there will be in the future too.

"Even with the girls that are here, a lot of times, it takes a while for them to open up to a new girl. The directors and the guys want to bring in the new girls, but the girls that are already here don't really want the new girls to come in because that mean's there's fresh talent on the scene. But as far as the directors and everything they pretty much use the same crew over and over, so it's very difficult for somebody to break into the business, unless they're female talent.

Flakes

Steele, who considers himself an unusual character in the porn business due to his outspokenness and sometimes unpopular views, talks about flakes, falling in love, and the pitfalls of rumor-mongering.

"I discovered quickly that people are major flakes, I remember I had three or four jobs lined up and they all fell through. When people look you in the eye and smile at you and say they're going to hire you, you believe them.

Steele was also the subject of a rumor that he still had Gonorrhea a year after it cleared up. "I once tried to share alternative information on AIDS, says Jeremy, "and people called me a whacko.

As he comments about work: "At first it was hard trying to get work, scrambling, trying to get jobs. It's the opposite of many girls, who think the jobs keeps coming and can go on a shopping spree anytime they want.

"I'm sure some people have problems with the fact that they're making a lot of money, adds Devereaux, "because all of a sudden they go off and spend it. (A fact confirmed to me by producer Rob Spallone who cynically told me "None of these girls have any money. They look like they live in their cars.), which to me, making lots of money is not necessarily a problem. There's lots of competition, because there's lot of girls in the business.

As Violet Blue says: "If you get newbies they will be the most depressing. And that's why most don't last more than a few months. The people that stay are the ones that already live like the adult industry lives - healthy normal lives. Sure some go through the whole drug thing and depression I'm sure. But isn't that how it is in the mainstream movie industry too? (As Violet adds: "But hey, sex and depression are the highest sellers, just look at Viagra and Prozac!) They snort more sh-t up their nose than porn people do. Of course we don't have to stay up all night to shoot a movie! I think that an interesting story would be to compare the mainstream and the porn industry by sticking insider spies in both. Of course the public might not believe what the mainstream industry does!

Words of Advice

Devereaux recommends that new performers "talk to lots of other people, and use the people who have been here for a while to get ideas from, to see which people you shouldn't work with, if there's anything you should watch out for - you should just get it from the other performers at that point in time. Because things change, because someone who may have been a great person five years ago not might be such a great person today. So just because you haven't heard anything about a person who hasn't been around for five years or so doesn't mean anything.

Regarding specific pointers for newbies, Devereaux advises: "Don't try to negotiate difficult issues on set, negotiate them in advance. Make sure you don't get talked into anything if your first instinct is no, keep that as your answer.. If a producer did something that made you uncomfortable, you don't want to work for them anyway, so why care what they think of you? No single producer has so much clout that they can call every other producer and convince them not to hire a certain girl. It took me a little while to learn that. I used to be afraid of what people would think of me. And then I was like, you know what, enough people like me that even if I make one or two people mad, that's okay. Those are the people that I'm not comfortable anyway.

As Violet says: "When you first start you have a bit of problems with showing up to the set thinking you're going to have sex with one person and it ends up being another one. But that only causes stress if you're a dim-witted princess bitch that doesn't understand that being an actress is a job and a dick is a dick. If the guy smelled really bad or was ninety [years old] I could understand. But the main guys in the industry are very hygienic and considerate.

As Tricia Devereaux says regarding the stud switch: "You know, I heard somebody else say that too, and it baffled me when I heard it the first time.. I was a performer for two years, and it never happened to me. Maybe I was more aware than some people are. But it's everybody's responsibility to be aware for themselves, and there's going to be some issues where a person is aware and they're still going to walk into some sleazy situation that they just wouldn't have been able to hear about, because it's a new company and people don't know it's a bad company yet."

Once the potential problems are dealt with, Devereaux implores new talent "to always make it seem fun, and if it's not fun, it's not something that you should be doing."

As Tera Patrick adds with a tone of excitement regarding the perks of the business: "I work when I want and I get to travel the world!"