Kriti Mehrotra
While there’s no denying ‘Money Shot: The Pornhub Story’ primarily charts the rise and fall of the titular erotic entertainment platform, it also gives us an insight into the adult industry as a whole. After all, this Netflix original comprises exclusive interviews with not just active performers and past employees but also abuse activists, news journalists, field historians, as well as moderators. Amongst those to thus feature here were none other than proud Pornhub Ambassadors Asa Akira and Natassia Dreams — so now, if you wish to learn more about them, here’s what we know.
Asa Akira is Filming Exclusive Content Today
It was back when Asa was merely a young girl growing up in New York that she first developed an interest in sex work, only for it to continue growing as the years passed by no matter what. The truth is she had an amazing upbringing with doting parents, good education, and everything she could desire, yet she was essentially obsessed with the thought of pure intimacy for money. Therefore, upon graduating from a progressive Manhattan school, the 19-year-old landed a job as a dominatrix before evolving into a stripper, hooking up, and taking up her stage name for good.
Asa then moved around a little by agreeing to whatever opportunities came her way, just for it to end in her being flown to Los Angeles for her dream of starring in an actual, full-fledged porn film. Yes, she was often typecasted in the worst of ways due to her Japanese roots, but she has admittedly never fallen out of love with the profession, its benefits, or how it makes her feel empowered. In fact, as per her debut book ‘Insatiable: Porn – A Love Story’ (2014), she appreciates her job even more each time she shoots a scene because she’s absolutely “in love with being watched. In love with being on display. In love with being the center of attention.”
It’s also imperative to note Asa has since revealed her dad was a professional photographer, so the fact she was often his muse as an only child led her to equate being on camera with being loved. “That’s not to say I stopped feeling loved once the photography slowed down… [but] my subconscious was set… Add to that my hypersexuality… and porn seems like a logical choice.” It’s hence no surprise she’s still active in the industry, whether through defending it online, shooting collaborative studio pieces, filming exclusive content for her site, or hosting ‘The Pornhub Podcast.’ Plus, the New Yorker continues to work hard to maintain familial bonds as well as her cozy, solid romance with her husband, Sean Moroney.
Natassia Dreams is Thriving Today
Although Natassia had initially relocated from San Diego to New York as a youngster with the sole aim of finding out who she really was, she soon ended up getting scouted to be a fashion model. “I worked in modeling for a while, but it was very complicated because of my body type; it was very voluptuous,” she once revealed. “Now, fashion is changing, but this was years ago, and at the time you had to be like a skeleton.” She thus left it all behind, just to then find herself giving in to sex work in order to survive as well as pay for her soul-healing gender confirmation surgery — something she had genuinely been wanting since she was a mere teenager.
However, Natassia moved to porn within a few months upon realizing it was much safer than actual street sex work, only to do a few incredible films before following her love to Europe. She was hence in and out of the industry for nearly a decade, that is, until she noticed there was finally a market open for Black, trans people like her needing representation, driving her to return to the US. Her relationship sadly didn’t work out in the ensuing months, yet her career definitely did — she essentially blew up owing to the way she was handling herself in videos while performing, directing, and even producing.
“Back when I started, it was like, boy-girl, and black-and-white,” Natassia said. “Maybe you had an Asian performer sprinkled in the mix, but it was not as diverse as it is now… I’m also happy that other performers, non-binary performers, and I love trans men performers… I also liked to see the change as well as the power in the performers… The performers have total control with all of their content, with their image, with who they want to work with, because it was not like that before.” That’s why she vehemently maintains the industry can’t even exist without video stars, i.e., consenting sex workers, whom she will always defend. If it’s not consensual, it’s rape and not porn; which is partly what the Pornhub scandal has been all about.
Nevertheless, owing to the care, push, support, as well as platform Pornhub has given Natassia every step of the way, she remains loyal to it to the core — she’s their brand ambassador. As for her current standing, apart from her position with the adult entertainment site, the trans woman continues to be an active part of porn by representing it at fashion weeks across the world, creating original content, and directing films. Coming to her personal experiences, the New York-based performer has admittedly grown more conservative after her surgery, but she does finally know she’s more attracted to women than men. It’s a relief that the 44-year-old can finally feel like herself in her own body, yet she is still taking things day by day as any normal girl would.
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