By Peter Berton
SAN FRANCISCO – Kelli Lox easily could be called “the T-girl next door.” Fun, sexy and smart, she’s equally at home spending a day at the beach as she is on an adult movie set.
Lox is not shy about sharing her views on everything from transitioning to her career to relationships, as she demonstrated when we interviewed her. In her mid-20s, she only recently began her transition. At some times girlish and at others mature beyond her years, her candid comments captivated us.
[B]YNOT.com: Please tell us about yourself.[/B]
Kelli Lox: I’m originally from Idaho, and I’ve been living in California for about six years. I traveled a lot when I was a kid, mostly to Europe. I speak Spanish and German fluently, and am always working on learning more languages. Right now, I’m working on my French.
I have a full-time office job, so this whole porn career of mine is just a kick-ass hobby that I do for fun on the side. I love to garden and cook. On Sundays, I play soccer at the park with a group of students from all over the world. I enjoy dancing, exercising and admiring art, and in my spare time I make music and draw comics. I also read a lot. And I don’t watch TV.
As you can see, I’m a bit different than some of the other T-girls on the scene. I’m just having fun, but thousands of fans on Facebook and Twitter tell me I’m doing it right. I don’t take anything too seriously.
[B]When did you transition and why?[/B]
A few years ago — I was 23 or 24 — I started to grow unsatisfied with my life. When I reflected on the source of this dissatisfaction, I realized I resented the world for not appreciating who I truly am — and I resented myself for being too scared to be who I truly am.
It was absurd, I realized, to expect anyone to love the real me when I was not being the real me, you know? That’s when I was left with no other option but to transition to female, as I had always dreamed of doing my entire life. I guess I had to get over that fear.
Have you heard the great quote from Anais Nin? “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Well, that was the point I had reached. The thought of remaining a boy with a secret finally became more frightening than the prospect of making that journey to womanhood.
So I had a conversation with my doctor, who referred me to a specialist, and I started taking hormones and threw away all of my boy clothes, which had already been occupying an increasingly smaller and smaller percentage of my closet space.
People tend to see transitioning as an isolated experience limited to transgendered individuals, but in fact it’s the same challenge everyone experiences: finding the courage to be your truest, most authentic self and following your heart despite the social risks. It is really quite liberating to take that step.
[B]Why did you enter the adult industry?[/B]
I used to model for art classes in college. I loved it. Along with the decision to transition, I made an effort to get back into modeling.
After several artsy shoots, I was approached by Radius Dark to do a solo shoot for Shemale Yum. That’s when Kelli Lox became a business for me.
At first it was a sort of fantasy, just showing up for a porn shoot, but after a while I realized it was work. These girls have agents, [public relations] people, webmasters, and they have to nurture and maintain positive working relationships with a host of photographers, producers and other models. That’s where a lot of people who experiment with a porn career drop out, I think, because it requires dedication and a level of professionalism that is similar to any other line of work. Not necessarily the stuff of fantasy.
It wasn’t until I attended the 2013 Tranny Awards that it all sank in, and that’s when I really decided to go for it. I’d build a train out of my work, work to lay tracks for the future and ride that motherfucker wherever it might lead.
[B]What are your crowning achievements to date?[/B]
Although I’ve been doing shoots for more than a year, I still consider myself a newcomer to the industry. I never bite off more than I can chew or promote myself as someone who has “made it” or reached real fame or success. I’m humble.
I am just in this for the money and the great times. The fact that there are thousands of guys out there who have become my fans and can’t wait to see what I do next is the icing on the cake, the treat in the cereal box, the impetus that drives me to do better and bigger things. They are what make [life] fun and exciting even on days when I’m not shooting or doing any porn-related work. They interact with me on Twitter and Facebook, and I post selfies [photos one takes of oneself] and random thoughts, and it’s a ton of fun.
I guess that’s my biggest achievement so far: building a solid and loyal fan base. My number of followers on Twitter, for example, has quadrupled in just the past two months. Just last week, I passed 1,500 followers. That’s a big milestone for me. I don’t care how it compares with my peers; I am very grateful. Without those fans, there would be no porn career for me to speak of.
[B]Do you enjoy performing? Do you actively try to excite viewers?[/B]
I do. I want the viewer to think I’m talking to him. I want to make it personal.
I guess I’m a romantic in that sense: I want viewers to fall in love with me, not just admire my body and the fact that I’m transgender. If my fans love me as much as I love them, then I think I’m successful, regardless of anything else.
When it comes to enjoying the shoots themselves, it varies. As a model, you discover certain styles and approaches, different atmospheres and attitudes, that you just click with. That’s why you’ll see some models developing long-term working relationships with their favorite photographers, or conversely, vowing never to work with certain photographers ever again.
My favorite photographers are the ones who treat me as someone special by investing themselves in our work, and especially those who ensure the shoot makes sense logically by introducing some kind of basic storyline or narrative. When it’s just “make a sexy face” click, “make another sexy face” click, “now masturbate” click … that’s fine, but it’s not very engaging for me. The best shoots are the ones where I am actually required to act and I have lines. Those are super fun.
[B]What do you consider to be your best and worst experiences in the business to date?[/B]
I really haven’t had any bad experiences. Lucky me, I know.
Since it’s just a hobby, I’m not desperate to take every possible opportunity out there. That has allowed me to bypass a lot of negative experiences that seem to be par for the course among other models.
My best experiences are the ones that required me to travel, because I love traveling. I have two shoots in London scheduled for July, with Joanna Jet and Liberty Harkness. I’m looking for an opportunity to find some work in Paris as well.
That’s my cup of tea: having to travel and use my foreign-language skills and meeting amazing people. I could do that forever. The fact that it all revolves around hot sex is a bonus.
[B]Where do you see the industry going, and how do you hope to profit?[/B]
Transsexual porn seems to be exploding right now. I’m so honored to be a part of it. I feel like we’re making history together.
It may sound ridiculous, but the rising acceptance of trans porn is very much connected to a rising acceptance of trans people in society. Like Joe Biden said, “It’s the civil rights issue of our time.”
I only wish I didn’t feel so self-contradictory when I say to young trans people, “See? You can transition and still be a regular member of society, not an outcast.” I say that, and yet here I am, masturbating and having sex on camera for money. [She laughs.] It’s a genuine sentiment, it really is, but it’s still hilarious.
The shemale niche in the porn industry will continue to grow, as sure as my cock swells when I look at a shaved pussy. One day trans porn will become the norm instead of the exception — and I’ll be there, riding that wave and pocketing my share of the cash influx. I’ll buy my dream car — a Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby Cobra, white with pink racing stripes, in case you’re taking notes — and quit my day job and travel the world having sex and playing in bands and going on adventures whenever the opportunity presents itself.
I’m a child of the earth, and I belong to everyone. The trick is letting everyone know that so that they can grab a fork and dig in.
[B]What is the one thing you wish to achieve in life?[/B]
I have already achieved everything I ever wanted to. I am healthy, happy, fit, financially secure and on a solidly upward trajectory. What more could a girl ask for without being greedy?
Everything that’s coming my way now is all gravy. And it’s delicious. In terms of giving back to my community, well … just existing as a well-adjusted transgender person, for all to see, is worth a lot. I am active in my community, so there is some non-porn-related visibility that makes a difference.
If I had more tools to further help young transgender people, I’d definitely use them. We all have to start today, where we are, using the tools we already have, to promote the causes we care about. As long as I never refuse to assist when given the opportunity, I can sleep at night and not feel like a selfish bitch.
I have some awesomeness up my sleeve, so keep watching. One of these days, I’m going to blow your fucking mind — or at the very least, blow you and let you blow your load all over my breasts. For me, right now, that’s close enough.
