I chatted recently with the Galaxy Publicity acquisition Keeani Lei. She’s been in the business about five years, having begun her career in Florida, moved to California and is now back in Florida. At least for the time being.
Keeani, who began shooting girl-next-door types of things for the Internet comes off quite the same way.
“It was fun,” she says. “Go online and you can find out about basically anything you want. I did that, went online. I was listed with OneModelPlace and I was also with Adult Staffing.com. That’s how I got some of my first bookings.”
“Then along the way I met girls like Harmony Rose and there was another girl- I can’t remember her name right now. She’ll be mad at me. Then as I started meeting more and more people, I found out about the industry in California. I said, wow, I want to go there. I also met Kelly Kline while I was in Florida. At the time she was with LA Direct at the time, and that’s how I started.”
Lei is now repped by Gold Star Modeling.
Keeani started out shy and quiet in front of the camera.
“I was extremely nervous and shy the first time- when you’re having sex on camera you start thinking, do I look good or does anybody think I can fuck good? You start worrying about things you never even think about. Most girls just fuck doggie-style or missionary and that’s it. But now things are changing. People are watching more porn and demanding more freakiness out of the girls. At the time I didn’t really know about any of this stuff.”
“Then when one of my episodes came out online I watched it. I was, like, oh my God, I need to make more noise or something. Then I started watching more porn and other girls. And that’s how I learned. I figured if I’m going to be on TV, I I needed to know how to make it worth watching.”
Before she got into porn, Keeani had just finished college and received a degree in Graphic Design.
“I was working for a printing company and got laid off,” she laughs. “Because I started surfing.”
“You were surfing on company time?” she’s asked.
“Pretty much,” she answers. “Then after that I thought about finding something that would give me a little more free time to do whatever I want.”
“Never let business get in the way of a good surf,” I tell Keeani who’s still surfing.
“I’ve always been a pretty freaky person so it wasn’t really that hard to get involved in this industry,” she continues.
As soon as she lost her job with the printing company, Keeani began stripping in the Miami area which she says is a way different thing than performing for the camera.
“Florida’s known for its strip clubs and it gets pretty freakin’ wild down here,” she says.
According to Lei, the perception of porn in California as held by Florida performers is that the industry is very demanding.
“People in Florida kind of scare you about how the industry is in California. But when I came out there it was the complete opposite. It was professional and the way it’s supposed to be. I loved it. I loved everything about shooting in California. Another reason I wanted to come out to California was to surf.”
And she got the chance. Every time she wasn’t shooting, Lei was in the water.
“I surfed Topanga Beach and Malibu,” she adds. “I surfed Ventura, San Diego, Santa Cruz. I did a lot of traveling.”
Kind of like Surfing USA, it sounds. I was kind of curious why Lei elected to move back to Florida because many of the stories are that the Florida adult market is slower that Porn Valley. Lei disagrees.
“If anything I think the Florida market is really starting to grow,” she says.
“Before it was amateur porn. You’d get shot once or twice and that was it. It was like that Bang Bros., girl you pick up on the beach type of thing. Now it’s starting to change and being more of an industry. Agents from California are starting to branch out here and there’s more porno being now being shot in Miami. Vivid is shooting a lot as well as other companies. It’s not bad although you can’t compare it to what’s going on in Porn Valley.”
Another reason Lei moved back to Florida is the fact that she has a house there and that she wanted to take a break and resume dancing.
She also wanted to tend more to her website, www.kianni.com.
‘I’ve always been shooting for that,” she says.
“The website has been pretty good, and I just signed up with a new company, www.camdough.com. They’re about webcam shows and fall into the Asian niche which is good for me. They just relaunched my website with a totally new, different look. It’s going to have more webcam shows and will tie into my DVD lines. It’s pretty strong now.”
I was curious why Lei chose to have a P.R. rep.
“I’ve known James Bartholet for quite awhile and he’s a really cool guy,” she explains.
“I really like him and his personality. He’s a good motivator. And I had seen what he’s been doing. It just gave me the idea that it was time for me to start moving on in more mainstream projects. I’m also pretty well known in the skateboarding industry.”
Lei began skateboarding about the same time she began surfing. Then she became more active in the sport when she came to California.
“Whenever the waves were down, and I didn’t have to work I’d go to a skate park and hang out,” she says. “It’s fun and it keeps me in shape. It’s my answer to a gym.”
“So when I had a friend who asked me if I wanted to be on the Captain and Casey Show on Fuel TV, I said sure. It’s all about surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding and pretty much all the extreme sports. I did two or three episodes of it, and I made friends there. Then with hanging out at the skate parks I met the pros and went to some parties in the industry. And we hit it off.”
Lei also got to do some ads and began marketing herself in that arena.
“I became an extremist porn star,” she says. “And it’s been working for me.”
Asked if she’s sustained some injuries in that sport, Lei says a few.
“But I’ve always tried keeping my skating to a minimum. I never went beyond my limits. I’m not trying to be pro. I’m just trying to have fun. And I always wear my protective gear. But things happen in life you can’t control. You get into a car accident and break your arm or your leg. Things just happen. But skateboarding to me is not really all that dangerous if I don’t go trying something I know I can’t do. That’s basically how I see it.”
Lei always seemed to be a shy kid, according to her.
“I didn’t have sex until I was 16,” she notes.
“When I ask some of the other porn stars they’re telling me way earlier than that. I was pretty shy, but at the same time I was really out there. My dad’s a photographer and he’s had lots of naughty magazines he probably shouldn’t have had laying around the house. And I’ve always been an artist, and I’ve always enjoyed drawing naked women.
“I would always get in trouble for that in school. All the time. I’d be drawing in my math book – and every single school book – some chick with humongous tits. I was pretty shy but you know what they say about those shy girls. I was that kind of girl- I was quiet and kept to myself. I was a little weird and not like other girls. I was obsessed with the female body and I really liked drawing. I guess I had a freaky mind to where no one’s going to understand what the hell’s wrong with me.”
“Other than that I was into sports. I loved track and I was always an active person. I liked doing things. I’m not the kind of person who likes being in an office sitting down. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just not me.”
Getting back to when she first had sex, Lei says she had been playing with herself in the shower.
“I did that very early on,” she laughs. “But I didn’t really want to have sex with anyone else. It wasn’t until 16 that I thought I’d try this. Then I happened to have sex with an Asian guy with a really big dick. It’s very rare but this guy really had a big dick. I was oh my God this is not for me. This hurts. It’s crazy. But that thought didn’t last for very long.”
Lei’s attracted to athletes and guys who could give her a really good fuck, she says.
“A lot of things come into play. Even the way he dresses and the way he carries himself. But a lot of things turn me on because I’m totally boy crazy.”
And Lei’s had a lot of boyfriends.
“When I started dating I wouldn’t date a guy longer than a week,” she laughs.
Lei’s father was very strict with her and didn’t want her dating anyone. She says he’s a “lifestyle” photographer.
“Even a better story if he was a nude photographer,” I tell her.
According to her, Lei’s father wasn’t around for all her life.
“But when I was young I stumbled upon some of these magazines. They were like Playboy-style, not hardcore sex, and chicks all posing pretty. I thought it was great. Then I stumbled upon one of his porn movies.”
Besides working on her website, building it and promoting it, Lei plans to go to AEE later this week.
“I’m always open to new ideas,” she says. “I’m always online and I’m always paying attention to what’s going on and what people are in to. It keeps me up to date and my website fresh.”