If veteran performer, producer and director Lexington Steele looks a little busier than usual, it’s not by chance.
Steele is getting ready for what could be his biggest year ever.
“We had pretty good year last year and so this year I wanted to grow and build on that,” said the 13-time AVN Award winner.
Kicking off the year with Superwhores 6, Black Reign 8 and Ebony XXX, Steele plans to start several new gonzo series, including a newcomers, transsexual and a new interracial line for his Mercenary Pictures label.
“We wanted to take advantage of the talent pool that’s available to us through our relationships,” Steele said.
“We want to show women of color, primarily and that’s where we excel.”
With his Climaxxx, newcomers line, Steele will feature new talent with a decided adult look that won’t be confused with his competitors’ teen lines.
“We want women who look like women. We don’t want this deer caught-in-the-headlights type of girl,” he said.
For his transsexual line, Steele will head south of the border. In fact, quite a bit south.
“We’ll be going to Brazil where there are some really great performers that have a really great look,” he said.
“They’re people that have been taking hormones since they were 12 and they look completely like women, with curves and great facial features until you look at the package and that’s how you can tell.”
First up for the new line will be You’d Never Know, set for release in March.
But Steele’s biggest challenge could be his new gay label, Black Viking, which is slated to make its debut in May with a new untitled project. The label would then produce one title per month.
While admitting his core audience is heterosexual, Steele sees a good opportunity for his gay label.
“People want a quality product and they know through my movies that that’s what I represent,” he said, noting that he’ll also direct some of the Black Viking titles.
Perhaps his most innovative move is the upcoming Nasty Universe interracial series to be directed by Mario Rossi. That line will have interactive features that will feature commercials and different channels to surf similar akin to regular television.
“It’s a great idea because it’s going to have a lot of content,” Steele said.
With performer/director Vanessa Blue already handling directing duties, Steele has also hired Tina Tyler, Don Picone, Jason Sechrest and Rossi to direct at growing slate of scheduled titles.
Blue herself will also get a chance to perform more, even as she gets behind the camera.
“It’s a great chance to really do a lot things that I’ve been wanting to do,” said Blue, who most recently starred in Superwhores 6.
As for Steele, he says he’s looking forward to what lies ahead as he ramps up his production schedule.
“I’m one of those guys that doesn’t like to stand still,” he said.
It was just 10 years ago that Steele was working as a mainstream male model in New York when he was approached about doing some nude layouts. After doing a few adult videos, Sin City’s Michael Raven flew him to Los Angeles where his career took off.
Steele’s charisma and sexual prowess earned him much attention and more than a dozen of AVN awards.
Today, Steele is continuing to work and says he’s not ready to move into an administrative office just yet.
“I love to perform and love to work behind the scenes,” he said.
“To me, it’s a great business.”
