In ED Magazine’s exclusive interview with the Adult Time ambassador, adult film starlet and director, Lauren Phillips reveals the importance of blurring the lines between feature entertainers and adult film stars. This endeavor took a giant step forward in 2024 as she became the main sponsor of the EDI contests and the upcoming EXPO Tradeshow MainStage.
(NOTE: This story appears in the July 2024 issue of ED Magazine.)
Lauren Phillips may only have two years of experience as a touring feature entertainer under her garter belt, but you wouldn’t know it after catching one of her performances. “The Ultimate Ginger” began touring adult nightclubs after dominating the porn and real estate industries and is quickly making a name for herself on stage. Anytime she walks into a club, her objectives are to ensure the patrons get a one-of-a-kind show and that the entertainers and staff are taken care of as well.
“I’m there to help everybody make money,” says Lauren. “When I perform at a club, my goal is to push private dances, VIP rooms, champagne rooms. I tip all of the house girls when I’m there, and if they feel comfortable, I also do doubles with them.”
According to the entrepreneur, it’s all about teamwork. Still, she has noticed a divide between those in the adult film industry and feature entertainers.
“It’s been a rough road,” she admits. “There should be no judgment between anybody. We should accept each other for who we are as we’re all in the adult industry.”
“One of the things I hope is that both communities can bind together. And not just as a community, but as women in general.”
– Lauren Phillips
Women are often pitted against each other in entertainment industries, making networking and career growth more difficult than it needs to be. And when it comes to women in the adult industry, networking can make or break a career. Despite the obvious differences in their professions, Lauren points out that porn stars and exotic dancers are both selling “the fantasy.”
“At the end of the day, it’s still the adult industry,” she says. “You can call it the feature community, or you can call it the club industry, but we’re all selling the fantasy.”
Blurring the lines
Ahead of the 2023 ED EXPO, Lauren expressed her desire to blur the lines between feature performers and adult film stars, as she felt women in the industry could only benefit from supporting each other. As part of her continued efforts to connect with showgirls, she has worked hard to demonstrate her support by being present when it matters, most especially as the sponsor of the 2024 EDI East & West contests, as well as the EDI Finals in Dallas.
“Showing up and being there to support them at competitions, I think, is the number one way to promote female empowerment,” she explains. “And then being the first female entertainer to become a sponsor, hopefully, I’m showing them that I am here to support them. And female empowerment starts with having women support each other.”
The adult film director — known for having her very own award-winning film series, “Switch” — started sponsoring events last year and has since become a title sponsor for major industry events, including the aforementioned EDIs and this year’s MainStage inside the EXPO Tradeshow. However, even when she isn’t a sponsor or participant, Lauren still makes the time to attend competitions so she can talk to the performers and brainstorm ways to contribute to the event in the future. Currently, she’s helping feature entertainers who’ve expressed a desire to be recognized by film companies.
“One of the things I hope is that both communities can bind together,” Lauren suggests, noting that she has every intention of being a long-term fixture in our industry. “And not just as a community, but as women in general. I think we can hold each other strong and bring the best out in each other.”
Making industry connections
As she discusses the 2024 ED Expo, Lauren notes that she’s looking forward to attending the seminars and spending time with feature entertainers and club owners.
“You should always surround yourself with people who have already achieved your goals,” she says. “They can inspire you, they motivate you. I’ve definitely been inspired by Jerry Westlund and Pony Nation; I love spending time with my Pony family!”
“You should always surround yourself with people who have already achieved your goals. They can inspire you!”
– Lauren Phillips
While these efforts will help her to achieve her short-term goals, she keeps her long-term goals at the back of her mind, one being to own an adult nightclub.
“I still have so much to learn,” she admits. “Opening a strip club is almost like a 10-year goal, and I’m assuming the industry will be very different in 2034.”
That doesn’t mean Phillips isn’t making note of what works and what doesn’t when she tours clubs. While performing at The Pony in Memphis, TN, she noticed the general manager Monique, established a memorable way to introduce feature performers to the crowd.
“When a feature is there, they rally up their house girls to get up to stage with a customer they’re talking to before the feature walks out, which I think is a great idea,” she says. “And I know that the general manager of Pony Too in Huntsville, Phill Jourdan, also thought this was a great idea and they’re trying to encourage this.”
Unfortunately, as Lauren points out, there aren’t enough female club owners paving the way for younger generations.
“Hopefully, when more females venture into the club-owning aspect of the industry, we can feed off each other because we all have different ideas when it comes to creativity,” Lauren suggests.
The entrepreneurial spirit
Regardless of when it happens, opening an adult nightclub won’t be Lauren’s first business endeavor. She currently owns three real estate companies and has two more business ventures in the works. Despite her success, getting started wasn’t easy for the adult film star.
“Be patient and stick to your budget,” she advises aspiring entrepreneurs. “And always remember that during the first year, you’re going to invest more money than you make.”
Hiring several attorneys is also at the top of her list of recommendations. Not only are they great advisors, but they’ll also make sure everything is done by the books.
Most notably, she urges female entrepreneurs to make connections with other women in the industry by supporting and checking in with each other. We all need that safe space within our communities, and it’s up to us to build them.
“Men support each other all the time,” she exclaims. “I don’t want to genderize it, but it’s true, and for some reason, it’s harder for women. I hope I can help. We are women. WE ARE WOMEN! We are strong, nurturing, smart and we have shown the world this empowerment through mainstream film, and then through mainstream adult film. And it needs to continue.”
All photos by Alfonso Moreno of MadCreativity.
For more information, visit www.LPlinkz.com.
