Crossing Over: Kendra Lust Tackles Book, Movie and Merch Projects

LOS ANGELES—As an adult performer, Kendra Lust has pretty much hit the top. Her most recent accolade, the Fan Award for Hottest MILF, just joined her collection of AVN Awards, and the talent agency she operates with Randy Quintana continues to retain and attract new talent. And there are many more exciting projects ahead. Turns out 2018 is Lust’s big year for adventures outside the adult arena—all of which should benefit from her powerful social media presence (793,000 followers on Twitter; 3.2 million on Instagram). Last month, news broke about the first of these projects: a mainstream movie titled Dead Town that mines the zombie genre. Described as “Night of the Living Dead meets 10 Cloverfield Lane,” the movie is the subject of an Indiegogo campaign currently that offers various perks that should be attractive to members of the Lust Army. Lust talked about how she became involved with the production. “I was approached by Mark Del Negro—he has produced some short films and some sci-fi films in the past, so he’s definitely credible and legit. … When he proposed the idea, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to just play some bimbo role.” Turns out she’s definitely no bimbo. “I’m going to be playing a sheriff, Patricia Grealey—it’s a small part, but it’s cool because I’ve always loved horror movies,” Lust said. “I read the script and wanted to do it. There’s a little sexual tension between one of the couples and a third party, so there’s a little sexiness that I kind of like. But it takes place in a small town and there is a nuclear power plant, which explodes, and all this radioactivity gets out in the community and the people in the community start turning into zombies. … I try to figure out what’s going on.” Filming will take place this fall in New England over the course of seven to ten days of filming. Lust is working with a local acting coach and says she welcomes the role, which is “something outside my comfort zone.” Laughing, she said she had asked Del Negro, “Have you ever really watched any of my acting? I really didn’t get into adult for acting—it was more just for the sex.” But he assured Lust, “If I didn’t think you could do it I wouldn’t have asked you.” Reading lines is not the only way that Lust will be making her voice heard. “I’m going to be writing a book this year as well,” she said. It’s an autobiography of sorts, but it will also focus on helping women explore their sexuality. “It’s going to be positive, about opportunities in the industry, my journey. I want to shed light and positivity on sexuality … how you can be a completely normal person and still do adult.” Lust said she meets “so many women who say, ‘I don’t have orgasms’ or who can’t talk about their sex life with anybody or even feel comfortable with their mate.” She wants to help women open up, and toward that goal she wants to share more about herself: “I think there are a lot of fans who want to know more about me on a personal level.” The book will be available from Barnes and Noble, and she already plans on doing events in bookstores. “I have somebody who is going to help me—he is a published author who’s won awards,” she said. “He’s also a psychologist. I can’t reveal too much about who he is yet, because June 30 we will be signing paperwork to move forward.” In a totally different vein, Lust also is working with a website/company called Inside the Drop, which describes itself as a brand “determined by our ability to stand out, not fit in,” with merch that is marked by the team’s “shared passions for healthy living, skateboarding, design, photography and music.” Calling it “a cool niche to tap into,” Lust described the project: “They approached me and said, ‘We’d like to do T-shirts and skateboards and pictures and different things that fans can buy.’ We did a photo shoot, which I think is really neat, and we picked photos they thought would be great. It’s a different fan base. And I’ll be doing a few store signings as well.” Speaking of fashion, Lust has one more big thing planned for 2018: a line of jewelry that at press time she was planning to call “Timeless.” Again, she offered the chance to collaborate with a creative team. “What they wanted when they approached me is something that reflects my personality. It’s very similar to the Alexys Ryan line. It’s costume jewelry, but with my line I wanted to have a little bit of bling with it. Swarovski crystals will play a part, and it’s something that I can wear when I work out. Simple, elegant, streamlined—just classy, pretty jewelry.” And in addition to the more casual items, she also wants to step it up with an assortment of more flashy designs. “Some of it will be the stuff that I wear when I go out—when I’m dressed up for an awards show. “It’s going to be two different kinds of looks, which will be great,” she continued. “The people who will be designing it for me design stuff for Alexys Ryan; they’ve designed stuff for QVC. I can’t wait for it to launch and get those pieces going.” And she plans to wear the jewelry when she feature dances as well. With all that on her plate, Lust can still envision future endeavors to come: “I’m also thinking of doing something for men, too, because most of my followers are men.” In between the photo shoots, the marketing meetings and the event planning, Lust continues to stay busy in her adult career. Her favorite work has been shooting her series Kendra Lust Fucks Couples (ArchAngel/Girlfriends) because it appeals to her inner voyeur—and “it’s a little bit more acting … I think it caters to couples, too.” Another standout shoot was with Mike Adriano for TrueAnal.com, who had been trying for a year to book Lust for an anal scene. She finally shot the scene, giving Adriano a four-month window in which it would be her only anal scene. “It ended up being a really good scene and it turned out well. It’s only like my fourth anal on film, maybe fifth,” Lust said. “I learned a little bit about myself during that. And yeah, he tapped into some places that were untouched. Mike knows what he’s doing. … He makes sure you are comfortable, 100 percent. It’s all about you when you’re on his set.” When she’s not shooting, she keeps an eye on the performers with Society 15, the agency she and Quintana run. “I love watching new performers grow and do well,” she said, commenting on various clients, including Cali Carter, Mandy Muse, Ember Snow and Brenna Sparks. “I can’t say enough about the girls that we have.” As she finally came to a stopping point after detailing all that she’s up to currently, Lust paused and said, firmly and passionately, “I would not have all of these opportunities without the adult industry. … I want the fans and the industry as a whole to know that I am grateful, and I won’t forget that. It’s a foundation for all these other projects. That is still where my heart lies: shooting and filming. I just want them to know that. I don’t ever want people to think I’ll forget where I came from, because I don’t. I’m grateful.” Mixed in with the gratitude is more than a little anticipation. “It’s exciting, it’s overwhelming,” she said. “I’m nervous, excited—it’s all these feelings, because it’s the unknown.” Photo of Kendra Lust by Justin Price