from www.iesb.net – The stunning and exotic Rio Valentine is already making a name for herself in the adult industry. As part of Digital Playground’s roster of talent, the all-natural beauty is anxious to take both the adult and mainstream worlds by storm. At the same time that she loves her job and wants to be a sex symbol, she is also approaching the industry from a career perspective and is thinking about the big picture for her future.

In this exclusive interview, the relative newcomer talked to IESB about the magazine covers, best-selling movies and stardom on her horizon.

IESB: How did you end up working in the adult industry? Were you a fan of porn, or were you just interested in the idea of being on camera?

Rio: When I was 15, I told my mom that I wanted to be in Penthouse. That was my lifetime goal. I always wanted to do adult modeling in magazines, so I started with that. And then, I did a scene or two and I just fell in love with it. The feeling you get while you’re shooting, and knowing that thousands of people, all over the world, are watching you is the greatest feeling in the world. I love being a sex symbol.

IESB: Was there something specific about Penthouse that made that the goal?

Rio: Charlie Laine used to be a Penthouse model. I was talking to her on MySpace and she said, “You should totally contact them,” but I wasn’t 18 yet. She told me how to contact them, so that I could do so, once I was 18. I looked up to her, as far as Penthouse went.

IESB: How did you end up signing a contract with Digital Playground?

Rio: I saw the Pirates movie that Digital Playground made, and I just fell in love with it. That was totally something I wanted to do, and I wanted to work with Digital, so I contacted them, personally. Lucky me, they offered me a contract.

IESB: Since you’ve been in the industry for a little while now, is it anything like what you thought it would be?

Rio: There’s always the stereotype about the porn world, and how we shoot. When you do your first shoot, you realize it’s not that at all. The guys care about you. They don’t want to hurt you. The directors are very, very nice. Everyone calls us prostitutes, but it’s totally not like that at all. Everybody is tested, which I didn’t know when I first got into the industry. A lot of people are totally oblivious to that.

IESB: When you get into the adult industry as a teenager, do you think it’s necessary to have a strong sense of yourself beforehand, or have you been discovering who you are, along the way?

Rio: You learn about yourself, more and more every day, as life goes on, in general. In the porn world, you definitely learn more about yourself, sexually. I have the mind-set that I’ll try something at least once, and that’s how I felt when I got into this industry. And then, I just fell in love with it.

IESB: At what point did you realize that you could make a career out of doing this?

Rio: When I talked to Digital Playground. I totally trust them, 100%. They do great, great work. I want to be famous and I want to be a sex symbol, and I know that Digital will totally be behind me. That’s why I signed with them.

My thing is that, even if I make a whole bunch of money, if I’m not happy, I’m not going to do it. I would rather make less money and be happy than make more money and be miserable at my job. I wake up, every day, with a smile on my face because I love what I do.

Everybody at Digital is completely laid back. It’s great fun when you shoot. I don’t even consider it work. I consider it a passion of mine. I’m just dedicated to my job.

IESB: Do you ever watch any of your own performances to see how you look on film?

Rio: I totally watch myself, but I also watch with my friends and make fun of myself. I’ll say, “This is where I hit my head, and they edited it out.” I’ll sit with my friends and laugh about all the crazy stuff that happens that they edit out, or they’ll make fun of me for doing something and I’ll get mad at them. It’s totally a conversation piece, believe it or not.

But, I think any female, whether they want to admit it or not, always looks in the mirror and tries to find their best angles, or see what they need to do different, and I do that. I also watch other people’s videos. I watch Jesse Jane and all the other Digital girls, and learn from them. You learn a lot from watching other people.

IESB: How much of who you are as a porn star is a persona that you create for films, and how much are you like that in your personal life?

Rio: Rio is totally wild, crazy and kinky. Because you do have to be somewhat heartless and separate the emotions from the physical aspect of sex when you’re filming, in my personal life, it’s totally emotional. If I have a boyfriend, I’m totally all about him and we have a lot of romantic, passionate sex. I’m not that crazy and wild in my personal life because I want to feel the emotion.

IESB: How much of your career is a collaborative process between you and Digital Playground?

Rio: I have every say. Digital calls me and asks my opinion about a lot of things, but it always comes down to what I want to do. They may book me for something and, if I don’t want to do it or I’m sick, all I have to do is tell them. It’s totally all about me. I don’t do anything I don’t want to. I never would. And, if Digital asks me to do something I don’t want to do, all I would have to do is tell them no, and they wouldn’t get mad or anything.

IESB: Did someone talk to you and educate you about sex, growing up, or is that something you had to figure out on your own?

Rio: My mom was never very controlling. She always gave me my space and let me do what I wanted to do. When I was 14, she came up to me and gave me condoms and said, “If you’re going to do this, use these,” and put me on birth control. But, I wasn’t really educated about it, at all. I don’t know many parents that sit down and say, “This is the position you need to try. This is how you need to look at him.” I don’t know any parents that coach you. It’s something you learn on your own. It’s not like my mom told me to do doggy style ‘cause that’s the best thing.

IESB: Was it difficult to tell your family that you wanted to work in the adult industry? What was their reaction to you being a porn star?

Rio: My family supports everything I’ve ever done, and they always will. I told my mom I was going down to Miami to do some adult stuff, and she’s been 100% supportive of everything. My grandfather is my world. My family is very laid-back and they’ve always supported me, so I had no problem with telling them what I’m doing. I would rather tell them than hide it from them because, if they found out on their own, then they would be disappointed, and I never want to disappoint anybody.

IESB: What do you enjoy most about being in the adult industry, and what are the biggest challenges of it?

Rio: I don’t really know if there’s a big challenge. We have really busy schedules and we travel a lot. I love shooting. I love being a sex symbol and knowing that thousands of people in the world are watching me, are my fans, idolize me or want to be like me. I’ve had a few girls come up to me and say, “I wanna be like you when I grow up,” and that means a lot. It’s not that I’m just a porn star. I also have a lot of morals. I don’t drink, I don’t party, I don’t do drugs and I invest my money. I do a lot of things that other porn stars do not do. I wanted to be famous and be known around the world. It’s a feeling that everybody wants. When everybody’s little, they want to be famous.

IESB: Do you see this as a long-term career? Do you want to have your own production company, in the future, or get into directing?

Rio: I’m taking it day-by-day and having fun, but I’m also making this a career. My contract with Digital is for a few years, not a few months, so this is something that’s going to be a career for me. But, I totally keep my personal life separate. I invest my money. I’m going to buy properties and own businesses, outside of the adult industry. It’s not something I want to do for my whole entire life because I want to have a family and raise children, and I don’t want them to be around it. But, I did just sign a contract for a few years, so I’ll be 24 or 25, before I will think about getting out of the business.

IESB: Which do you enjoy doing more, making films or shooting magazine layouts?

Rio: Photo shoots are always fun because we normally get to pick what we want to wear and how we want to look, and it’s just very laid-back. With movie shoots, they’re extremely fun, but on a different level. They’re two completely different things.

IESB: Are you also hoping to get into feature dancing at the clubs?

Rio: I really am open to anything that Digital has in mind. They might ask me if I want to feature dance, and I probably will. I do plan on it. I love traveling, I love dancing and I love money, not to sound cliche or anything. And, I love interacting with the fans.

IESB: What would you say to other young women who might be thinking about getting into the industry? Is it something you would encourage, or would you tell them to think about it first?

Rio: You should always think about everything, before you jump into it, especially when it comes to sex because you can never hide it. If I were to quit, I’m always going to be Rio Valentine. There’s always going to be people that know me. You can’t hide it.

Once you get famous, you can’t run away, and that’s one thing a lot of people don’t realize. They get famous and they don’t like it, and they just want to drop it and forget about it. But, once you’re famous, you can’t do that. People are always going to know you, for at least 5-10 years, down the road.

Also, if you’re a female getting into this industry, you need to have a very strong mental mind-set, or else you will turn to drugs and everything else that a lot of famous people do because they were not in the right mind-set when they got into it. They got into it for all the wrong reasons, like the money, and that’s not the right reason to be in this industry.

IESB: Was part of the appeal of Digital Playground their track record for their girls crossing over into the mainstream as well? Is that something you’re looking to do?

Rio: Yeah. I want to get into acting and mainstream magazines. I want to do it all. I’m very laid-back. Whoever wants me, I’m there.

IESB: Have you had any acting training at all, or is that something you want to look into doing?

Rio: I haven’t really had any acting training, but it is something that I do want to try. If I’m not good at it and I don’t make it, then I’ll face reality. But, it’s something that I at least want to try.

IESB: Have you given any thought about what type of mainstream work you’d like to do? Do you want to do more character type roles, or do you feel more comfortable playing versions of yourself?

Rio: I would feel more comfortable doing things that are versions of myself, but I’d like to try character roles, too. It’s something that I do want to try and, if I hit it off, I hit it off. I’m open for anything.

IESB: Are you hopeful about the changes in the industry, in regard to more and more girls receiving mainstream recognition now?

Rio: Of course. (Digital Playground contract star) Riley Steele is going to be in Piranha 3-D. Sasha Grey got a part in the Steven Soderbergh movie, The Girlfriend Experience. It’s totally cool that, as the years go by, mainstream and adult are getting intertwined. That’s awesome. A few years ago, mainstream was mainstream and adult was adult, and if you were an adult star, you could never do mainstream. As the years go by and time goes on and people lighten up, the world is changing and evolving, which is cool to watch.

Fans can see more of Rio Valentine at www.DigitalPlayground.com and www.myspace.com/riovalentine , or can follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RioVxxx .