STUDIO CITY, Calif. — After a four-year hiatus, performer Carmen Callaway is back as an active performer.
"I left because I was kind of struggling with things, and I needed some time to get better. To heal. To learn how to love myself," Callaway told AVN. Her split with the industry was total: "I cut my hair, and I moved to San Diego, to the beach, for a while … about four years."
In her first go-round, from 2012 to 2016, Callaway appeared in more than 125 productions as recorded on iafd.com, including web scenes, girl/girl and boy/girl scenes for companies running alphabetically from AMK Empire to Wicked Pictures, in titles including My Little Panties 5 (Digital Sin) and James Deen's 7 Sins: Wrath. "My favorite scene, before I left, was the one I did for Hustler [Barely Legal 146] with Marco Banderas on a yacht. That was a good one. It was something."
While she was an active performer, Callaway admits "I was crazy. I was a teenager. I was 19 when I started. I also moved to Hollywood that same year, from a small town in Colorado. I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know how to be an adult, I didn’t know how to live alone. I didn’t know how to handle Hollywood or the industry. I was, honestly, a total trainwreck. I was kind of a brat. I went on Twitter and said the whole industry cam go eff itself."
In San Diego, Callaway made ends meet taking jobs in retail and restaurants: "I worked at a Ruby's Diner. I lived really… minimally for a while. It was nice. I spent a lot of time at the beach, I got really, really tanned. It taught me how to really love myself. How to take life easy."
But taking it easy on Planet Mainstream had its drawbacks: "I really missed it. I love the industry. I feel like I'm renewed and refreshed now and I'm looking forward to working my hardest to be a top performer again."
Her "trainwreck" days behind her, Callaway now says, "I've evolved. I've grown up. I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted before. Now I know exactly who I am and exactly what I want: I am a career-focused woman who wants to grow her empire. I want to focus on work."
Callaway took the step of moving back into the L.A. area ("Not Hollywood this time. Studio City.") and has signed with OC Modeling for representation. "I think I'm in good hands, and I think we're going to make a good team."
"We just signed her and she’s such a positive young lady," OC Modeling's Sandra told AVN. " She’s re-invented herself by taking time off. She’s moved into another portion of her life and she’s so driven and super positive. She really loves this industry and loves sex, two elements that are important. I’m very lucky to have her and excited to work with her."
Callaway's appearance is the same — mostly. "My hair is as blonde as it’s ever been. I haven't gotten a boob job. In the process of being gone I got some tattoos, but I've started removing all of my tattoos. I'm in the process of removing all 23 of them."
The brat of 2016 is now driven by ambition: "I want to progress to a new level. I think I'm in for just a little bit more than I can chew, but I can take it. I'm excited. I want a big workload, to get back into it and get going. I'm prepping carmencallaway.com, I'm just made an OnlyFans — I'm super far behind on that, but, again, I was gone for four years — and I'm just hoping that once COVID lightens up and we start shooting again, that I can be on set as often as possible. I think that's the best way. Working as often as possible. I've never done anal, or blowbangs, or gangbangs. I've started anal training and I'm going to do my first gangbang this year. I'm excited to do more intense scenes.
"I've grown into a completely different person. I'm humbled to be accepted back into the industry and grateful for this second chance. I'm not coming back and saying 'Accept me.' I'm coming back and saying, 'I'm sorry.' And I'm ready to work hard. This is a community that I'm asking to be a part of again. I want to be let back in. I was rude, I was 19. I'm 27 now.
"Thank God I look like a teen still."
