Porn Valley- As a new arrival to Los Angeles in 1997, I worked briefly as an editor at popular porn magazine. The pay was dreadful and I soon bolted, but I was left intrigued by the sex industry. The actual experience of making adult products – be it print or film – manages to be both utterly bland and totally bizarre, a true Southern California brand of folk art.
These photographs by Max S. Gerber are part of a larger work-in-progress designed to solve a lingering question for me: What separates porn industry people from the rest of us, and what do we have in common? Most people have had at least one pet in their lives. And as an avowed pet enthusiast myself, I wanted to talk to adult film stars – people who make a living being intimate in the most unintimate way – about their pets. I wanted to interview them and explore their lives, to make them less mysterious in a simple and colorful way.
It seems like a complicated life to me, difficult and full of dark humor. Unconditional love and companionship, things we all want in our lives, are found in taking care of something innocent and defenseless, in rescuing an animal who’s had a rough time of it. When talking about their pets, the walls come down and their natural humanity is revealed.
We’ve tried to keep the subjects true to themselves – their sexiness, exotic quality, even flamboyance – capturing them as people first. That comes out in the company of their animals, because the loving relationship between these actors and their pets is obvious for anyone to see.
Mary Carey, with Boo BooAdult-industry fixture since 2002, former candidate for governor
“My dogs are like my little children. They’re so cute. Everyone should have a dog. They’re good practice for having kids, and I do want to do that some day. I’m married but only 23, so I want to have kids when I’m 30. I’ve got so much going on right now.”
#2 Vandalia, with Pulido-Industry newcomer
“Every chance I have, I pet and touch them. Pulido is the Eskimo kisser. Koontz is the molester. He tries to French kiss and goes for your ears. It feels good at first, especially if you’re falling asleep, but then he’ll chomp on it hard. It’s kind of psycho. Then I push him off the bed and he jumps right back up to do it again. He is like a psycho person from a horror movie. Like Jason, he doesn’t die. He just keeps coming back to suck on your earlobe.”
#3 Nikita Denise, with Citrus-Originally from the Czech Republic, and in L.A. since 2000, she has appeared in more than 400 films
“Since I was little child, I was dreaming about a big dog. I love when I see that he’s happy. He is like my child and is so spoiled. I feed him only people food. I give him chicken and rice and cook all his meals for him. I mix it on the stove. No commercial food. Citrus is very healthy. Everybody who sees him is asking me what I feed him because his hair is beautiful and shiny. In my country, people with houses keep dogs outside and train them to be not friendly. The dogs are to make sure no one comes in the house. When I see a dog here I’m not afraid to pet without asking the owner, but you could never do that in my country. The dogs bite. The owners want them that way.
“Sometimes I bring Citrus to the set. He stays outside playing with my boyfriend. It is a nice feeling because when I have a break, I can go outside and play with him. He loves everybody.”
#4 Julie Strain, proud owner of Scout 911, Ninja Baby Moto, Felina, and KyaArguably the reigning queen of the modern pinup and B-level, gore-fest, action movies. Also, a former Penthouse Pet of the Year
“If I had to come back to this world as an animal, it would probably be as one of my dogs. They don’t have to forage for food in the wild. Everything’s provided. They sit by the fire and get a contact high from the marijuana.
“You know what? I chose not to have children, so I’m wondering if these are the little souls that God had intended to give me. They’re so special, and they do love you so, and when they look you in the eye it’s just a miracle. I like their little faces, like between their cheek and ear, it’s so soft.”
#5 Kim Chambers, with her sugar glider, Queer AVN award-winning porn star and fitness model
“Before I got Queer and Little Girl, I wanted a dog. My career involves so much traveling, though, that I didn’t feel it would work. But sugar gliders are nocturnal s o they sleep all day in my shirt.
I can take them on an airplane and no one knows. They have an opposable thumb and little feet like monkey feet. They have tiny, sharp teeth, and they can draw blood if they want to. If you were to put your hand in their cage, they would attack it because they don’t know your scent.”