Kendra Lust On Autobiography, New Scenes, Stardom

This feature is the cover story of the June 2019 issue of AVN magazine. Click here for the full digital edition. LOS ANGELES—If there is one message Kendra Lust wants to convey from her upcoming autobiography, it’s that her work does not define her.   “Just because you’re an adult performer doesn’t mean you can’t have a family or be a great wife, a great friend or an entrepreneur,” Lust says. “With this book I want to shed some light about me and a little about the industry. Hopefully, my fans will be interested in picking it up.” The legion of fans known on social media as the #LustArmy has become a group so formidable it has made the curvaceous native of Michigan the AVN Award-winner for Hottest MILF for a record four straight years through online fan voting. Combined with her back-to-back trophies for AVN MILF Performer of the Year in 2016-17, Lust is marching toward a first-ballot AVN Hall of Fame induction—not to mention future legend status. “It’s crazy to me,” Lust admits. “It’s almost like pinch me—I don’t believe it. I’m grateful… It’s exciting. It gives me more validation, knowing it’s a true fan vote. I think it’s authentic.   “I’m flattered. I’m wowed and I’m happy. Because I did not have that expectation. If you don’t have any expectations, then you’re not disappointed.” While numbers never tell the whole story, they are hard to ignore with Lust, a social media phenom who has accumulated one of the largest followings in the world. She boasted 5.3 million followers on Instagram and another 909,000-plus on Twitter at press time in mid-April. Speaking of impressive numbers, Lust’s performances have generated hundreds of millions of video views on mega tube-sites such as Pornhub and XVideos in the past eight years, making her just about a permanent fixture in the top porn star rankings on both sites. Her list of scene credits is nearing 400, according to IAFD. Lust appreciates the love. “First, I always want to thank the fans and let them know I am truly, truly grateful that they enjoy my porn and I really am passionate about what I do,” Lust says. “I wouldn’t be able to give my family a better life—first and foremost—without their support. Secondly, I am really excited and a little bit nervous about the book, more-so than anything I’ve ever done. “I don’t know how they’re going to receive it, but I really hope they like the book so I’m looking forward to that. Also soon I’ll have a website that is going to be more informational and people are going to be able to connect with me through that website; and it’s going to be very beneficial to a lot of my fans. That’s kind of all I can say about it right now…” Her book—the title of which is still under wraps—will be released this fall in both the U.S. and Mexico.  “I just sent over some changes today as I was getting my nails done,” Lust says. “The author will write chapters and he’ll do like three chapters and then send them over for me to review… We’re doing it in segments.” Lust says the author—who is a TV and radio personality that has written other books—approached her with the idea of doing a book last September. “He said, ‘Based on your fan following I think people would have an interest in learning more about you,’” Lust tells AVN. “… I think the real purpose of doing this is to help people understand that what we do as adult performers does not define who we are. There are often stereotypes and negatives about us in society—not that I care too much about what other people think… I do think you worry about that more in your 20s or early 30s, and then you reach a point where you’re comfortable in your own skin.” Lust says the book will be available on Amazon and also at Hudson News retail locations—they are considering other distribution outlets, too. She says they pushed the release date back from the original target of the springtime. “I want it to be a quality product,” Lust continues. “I don’t want it to be rushed. This represents me and my life and the industry. I want it to be good. … It will also be in Spanish. It will be released in Mexico seven days before the US. That’ll be a good thing for my Latin fanbase and a tribute to them. I’ve gone over there the last few years and they’ve been so kind to me and so great.” Lust resides about 45 minutes away from where she grew up in an area northeast of Detroit. Now she picks her spots carefully when it comes to performing for other studios; she recently had a new scene come out with Mike Adriano for TrueAnal and one with Alex Legend for Brazzers, while a highly anticipated collision with Dredd under the direction of Jules Jordan has yet to be released.   “I shot with Dredd in just a regular boy/girl—that was a lot in itself,” Lust confesses.  Jordan agrees, telling AVN, “Shooting Kendra Lust with Dredd has definitely been a highlight of the year. Fans have been waiting for these super powers to meet and burn the house down. This is one of those pairings that begs for a sequel, because you just want to see more.” Lust is also heading to Miami in early May to film new material for BangBros.  “Also Mason booked me for Hard X in August,” she reveals. When she’s not working for other producers, she enjoys creating content specifically for her OnlyFans account. “I like doing my own stuff,” Lust says. “I like more of the amateur stuff, which is great for my fans.” She would prefer to perform rather than produce and direct—she also owns her own studio imprint called Lust Army Productions. “At the end of the day I always want to be in front of the camera,” Lust reasons. “It’s more exciting to be in front of the camera than behind. … I will always be a performer first. I don’t want to be watching other people enjoy sex; I want to enjoy sex.” Her full-service talent agency—Society 15—will reach its four-year anniversary in November. “I love seeing the girls succeed, especially girls like Cali Carter—she is just a class act. I can’t express the amount of respect I have for her and how hard she’s worked,” Lust says, pointing to her staff—led by Randy Quintana—as the reason the agency has become well established in porn circles. Her mother handles the accounting from her home in Florida. “I really cannot take the credit,” she adds. “I own the agency but it’s the team that puts in all the legwork. Maybe my name brings them in, but it’s my team that keeps them there. I can’t take the credit but I love operating in an ethical way.” Lust also is the face of Entice, a line of all-natural sexual enhancement supplements for couples that she developed with PJ Braun, the president of Blackstone Labs. Braun reached out to Lust about three years ago with an interest in collaborating on a sexual wellness product. “He told me, ‘I’ve enjoyed the adult industry and I’m a fan of you. … This is something I’m really good at it and something I think you’re really good at.’ And we produced a product that is both beneficial and healthy that increases the libido for both men and women.   “It’s formulated, so the men’s version is specifically for men and the women’s version is specifically made for women. It increases libido sensitivity and helps you have more powerful and intense orgasms. “It’s on my bathroom counter. I take it and my guy takes it. It really does work. A lot of people email me…I’ve gotten a lot of testimonials. … It’s all natural. It’s not going to harm your liver. It caters to a more holistic approach to health.” Lust discussed health-related matters on a daily basis long before she got into adult—she was a registered nurse for almost eight years before doing her first porn scene. It’s something she misses on occasion. “I do,” Lust says. “Some of the people in my circle back home are in the medical field. I do miss it because I do miss the human interaction with patients. It’s rewarding in a different way. You really feel you touched somebody, that you helped somebody or saved somebody and you made a difference.  “I do miss caring for others on that level. When people are really vulnerable and depending on you it’s a good feeling. What I don’t miss is the 12-hour shifts in the hospital, nor do I miss working holidays, mandatory overtime and being short-staffed. In all honestly I always will feel connected with the sick and I think I always will be a caretaker. I take care of others. It’s who I am; it’s how I was made. I can’t change that.” Lust got her Fleshlight in in late 2018—an overdue treat for her fans. “I think they had been hoping that it came a little sooner, but nonetheless they get to take a little piece of me home and I like that. I think it’s sexy,” she says. “For me it amps me up a little bit, knowing that guys are enjoying me and watching my videos. That’s hot for me. “I love knowing that guys jerk off to me.”