Page 59 - AVN June 2020

“The fi rst time someone thought I
was pretty in college, I thought they
were pranking me.”
Riley Reyes grew up in South Carolina, the geeky, hippie daughter of vegans who’d
met on an ashram. Despite a free and easy exchange of ideas at home, however,
Riley says she didn’t meet her “tribe” until leaving for college and, later, moving to
New York City.
“In South Carolina, people thought I was a devil worshipper because I meditated
with my parents,” she says. “I was an awkward, incredibly self-conscious girl who
skipped a grade and then was a theatre goth in high school. I mean, the fi rst time
someone thought I was pretty in college, I thought they were pranking me.
“And now people know me for my great ass. The world is weird.”
When Reyes moved here, she immediately made the connection that others
seeking the Big Time make: that in L.A., you are playing for keeps and it pays to take
the job seriously. She also became aware that the civilian community often tried to
take the narrative away from her.
Now the chairperson of the Adult Performers Advocacy Committee, better known
as APAC, Reyes says, ”The adult industry faces an existential threat.”
“There are people who talk about porn like it’s a public health crisis or as a
traffi cking issue. People come from both sides of the fence to attack us,” she says.
“But we have a lot more control over controlling our own brands and our narrative
now than ever before. Social media allows for us to create our own algorithmic pull.”
Reyes acknowledges the contrast between lobbying Sacramento legislators on
behalf of APAC and, as she puts it, “getting my holes stuffed in MILF movies.” But,
she says, “if you speak well, and do your research, and know what you need to say
before you say it, it disarms the people who don’t want to take you seriously.”
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