There's a coffee shop on L.A.'s Sunset Blvd. that's considered a hot spot for, yes, coffee, but also for observing jobless hipsters and aspiring and/or has-been actors. It's no coincidence that such a hip and happening joint would be the place I met with the equally hip and happening Linda Tran, she of LindaTran.net (fan site), LindaTran.com (mainstream), and 24 Main Street, a multimedia studio she co-owns that specializes in publishing, photography, and new media entertainment like the glossy men's lifestyle/adult entertainment Website, 24MainStreet.com.
When not playing Internet babe, Tran puts her visual merchandising/graphic design degree to use as 24 Main Street's production coordinator (and, lest we forget, co-designer and make-up artist). An intelligent and charming blend of exotic beauty and computer geek, Tran's interest in the Net began in 1997, when she built her first site as a promotional vehicle to launch her modeling career; she is one of the first Asian models to establish a significant Web presence.
Wearing hot pink sweats with a petite t-shirt, her gorgeous black tresses in a ponytail, Tran came into the shop a vision of blas� sex kitten paired with schoolgirl innocent. She graduated magna cum laude, but the day of our interview, she was looking magna cum hottie. A vet of magazines, fashion shows, and TV, Tran is equally passionate about her design career; a demanding balance between corporate life and modeling. With her head for business and bod for sin (sorry, Melanie Griffith) Tran is the very essence of the modern woman.
AVN Online: Your official site, LindaTran.net, launched in 2000. Any upcoming changes?
Linda Tran: I've had the current design up for about a year and a half, and I really do want to re-design it, make it more me, because the site has changed a lot from the beginning. It used to be all pink and girly, and now it's sexier. I still don't know what I want to do yet. I think I'm in a creative rut right now where everything looks the same to me online, so I want to do something different.
AO: Let's talk about 24Main Street.com. What's it all about?
LT: It started because I have a lot of girlfriends on my site. It's a collaboration between me and two other photographers. We were looking at my site and how big it's gotten, and there's a proliferation of multi-girl sites right now, but we know we can do it better. That's the whole attitude of the site; what we offer, the quality, the quantity. We don't recycle models from other sites. We really work on trying to find girls who are either brand new or only model for their own sites.
AO: When did 24MainStreet.com launch?
LT: Valentine's Day of this year. We just started getting around to doing a lot of marketing online, teaming up with specific sites to promote our site; and we want to do a lot of fun things to promote the models. It's nice, and it's starting to take the shape of a magazine site with lots of pictures and videos.
AO: I understand you handle all of the daily operation of your Website?
LT: Everything. You really do get to control everything. I used to have a Webmaster when I first started, but it lasted for three months: You can communicate your ideas but it never comes out truly as what you want. But I learned a lot from that person. Now, by being in control, I do all the design, the programming and marketing. The only thing I don't do is the photography.
AO: How did all of this begin, you modeling nude for your Website?
LT: I always had my portfolio site up, but I was in New York and I met a lot of photographers who shot fine art, like the black-and-white figure studies, and I started doing a lot of that work. And my friends were like, 'Why are you putting nudes on your site for free, you should just charge.' Back then everyone was starting a pay site, and there weren't any other Asian girls online, and I wanted money because school and going out was so expensive. And the whole pay site idea came about that way because I wanted money and I was already doing nudes, so I figured, what's the difference, going from black-and-white to color?
AO: What inspires you?
LT: Successful people inspire me. I lived in New York for a couple of years, and being in that city alone is just amazing. I moved there when I was 18; I was by myself, I was starting school ... It has energy and culture and it was a whole new experience. So I saw a lot of things.
AO: Three items you can't live without?
LT: My Rosebud Salve, which is my lip gloss. I use it like every 10 minutes ... my Dentine Ice; and a picture of my dogs.
AO: What makes you feel sexy?
LT: Having sexy lingerie on. Even when I'm in sweats, just knowing you have that lacey thong on makes a big difference in how you feel. And being in control, knowing I'm doing something that I manage myself, like the Website, for example.
AO: If you were going to hit on me, what special skill would you use?
LT: I really don't need to hit on guys because they all hit on me first. But I think my special skill is just giving them that special smile so they think it's really for them. They always appreciate that.
AO: When is it appropriate to lie?
LT: When you're talking about a girl's weight. White lies are good for that.
AO: Better song to have sex to: Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" or Sade's "Ordinary Love"?
LT: Sade. I have her CD.
AO: Worst idea for a reunion tour: New Kids on the Block or Wham?
LT: Actually, I kind of like Marky Mark and Donnie Wahlberg now because they're in movies, so I would rather see a New Kids reunion. I see them in a whole new light now, I don't see them as just those little new kids.
AO: Describe yourself in one word.
LT: Workaholic.
AO: If you could sit courtside at a Lakers game with one person, who would it be?
LT: Madonna. She's been around for so long and she's still going strong. I love her attitude. I think she's a lot of fun. She'd be a fun girlfriend to hang out with.
AO: I hesitate to ask, but we always do, so please describe the underwear you have on.
LT: I'm wearing none. I don't think any girl in L.A. wears underwear [stands to show her low-slung sweatpants]: Look at how low these pants are.
AO: [I look (obviously), then point indiscreetly] What about that girl? Her thong is totally showing.
LT: Ew ....
AO: Favorite curse word?
LT: I say 'shit' a lot ... in different contexts.
AO: One thing you would change about yourself?
LT: I need to get out more, lately.
AO: You grew up in Las Vegas. What was that like?
LT: I was a pretty wild child. I had my first fake ID when I was 15, and all my friends were older and went out every single night. I'd seen everything by the time I got out of high school. Vegas is really a small town, and there's not much else. It's growing, but it's small-minded in its culture.
AO: What's the favorite part of your body?
LT: My face. Everyone else says my ass.
AO: Your bio says that you are brutally honest. How does my hair look today?
LT: It's very neat.
AO: You were voted "Most Studious" in high school. What was your best subject?
LT: English.
AO: Is there a secret about you that absolutely no one knows about? If yes, would you consider telling someone or is it so bad that no one can ever know?
LT: I think somewhere someone knows something. There's no deep, dark secret like I killed someone. If my family doesn't know, my friends know, and if my friends don't know, my family knows.
AO: Is there a special talent you wish you had?
LT: I wish I could sing.
AO: I read that you were born in the Chinese Year of the Monkey. What does that mean?
LT: According to the Chinese zodiac it means I'm very intelligent, have a lot of friends, and will succeed in whatever I do. So far that's been pretty true, but that's also really general.
AO: What career goals do you have for yourself?
LT: Eventually I want to move behind the camera more and do more production, which is really what I do with 24MainStreet.com. I enjoy being behind the scenes a lot more. I'm sort of getting past the whole modeling thing. I think over the next couple of years I really wanna pace myself and only do behind the scenes. That's my ultimate goal ... I'd rather have the girls get naked for me.
AO: What would your Bond Girl name be?
LT: Cima Derriere.
AO: What's this I hear about you having the best butt in the biz?
LT: I didn't know about it until my friends started telling me, "Oh my gosh, you've got to check out your own ass." So I started getting this a lot, from people I went to school with, from photographers I worked with, it just came all of a sudden. So when it came time to re-design my site, I was reading ... on AVN Online, of course ... that a lot of people don't use regular marketing to market their adult pay sites and everything comes from mainstream marketing because it's all about headlines. So I was like, "What would be a good headline for me?" Everyone's all, "I'm the 'Asian Amateur on the Net," but I thought, "Well, everyone says I have a big butt, let's capitalize on that."
AO: Do you think being Asian has been an advantage in the market?
LT: Definitely. 'Cause it's all about niches, and if you're just any girl online and just another pretty model with pictures, members don't see you as something special. I play up the Asian part, the ass part, I play up the all-natural part, so all of that together, all those niches together, really works to my advantage because I'm more unique.
AO: Tell me a newspaper headline you'd like to read about yourself one day.
LT: Business Mogul Linda Tran Bites Off Controlling Share of Apple.
