Inked Ambition: YNOT Q&A with Aria Khaide

YNOT recently sat down with Aria to talk about her adult entertainment career, her seemingly ever-increasing number and variety of tattoos – including multiple pieces created by contestants on the competitive reality television show Ink Master – and her vision for growing her brand further still, through constant hustling, comprehensive networking and unyielding hard work.

YNOT: How did you get your start in the adult industry?

Aria: Richard Mann found my super amateur content on fetlife with my now husband Chris and reached out to me regarding getting into the industry. That idea had to be put on hold for about 2.5 years as we got pregnant back-to-back with our children. Once I was feeling better and ready to jump in, Richard Mann helped let me know the inside scoop about how to get into the industry properly – from testing to paperwork, shooting content, social media etc. The first day I shot a scene was at an expo and I shot four scenes back-to back – and the rest is history.

YNOT: What are some of your favorite and least favorite things about working in the adult industry?

Aria: I love learning new things and meeting new, amazing people who turn into strong lifelong friendships. Going to expos and meeting fans who have been following me and are excited to get their pictures, magazines or DVDs signed. Being able to chat with people and even help them get through a tough patch. Teaching more women to love giving blowjobs! Least favorite is definitely punctuality and other people’s flakiness. I pride myself on being professional and reliable, so that becomes very frustrating.

YNOT: Tell us a bit about being on Ink Master; how did that come to pass and what was the experience like?

Aria: It was as simple as you could expect –one day while watching an episode the normal plug of “do you want to be a canvas?” popped up and I found the link and entered all my information into their application. I was on the show four times (the last 4 seasons- even though they say they are coming back for another). Three of the four tattoos were for the 6-hour elimination tattoo portion, as you can see in the episodes, one being a 90-minute tattoo for the grudge match episodes.

The casting directors saw that I could easily get to their location, as well as be an open canvas who sits still for 6 hours with no complaints, so they called me back totaling four times. My first tattoo by De’Vonne Foxworth based out of the Bay Area – the koi fish. He was paired against the ‘hot girl’ of the season, so I don’t think he got a fair critique and was sent home, but to each their own opinion.

Creepy Jason did my “party robot”. It was so, so neat to watch him work, from just putting down the outline and seeing his creative juices flow as he added layer after layer of color and texture to the piece. He won that challenge and made it to the finale. It is the piece that gets the most recognized when I am out and about.

My mandala was done by April Nicole and she did a fantastic job, plus was a breeze to chat with and be a client for. She won the head-to-head grudge match with it (and I think some of the judges recognized my other pieces at that point).

Last, but not least, is the American traditional woodland fairy done by Jimmy Snaz. He’s a master of American traditional, so I really lucked out with this cool piece he did on me.  Jimmy made it to the finale but due to Covid there wasn’t a real finale.

YNOT: Since we’re on the subject, how many tattoos do you have total and when did you get your first?

Aria: I feel like I’m getting to the point of having too many to count – they are all connecting. My first I ever got was for my 19th birthday while I was in college (the flower on my right hip) that took about 90 minutes. My most recent is 25 hours of my sleeve and back/rib roses by Joey Tattoo, who is an amazing OG based in New Jersey.

YNOT: You recently appeared at the YNOT booth at Exxxotica in Chicago; what do you enjoy most about that sort of public appearance? Is it a good way to promote yourself and make new fans and followers? Does it present other networking opportunities as well, like the ability to make new contacts with studios and other content creators?

Aria: I absolutely LOVED being a part of the booth in Chicago! Seeing friends who I hadn’t in a while, new and old fans, new or OG industry members who I may not have connected with yet. As you could tell from seeing me at the booth – I’m there from open to close and will be handing out my card to everyone that passes by and will be chatting and signing prints till I leave.

I never count any kind of networking out when going to expos – from new potential subscribers, handing military members free prints, to meeting with other talent and producers when they see me in person and seeing if we vibe. Chris laughs that I’m a talker and a closer when I’m at the expos. Come and see for yourself! I’ll be at NJ, DC – hopefully at YNOT booth again too!

YNOT: What’s next for you? Any upcoming releases or public appearances you’d like to highlight, or anything else you’d like people to know?

Aria: I just self-produced my first ever gangbang, which I’m really excited about and proud of, if you haven’t checked it out already. I pride myself on running all my platforms on my own, so you are always getting the real Aria Khaide. So, please be sure to follow and subscribe to it all! I have new releases every single week and am always traveling and hustling. I want to be more of a household name, a favorite screensaver and on lots of mainstream sets. Be sure to check out everything AK on AriaKhaide.com.