Stoya is one of the most sought-after players in the adult industry, and rightfully so. She’s ventured from acting to behind the camera and everything in between. She was nice enough to chat with us about everything from orgies to figuring out what exactly the butterfly position is. Here is our interview with the lovely porn star. (Warning: Some NSFW links included throughout.)
Mandatory: How did you get your start in adult film?
Stoya: It started out with me slowing dipping my toe in the water and taking pictures. I had a friend that was a photographer for a number of alt websites. [His photos] were of girls that, at the time, were a fairly non-standard body type, or pale, or had crazy hair colors before Katy Perry started rocking it. So they asked him to find girls to photograph and he walked into the living room and said, “Hey, how do you feel about being naked?”
I told him he could take them, but not to send them for a few weeks, just in case I wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night like, “Noooo, what have I done?!” So we took the pictures and I loved it, and I ended up doing nude photos for a while. Then a little later a site called RazorDolls asked me to do a sex scene with a girl on video. I had never even been to Los Angeles.
Mandatory: Where were you at the time?
Stoya: I was in Philadelphia. I sort of knew what porn was from pop culture, and pro and anti-pro feminism, but that was pretty much it. So I told them, “You can bring me out to LA and I will try to do the sex scene with this girl, but if three minutes in I realize I can’t do it, that has to be the end of it.”
Mandatory: Had you been with another girl before this?
Stoya: Yes. I had sex with a number of different people from at least two separate genders. It was more the video part of it, plus it’s hard to tell from a picture if you’re going to find someone attractive or not. So I went out and did a whole 15 minutes of the scene. I thought it was fun, but there wasn’t a lot of chemistry. I started trying to figure out if I wanted to do porn as a thing where I’m on an agency. Am I doing it every day? I just don’t know about all this.
So a few years go by and then Digital Playground, back when they were awesome, asked me if I would be willing to have sex with Sophia Santi. I was like, “Oh, she’s so pretty! Actually, she’s hot! And her butt, oh my god! Her hip-to-waist ratio is amazing!” Then I went into the office to discuss doing the scene and they asked how I felt about doing scenes with boys. I thought about that for a few weeks and none of the reasons not to do the scene were that big of a deal to me, so I signed the contract – but never got to do the scene with Sophia Santi.
Mandatory: Never?
Stoya: Well, we were in an orgy together in a movie called “Cheerleaders,” but I don’t think that really counts.
Mandatory: You mentioned earlier about feeling chemistry with someone. If you have a scene planned, do you like to meet the person first and see if you guys get along?
Stoya: Yes. Even if it’s just two minutes on set or at a convention, before I agree to do a scene with someone I like to meet them. Like, I’m really particular about smell, so it’s not even that I have to have a conversation as much as me wondering if I’m going to like the way you smell.
Mandatory: Have you ever opted out of a scene for chemistry or smell-related reasons?
Stoya: No, but I’m in a fairly unique position to where I had a pretty decently sized yes-list as opposed to a no-list. I would meet someone and be like, “Hey, I met this person and I would totally work with them!”
Mandatory: How long have you been doing porn? You’re not full-time anymore, right?
Stoya: I am, but after my contract expired, I started focusing on making the kind of content I would want to perform in. The problem is that I don’t really know what I’m doing (laughs), so it takes a million times longer to get it done. “What’s your release date? I don’t know but I shot half of another movie last year and maybe I’ll finish that one after the first one.”
Mandatory: Do you like the production side of it?
Stoya: I find it interesting because it’s new, but it’s also stressful.
Mandatory: I’m sure it’s a lot more having everything go through you instead of just doing your scene and being finished. Is it more pressure?
Stoya: It’s a lot more responsibility. Like, 14 hours is the longest you should keep a crew on set. Then having said that, you run into those times when you show up at 7 a.m. and work until midnight, then you have to be back the next day and you realize how tough it is. Plus you have to make choices that kind of suck sometimes.
Mandatory: Like what?
Stoya: Well, you think if you took an extra hour to set up the lighting for a scene it would look much prettier, but then we’re going into hour 15. It has given me a much better understanding of the pressure of being a director or producer.
Mandatory: What advice would you give to girls or guys trying to get started in the industry?
Stoya: There’s an organization called APAC. I was the secretary for the first year, but thank god there was an election and now I don’t have to be a responsible adult anymore. They have a Porn 101 video and it gives the basics you need to know. It’s basic information at times, but stuff you should definitely know before you start having sex with people for a living.
Mandatory: How did you get connected with Fleshlight?
Stoya: It’s a funny story! Through Digital Playground. They decided to do molds of several of the girls and I told them I was going to be out of town for a week and a half, so if they needed anything, let me know now before I leave. I didn’t hear anything for three days and when I finally leave, the plane lands and I have an email asking for an 8 megapixel photo of my vulva in the butterfly position. (laughs) I emailed her back and said, “OK, when you say 8 megapixels, do I need to get a nice camera because I’ll go get one – however, can you describe the butterfly position to me?” I didn’t hear back for around a week until I found out she quit and wasn’t with the company anymore. They wanted to launch my product at the end of the month, so I asked my friend who was with me if he was down to drive to Austin with me. I wasn’t sure how to get in contact with them so I looked up Fleshlight’s customer service number and said, “Hi! I’m Stoya. You guys are supposed to be selling my orifices and I hear you need a picture in the butterfly position?” They transferred me over and I drove down and got all Fleshlighted up.
Mandatory: How long ago was this?
Stoya: I think around 2010.
Mandatory: Have you had people come up to you and talk about how they have your specific Fleshlight?
Stoya: They do at conventions, but they’re usually quite bashful about it.
Mandatory: Is that an odd conversation to have with someone?
Stoya: I can see why it might seem odd, but when you’ve worked in pornography for a certain number of years your definition of odd is probably a lot different than the traditional definition of odd. Just like how something that’s odd in Montana might be totally normal in Philadelphia.
Mandatory: I would honestly find it flattering, I think; to know that they chose mine.
Stoya: And also, from what I understand, many of the Fleshlight consumers have a whole range, so it lets people seek out variety. That way you can have the variety without the time and mental focus of a relationship. It’s like an open relationship without all the intrapersonal work that comes with it.
Mandatory: Is there anything you’ve made or working on that people should get?
Stoya: My Fleshlight! (laughs) Definitely that.
