Domino Presley Is Spilling the Tea and Dispensing Sage Advice Over At Grooby

This ain’t Dear Abby!

Domino Presley took some time to talk to Fleshbot about life and porn and her new advice column project for Grooby.

Tell me all about Dear Domino, your latest project for Grooby Magazine. What inspired you to do this? What topics are you most eager to receive questions about? Do you think it will mostly be tongue in cheek or will someone, like, bare their entire troubled soul with the cloak of anonymity? Are you ready for that?

"Kristel Penn from Grooby approached me with the idea based off of how outspoken I am on Twitter and Facebook and I’m always giving my advice anyway whether someone asked for it or not. I’m most excited for questions from anyone Trans. As far as the questions being tongue and cheek or more personal, so far there’s been a mix of both. I prefer the more personal questions I guess…. I really hope I get to give some relationship advice in the future. I love having people look at everything from every point of view and not just their own."

I, for one, am very glad that trans porn is finally becoming so much better than it once was, and you and other stars being recognized properly for their work with the TEA awards and such but there’s definitely lots more work to be done. What types of things do you want to see happening for trans porn and porn as an industry to be more equitable and socially aware? What sorts of structures and institutions and barriers do you see that need to be broken down? How do we, the journalists and talent of the adult industry help to smash the patriarchy and the gender binary?

"Trans porn is becoming better in ways like: we have more websites to shoot for, more exposure, and people and companies are now trying to hop on this trendy train and seem like they’re so accepting and progressive but then on set it doesn’t really feel that way. There's still so much work that needs to be done and it’s mostly with what’s going on behind the scenes. They need to hire trans writers, these scripts are tacky, old, and offensive…. And stupid. There NEEDS to be more people of Trans experience working on set as well. Hire more Trans directors. Stop hiring old white men who direct gay porn to direct Trans porn (yells in Transgender) IT'S NOT THE SAME THING! Trans performers should walk away from scenes feeling empowered, not embarrassed. These directors and crew members need to take the time to learn about Trans people before profiting off of them. I would like to see companies actually hiring newer younger crews and directors because the older generation they keep using are not cutting it and I’m so tired of being offended in 2021 by my own industry. Trans porn is where our admirers realize they are our admirers, we deserve a little more respect than the shit we go through mentally on set. However, I am thrilled to see that Brazzers is now featuring Trans Adult Stars on their site. It’s a big step towards normalizing and humanizing Trans People."

What advice do you have about starting sex work especially for someone who has a very non-mainstream look/interests? Say, a fat femme AFAB non-binary pansexual kinky person over 40 with tattoos and weird hair (spoiler alert--- it’s me!)? How does someone build a brand that way? Does everyone need to start with OnlyFans or are their other paths?

"HA! There are totally other paths. You can become a famous cam star if you want. Escorting is also an option. My advice is to be 100% confident in yourself and everything you do and always remember whatever haters you get along the way are really just your biggest and loudest fans that deserve the least amount of your attention. Also, find a community of like minded individuals. There's a not so secret Trans group on Facebook that was once called ’The Fish Tank” and the way these girls help each other out with shouts and tips on online sex work is so amazing to see. Of course there’s always bad parts about any online group but if you can cut through the bullshit you can learn a lot and gain like, a new family."

Tell us about your own journey to porn and how you ended up on that path.

"I had auditioned for season 2 of Drag Race and didn’t make it so I went the porn route. My boyfriend at the time said I’d probably be successful in porn so I found Buddy Wood on MySpace and messaged him and told him I was flying to Los Angeles (from ATL) and if he’d consider shooting me. He said yes and then we shot and became really really good friends. He’s like my brother now and he and Morgan Bailey kind of took me under their wings when I was getting into porn and helped me create the success that Domino Presley is today. This was like… 11 years ago and there weren’t flocks of trans girls coming in every year, back then there would be like 1 “It Girl” per couple years. Now there’s several “It Girls” every few months. The key is staying relevant forever. "

What is your favorite adult film of all time and why? 

"I honestly don’t think I have one so I’m just going to say Tranimals by Lena Moon because she’s amazing, a Trans director doing big things, her hustle is undeniable, she’s making a completely different type of Trans porn that I don’t think we’ve really seen much of. She’s definitely a queen of kink and filth for sure and I think that's so fucking badass. Also, any movie by Aiden Starr."

What is the last book you read/listened to? Do you recommend it? Why or why not?

"Too Much and Never Enough by Mary Trump. Oh my god it's so good and so shady. Yes, you must read or listen to it. I am not a fan of Donald Trump at all and to read about his upbringing and how he became the vile diarrhea shart that he is today. The way Mary paints a picture…. You have to do the audio version with her reading it. Its great. Also if you smoke cigarettes read Allen Carr’s Quit Smoking. I have been tobacco free for over a year now. I still smoke hella weed."

What’s the strangest thing we’d find in your purse if you emptied it right now?

"Depends on what one considers strange, probably that my ID still says male….. because I’m a Trans Woman from Atlanta and born in Alabama and it’s not exactly easy to get that changed in the south unless you’ve had to full bottom surgery and proof of said surgery."

Since we’re all kind of wanderlust-y right now-- where is Domino’s dream vacation? What does that look like? Where would you go and what activities would you be seeking?

"I want to go to Japan. I’m part Japanese and I want to see where my Grandmother grew up. I want to experience authentic Japanese Culture and eat good Japanese food. I would probably just do a lot of people watching and sight seeing. I want to see temples and cherry blossoms and Japanese Gardens. I also love the way their homes look and I want to…. I need to experience that."

You’re a very well-dressed person. Who and what inspires your fashion choices? What are three wardrobe pieces (for work or not) that are essential for you?

"Oh my gosh thank you! I’m very inspired by old Hollywood glamour, Femme Fatale, Evil Queen, Boss Bitch, Rich but will also beat your ass. I have been lucky enough to have very fashionable and fashion forward friends. Taking my looks more serious started in Atlanta years ago and I would ask myself “ What would Alissah wear?” referring to Alissah Brooks, the trans recording artist and stylist. Then I would FaceTime one of my besties, Michael Robinson, and he would edit my looks  or sometimes he would just pick my entire look.

This eventually turned into me doing more old Hollywood glamour because I was contently watching really really old black and white movies like All About Eve, THEN that kinda morphed into a Dita Von Teese look and then gradually became more of a Bryona Ashly look. I love dramatic but dark glamour, lots off Black, lots of leopard, and a shit ton of black eyeliner. Also, I’m a member of The House Of Balenciaga (see Legendary on HBOMAX, they’re competing this season) and we hold ourselves and each other to a very high standard when out in public. We always strive to look our best and be our best for before I go anywhere dressed up I usually have one of my house sisters, Chuck or Taryn Balenciaga, approve my look. Three essential wardrobe pieces for work: garter belt, Secrets In Lace nylons, amazing heels. If you’re going to wear a garter belt, please please please attach it to some god damn nylons! Three essential wardrobe pieces for not at work: Combat Boots, jeans, fabulous sunglasses."

One of my favorite things about watching porn is looking at everyone’s ink-- can you tell us about your tattoos? Any future pieces planned?

"My tattoos kind of look like prison tatts because I got them when I was so young. So in order from time of getting them:

1. Panther that looks like a monkey on my lower spine. I was 16 and went to this place off Memorial Dive in ATL and they put one of my drawings on me but I moved so much that it looks like a monkey.

2. Geisha on my left shoulder blade, I was 17 and went to the same place and took in a drawing I did on the back of the GA Graduation test and had them put that on my shoulder in honor of my Grandmother.

3. Panther on the back of my neck….. the better version of the one on my spine… I completely forgot about the one on my spine and got this one on my 18th birthday at Timeless Tattoo off Cheshire Bridge in ATL.

4. Shooting star on my left wrist, because I always wanted to be a star.

5. Star on my foot, one of my homegirls and I got matching star tattoos on our feet.

6. Dragon on my left inner forearm, I drew this on myself and a dominatrix friend that I worked for, who also was a tattoo artist, did the tattoo for me as payment for working at one of her dungeon nights for her (pre-transition).

7. Sanskrit on my right inner forearm, it’s supposed to say “watched over” but several people have told me its someone's name in another language.

8. Domino on my right inner forearm, Got this while I was with Britney Markham when I had just started porn and started living in California,

9. “Avi’ously” on my right wrist, I was part of the House Of Aviance, mothered by EJ Aviance, and “Avi’ously” is how members of the house would spell “obviously.” Because “We’re Aviance! Avi’ously!”. My son and I got matching tattoos of “avi’ously” for our bond and to represent."

We all know about red flags in relationships--- but what are your green flags? What tells you a person is really worth keeping and is in it for the long haul and really “gets” you?

"A green flag for me is someone who can express their feelings and emotions verbally without ever raising their voice or making me feel less than. Someone who shares the same interests as you and treats you like you’re the most spectacular person in the entire galaxy. Someone who doesn’t get in the way of your hustle but cheers you on. Someone who makes plans for the future together. Someone your friends like and approve of."

What sort of scenes are you looking to make in the future? Other than Dear Domino, what projects are on the table for you right now?

"I'm doing a new Cruella scene here in the very near future. Getting into a little bit of cosplay to give some of my long time fans more of what they want to see. I would like to do more educational scenes. Natassia Dreams and I discuss this all the time and have come up with so many great ideas. We just need the right companies to shoot these educational adult films. Other than Dear Domino, at the moment I have been mainly focusing on being an agent for some of the top names in the Trans Adult Industry like Natassia Dreams, Daisy Taylor, and Alexa Scout."

Click here or on the picture of Domino below to visit the Dear Domino page on Grooby and send her a question! Click the banner to check out Domino and lots of other t-girls on Grooby Girls.