This article originally ran in the October 2014 issue of AVN.
When it comes to adult performers who have rebranded themselves, Kelly Shibari is a successful case study. Over the past eight years she has gone from being a plus-size performer to a leading marketing/PR professional. The past year especially has been “surreal,” according to Shibari, who has worked on a number of critically acclaimed projects. In addition to performing in Jessica Drake’s Guide to Wicked Sex: Plus Size (Wicked Pictures) and the star showcase Meet Kelly (Digital Sin), she was also the first plus-size performer on the cover of Penthouse Forum and was “interviewed by Margaret Cho, for god’s sake,” Shibari said. Overall it has been a good year for the award-winning performer, during which she saw many projects come to fruition.
Although she has been producing some of her strongest work, speculation arose—perhaps fueled by her growing activity in the PR and marketing arena—that the 42-year-old would consider retiring from performing all together. While she describes her non-performing workload as “amazingly overwhelming,” Shibari tells AVN that she is merely taking a break from performing for the time being. “I just got signed on to be a brand ambassador for Sportsheets and their plus size line,” Shibari said. “I work with Shibari Wands; I work with three or four other companies on my own. And then I also have freelance work from Lainie Speiser, who is a publicist for a bunch of performers based out of New York. I also do freelance work for Fine Ass Marketing. So I feel very lucky having the amount of work that I do.
“I have noticed within the past few months that trying to juggle that with performing has been a little difficult,” Shibari continued. “I did Plus Size with Jessica Drake for Wicked Pictures and that took a few weeks. And we just wrapped my star showcase with Digital Sin a couple of months ago. So when you take four days off to go and perform and then you’re off doing promotional work to promote the product you’ve been in, those are several hours in the day that you can’t devote to the marketing of the clients that you have. I’m really just taking a performer hiatus between now and AVN just to kind of figure out what my schedule is like and how I can balance the two, and see if performing is something I want to continue doing. Maybe the PR work is taking up so much of my time that performing really isn’t my real job anymore. I may want to get into directing; there are a couple of projects I have in mind that I’ll be pitching over the next few months to do hopefully next year.”
Shibari considers herself lucky that the work she currently does behind the scenes allows her to stay in the industry. “It’s so nice I’ve been able to transition into this. I can technically stay in the industry whether I’m a performer or not and it’s something that a lot of performers have a hard time doing. They don’t have an exit strategy. I always knew when I got in I would eventually stop performing because I didn’t get in until I was in my mid-thirties. So no matter what happens I now have a marketable skill that still allows me to go to all the events, still go to the AVN Awards, still work inside the industry, and that’s awesome because I love the industry.”
“In addition to great and quick writing skills, she brings a wealth of industry knowledge,” said Chris Ruth, vice president of Fine Ass Marketing. “Having experience as a performer, publicist and producer really puts her on a different playing field.”
Adult industry publicist Lainie Speiser concurred. “Kelly is as loyal as they come, and the smartest thing I ever did after I decided to branch out on my own was to approach her and ask her if she wanted to join ‘Team Lainie’ and assist me in my new business. It wasn’t only because she is a top-notch writer and editor for press releases or that she knows everyone in this business, but she gives great advice. She’s very detailed oriented and [treats] this business as a business, which suits someone like me fine.”
Still better known as a performer, Shibari hopes Meet Kelly will introduce her to a wider mainstream audience unfamiliar with her work in BBW porn.
Shibari performs the most aggressive acts of her career in Meet Kelly, which was directed by Eddie Powell—including her first mainstream anal scene. (Shibari performed anal with fans in the independently produced Kelly Shibari Is Overloaded.) “Mr. Pete’s name came up and I had never had the chance to work with Mr. Pete. So I texted him and said, ‘Hey, have you worked with first-time anal performers before?’ And he said ‘Yeah, I’ve broken in dozens of girls.’ I texted him back and asked him if he would be interested and he said, ‘Hell yeah!’ So that was the very first scene that we shot.” In addition to Mr. Pete, Meet Kelly features Shibari performing girl/girl anal with plus-size newcomer Scarlet LaVey, a boy/boy/girl with Mick Blue and Ramon Nomar, and a boy/girl with James Deen. “My scene with James Deen was very awkward to get started because he and I have been friends for so long and we never worked together. But once we got down to business we were both pros. I think as far as the movie is concerned, people who don’t know me or my work will get to see the dorky, funny ... real human side [of me].”
“Kelly [is] very professional ... kind ... genuine,” Powell said about working with Shibari on Meet Kelly. “I think what makes Kelly sexy is her approachability [and] her demeanor and attitude, not only toward the industry but the people in it and around it.”
Wicked contract performer Jessica Drake expressed similar views about working with Kelly on Plus Size. “I knew that Kelly would be a great choice. I had admired her for quite some time and appreciated her dedication and passion for everything she sets her mind to and this project was no different. She was great on set, and helped our talent feel comfortable at each and every stage of the production.”
PlusSize was more or less a film that needed to be made because an educational sex-ed film for plus-size people didn’t exist before. “All these sex-ed companies and groups that put out books and DVDs never talk about plus-size sex when such a large segment of the American population is plus-size. You’re basically saying, ‘You’re not attractive enough to talk about.’ Something needs to be out there that exists so people can go, ‘That’s something I want to learn a little bit more about.’”
“I think Kelly has elevated the BBW genre a lot,” Speiser said. “Kelly, with her natural grace and class and sheer natural beauty, has changed the way people see big girls in porn forever. Kelly has elevated the business where the BBWs can now be thought of in the same class as performers who are a size 0.”
“I think she's a great spokeswoman period,” added Drake. “The fact that she also represents the plus-size community only adds to everything she does, and I think that carries over to the mainstream world as well.”
“Kelly is a role model for plus-size women and also for women in general, and how they feel about their bodies,” continues Speiser. “At any size she shows you can rock it and make it your own. I admire her because she wants to be whatever size she is for herself, not for anybody else. “
With Shibari’s star shining in front of and behind the camera, giving her exposure to new audiences and clients, people will finally get a chance to meet the real Kelly Shibari.
