LOS ANGELES—When Motley Models performer Gizelle Blanco says that she loves working in the adult industry, and that she’s “never been happier,” she brings the receipts. Her dedication is so high that for the first five months of her career, she commuted to Los Angeles for shoots — from Hawaii. Not only was the flight more than five hours each way, making the journey in the middle of the pandemic added even more time, waiting in lines at the airport for COVID testing.
“It’s a bitch to travel there right now. That’s part of the reason I moved out here,” she tells AVN. “I saved a whole lot of money moving out here. I do try to go at least once a month to see my family, and my dogs as well. It’s just constant COVID testing. And I’d always have overweight bags, traveling back and forth when I lived out there. That was costing a ridiculous amount. And by the time you get off the plane, you have to stand in an hourlong line to confirm your COVID test is good.”
The convenience of living in L.A. has become a career necessity for Blanco. She flew from Hawaii to film her first professional scene, after building a following on OnlyFans, in August, and she’s been busy ever since, even “a little too busy” she says.
“Every time I would come out, I’d be super booked-up,” she says — which was of course good news for her young adult career, but not so great for her bank account. She says she was spending $300 in overweight bag fees, plus the plane ticket, for every flight she made between August and December, because she had so many bookings that she never knew what to bring for wardrobe requirements. “I was literally bringing half my closet every time.”
The move was worth it, however, not only as a money-saving measure, but because it allows her to more easily do the job that she has loved even before she had it.
Before Motley Models discovered her, Blanco — a native Hawaiian — found that she “fell in love with stripping,” at which she worked for three years, even though she describes herself as an “introvert.” But her personality type didn’t stop her from making the transition into performing in adult videos, because she found that’s where she was most happy.
“Porn’s always been something I thought about since I was, like, 18,” she says. “I used to make my own little videos and I loved to watch myself getting fucked! I was like, ‘Wow, I look really happy! Why am I not making money off of this?’”
Though her career appears to be hitting an early high, Blanco still finds that she is adjusting to her new environment, and that transition has been a bit more difficult.
“It’s definitely not my taste!” she says, laughing. “I’m in the city right now. And I’m not a city girl. I miss the countryside. I miss open land and fresh air. Clean water. All that kind of stuff. It’s a huge jump. But I’m learning to discover different things about California. Different places to go, that are really pretty. I’m excited about that. There’s so much open land to explore. Back home you can only go about an hour away from anywhere, and that’ll be it. It takes an hour to get to the other side of the island, and anywhere else.”
While she says that “spending time outdoors is something that I really need in my life, like every day,” Blanco also calls herself a “bookworm” with a particular affinity for “poetry and prose. Things that make you think, and feel, and remind yourself how to be present in certain periods of time, before it’s gone.”
Blanco’s current present moment in time is centered on her fast-rising adult career. In fact, she enjoys the entire process of filming porn, even beyond her own performance. She singled out a recent shoot with Vixen as one she particularly appreciated, for the company’s “attention to detail in their productions. They’re always super-meticulous about that. And so am I. I love it. I love the creative aspects. The more complex it is, the more I’m into it.”
Eventually, she says, she would like to get behind the camera — but until then, she still has one major goal.
“I would love at least win one award,” she laughs. “At least one, and I’ll be satisfied in my career!”
But ultimately, shooting adult video is an expression of her free-spirited approach to life, which she sums up by saying that she is “a firm believer in doing whatever the hell you want,” as long as it brings happiness.
“I love to tell people that, because some people just overthink it,” she says. “It’s really so simple just to be happy and do what you want. It’s really that easy! You make excuses for yourself not to do it, and make it harder than it looks. That’s something I used to do. And then I stopped worrying. And now I’m having the time of my frickin’ life!"
Photography by Laurent Sky (1, 2, 5 & 7); Jules Jordan (3 & 6); and Nate Tengbergen @aloha.nate (4)
