I Gave Up My Corporate Job to Be a Porn Star It was a huge leap, but Alix Lynx regrets nothing.
As Told To Marissa Miller
Feb 19, 2016
When Alix Lynx realized her career as a communications executive wasn't sustainable after repeated layoffs, she leapt at the opportunity to fulfill her long-time dream of becoming a porn star. A few close friends were in on the secret, but her whole world found out last year when she starred in a viral video about giving blow jobs. Alix tells Cosmopolitan.com about her journey of subverting societal expectations to uphold a restrictive 9-to-5, and why she'll never look back.
I grew up in upstate New York in a small, middle-of-nowhere town. It was pretty blue collar. There was some upper middle-class, but not really.
I had a really good upbringing. I know a lot of people say people who do porn must have issues. That was not at all the case. I was an all-around ace student who excelled in sports. I was in accelerated classes and did extracurricular activities. I was what people called "well-rounded."
My dad worked in construction, and my mom has a Ph.D. and works for the health department of the government. They were supportive of everything [my siblings and I] did, and encouraged us to explore our creativity. They did everything for us and sacrificed their own lives so we had good ones.
I graduated high school at 18, and the thought of skipping college never crossed my mind, especially since my mom said, "You have to got school or you'll be flipping burgers for the rest of your life."
So I went to a state school in my hometown. I figured a communications degree would make sense because it's versatile, and I love writing and being in front of the camera. I got a BA in TV broadcasting.
I was a lost soul, because no one really knows what they want to do when they're 18. I saved money, I didn't take out student loans, and did school for three years, graduating a year early because of my AP credits. I took classes every summer, spring, and winter break. I never stopped. It sucked, but I was like, "I could either hang out with my friends and party, or suck it up and take this class and get more attention from teachers."
After I graduated college, I was still lost at 21. And of course, there was my mom, saying "You should get your master's degree. It'll set you apart because everyone has a bachelor's." I didn't see a point. My view is still the same now. Why would I get a master's if I could work?
I felt pressured, combined with the fact that I didn't know what to do, so I decided to do [a master's] online, so I wouldn't have to be on any schedule and show up. I found a program with a bunch of MBAs, and realized that I had physically visited it from when I had had considered it for my bachelor's. It was familiar, and it wasn't like the University of Phoenix or anything like that. What if I did my master's part-time and started working full-time so I could do both? It meant work experience and education.
During college I started doing promotional modeling. I went to bars and restaurants, conventions, and professional events, and promoted alcohol, makeup, and food brands. That was all about looking pretty. I figured I could look for a promotional agency in the city while I looked for a real job. It was a little extra money. I did that for four or five months. I was still in school, but I didn't know what to do. I sent out my résumé to any company that had anything to do with communications.
I sent my résumé to a small PR firm with big clients. [The owner] hired me as an assistant to do office tasks but I still learned a lot about PR, because she knew about my education. After a few months, I was an assistant account executive, which meant communicated with clients and helped out with corporate work, event planning and press releases.
After six months I was promoted to account executive, so I was in charge of actual accounts. Finally, a couple clients decided to leave. The company lost money and couldn't afford to keep me, so I got laid off.
I was like, "Oh my god. What do I do?" Immediately I was like, "[PR] is OK, it's not my passion, but I'm supposed to have a 'good job' so might as well do more." I was back to square one.
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Poster Comment:
I'm a porn star!