Model Behavior: Up Close With Lia Lin

A version of this feature appears in the April issue of AVN magazine. Click here for the digital edition. LOS ANGELES—Lia Lin did commercial modeling for several years before venturing into adult entertainment.“I started from modeling for a long time actually,” says Lin, who did fashion, jewelry and makeup modeling. “And I thought the industry would be somewhat the same because the concept is you are the product. But it’s a little different. “It has its quirks and it's positive side and not-so positive. Because it is a job of course and sometimes you get worked up, sometimes you get tired and it’s normal. But I do enjoy.” Lin, who turned 22 on February 22nd, tells AVN she was focused on her mainstream modeling career from her early teenage years but the pandemic and then the Russian conflict led her to make some changes. Lia’s career as a contracted model started out in Russia and then took her to Shanghai for a couple years. “It was a good experience overall,” she says. “It definitely teaches you how to be a grown-up very early because you have to do everything yourself. Earn money, rent apartments, which I used to do since I was like 17 maybe. “That experience was good and bad—and the bad side of it is I guess the competition, which is normal. But I’m not a big fan of that.” She especially liked the traveling aspect of modeling. “I love traveling for sure,” Lia, who is 5-foot-8, says. “It’s a very difficult experience when you travel alone which I always do, but it teaches you a lot. And you meet so much new people that you never thought you would meet.” Born in Brazil, Lia’s father is Filipino/Brazilian and her mother is Russian. She lived in Brazil for a short time and then moved to St. Petersburg, Russia with her mom and brother after her parents divorced. Nowadays she lives mostly in Budapest, Hungary, where she has had an apartment for the past eight months. “Sometimes I go to Spain—Barcelona just to have a fun time,” she says. "But usually I just travel a lot." Lia enjoyed her passionate Xpervo scene with Marcello Bravo for LittleCaprice-Dreams.com, which was shot in Vienna, Austria in February. “It was great actually,” she says. “Something that’s lacking in porn for me is kind of a woman’s perspective of it. So it’s not so rough, it’s not so action, action. It’s kind of soft and with a backstory and very passionate. So I really enjoyed that, it was nice.” Lia says she heard a little about Little Caprice’s story through a mutual friend, that Caprice created a site with her husband, Bravo. “And it was really inspiring to me,” Lin says. “Because it’s nice to see a couple that actually stays and are in this industry. It’s refreshing I guess." Little Caprice, the three-time and reigning AVN International Female Performer of the Year from Czech Republic, tells AVN she was impressed by Lin’s look from the beginning. “When Marcello found her and he showed me her pictures I was so touched from her body, her face, her small boobs… She is just perfect,” Caprice says. “Unfortunately, we didn’t shoot a lesbian scene for our Caprice Divas but we will do it in the future.” Caprice says she was not on set for the steamy scene with Bravo and Lin titled “Mystery Man,” but when she saw the edited scene “I was really touched.” “They created a piece of art, exactly what we need for our Xpervo series—artistic intros and powerful sex,” Caprice continues. “She is also very flexible, so they got into very hot positions together.” Bravo, who also directed and edited the scene, tells AVN, “If you like exotic, you will love her.”“I’m a fan of her, how she looks, how she acts. She’s a real flower to get ready to grow,” Bravo adds. Little Caprice agrees, telling AVN that Lin “has a lot of potential.” “She will be always welcome at our production and I’m sure we will shoot her soon in a hot lesbo with me,” Caprice says. One of Lia's most memorable scenes so far was with legendary performer/director Rocco Siffredi. “Because we shoot a film and I was the main role of the step family,” she says. “But it was really interesting because the crew was like maybe 25 or more people coming in and out so there was just a lot happening. “It was like an actual film with drones and everything so… It was really difficult but I liked it. It was fun. Other than that I really like shooting for something more slow and passionate but I don’t mind the scenes that I work for now.” Lin says she also did a scene with Siffredi for his Castings series. “He’s a pretty humble guy, actually, and always asks if I’m feeling OK on this shoot or what do you want to change on the wardrobe or anything like that, which is good because the shootings are from morning to late, late night, which makes sense because there’s a lot of details there,” Lia says. Lin explains she is currently taking an extended break from anal scenes—she had done several earlier in her career. “I had to do the transition and I thought it would be impossible because a lot of people told me that no one is gonna shoot you after such hard stuff,” Lia explains. “But I proved them wrong I guess.” She says since her early days shooting amateur style scenes a couple years ago that her performances have improved. “I think I’ve been more present in the shooting because before it was more automatic kind of—not genuine. Understandable because I was new. I didn’t know what to do. I was just smiling and trying my best,” Lia says. “But now I understand more the concept. I understand more the script. Beforehand I talk to all the actors and actresses and we have some bond, not with everyone, but mostly yes. It’s a pleasant time. “In the beginning, especially the first scene I was very, very scared and nervous because I never did anal in my life, ever. So that was like, oh no. But yeah in comparison I’ve definitely been less nervous. I don’t know I just take it as a job and before I was just anxious… “I’m less shy now which is good.” Lia finished her degree in Marketology in 2019, graduating from a college in St. Petersburg. “It should be like a four-year course but I did skip over a little bit, so it was faster,” she says. “It is benefiting me now because basically the job is advertising something or for me it’s myself. So it’s really good for social media and making yourself out there, branding yourself like a product. So it’s kind of handy.” In addition to her modeling endeavors, Lin did a variety of jobs prior to adult, including bartending, IT and translating. “I was in Turkey translating from English to Turkish,” she says. “I know some Turkish, not so much. “Pretty much I tried a lot of stuff, like I always do. But the biggest one I was trying very hard with programming, so I put a lot of time to that.” She helped her Canadian friend launch a dating app. “I was basically making the interface so it’s more comfortable for the users and putting stuff where it should be,” says Lia, who is also the face of the app. “That was fun. Of course, I like to learn something new.” She got into porn with her ex-boyfriend, making amateur videos at first and then completing a 35-scene arrangement with PornBox before continuing her career in Europe. “Because I’m a spontaneous kid," Lin recalls. "He’s like, 'Let’s try this.' I was like, 'You know what, sure. I’m bored, why not?' I’m like, 'I should try something once in my life, so...' I didn’t think I would be here for this long.” When she isn’t working she loves drawing and working out in the gym. “That’s kind of what I do 24-7 almost,” she says. Lin draws portraits of women in particular—both nude and clothed—with a paint brush or pencil. “I haven’t done that in a while because no time,” she says, adding that she started drawing when she was 2. “I’m really inspired by drawing people. That’s the only thing I draw to be honest.“ A gymnast for more than 12 years, the athletic Lin also played basketball and volleyball while growing up. “Sports is something that I can’t live without,” she says. As she considers her future, Lin says she wants to continue building her profile in adult. “I would really like to become recognized. It would be like a big deal for me to have my name there or something but I’m not putting all eggs in one basket. If this doesn’t work out I have multiple things to do,” she says. “We’ll see. I’m taking it slow… I’m seeing how it happens. I’m not sure yet if it’s good or not because I cannot be the judge of it. “I do want to continue doing something better and maybe make my own content someday." Lia says she would like to come to America in the future, too. “I would love to, it’s my big dream,” she says. Photography by Marcello Bravo for LittleCaprice-Dreams.com