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Raquel Devine Interview

We chat by phone Monday afternoon, August 9, 2004.

Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
Weight: 118 lbs. (54 kg)
Measurements: 34D-25-33

"When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?"

Raquel laughs. "I had a passion for airports. My dad was a pilot. I thought I was going to be a pilot. When I was a teenager, it was still glamorous to be a flight attendant. When I got older, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.

"I was a pom-pom girl in highschool in college."

"Is that different from cheerleader?"

"Yeah. They have the dance routines. Picture Paula Abdul when she was a Laker girl. My background is ballet and dancing. I was always the lead dancer in highschool plays. Then I got into pom-pom dancing and I loved it. I loved learning choreographed routines. To this day, I still love watching the Laker girls when they do their dance routines. I love performing. I've always loved to be on stage and dancing.

"I never thought about getting into the entertainment industry. I had normal jobs for nine years before I made my first adult movie."

"Did you have big breasts as a teenager?"

"No. I got teased a lot by my brothers. I was a ballet dancer. You have no meat. I knew as a young girl, as young as ten years old, that I was going to buy my boobs. All my girlfriends had natural D cups.

"I was barely a B cup. Instead of a bra, I called it a breast bun cover. A baggy B. I was a slender build. I didn't have a black booty.

"I was a legal secretary for four years, doing family law with a little bit of probate and personal injury. I was more sexually harassed by attorneys than by anybody in the adult industry. I can say that for all the jobs I had. I worked at Northrop as an administrative assistant for the 747 program. The abuse that goes on is horrific.

"I can't write the book now but I'm going to. I don't want to hurt anyone. I want to make women understand the adult industry more. Women are far more abused in the real world.

"I never had a drug problem. Every industry has a drug problem. It cracks me up when people say, 'Your industry is on drugs.' Look at all the doctors, nurses, lawyers, who are pill poppers. Especially when we started going to New York and toured you start seeing all the Wall Street types and the filthy rich types who have huge drug problems. They'd go on these 24-36 hour binges. I didn't do party calls because I didn't do drugs.

"A party call is where a client wants somebody to binge with them for 24-36 hours. I've heard of clients spending $30,000 a week on escorts, not to mention on drugs. These aren't guys in the adult industry. These are the guys who are trading your stocks and bonds.

"We get to know people. Whenever I mention to somebody I'm a porn star, I don't care what they do for a living, their guard goes down. They tell me everything.

"I incorporated last week (Leuqar). I want to start my own line of videos. Raquel Divine Productions. I want to do my own reality series. I am bored with the way porn is shot.

"Extreme went the other way. They were just crazy. Now they're in a lot of trouble.

"You're obviously not from here. Other countries are more relaxed about sex. We're so uptight here. I want to do male-bonding porn where guys 18-35 can pop in and watch together. Something fun where they won't feel embarrassed. Especially college-age. They love beer, porn, and pizza. They want Jackass meets porn."

I asked my good friend Kyle: "Do you like to watch porn with other guys or is it more of a solitary pleasure?"

He replied: "Only a dyed-in-the wool, 100% USDA-certified fag would ask another guy a question like that. I start thinking, "Maybe Duke's okay. Maybe I was wrong about him." And then you slip back into your fancy-boy mode, and I think, "Nah. I was right about that flamer all along.""

"When you were in the straight world, did you sleep with anyone to get ahead?"

"When I was in sales, I got the better territory, without knowing it, because I was banging the boss. I was towards the end of my marriage. I was 25 and I knew it wasn't working out. This guy was married. We became really good friends and that led into a sexual affair. I look back now and think, ohmigod, I could've been a millionaire. I could've been a bitch. I had Beverly Hills as my territory. Everybody knew I was banging the boss or how else would I get Beverly Hills?

"I was selling janitorial supplies. Tampons, chemicals, anything you can think of to maintain a building. The Mormo church, one of their orders from me was for $25,000. Mormons like to stock up. The Mormon church requested a different sales rep. I made the guy uncomfortable. I used to wear short skirts, ala the Aly McBeal look."

"Did you ever sleep with any of the people you made sales calls on?"

:No. I wish I knew now what I knew then. What's that saying?"

"I wish I knew then what I know now."

"I would've done a lot better. I probably would've owned that city. Sometimes, when you play by the book, you lose. I'm not saying that you should lie, cheat and steal. I learned a lot about the power of sexuality through this industry. It's opened up my mind in a positive way even in my personal life. I don't think in my personal life I would've ever done a threeway. I was raised very right-wing, Republican, religious, boring. You get married and only have sex with your husband."

"Did you have sex before marriage?"

"Hell yeah. I was so horny. I remember at five years old being horny. I lost my virginity at 14. I had about 20 lovers before I got married (almost 23 yo). I was married two-and-a-half years.

"I was married for a week to a professional con artist who used to run Peter North's Web site. James Weaver. He changed his name to James Canon. He ripped me off. I bought him a $30,000 Harley and he pawned it. I gave him $50,000 to put in his bank account and he went through it in four weeks. Gambling."

"How come you weren't able to pick up the clues he was a con man?"

"Because on the second date, he told me he loved me. I thought he was successful. He was doing Peter North's Web site. I knew Peter North was a big name. He talked up all this stuff he was doing. A month after we started dating, I married him.

"This was when I was 31. I thought I was smart.

"He blackmailed me within one week [of marriage]. He said that if I didn't give him X amount of money, he'd tell my parents. He did. That's how they found out. He drove to my parents house with a CD Rom. He blackmailed me."

"Did he watch it with them?"

"Yes. My parents freaked. My mom sent me literature on being a sex addict."

"Did that help?"

"No. I said, mom, I'm not a sex addict. I made my first movie in December 1997. He told them in February 1999. I made over 300 movies in a year. Including magazines and softcore stuff for Cinemax.

"They wouldn't talk to me for a year. If I tried to send them any gifts for birthdays or Christmas, they'd say, we don't want your dirty money. We know how you make your money. We don't want anything to do with it. But now they've accepted it.

"The recent fight we got in was political. My parents are staunch Bush supporters. I said, I don't want Bush. I want Kerry. I want a liberal in the office for obvious reasons. They seemed to be more upset that I'm a liberal than that I do porn.

"My mom was a 19-year old virgin and has been with one man for 44 years. She does not believe in premarital sex, period.

"I remember when I was nine, she was talking to me about sex. She said, you just lie there and it's over with in a few minutes. She should write a book about doing your wifely duty."

"Where did they go wrong?"

"They always knew I was different. When I was a little girl, I used to [dress provocatively]. My mom says I hated to wear clothes. I wanted to be in my slip and in my black shoes. I always loved make-up. I always loved dressing up. I always loved dressing sexy.

"In the straight world, I got chewed out all the time for dressing too provocative. I was like Erin Brokovich.

"I didn't get my boob job until I was 24 (from 1991-1997). I had to get four boob jobs because I didn't have any meat. I had to go big slowly. I also had two that leaked. It was a defective valve. I've had six boob jobs. I'm now a 34D, which is perfect for my size.

"I did my last movies in 1999."

"Did you get injured?"

"Jake Steed hurt me bad. I told him, let me do it. He shoved it in me. I had to go to the doctor. I don't like anal sex anyway. I wish I liked it. I wish I was like Montana Gunn. I've never done anal since. It was a good reason to stop.

"I started realizing that movies are a good way to get your name out there, but who's making all the money? I get paid one time. They're going to make compilations of my videos until the cows come home. Your lifespan in this business is short. They're going to shoot you out.

"Now everybody and their grandmother does porn. Now all these girls want to do it. They have a plethora of pretty girls. Movie companies love dealing with young girls because they don't question stuff.

"I did a little thing for meanbitches.com with Kyle Stone. I appeared on Pamela Peaks public access Cooking Show 19.

"Remember the unknown comic in the late '70s who had a paper bag under his head? I want to do the unknown porn star because I have so many guys that want to be in a porn but they can't because they're married or have careers... I've had so many guys tell me that they are so bored of seeing the new girls with the same ten guys.

"There's a reason for that. Producers don't want to lay all that money on the line and then the guy can't perform. It's hard to coordinate people for one day. Trying to get these girls to show up on time. That's why I got such a good reputation. I was one of the few girls who would show up on time.

"I had a real job for nine years. I appreciated the money. A lot of these girls who get in at age 18 don't appreciate it because they've never had a real job. Burger King doesn't pay $2000 a day.

"Escorting was a huge phenomenon four years ago. The money was unbelievable. It's not as good now because everybody is doing it. Porn stars were probably paid better 15 years ago because there weren't as many hot girls in the business. Now there are tons of hot girls in the business. You turn on any of these Web sites with escorting and there are a lot of girls doing it, whether they are porn stars or not. Everybody caught on that it is a fun easy way to make money.

"I meet great people. I meet famous people. I've met professional people."

"How do you screen out the jerks?"

"I don't see people who don't have a good referral. I wouldn't see a newbie. I always email the girl. Check it out. I require all their employment information. I had a guy fax me his business license and his articles of incorporation. I've never had a bad experience.

"I had more bad experiences years ago when I would do bachelor parties. The companies don't care about you. They'd send you to El Monte to do a bachelor party. That was before I knew El Monte was a bad area.

"If they were mostly Hispanic parties... Not that I'm racist. I've met a lot of nice Hispanic guys. But there's a difference between a beer party and a tequila party. I had a guy try to corner me in my room. I had an undercover cop who was driving me. I said, we've got to get out of here. I've never in my life hit anybody or been in a fight. My instincts kicked in. I spun that little bastard around and I heat-butted him into the door. I heard his nose crack. He grabbed his nose and screamed. I just ran out of there.

"Nothing is perfect. How many girls have been raped on campuses? How many girls getting to their car at night have been assaulted? These guys don't come near me until I have their life story. I check in with somebody and I check out with somebody. I don't see people in their homes. An asshole would have to be pretty stupid to give me all their information and then assault me. I would go to the police. Their life would be over.

"I was assaulted years ago, nominally. I was doing legal private strip shows. When you strip and the guy does his business but nobody touches each other. I would clearly tell people when I walked in the door that I do not do anything illegal. And if you are looking for that, you should call another agency.

"This guy, towards the end of the hour, flipped out on me. He said, I want to f--- you. I said, oh, I don't do that. Inside, I was thinking, I've got to get out of here. I said, let's go on a date. Let's make it a better experience. He picked me up and threw me on the bed. He was going to climb on top of me. I kicked him off of me. I grabbed my stuff. He ran out into the hall naked after me. I called the police and they arrested him. He was from Connecticutt. The cops asked me if he was married. I said yep. They said, not for long.

"He was convicted. That little incident cost him over $25,000. I had scratch marks on my back. They kept my dress as evidence because there was a little bit of blood on it from the scratch marks.

"When you are on a porn set, you are safe. You are treated respectfully. I probably got in an argument with a director one time. He wanted me to put paint on my pussy and I said, I don't think it's safe. And I don't like piledriver, with all that weight on your neck."

"How did you get into the adult industry?"

"I was dating a guy who lived in Malibu (1993-96) who was wealthy but not my sugardaddy. I got a taste of the good life. I got a taste of what it is like to live in Malibu. Every once in a while he let me drive his Mercedes.

"When I realized that wasn't going anywhere, and I wasn't happy, I wanted to leave. But I thought, how can I maintain my lifestyle but not deal with this asshole? I was flipping through the newspaper in February 1996 and I saw an ad -- stripper meet Internet. That wasn't up to speed yet. It was Captain Cream strip club in Orange County trying to recruit new girls. 'Make $2,000-5,000" a week. I don't like dancing. I don't like to smoke. I don't like to be in a smoky stinky club all the time. I don't like the stripper mentality. Cat fights. They have one kid by some guy they don't talk to anymore. A few tattoos. They're always trying to make rent. They whine. You're hustling guys. I don't like to hustle.

"That's why I love escorting. This is what I charge. I don't force anybody to see me. It is what it is. They know what they're getting and I know what I'm getting. It's a great business arrangement.

"I was at Captain Cream for two weeks. I hated it. I was flipping through the Yellow Pages and saw, hot n'wild. I didn't even know private shows existed. This girl took me on a training call. I did that for a while. That led to bachelor party. I saw that guys will pay a lot of money for a two-girl show with toys.

"In the fall of 1997, I decided I wanted to do movies. I saw an ad in the newspaper. There was some cheeseball wanting to get girls to sleep with him for free. I figured everything out and went to see Jim South.

"I had directors hit on me but I charged them. If you want to play, you have to pay. I didn't date any directors. I had offers. People often say, were you a contract girl? I could've been. If I had fu--ed the right people. It's no different from anything else in life. It's not who you know. It's who you blow."

"Did sex lose its pleasure by making it professional?"

"No. Being in the adult industry made me appreciate love making as opposed to f---ing. Anybody can f---. Anybody can spread their legs. Women have sex with their brains. If we're not in love with somebody, it's not the same."

"Does the size of the man matter?"

"I don't like it too big.

"I did a ton of anal scenes. I stopped doing it after Jake Steed... I will never do anal again. I don't even want a Q-tip in there. It has never felt good. I'm jealous of girls who have another orifice to have fun with."

"Can you orgasm with a client?"

"Oh yeah."

"You can enjoy your work."

"Oh yeah. Girls who masturbate have a better ability to orgasm. We know our bodies and what we like."

"What did you love and hate about making movies?"

"I loved the freedom. I could choose when I wanted to work and who I wanted to work with. I like role playing.

"I hate bad attitudes. I hate walking on a set with a contract girl who's pissing and moaning because her flowers aren't there. Or, she's going to hold up production for four hours because her boots don't match her skirt. I hate prima donnas. It's porn. Get over yourself. I don't want to hear how beautiful you are and how many awards you have. I don't care what you do for a living but have fun at it. I like what Oprah says, find something you love to do and make money at it. That's exactly what I did."

"How long do you want to keep doing it?"

"I want to be realistic. I don't want to turn into the Michael Jackson of porn.

"I want to be the Brooke Birch of porn. I love cracking jokes. I love entertaining. I want to merge my way out of sexual things. I know guys want to see the newer girls."

"When did you last have plastic surgery?"

"1997. We all do the little botox, but major plastic surgery? 1997. I've never had a face lift or gotten the big lips. A lot of my clients tell me it looks stupid."

"What do you like to do when you are not working?"

"I love to travel. I love to go to Hawaii. I just went to Palm Springs. I love resorts. I love to by the pool getting massages, a tropical drink."

"You love the good life."

"I do. I love anything tropical. Palm trees. The sun out. I don't like crowds. I'd rather enjoy a quiet dinner."

"I wonder how you are going to adjust going back to the real world."

"I'm not going back to the real world. That's why I'm going behind the scenes. That's why I'm directing and producing my own movies.

"I think marriage is a barbaric pre-historic institution."

"Did you like the movie Pretty Woman?"

"I loved it. It's not realistic. You don't have any control in your life if you don't have your own money. Money makes the world go round."

"If you met Bill Clinton, would you be willing to give him oral sex for the good job he did for women?"

"He'd have to pay my rate, or give me a political favor."