The XCritic Interview: Kenzie Taylor Pt. 1

August 17, 2020
DEMARKO

When the dust settled in Las Vegas, Nevada after the weekend of January 25th, 2020 had concluded there was a lot of fun and a hell of a lot mystery that lingered in the air. We had no clue what was on the horizon as a planet and civilization as there was something bigger and scarier on the horizon. Captain Marvel took home what Axel Braun’s big budget creations usually take home at AVN, and that was a big win for a film of the year, in a category he has dominated for many awards seasons. Something was different after this year's show and convention. The lead of Captain Marvel had not only starred in a game changing role for her career and brand, she proceeded to open the eyes of the world. Showing fans that she was a lot more than I think many people believed her to be capable of. Kenzie Taylor is one of the most in-demand starlets on planet earth right now and it is easy to see why. One look at any scene, no matter if it is gonzo or feature format. Kenzie is a starlet whose performance always shows a woman who is the essence of a true performer and it is more than her good looks that win her that title. For years Miss Taylor has been under the radar and with each performance she nudges herself closer and closer to that elusive POTY trophy and category. I think only a few other performers have the talent, the fortitude and business savvy to make a strong run to become an immortal in the land of XXX. I think one of the front-runners in 2020 is our subject on the hot seat for the XCritic Interview, the OC Modeling wonder Kenzie Taylor. This interview has been in the makings for some time now and as I have learned over the past ten years in this business, it is that everything comes to those who wait and that the greats, they are truly worth the investment of time and perhaps even more. As this quarantine hopefully begins to be a thing of the past I can not think of a better performer to rise up out of the ashes of 2020 and to be put on display with The XCritic Interview. So, without further ado ladies and gentlemen, the Kenzie Taylor.

Don Juan: OK, so we are going to start this interview differently than any interview that I have ever done before. Now, the first question I wanted to ask you, well, let’s put it this way. I had a little birdie tell me that you were once a softball player. Is this true?

Kenzie Taylor: Yeah, I played softball all the way since I was six, right on through college. I had an athletic scholarship to go to the University of Michigan for four years.

Don Juan: Oh my God, no wonder you are an Ann Arbor woman!

(Kenzie laughs and it is one of those unexpected chuckles that I truly love to create with good research. I had honestly thought to myself, “there has to be a way to break the ice with this woman in a way it never has before.)

I, too, was a baseball player. I went on a semi-athletic scholarship to William and Mary, so you are talking to a fellow lover of the game.

Kenzie Taylor: That is awesome!

Don Juan: Oh my God, so we got ourselves and softball player and a baseball player here, yahoo!

(Yes, this came out as cheesy as you can imagine. Trust me, when we meet another lover of the game, the nerdiness must come out. So few people love the game. So few people can watch a game. The fraternity that is college athletics and the diamond.)

Kenzie Taylor: (With this amazing laugh that is getting louder and louder.) What position did you play?

Don Juan:Madam, I was a catcher. How about yourself?

Kenzie Taylor: Oh, right on. I was second base.

Don Juan: So you are a fielder! That is fucking awesome! You played a position that has to be the most lively on the field. That is so bad ass! I can totally see you being that person. I can only imagine what would happen to a person trying to steal a base on you. I see “the Kenzie Taylor” telling someone “FUCK YOU!” Boom, and then you tag them out. I am telling you. I could talk to you all day long about the game. When I heard that you were a collegiate softball player my hat went off to you woman. It is an amazing game. That is an amazing accomplishment. There are so many questions like I said before that just fill my head. I think you can tell that I am excited to talk about this.

Kenzie Taylor: Thank you, I appreciate that. Whenever someone asks about that I always say to myself, “YES!” Then I am just hoping that they want to continue talking about that but there are not a lot of women I have met in the industry who have played softball. Well, to be honest, you do not find a lot of softball players period in Los Angeles. I would love to be a part of a league for adults but there just is not a lot of people who play. You know, you just made me think of this. I had a meeting about eight or nine months ago, and we had a meeting, and I met this person that actually plays softball in an adult league. It was here in LA on a co-ed team. I remember he was telling me about it, and he gave me the website address and it turned out to be this YMCA league of sorts but it has a different league name. He gave me the information and I completely lost it! It had links on the web page and everything. It even had a way to contact the person that ran it directly. I was so disappointed I lost it!

Don Juan: Oh my goodness. I know a few softball players. Victoria Voxxx, she is one of the greatest players in her state's history when it comes to softball at the high school level. I believe she is that states all time stolen bases leader. Or the leader in doubles. One of the two. Brooke Haze, she also played softball in high school in Florida. I will have to send you a bunch of names and oh my God, we will start the first ever industry softball team! Yeah! Plus, you are talking to a guy who grew up in the Bronx. His uncle took him to baseball practice but first he had to wait an hour and practice with my uncle’s softball team he coached. He was a great man. He could throw underhand in the mid sixties. So you are talking to a true lover of the game like yourself. So, I am going to reverse the interview. I would love to know, what is your greatest accomplishment in the sports world and what is your fondest memory from your playing days?

Kenzie Taylor: Hhhhhmmmmmmmmm. Let’s see here, out of all the years that I played.

(I think there is nothing like having a great athlete scan their mind for that one great achievement. It is just as you would picture. She pauses, thinks and puts images into your head of a person in deep, deep thought. Oh, the wonders of the women of this industry. That is all I can say.)

Um, I would have to say that my greatest memory was probably when I was at a tournament, and we played in Canada, against Quebec. We did not win this tournament. We won all the games leading up to the bracket finals. We did not win that game but it was still just an amazing experience because I am from such a small town and being able to go somewhere such as that was a huge deal. It was my first time ever getting to travel out of the country. It was really one of the first times that I had travelled anywhere out of the state. The truth is the only other place I had ever been to outside my home state was to go see Disney World in Florida when I was a little kid and do not even remember that vacation. So, you can see how this was a big deal.

Don Juan: Oh my God. That is crazy. Here is an even crazier story. So, every baseball player, great softball player when I ask them about traveling and tournaments, I shit you not, all of us only went on vacation like two times when we were young. What the hell man! I shit you not. We were all deprived.

Kenzie Taylor: (As we both share a laugh) Yes, you are so right.

Don Juan: Oh my God. I think my family, we went out of state once and it was to see the Flintstones in North Dakota but no, oh my goodness. Competitive league! Going to Canada, that is so fucking cool. Did you ever win a championship, because I never did? Not at any level of the game.

Kenzie Taylor: Oh, yeah, when I played and this was not yet when I played for Michigan but I played in my younger days for two traveling softball teams and with one of them, we won quite a bit. That was a team that we would compete in this tri-state championship tournament every year.

Don Juan: Oh my God, I am sooooo jealous. I never won a championship, I always wanted to, who doesn't, right? When I was younger, I was always put up with the older boys because I was too good to play with kids my own age. Of course, you get hazed by the big boys when you get put into a higher league and after all the pain, the blood, the sweat, the tears. All I wanted was one championship, just one! Ahhhhh! (We both share another great laugh.) I would later get recruited by better teams who won the championship one year and then I joined them, and we took second place. Story of my career.

Kenzie Taylor: Oh my, well, second place is still good.

Don Juan: Yes, you get the little trophies and yes, I still have mine, I will not lie. I have the stuff from college and from high school but I wanted the championship. Just one. I could talk to you all day about softball. There are a lot of softball players in the industry and I do not think a lot of people inside the business even know that.

Kenzie Taylor: No, you are right. I have never met any female yet that I have worked with that has played. I have met some of the guys in the business that have said they played baseball but that is about as close as we get.

Don Juan: I think I will have to tell some of the girls that you played. My girl did, and she loves the game and it is always something so fun to talk about. OK, now to get back to the boring first question that you have told a million times. I would love for you to tell our readers, how did you get into the adult film world?

Kenzie Taylor: Well, it is not exciting by any means.

Don Juan: I seriously doubt that madam!

Kenzie Taylor: (That amazing laughter of hers begins the tale.) I was actually working in healthcare way back when. It was a job that I was very, very unhappy doing. Having seventy to eighty hour weeks will do that to you. We are talking so many hours that I was falling asleep when I was driving home after my shifts. I had absolutely no social life and I never got to see my family, it was just crazy. I think all of this is what led me to become so unhappy with what I was doing. I have, well, I think that everyone has always wanted to be their own boss. This was where I was thinking to myself during one of these shifts that seemed to last forever, “what kind of job could I have, where I could be my own boss? Hmmmmm.”

So, one night I am out late with a friend of mine and I meet this photographer. He comes up out of the blue, and we start talking, and he tells me, “hey, I will do a content trade if you shoot with me.” I had no idea what that even meant, so I asked him to explain it to me. He tells me, “well, I will take photos of you for free and I will use some of them for my portfolio and then I will also make some of them for you to have, and you can do whatever you wish with them.” This sounded like a good deal to me, so I said, “sure, why not.” This was a very new experience for me and I did not know this person, so I made sure to bring some people with me just to be safe. Everything turned out to be legitimate, and he created these photos that were just beyond great. He took what he wanted and I ended posting my photos online with what he had made for me. I started to get a lot of comments from people telling me that I was beautiful and things along that nature. So, from that moment on, I started to do a little modeling here and there, it was nothing where I went crazy with shoots but it started to lead to bigger and better opportunities. I did a calendar shoot after that and a few car shows, so I was beginning to get a taste for these kinds of things.

During all of this, I was stripping/dancing and I loved that! That was the first place that I really felt 100% comfortable being this outgoing, open-minded, sexual individual. Being in the strip-club environment, I finally felt like I was at home. That I could for the first time be myself. You know what I mean? I could finally be at a place without any judgment or anything like that at all. Because where I am from, like we were talking about earlier, it was a really small town, so I was always judged, always. I could never really be myself. Dancing and being in this environment was something that felt so good in so many ways for me. I had actually lived a life that was working healthcare during one part of the day and dancing the other half. When I got tired of the healthcare side of things and I stopped working in that industry. Dancing started to become a more central part of a lot of my life and career. I have always been a person who liked porn. I have always had that love for porn, thinking to myself, “wouldn’t this be something so hot to have as a career and just be in porn?” Back in those days I don’t think I had the confidence to even give it a try even though I loved porn so much. I had inside my head that they were not going to like me, that I did not have the right look for the business. My self-esteem was just not a good part of my character back then.

So, one day I just kind of said to hell with it and decided to just Google it. I started to read up on some things and I looked at a few agency sites and that led me to contacting my first agency. I contacted them, and we spoke, said our hellos and I told them that I had always wanted to try performing and of course the self-esteem kicked in and I kept telling them that I had never done it before. Then I gave them my measurements and sent them a selfie and to my surprise they wrote me back within twenty-four hours and told me that they were very interested. I did the normal thing that a person would do, I sent them some more pictures of myself obviously with and without clothing. Then they wanted every type of view imaginable. Front views, side views, apparently some people use this little things called Photoshop I guess. (We share a laugh.) Then after all of that they literally got back to me this time within twelve hours.

The agents were very impressed with what they saw, so they told me that they wanted to fly me out to Los Angeles and told me that I would stay at a model house, and we will set you up with a photo shoot, and then we will see where everything goes from there. That sounded just beyond great to me. So I was thinking every second about this trip, being that I had never flown to California ever! At that time I was living a long distance away but I came to LA, I got here, and I did not know anybody. So I took the plane, went to the model house, did the photo shoot and started to get to know some of the other girls who were staying at the model house. I mean aside from the girls, I knew absolutely nobody and I do not care who you are, that is always something different that you have to get used to, especially when you are traveling around and going to go-sees.

(A “Go-See” is where a model is taken by an agent or sometimes can be set up independently, a tripe where everyone goes to see the many studios of the adult industry and the massive media and production companies in person to shake hands, say hello to see if you truly have the look to be a model. You will sometimes go to a place and there may be a scene being shot although that rarely happens. Most times you are going to the office headquarters to meet directors, video editors and the people who make the films go from video to the consumer. This is something every model or industry associate goes through, especially a new model. This is how the producers of the industry find the next superstars and it occurs almost every single day.)

For me, this took a lot of getting used to. It is hard to explain but when you do not know anyone, going on a go-see can be very intimidating and it was for me. I can't really explain it. It can be awkward and it does not matter what you have been used to when you danced or modeled. I think that the hardest part for me was basically going to meet all these people in the industry who were already established, and they are judging you. Then they ask you to undress and it is weird. I mean I can say I feel a different way now that I have been in the industry for the time I have, but it is very awkward the first time, and I was thinking about so many things. Remember I was telling you about self-esteem. I do not think anyone can prepare you to walk into a place and the first thing that they say is, “OK, take your clothes off. OK turn around, OK put your clothes back on.” I do not mean this to sound like a sob story or anything like that, it is just awkward. (We share another laugh.)

So, I had gone to the model house, I had done the photo shoot, I had gone on the go-sees. That all panned out because right after I got my first booking and it was with Mark Wood as my scene partner. The director was Mike Quasar. I love both of these guys but getting to work with Mark Wood for your first scene. That is just something I was so lucky to have. Mark Wood, what can I say, the man is a veteran, the man is just so amazing. I can not express to you how very, very fortunate I was to once again have my first scene be with those people. Because of all those factors, because of all those people I had a very amazing experience. Because of all of those amazing people, I wanted to continue on with the pursuit of my career in this industry. I am so grateful for that. Making that scene was so much fun. It was everything that I thought it would be. I absolutely loved it. I was nervous, do not get me wrong. I had that feeling that I think every person has like, “Ahhh, I do not know what to do.” When I say that I loved it, I mean I really loved and I said to myself once again. “Hey, I think that I want to do this.” I ended up staying in LA for about three more weeks. I did just a couple more shoots.

I then went back to Florida after that first trip to where I was living in Tampa and I stayed there for about one month and my agent gave me a call one day and said, “hey, if you want to get work all the time or you want to try and really give things a bigger push LA is really the place that you need to be.” So I thought about things for not too long and I just came to the mind set to just do it. I literally was planning my move right after that. I got rid of all my things that I would not be able to take over there or would be something that slowed the process. I packed up everything that I could fit into my car and I just drove. I moved out here right then and there. I decided to drive across the country, away from my friends and my family. Even though I did not know anyone, I said let’s just give this thing a go!

Don Juan: You are such a badass woman! It takes a lot to do that, I shit you not. It makes me remember my college days and boys crying for their mommies being away from home, and I mean we are talking my sophomore year away at school. I think that is such an amazing story that you shot for Quasar. Mike is an amazing man. An old school film director. A man who can walk on set, he knows what he needs to shoot and how to achieve his goal with maximum quality, and he is in and out. No ass kissing intended the man knows how to shoot scenes with performers that sexually bring them to tears of joy because of the deep sexual experience, and he filmed it all with enough time to make it home for corn flakes. I love that he is the first person you shot for. You and he are people who do not hesitate. You both do not play games and you speak to people like people, no sugar coating things. I deeply respect that about you. Oh my goodness, thank you for sharing such a story. I have so much respect and admiration for your ability to do something like following your dream across the country, I really do.

Kenzie Taylor: Thank you, I appreciate that. I think that the hardest part about it all and it was at a time in my life where I was still using drugs and alcohol, and I was a different person but most of all, I was this person that was so full of fear. It was something that made the word “uncomfortable” a part of my everyday life. Being away from my family and friends and not knowing anyone, I do not care who you are, it is one of the scariest things ever to face in life, especially when you are moving somewhere that you have never been.

Don Juan: I respect an actor in this industry so much these days and it does not have anything to do with sex. I would be a guy if I were a performer I would probably need a beer in one hand and shot in the other because it is so scary to simply be in front of the camera, assume a character, work with people you do not know every day. That is the hardest thing to do and it is so nerve wracking as fuck! Then on top of everything you are a person who moved here to give everything to her career. You performers deserve so much respect for not letting fear take hold of you, like so many others do in this life. People think what you all do is so easy, that you all sacrifice nothing for gaining the success that you do.

Kenzie Taylor: Ugh, I know. I really appreciate you saying that. I am glad you said that and I have to say that the male performers of our industry, they are the fucking superheroes of our business. They do not get enough credit for what they do at all. How they have to open up to the camera and then how they have to be able to get hard, get it hard again, then get it hard again. Then after that they have to get it hard in this situation and that situation. Then they have to cum here, cum now and hurry up when you are doing it. That is not normal.

Don Juan: Oh my God, I was just talking about this with my girl. I mean let’s say you are at a normal, or let’s say a “civilian orgy. No cameras, nothing. It is fucking intimidating to be standing in a room with all these people and you are the lone guy who can not concentrate, you can not think let alone get your junk to work. Now I imagine being on film, the most impossible scene to shoot and you have a shoot location rented for five more hours and you are the guy shitting bricks because you can not function and everything is riding on your ass. I mean that is the thing none of the fans ever see or know about. I think it is important they know what the male leads must endure to create the porn they love.

Kenzie Taylor: Oh, I know. It is overwhelming.

Don Juan: People outside this business make it out to be like it is so simple. It is the ultimate performance that takes the ultimate performer. This does take us to question three and your acting. I love your acting. I think that you are one of the most powerful actors in this business. You have that ability to be in your face with your sexuality and your character and charisma. Most actors only have one of the three. So this is a side note to the acting, well it goes along with it. I heard that you have trained in Muay Thai, is that true?

Kenzie Taylor: Yes, I have actually. I was doing it a lot more about five or six years ago. It was something that was a bigger part of my routine when I was in Florida. When I moved out to Los Angeles so much of my time has been all about shooting, making movies and building my career in so many ways. The biggest part of moving to Los Angeles is the grandeur of everything. I don’t think people realize how big everything is in this city. Moving here was a huge culture shock for me. I mean this was as big as a culture shock could be for someone.

(Her laugh is so humble. You can hear the small-town beauty in her humble laugh and her down to earth way she talks about these experiences. I do not think people ever see that about porn stars and adult entertainers period. If you are to watch any of her films and I honestly suggest that you do because Kenzie loves what she does and I mean that in every sense of the word and description. She is a woman who loves sex, loves acting and performing. It is second nature to become these characters like Captain Marvel. You would never guess how humble this woman’s heart is. She has a commanding presence in this industry. Yes, she can be very intimidating and as she explains her schedule that I kid you not, took us almost a year to sit her down because of how in-demand she is with big production companies. Meeting her you see that everything is worth the wait with this incredible, fearless, independent woman.)

Don Juan: My goodness and you are a Michigan woman to boot.

Kenzie Taylor: Yeah, exactly!

Don Juan: God bless you Michigan folk. You all know how to navigate the straight and narrow and that is a good thing. You set a course and you roll. That is so awesome. I can only imagine the things you thought and saw when you moved to LA for the first time.

Kenzie Taylor: It took me some time to get settled. There are so many things to see and do. Getting my way around was tricky in the beginning but it has not been as tedious in a while. I do want to see more that is around LA and I just have not been able to because I have been so busy. That is something that not a lot of people take into account that both male and female performers must keep their bodies always in the most pristine condition. People do not realize we miss out on a lot in life and activities is one of them. Muay Thai is the perfect example. I can not do that like I used to. I can do things very lightly but I can not do anything like spar, not even close to doing it. When I was practicing more regularly in Florida I would come home with bruises and that does not work when you are on set with a director getting paid for the way that you look. I just can not do that because I would have to turn down work if that was the case. This is my job, this is something that every performer must do. Their lone job is to take care of yourself. You have to be able to say no to a lot of things that I thing people take for granted everyday. I see so many people doing things that I would love to but I just can't that is what we sacrifice.

Don Juan: I think that so many people believe it is a cakewalk to make a living off your beauty and your physical being. I think the amount of people who could just handle the stress that comes with being a model is maybe like one out of a hundred, and that is just the mental stress of giving up a lot of things to make a living and just putting a roof over your head.

Kenzie Taylor: Oh, it is more than just beauty for sure. There is a lot that goes into it.

Don Juan: I love these tales of truth. My girl, she went through those same things when she started and something that once again people do not know about this industry is that at most of their jobs in the "civilian" world, you can get away with half assing things. A person can show up to work, and they can hide a lot of their imperfections and work ethic, including laziness. In this business, it just does not fly. You can half-ass it but if you do…

Kenzie Taylor: Exactly and if you do, oh does it get noticed and then guess what, if you are lucky to get a second chance you have to start all over again when it comes to gaining the people’s trust who you work with.

Don Juan: In the publishing world, to which my other job consists. You can fuck up twice and in most instances you are still going to have a job and you are going to be all right. In this business, you could fuck up two shoots and your career is done. It is gone and there is no getting it back. That is something that has nothing to do with the nudity. That is all about hard work, excellence and art. It takes so much. I really commend you guys and I could not do it and say that as an athlete who stood before massive crowds, sacrificed much of who he was for sports. I would be such a mean asshole and talking down to everybody, I shit you not. If I was in your shoes, all you ladies, I would be kicking some ass all the time. (We share a laugh again.)

I loved getting to read about and study who Kenzie Taylor is. I had to ask how you found such a thing as Muay Thai? Is it through spirituality? You seem like a person who has a deep spiritual connection with so many things and people in the industry and the world in general. It puts on display a woman who seems to know who she is with conviction.

Kenzie Taylor: Well, that really started when I got sober. I will have three years sober coming up in September. Having over two and a half years of sobriety I had never had anything spiritual before that in life. I was just getting by. I was just going along with what life can be. I was not really living. Now, I am actually living and I do have a spiritual foundation in my life. Without my spiritual foundation, it would be like a piece missing from the puzzle within me. I have to have that. That is something that I am proud to say that I have in my life right now. I have that!

Don Juan: Congratulations on having over two years. I think that you can relate to this. When you have your eyes opened and you start to see things that you never saw that were right in front of you. When you see that the booze and the drugs are a crutch, you see the world and as corny as this sounds, smelling the roses is something wonderful that comes with sobriety. I think the fact that you are sober says so much about how you faced fear. How you were able to not give up and see another path to walk in your career and in your personal life.

Kenzie Taylor: Yeah, exactly and it is almost three years sober now by the way. (We share a heart to heart laugh. This woman is just a gem beyond what you can imagine.) It took me a very long time to realize though that drugs and alcohol are not the issue. When you have the disease of alcoholism, the disease is something that is at the center of your mind. You can be addicted to whatever and it was drugs and alcohol that were my solution. That was my problem and it was something that put a mask upon everything. It clouded my vision. It puts you in a false state of acceptance believing that “everything is all good” even when it is not. For me I had to realize that there was so much shit that was piling up behind that fog. Once that fog was lifted, then I had to clear the wreckage of my past in a lot of ways.

Don Juan: That new movie, Doctor Sleep, the book was of course written by Stephen King. Danny, the main character meets his dad’s ghost who is an alcoholic and the ghost tells him trying to lure him in to take a drink that the booze was his “medicine” and that he needed to take it. That it would be what took away all the pains of daily life and made a person numb to reality. There is such a truth to that because it is like you said. It is a disease. I know exactly what you speak of,as alcoholism runs in my family. Both my grandfather’s had it. For you to rebound and become a better version of yourself. That takes guts, that takes courage. Now that I get to talk to you as a person, I see the true strengths that you have madam.

Kenzie Taylor: Thank you, thank you very much.

This concludes part one and what a chapter of the XCritic Interview this was. The pictures that accompany this article are courtesy of GirlGirl.com and the amazing Alan X and Jules Jordan. We thought that we needed to go with something that is the best representation of who Kenzie Taylor is. This review for The Teenage Lesbian Next Door stars both a new starlet and another industry powerhouse and as the scene and article will show, Kenzie knows how to make everything work and go full circle into something that goes beyond expectations. That is simply what this woman does. For almost a year her amazing publicists have had us on this journey to meet one another and get her story told as we knew it was something great. Never have I seen a performer who has such command of her career and it is something that goes beyond sobriety, the intelligence, the work ethic. I think what Kenzie Taylor truly is to this business, is the future of what can and will be. In part two of this interview we talk about her future, we talk about the Don Juan-esque philosophy of a woman who has done things the right way. A performer who deserves to have her story told as she defies the odds in ways that shows others, including her fellow performers, you can do anything in your life when you choose to take on and conquer that thing known as fear. In a year that so many people have had turn into tough times, Kenzie Taylor shows the world and both her fans and critics, what can happen when you choose to fight back. When you choose yourself over the many things in life that can keep you from following your dreams. When you chose to not make fear a factor in the way you live your life.