When Alix Lynx realized her career as a communications executive wasn't sustainable after repeated layoffs, she leapt at the opportunity to fulfill her long-time dream of becoming a porn star. A few close friends were in on the secret, but her whole world found out last year when she starred in a viral video about giving blow jobs. Alix tells Cosmopolitan.com about her journey of subverting societal expectations to uphold a restrictive 9-to-5, and why she'll never look back.

I grew up in upstate New York in a small, middle-of-nowhere town. It was pretty blue collar. There was some upper middle-class, but not really.

I had a really good upbringing. I know a lot of people say people who do porn must have issues. That was not at all the case. I was an all-around ace student who excelled in sports. I was in accelerated classes and did extracurricular activities. I was what people called "well-rounded."

My dad worked in construction, and my mom has a Ph.D. and works for the health department of the government. They were supportive of everything [my siblings and I] did, and encouraged us to explore our creativity. They did everything for us and sacrificed their own lives so we had good ones.

I graduated high school at 18, and the thought of skipping college never crossed my mind, especially since my mom said, "You have to got school or you'll be flipping burgers for the rest of your life."

So I went to a state school in my hometown. I figured a communications degree would make sense because it's versatile, and I love writing and being in front of the camera. I got a BA in TV broadcasting.

I was a lost soul, because no one really knows what they want to do when they're 18. I saved money, I didn't take out student loans, and did school for three years, graduating a year early because of my AP credits. I took classes every summer, spring, and winter break. I never stopped. It sucked, but I was like, "I could either hang out with my friends and party, or suck it up and take this class and get more attention from teachers."

After I graduated college, I was still lost at 21. And of course, there was my mom, saying "You should get your master's degree. It'll set you apart because everyone has a bachelor's." I didn't see a point. My view is still the same now. Why would I get a master's if I could work?

I felt pressured, combined with the fact that I didn't know what to do, so I decided to do [a master's] online, so I wouldn't have to be on any schedule and show up. I found a program with a bunch of MBAs, and realized that I had physically visited it from when I had had considered it for my bachelor's. It was familiar, and it wasn't like the University of Phoenix or anything like that. What if I did my master's part-time and started working full-time so I could do both? It meant work experience and education.

During college I started doing promotional modeling. I went to bars and restaurants, conventions, and professional events, and promoted alcohol, makeup, and food brands. That was all about looking pretty. I figured I could look for a promotional agency in the city while I looked for a real job. It was a little extra money. I did that for four or five months. I was still in school, but I didn't know what to do. I sent out my résumé to any company that had anything to do with communications.

I sent my résumé to a small PR firm with big clients. [The owner] hired me as an assistant to do office tasks but I still learned a lot about PR, because she knew about my education. After a few months, I was an assistant account executive, which meant communicated with clients and helped out with corporate work, event planning and press releases.

After six months I was promoted to account executive, so I was in charge of actual accounts. Finally, a couple clients decided to leave. The company lost money and couldn't afford to keep me, so I got laid off.

I was like, "Oh my god. What do I do?" Immediately I was like, "[PR] is OK, it's not my passion, but I'm supposed to have a 'good job' so might as well do more." I was back to square one.

My MBA was in social media marketing, so I found a boutique firm 30 minutes away from me specializing in that. I blindly emailed the lady saying, "Hey, I'm in the process of getting my MBA in social media, I really love what you're doing and I would love to hear about any opportunities." She called me for an interview and I was hired as a social media manager consultant, which snowballed into a full-time position.

You learn so much so quickly at these small places, but the same thing happened. They stopped paying us, and I got a quarter of what I was owed because clients left.

At that point, a friend mentioned that he couldn't stop going on these cam sites. He said, "My girlfriend doesn't know." And I was like, "What's so special?" He said the girls just sit around in their bedrooms making an obscene amount of money. The light bulb went off.

I went home that night and did my research. The sites were huge, and weren't about sex or nudity, necessarily. It was about the company, the escape from reality. Like, here's this girl saying, "Hey, Brad, how was your day at work? Did you get that promotion? Lets play some cards, lets have fun."

I said, "Wow, I could do this."

That night, I signed up for an account, which was approved two days later. You submit a few pictures of yourself, nude or not, fill out your basic payment and tax information, submit two forms of ID, a picture of you holding your ID next to your face, and fill out and sign paperwork proving you are of legal age.

I had no idea what to expect. When you're a new girl, you're labeled in bright yellow. Members love new girls because they're "fresh meat," so they flocked to me when I logged on. I didn't know what I was doing, but I'm outgoing, so I spent the next three to four hours just teasing and being flirty, chitchatting. I might have flashed my boobs, but I didn't show my face when I did that.

I made $400 in three hours. I was making $900 a week full-time at my desk job. After I logged off, I was like, "Why am I still working this job?" I couldn't believe I just made that much money.

I didn't go to college to be a webcam girl, so I kept my job out of duty. Finally one day, I woke up and I reached my breaking point. My desk job was sucking the energy out of my life. I was like "I'm gonna quit. I'm lying to myself." I knew I'd be fine just webcamming.

So I sent my letter of resignation. I didn't give [my boss] exact details why but thanked her for everything.

I never felt so free. Everyone had always told me I had my life together, and no matter much how much feedback I got, I wasn't happy. Finally when I quit, I got this crazy feeling of ecstasy.

Porn is something I wanted to do since I was a teenager.. Some of my friends knew. [When I was a teenager,] I came across a stack of Playboy magazines at a friend's. At that age, I was like, "Holy cow, these girls are beautiful." I wanted to be like that.

When I grew up, I was a competitive figure skater, gymnast, and cheerleader, and I loved getting dolled up. After school, I vowed to move to California and make [porn] happen. At 15 or 16 on summer break, I was watching movies on the couch. This documentary on the adult film industry came up. I don't remember what it was about but Jenna Jameson and Jesse James seemed a lot more confident and sexier [on screen]. They owned everything. They were making a living off getting people off.

I wasn't promiscuous growing up — I'd lost my virginity at 16 to my high school boyfriend — but I never made sex a big deal. When I saw that documentary, I was drawn in. I was like, "I don't want to be Playboy. I want to be in porn."

Of course, when you're 16, you don't go around telling people you want to do porn, so I thought I couldn't tell anyone. One day, I was talking to my boyfriend at the time in his bedroom after school. He had a hot porn star on his wall. And he asked if I liked his new poster, and I said I really did. He said she's sexy, probably makes a lot of money and has an awesome life. That was my chance to share my secret.

I agreed with him, saying how cool it was and I wondered what it was like. He got this weird look on his face, and said, "If you did that, you know I'd break up with you, right?" And I said, "Ew, no, I was just saying that." That was the one time I was shut down, so I buried it in my mind.

After webcamming full-time for a year, I realized I was going to be 25. A few deaths in the family opened my eyes to how fragile and short life is, and I had another epiphany: I only get one life. I'm finishing up school. I could work from wherever. I'm going to contact some agencies.

I did a ton of research. The more I read, the more I knew nothing could stop me. For my agency, now, I sent them pictures of myself in my bedroom, and they contacted me asking me to fly out to California.

It was the first time I had gone off to find myself. It was scary. I rented a car and drove to the model house (a condo owned by the agency). I met the other girls and my agent. They took me to different studios to meet people at the company. I got acquainted, set shoots up, and I loved every minute of it.

When I first flew out, I kept it on the down low. My family didn't find out until this past August. My mom knew I was webcamming and she snooped because she knew I wouldn't tell her. The rest found out because they saw a YouTube video I did for the channel Simple Pickup.

It was a light skit with two other top porn stars on how to give a blow job on a Popsicle. They paired me with a girl not in the industry. It went viral, with 6 million views in less than a week. My Facebook friends shared it, so everyone found out then. My aunt messaged me and was like, "I can't believe you're in porn."

[My family is] actually supportive. They don't necessarily approve, but if I'm happy, then that's great. People from hometown and random parts of my life message me. They're mostly supportive and curious about the industry.

I just want to prove you can do whatever you want. I look around at people in my circle and see that deep down, they have a dream but won't do it because of the stigma. They'd rather stay in the bubble working for the man.

It's my business and it's only the beginning. My life isn't just about porn, but I'm building an empire. I'm going to be a household name.

Follow Marissa on Twitter.

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