Each month, industry news media organization XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
With a background in fashion, hospitality and adult entertainment, the Free Speech Coalition’s Industry Relations Advocate, Lotus Lain, is a bright spot in the business, bringing flair and passion to her work on behalf of performers.
Oftentimes, many newcomers get fed very wrong information by people who do not have that performer’s best interests in mind.
Among her notable accomplishments, Lain created a helpful tutorial for the performer community explaining how to use FSC’s PASS (Performer Availability Screening Services) system to check on their testing status; shepherded the Industry Newcomer Support Program; and also received the Peer Empowerment Award at the annual XBIZ RISE Talent Appreciation Gala in Hollywood for her many efforts.
To gain an insight into her career path, XBIZ turned to this month’s Woman in Adult to learn more about her personal journey, her motivations and her plans for the future.
XBIZ: What did you do before joining the adult industry and why did you choose this career path?
Lain: I was in the fashion industry as a merchandiser and also worked in the hotel and hospitality industry for a while. Both career paths felt quite limiting. With fashion merchandising, my creative side wasn’t being nearly as fulfilled as I had expected it to be. With hotel and hospitality, I was able to help people, which I love, but I completely disliked the corporate system I was working within.
XBIZ: What attracted you to joining the FSC team and how has your role for the group evolved?
Lain: Well, I had been active in FSC campaigns against outside legislation like Measure B. From that experience, I always felt like that was the level at which our industry could affect positive societal attitude change about our existence as sex workers and pornographers.
In 2017, I took a break from adult industry stuff to finish attaining my esthetician license. As I was coming to the end of finishing my schooling, I thought I could either completely put aside my experience in this wonderful adult industry that I love, which gave me so much self-confidence and assurance in myself for a job in a new field that will be “respectable” — or I could try and do something with all of the knowledge I’ve gained and all of the connections I’ve made in the adult industry and use that to try and make the industry better.
It doesn’t get better when people like myself keep leaving the industry. When I say people like myself, I mean ethical people that have the mental capacity, integrity and focus to continue to strive for better in such a competitive, hardcore, ruthless and public industry. Given all of that, I really, truly wanted to prepare newcomers for the reality of this industry that is so often glamorized as lots of fast money, fun parties and fame.
While it can be all of that, so much of it really is a business that people can be overwhelmed by if they’re not prepared with the correct information. Oftentimes, many newcomers get fed very wrong information by people who do not have that performer’s best interests in mind. I want to get the most people the most correct information any way I can.
My role at FSC started at the beginning of 2018 when I approached them with this passion and desire I had to educate and inform the performer population about their rights and responsibilities. That’s when I spearheaded the creation of the INSPIRE page on the FSC website. INSPIRE is an acronym for Industry Newcomer Support Program (It Really Exists!) and the idea behind it is to make an entry into the adult industry less shrouded in mystery and hearsay and more based on tried and true anecdotes and facts I collected from an array of performers that stretch across many genres. My role continues to evolve as performers’ issues evolve and as they become more trusting of FSC as an organization that intends the best for them and their careers in adult.
XBIZ: You’ve been a strong advocate for performer rights and the sharing of information, such as your PASS tutorial and involvement with Cal/OSHA and more. How important is having someone with experience in front of the camera for interacting with and educating talent at this level?
Lain: I think it’s of the utmost importance. In any arena, in any field of work, having someone with firsthand knowledge and experience in the work being regulated or translated needs to be of that population. We as sex workers want the same of Cal/OSHA as they tried to impose new regulations on our industry. Someone needs to be of the community to regulate and respond to the community properly. Otherwise, there’s too many blind spots and areas of misunderstanding.
For instance, the people I work with at the office didn’t understand why some performers don’t understand how to check other performers’ status in PASS. They do not know how readily performers still share screenshots of PASS test results as opposed to logging in and checking statuses on the actual PASS website, FSCPass.com. I had to inform my co-workers that even performers that work daily in some cases do not know how to check PASS. So that’s why we thought it imperative to make an easy to understand tutorial for how to log in to PASS.
XBIZ: A group as diverse as FSC requires strong partnerships and the ability to bring together different businesses and viewpoints. How do you develop the relationships you need in your role at FSC?
Lain: The best way I have found to build those much-needed relationships is simply by being present. By being seen in the room, paying attention and taking notes. I like to be in as many places as I can be as possible. This gives me a fuller understanding of my role, the FSC’s role and others’ roles in the industry. Building bridges amongst people is one of my favorite things to do. I’ve found that if you stay out of people’s faces, give them space, yet make your presence known, they will come around on their own time, wanting to get to know me or know about what I do at FSC. I’ve been able to successfully turn previous critics of FSC’s past into avid supporters of us and our causes. That means a lot to me because it means that my approach is being well-received and that you can change people’s minds with patience and presence.
XBIZ: What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome in your work and the best score that you’ve made in this industry?
Lain: I think the biggest challenge I’ve had to overcome is lack of consistent work, especially when I’m not open to performing all and every act with every performer for any company. Having my own set of standards has been hard, because I’ve quite honestly been given (bad) advice from people at the beginning of my career that as a black female performer I needed to be available to do anything and everything for and with everyone — that’s just not who I am sexually though.
Perhaps this bad advice I received from people early in my career is why I’m so adamant that performers are properly informed of all their choices and career potentials. We don’t all “make it” by the same trajectory. So, attempting to apply a career path to mine that wasn’t meant for me obviously didn’t work for me. What worked is knowing my strengths: articulation and advocacy, and knowing how to properly apply those to this industry that oftentimes doesn’t know what to do with black female talent that doesn’t fit the ideal of what they think we should be.
XBIZ: Is there anything else on your plate, business-wise, at FSC or elsewhere?
Lain: Yes, it’s looking like I’m going to be producing and/or writing and co-directing more feature-like films that have plots and eroticism involved. I really feel dumb speaking too soon, so you’ll just have to keep your eyes on me and wait and see!
XBIZ: What does a typical workday look like for you?
Lain: I like to get to the office early, start checking emails and FSC accounts for any arising issues we may need to prioritize for the day or week. I schedule my plan for the week, which may include curating the newsletter, responding to reporters’ questions, creating blog posts for the FSC website, strategizing the next tutorials or inclusions for the INSPIRE page.
XBIZ: What does a day off look like — or is it a matter of all work and no play?
Lain: On my days off I like to cook full meals, go to the gym, go out to eat with friends, or stay at home and veg out with a good Netflix binge or entertaining my kid in some way.
XBIZ: How do you stay motivated and what do you define as “achieving success” in your life?
Lain: I stay motivated by showing my kid how amazing life can be if you make your own lane. How funny, I was just telling my kid about achieving success and what it might feel like when they get there. I said it feels like you’re standing on top of all the dreams you used to have that felt like they were in a faraway cloud in the distance, now they’re right underneath your feet happening all around you. That’s what I have felt like lately. It’s a wonderfully transformative feeling. This is what success feels like — being asked to speak on things such as this!
XBIZ: What does 2020 hold for your work at FSC and for your personal life beyond?
Lain: I’m just going to continue to try to do the most with the opportunities I am given and make sure others get access to more opportunities as well.
