Stoya’s Back (And She’d Like A Word With You)

We were crushed last summer when we learned that Fleshbot Supreme Commandress Stoya was going on an extended hiatus from the adult industry. How would we survive without her? How would the industry survive without her?

Well, we managed somehow—and now, to our great pleasure, Stoya's decided to grace us once more with her naked, sextastic presence. So far she's only shot some stills, but we hear she's some got great plans for the future—and we were lucky enough to lure her into the Fleshbot office yesterday so that we could hear all about them, straight from the horse's gorgeous girl's mouth.

[At left: Image of Stoya courtesy of Digital Playground (digitalplayground.com)]

Fleshbot: You've recently come back to the adult industry.
Stoya: It's not really "come back." I took an extended vacation to see a good half the planet and prove a point to Digital Playground (laughs).

May I ask what that point was?
It's a multi-faceted point, but I wasn't particularly happy with the way (clears throat) that things were going, um, with my interaction with the company…And I think we're back on a better path now.

Since you've started working again, what kind of stuff have you been shooting?
Pretty much just photoshoots... They're awesome. I did a day with Holly Randall, and I got to do a photoshoot with Kayden, which was fun because we've been eyeing each other across the gulf of not allowed to work together because we're under contract with different companies for years, so that was pretty fantastic. I'd like to get another shot at her, when we're not just sitting in front of the camera.

So they're just stills.
Yeah.

Did you guys get dirty at all?
We didn't really get that dirty because unfortunately we're both very professional. We're there, then we get the shots, then we go home, so, okay, bye, we'll refrain from fisting the living daylights out of each other and messing up our makeup so you guys can get what you need.

But will there be chances for you to fist the living daylights out of each other?
I definitely hope so. (Laughs.)

[At left: Image of Stoya courtesy of Digital Playground (digitalplayground.com)]

Are you currently scheduled for any video shoots?
Not yet. We're discussing, the owner of Digital Playground, one of the owners, Joone, is supposed to give me a phone call soon to discuss what the first movie I shoot will be, but, you know, things get talked about, sometimes they don't happen (laughs) so I don't want to say anything right now…

Yeah, of course. Well, can you tell us what you would like to shoot? Are there any plans that you have that you are trying to realize?
I don't want to get too big with the first one. I mean, there's always "shoot high, fail upwards," but I'd just like this one to be more aesthetically me than previous movies.

What is aesthetically you? What makes a Stoya product in your mind?
Well, it's more… I mean you look at the way that I dress myself, versus (laughs), I mean you see me in public appearances and things versus the way I get dressed for-and like, the jig's up. I'm not eighteen anymore. (Laughing.) Candy necklaces, the pastel pink, it's starting to get a little ridiculous. As I sit here in pigtails and a onesie. That's, it's ironic, okay?

Are you going to be working with male and female performers?
Oh, of course!

[At left: Image of Stoya courtesy of Digital Playground (digitalplayground.com)]

I know you've raised some questions about using condoms on sets. What are your current feelings about that?
Well, the way that I look at it is, when I got into the hardcore part of the adult industry, I evaluated-you know, we've talked before about how I went home and thought about these risks, and it turns out that the benefit is lower than I thought it was and the risk was higher. So we needed to work that out a little bit. And obviously Digital Playground, like most hardcore adult companies, they don't think that movies with condoms in them sell and I've heard answers ranging from, "Well, do the stills without condoms and Photoshop them out," which I feel is false advertising, to things like, "Stuntmen don't use wires," which they kind of do. When they fall off the building there's a mat there, you just don't see it. And, unfortunately the cost of removing a condom frame by frame from a movie is prohibitive. So we're just looking at options, ways to effectively lower the risk, without making the product such that it would sell less. And right now it looks like we're going to do two-day testing, as opposed to—in the adult industry you have to have a test that's been done within the past thirty days, and two-day testing obviously isn't perfect...if you were exposed to something three to seven days before the test it's not going to show up, but it does lower the risk. There's, there's other female performers that require it...and I've been told that it will be offered to every person in the movie, not just if they're doing a scene with me. Obviously it isn't something that's required, and I'm not going to tell a girl that's in a scene in one of my movies that isn't working with me that they have to do it, but I want it to be legitimately offered to them.

Yeah.
Baby steps.

No, I think that's really, really great. So, you feel that that lowers the risk enough that you're comfortable working?
Stoya: Yes. ‘Cause, it, it is a risk. You take a risk with your health not only as far as exposure to germs but, I mean…you're working, you're working with large penises, very large, in small delicate places, so there's a risk there. You hear like horror stories of, like, something happens, like, "Ah!" Like, you are definitely taking a risk, but I want it to be lower, and I think that's completely reasonable. I also think that everything that I've heard from Digital Playground and other major players in the industry since I started is, "We want to be more legitimate and we need to regulate ourselves." Instead of saying, "Oh, this is good enough," we need to strive to improve it.

Yeah.
And (pause). We need to do that across the board, not just with testing, but of course, business practices, et cetera.

[At left: Image of Stoya courtesy of Digital Playground (digitalplayground.com)]

You don't know what you're doing yet, so…
Yeah, I don't know what we're doing yet. We're talking, hopefully it will be fun, there's a couple of newer performers that I kind of have my eye on like Keni Styles who I hear has the legalities of working in the United States worked out, so that's pretty exciting.

He's been shooting a lot. I would love to see you guys do something together. Are there any performers besides Keni Styles that you hope to work with?
I'd really like to work with Lexi Belle, um, I'd kind of really like to work with Angelina Valentine, but she's such a strong performer that I'm like, oh gosh, I don't know if I can hold my own in that. (Laughing.)

Yeah….
Yeah…. I can't get outfucked!

I know, I mean, that'd be embarrassing.
Seriously!

[At left: Image of Stoya courtesy of Digital Playground (digitalplayground.com)]

Are you looking to do any mainstream stuff?
Oh god, again with the mainstream.

Sorry. You can say no.
No! Uh, obviously there's certain things that I would be excited about doing but I don't really have the giant hard-on for mainstream that everyone seems to have. If I wanted to do mainstream things, I would have been on the other side of the hills, shopping around headshots instead of twatshots. I mean, I knew what I was getting into, as far as like, career path, and if, if interesting things come up, sure, but the things that I find interesting are like, like art. Or weird little niche projects and then I have to go the mat with the people at Digital and be like, "I really want to do this," like, "You want me to do a Fleshlight, I'll do that if you let me do this," like…

Oh, actually since you brought up Fleshlight, did you see the Wicked Real Dolls? They made jessica drake and somebody else, Alektra Blue Real Dolls. Would you want to be a Stoya Real Doll?
That would be pretty amazing, I would be so into that. (Laughing.) I'm kind of really into the idea of a Fleshlight too. I know some of the other Digital girls have done it. But I'm holding out for them to mold my asshole as well, ‘cause why not?

[At left: Image of Stoya courtesy of Digital Playground (digitalplayground.com)]