Reflecting on why she first became an adult performer, Demi Hawks confesses, “My fast and short answer is always, ‘the rent was due!’” Yet like many others in the industry, the multi-faceted creator also enjoys how the work empowers her to celebrate her sexuality and indulge her love for performing.
Before COVID struck, Hawks was dancing at a club to pay for art school, since her mainstream retail hours were not enough to make ends meet. It was there that she met a few girls who also performed with a circus, where — due to her flexibility and strength — she learned to perform aerial and contortion tricks.
I have a lot of creative energy that I bring into my work and share with my fans, and I want to do work that is in line with what I envision for myself and my personal brand.
Unfortunately, when the pandemic struck and in-person gatherings were curtailed, those businesses shut their doors and she needed to find other sources of income.
Hawks always felt out of place in “professional” environments, where she did not feel like she was taken seriously. In the adult industry, she discovered a place where the things that make her unique are more celebrated.
Having branded herself as a “bite-sized mattress actress” and signed with Motley Models talent agency, the starlet has been rapidly ascending the ranks of stardom. Now, gracing the cover of Cam World, Hawks shares her personal triumphs in this exclusive Cam Star of the Month interview.
XBIZ: How have you grown professionally and personally since joining the industry?
Hawks: I joined the adult entertainment industry when I was young, but I’ve learned a lot about confidence and have been able to really embrace my sexuality. Since I started shooting studio scenes, my fan base has grown, and new fans have found me on platforms where I was already posting stuff.
XBIZ: What platform do you cam on the most and why?
Hawks: I love camming on Chaturbate, and it is the only platform I cam on. I did a little bit of research into a few sites before I signed up, but I found Chaturbate to be the most user-friendly, and to have the most sense of community. I’ve built a lot of my fan base and my personal brand thanks to Chaturbate, and I know I do good work there. I just passed my two-year “cammiversary” at the end of January.
Maybe it’s the Leo in me, but I really do want to see my face everywhere. I have worked with Chaturbate a few times to create promotional materials for the site, and I’m featured in some of their advertising. It is honestly surreal to see my images used in magazines, on banners and signs at events, and see myself featured in video advertisements on Pornhub. It is such a funny feeling when the advertisement before you watch porn is a video of yourself!
XBIZ: Discuss how your experiences as a cam model have influenced your approach to studio shoots, and vice versa.
Hawks: I have amazing and fiercely loyal fans who know me from camming and who have been able to watch me take this big step in my career to start shooting studio porn. It really means the world to me to hear from my longtime fans that they are proud of me and love seeing my studio scenes come out. I think because I’ve spent so many hours on cam talking to my fans and sharing my life and personality with them, they are really supportive of me chasing big goals for myself.
One specific way that my experience in camming helps me with my studio shoots is that I was able to get comfortable shooting VR scenes very quickly because I think there are a lot of similarities between webcamming and shooting virtual reality porn. I’m used to carrying on a conversation with no one responding to me, I’m great at looking right at a camera while I talk and film, I am confident in my ability to carry a lot of the weight of the scene and take the lead.
XBIZ: What are your hobbies, and do they ever overlap with work?
Hawks: I got my high school diploma because I was able to finish my last two years of high school at a vocational school where I studied photography and graphic design. I am so grateful that I had access to that kind of support and education growing up, and I was able to attend art school on a partial scholarship from the portfolio I developed there.
Between my classes and work, I felt really burnt out in art school, but I think that experience was vital for me to figure out that painting wasn’t something I necessarily wanted to monetize all the time. I do think it’s really important to have some things that are just for you, and I still love to paint in my personal life.
However, I also believe that working in the adult industry is creative in nature as well, and the skills that I have in photography and editing, my understanding of lighting and composition, and the “artistic eye” that I’ve developed are very useful to me in my endeavors in the adult industry. I shoot most of my own photos (including all the photos I submitted for this article!) and content, and I’m comfortable on both sides of the camera.
XBIZ: How do you handle social media marketing?
Hawks: In a lot of my studio scenes, I’m playing a character, which is so much fun and I love to do it! But, on my social media and in most of my own content I’m just being myself. The adult entertainment industry is competitive and there is no shortage of beautiful models, but looks aren’t everything. My fans love me because of who I am as a person and how I share that with them.
My social media is very authentic to me, and I think my fans really appreciate that. I post what I want, when I want it. I write my own captions; sometimes they’re sexy and sometimes they’re funny. I’m most active on my Twitter, in large part because it’s been a platform that allows adult content for a long time. Recently, there have been some changes to Twitter that have made it more difficult for sex workers to have visibility and market their content and fan sites on the platform. The increase in censorship is very frustrating to me and many of my peers, and it’s been interesting to see how these restrictions are forcing us to change the kind of content we can use in social media marketing.
XBIZ: What do your fans most often request of you on cam and with independent content?
Hawks: One of the best bits of advice I ever got was that “you train your fans.” I think this is true, and I’ve curated a fan base that appreciates a lot of the same things I do. My fans love hanging out with me and seeing me enjoy myself on cam. Specifically, many of my fans are interested in foot fetish content since I love showing off my size 4 feet. I also get a lot of requests for making the ahegao face, which is an expression meaning “fucked silly” that is popular in hentai porn.
XBIZ: Tell us about a few of your proudest achievements so far in the industry.
Hawks: I am really proud of the fact that I’ve been able to make myself financially stable because of the adult industry. My friends sometimes joke with me that I am a little boring or dorky when they hear the answer to how I spend the money I make: I put most of it in Roth IRA or other savings accounts. Even though that’s not the most glamorous thing, planning for the future and unexpected life events is super important, especially in this industry.
XBIZ: Discuss your main goals for the rest of 2023.
Hawks: In 2023, I want to shoot a lot more studio scenes, make more of my own content and return to a regular camming schedule on Chaturbate. I have a lot of creative energy that I bring into my work and share with my fans, and I want to do work that is in line with what I envision for myself and my personal brand. In my personal life, I’m planning to travel this year and see a little more of the world. I would love to go somewhere tropical soon! Balancing work and life can be difficult for me, and it’s a goal of mine to get better at that in 2023.
