Pornstar Interview: Jodi West
You get the feeling that Jodi West was a really good real estate agent. You get the feeling that people would fight to lean against her bench ads. We talked with West about the unsung skill of the handjob and what’s different about making porn in Florida.
GRAM: In Hot MILF Handjobs #4 (see our review here) there are a number of women, including yourself and Deauxma, providing relief via handjobs in a therapeutic setting. I have Blue Cross; will I be covered if I visit Florida?
JODI WEST: Of course, I believe that most insurance plans should cover alternative medicinal member massage. It’s in the very fine print on the back of your card! Look really, really close. Throwing outrageous situations into everyday activities is one of my favorite things about handjob scenes and the creativity they allow.
GRAM: The handjob and the blowjob are the two porn services that require the most skill but are the least well-compensated. Why is that?
WEST: In my humble opinion: It takes some time, talent, and a certain amount of skill to get that hard nut from a blowjob or a handjob. I’ve worked with a lot of young girls and some older ones as well that seem to just give up after about three minutes of jerking a dick. Believe it or not, its not just tugging and squeezing, Ladies. I usually watch a guy very closely for physical and verbal clues. Then just have fun [until] he can’t take it anymore. Sometimes there’s just nothing like a good handy!
[And] as far as the compensation goes. HJ and BJ scenes are much shorter and do not hold as much, if any, health risks. That said, anyone who as ever worked on either end of our sets is usually very happy with the check when they leave. We pride ourselves in not wasting anyone’s precious time. Plus we usually have a pretty damned good time!
GRAM: Making porn in Florida is a different vibe than working in Porn Valley and you use certain performers frequently. Can you describe the atmosphere?
WEST: It’s a lot more difficult in Florida to get girls and guys who’ve had experience in the adult industry. We get the very new ones and get to train them if you will. But with that said, we’ve had the pleasure of working with a few girls on their first shoots who have really made it in the industry. Since our stuff is for the most part story-line based (except of course for Hot MILF Handjobs), we have the ability to use the same people in a variety of shoots, allowing us to really get to know their personalities. If we like the person and they can act and don’t take themselves too seriously, they will always have work when they come to Florida.
GRAM: You started in porn in your late 40s. What did you do before then? If you were an office manager, dental hygienist, attorney, or golf pro, were you known in certain circles as the SEXY office manager, dental hygienist, attorney, or golf pro?
WEST: Well to be honest I was in Real Estate for about two decades and I have had my share of being thought of as the sexy manager/Real Estate Agent. Every now and then I get an email from someone who I either coached in Real Estate or sold a house to that is blown away and say that they wish they’d known then what they know now?
GRAM: You run Forbidden Fruits with your husband, Jay. What advice would you give to people getting into porn with their significant other?
WEST: We work together every day, so it helps if you have individual skill sets as well as complementary ones. Jay and I work on different things and each have our own tasks. We almost always work on the stories together though. It’s funny. We’ve been on set where it appears that we are arguing (as spouses do) and Jay and I are not exactly what you would call quiet in anything we do. We’ve had girls say Mom, Dad, please don’t fight and we have to tell them that it’s our creative process. If we disagree on set, we know it’s going to be a really, REALLY, good scene. One of the biggest keys to working together is to have respect for the other person (and all people on set for that matter) and when the cameras shut down, it’s back to real life!
