Riley Reid

cover story in her. magazine volume 11

A Conversation with Riley Reid

Writer _ James Oliver

Riley Reids’ fame continues to grow and grow which is proof of her progressive approach to adult entertainment. Reid is the porn star that everyone has been waiting for and that everyone wants. Having been photographed by Magnus Unnar, we sat down with her to discuss what goes on behind the scenes of Riley’s world.

Let’s start with how you first got into adult entertainment and how you got your break?

I started in the adult industry as an extra for Reality Kings’ In The VIP. Most people ask what that means and basically, I was a girl who danced in the background of the porn. I had loads of fun and I was already sexually adventurous so it wasn’t too far from what I was already doing in my personal life. After my fifth gig as an extra, I asked BangBros to shoot me for my first scene and it all just fell into place after that. Before I knew it, I was 5 years in and winning awards for Best Female Performer then another 5 years had flown by and I was winning Pornhub awards for most searched pornstar. I honestly couldn’t tell you how it all happened, it just did. I enjoy my job and I feel like that shows through in my performances. I like having sex on camera, I love being on set, and the whole lifestyle is just so beautiful. When I started doing porn, I felt like I fit in as if I had found the community that I had been looking for, so I’ve never felt the desire to leave. With that genuine feeling of being happy with your job and who you’re becoming, I just feel that it shows on camera because a lot of it is real.

Was there anybody you looked up to when you first started? Are the other actresses and actors supportive or is it very competitive?

When I first started in the industry, I tried to learn everything about porn. I fell in love with a few pornstars and really looked up to them: Asa Akira, Bella Donna, Stoya, Skin Diamond, Angela White, just to name a few (laughs). These were icons in my industry and they are so beautiful and sexy plus they are also such talented women. Skin Diamond is a singer, Stoya is a writer, Asa Akira is also a writer and all of these women are award-winning world renowned pornstars. They were businesswomen and confident, and there were so many things to admire about these unique individuals.

I won’t deny that the industry is very competitive but I tried not to surround myself with those types of people. Personally, I am happy to be in this industry and I'm glad of all the experiences I have had. I’ve met an array of people that I may never have had the chance to in other circumstances.

What have been the biggest challenges you have had to overcome to get to where you are now?

Personally, the biggest challenges that I have had to face is a continued battle that I still have today: the fight against society and the discrimination that sex workers face in their day-to-day lives. Aside from the online hate, the troubles that we face as regular working people is so unfair. Sex workers suffer and have difficulties getting things such as banking services, housing, loans, online services, website services, business services and more. If you are curious when I say online or website, I mean email server websites or website shop hosting or even payment processing. These are things that most people have and take for granted but sex workers are extremely limited in these areas and this is a fight I still stand against today.

To touch on the hate comments, people can be extremely discriminatory against sex workers. I personally even fear having children for the fact that people will shame my child for the work that I do. I fear that a hateful person will show my child my pornography videos when this is something a child should never see. I fear for these things and it’s because of the negative stigma that the adult industry has, the term pornstar carries a heavy title that I must carry.

How have you seen the industry change since you first started out? What are your feelings towards the industry at the moment?

The industry is always evolving and to be honest, it has felt like it’s been moving at a particularly rapid pace over the last few years. I started 10 years ago and although it was the era of internet porn, DVDs were still selling. Now DVD sales are basically dead and even a lot of the production companies are suffering from internet traffic due to social media and tube sites. Now is a peak time for the performers rather than the production companies. Before the production companies would create the brand and the fame of the actress but with social media, that has changed entirely. With the many internet platforms available, a performer can create a brand of their own. They don’t need big company contracts like Wicked or Digital Playground in order to create a name, like Jessie Jane. There is a chance now for a performer to not only brand themselves but to also monetize themselves directly from their fans and that can generate a larger income than they would have received shooting for production companies. A performer can create, shoot, and sell content in so many ways that weren’t possible before, and now with the internet and social media platforms growing, the numbers of women online will only continue to rise.

I feel it is more and more acceptable to watch porn these days and the stigma towards it is really changing; have you noticed that shift too?

You are 100% correct. Although there is still quite a lot of change still necessary, I won’t deny that the acceptance of sexuality has grown. I do believe that porn has become a bit of a trend and to like porn or even to be associated with it, is seen as cool. Again, with social media, porn brands have been able to market themselves in a way that makes people want to be a part of it, without it being shameful. They have been able to create a space where being a part of the community is something you want to do.
Social media has also given space for performers to have a voice which I think also changes perspectives towards porn. For example, when you watch porn, you are only seeing these people as the characters they are playing, there is no opportunity to see the person behind the character on screen. With platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, a performer can share their own voice which brings the person behind the character to life.

How has your own approach and mentality towards being a porn star changed and evolved over time?

My ideas about porn have changed dramatically. To be fair I was pretty naive about porn, to begin with. When I thought of porn stars I thought of girls like Pamala Anderson and Jenna Jameson, blond and big boobs. I didn’t know about girls like Sasha Grey who were smaller chested more average looking girl. Everyone who wasn’t a big mainstream porn superstar I thought were just regular people. I had created this idea that people would shoot home videos and sell them to the porn companies, haha. I guess I was sold on the amateur end of it all, haha. Anyways I didn’t know what to think of porn if it was good or bad.

When I was first introduced to porn I was cautious, I didn’t want to get raped or kidnapped or something crazy. Which I strongly advocate towards. If you’re looking to try or someone is offering to get you into porn make sure you’re cautious and do your research. For me personally, after my first scene as an extra, my whole world had changed. Not that I didn’t already think there was a professional side to porn I didn’t realize to the extent and how many production companies their were or all the different kinds of porn that existed. I was pretty vanilla when it came to what porn I watched.

Being in the adult industry has shed a whole light on the industry. From the in’s and out’s of how it works from production companies, DVD companies, distribution companies, agency’s, you name it!! Then there is the whole other side of it being a performer. There is so much that entails being an on-screen performer that I never considered prior to being in the industry. To be honest, the porn industry and sex work never crossed my mind before I got into porn and that is my own ignorance but now being in the industry I have learned a lot and have tried to work towards bringing a positive insight as well as share the negatives in porn. 


There has been a lot of change within myself and how I feel about the industry. The ways I have been impacted personally are the things that have changed me the most. The most common occurrence is the negativity I endure being a pornographic actress. From every aspect of my personal life, I have had issues all surrounding the stigmas and shame that is associated with being a porn star. It is these things that have given me gratitude and awareness to my job that I would never know if I had a regular job maybe as a school teacher. In the sense of I wouldn’t have a smaller dating pool if I was a teacher. I wouldn’t be denied housing if I was a school teacher. I wouldn’t have a bank close my account because I am a school teacher. I wouldn’t be distributed against basic business services because I am a school teacher. I can go on and on in the shame and discrimination I deal with being a sex worker. It is these things that have impacted me the most in showing me that sharing my body with the internet would be so empowering and beautiful and just because the world doesn’t understand it doesn’t mean it’s bad.

What is the most rewarding thing about being a porn star? What do you enjoy the most about it?

The freedom of space that comes with being an adult performer is what I am most grateful for. The freedom in my creative and personal space I have opportunities I would have never known to be possible all while being an adult performer. It’s a job that can be done internationally so I can travel all around the world working for other companies or myself. I have the ability to show up to set and get paid or I can be a director, producer, stylist, editor and performer for my own productions. The ability to have creative freedom in my life has to be the most rewarding thing that porn has done for me and I would have never expected so much happiness from being in the adult industry.

What are your favourite roles and scenes to shoot?

There is no doubt in my mind that shooting for myself is my absolute favourite. I love shooting gonzo type scene’s that are styled a bit more avant-garde or fashion inspired. I want the intro to my porn to look like it could be a commercial for stockings or something. I love to just be fun and sexy dancing around on set and then fucking either a guy or girl. Oh, but if we’re talking details I love night time sets with a ring light camera. Those are always my favourite and I think they are the sexiest.

There is still a lot of negative stigma surrounding the industry; what is it you would like people to better understanding about adult entertainment that they might not already?

There are lots of negative stigmas and each stigma will have a different rebuttal so it just depends on what I am defending.

Porn Ruins Your Life - Anything can ruin someone’s life, I can’t help but hold people accountable for their actions so I feel if one made poor choices and didn’t take full advantage of opportunities then they can’t be upset at the job. It’s one’s own responsibility to look into the job’s pros and cons and to weigh out the options and if it’s a good choice for you. I’d like people to stop blaming the job and the industry and look beyond that at the individual themselves.

In general, can you talk about your own personal romantic relationships and how you balance them with your work? How is dating for you?

Romance in porn has been a challenge but dating, in general, is hard for a lot of people and industries. Overall my biggest issue is that guy wants me to quit porn for them. Boyfriends and casual dates, guys have given me ultimatums or jokes about getting me to quit porn for them. That is the most challenging aspect of porn. My last boyfriend, I was with for almost 3 years and for a long time I was convinced it was a great relationship and I was happy. It was a while after we broke up that I realized that I wasn’t happy and how much I had been manipulated into hiding parts of myself that made my boyfriend feel uncomfortable or insecure. From things like not being able to make sexual jokes or even shooting gang bangs, I allowed his mood about my job to affect the choices I made in who I was, what work I did, how I responded to things, literally everything. It was hard for me. After we broke up he told me sometimes he didn’t want to kiss me when I came home from work and it was those things that he said that really stuck with me and hurt me. After dealing with things like that I can’t help but have a bit of PTSD and feel like I won’t find a lover while being in porn. I even had guys tell me dating me would be bad for their business. That being with me could jeopardize opportunities for them because they are publicly with me like maybe Disney will never want to license music from my musical boyfriend, or Disney wouldn’t hire my voice actor husband because he’s married to Riley Reid. It’s sad to know that dating me is consider bad business, it hurts. I do hope one day I will have someone confident that accept me and adore me for all I am. Although to be honest I am not expecting anything, I not expecting to find love or anything. I think it can be unhealthy and unrealistic to have expectations of love so I expect the worst but hope for the best.

Why did you pick the name Riley Reid?

Only the OG Riley Reid fans know that my first porn name was actually Paige Riley. Although it quickly changed because I found out there was already a Paige Riley in porn but you can find a few porn scenes of me under that name. As well as most people think that it’s my real name and not my first stage name, haha. When it came to picking a name tho in both Paige Riley and Riley Reid I wanted a name that sounded real and like a girl next door. After I found out Paige Riley was taken and needed a new name I just ditched the Paige and kept Riley because I thought it sounded sexier. At a second chance at naming myself, I thought more about it and thought about a name that rolled off the tongue, sounded real but also had a cool ring to it. I didn’t realize the branding that I was doing at that moment and I am so grateful for the second chance at naming myself Riley Reid because who knows if I would have had the same career with a different name.

What does the future hold for Riley Reid? What direction can we expect to see you go moving forward?

If I had a magic crystal I would tell you but who even knows!! When I first started I thought after 5 years I would quit and now it’s been 10 years and I’m still here. All I know is that I have a goal of doing something more mainstream. I dream of having a cartoon show all while still being active in the adult industry in some way because I want to bring more to the adult industry. Even if that isn’t what I do, no matter what I want to always be supportive to the adult industry until one day I’m old and have 100 dogs and a flower shop.

Photography _ Magnus Unnar
Special Thanks _ Tom of Finland Foundation & Richard Villiani

@letrileylive