Lana Rhoades Talks Switch From Porn Star To Influencer

Lana Rhoades's dream of being featured on Playboy magazine has come true, and she proudly shared it on social media.

On International Women's Day, the ex-porn star posted screenshots of her interview and two snaps from her photoshoot with Ellen von Unwerth for Playboy on Twitter and Instagram. In the caption, Rhoades wrote, "My story by @playboy."

In her interview with the magazine, the 24-year-old spoke about how her search for happiness went unfulfilled when she was shooting professional porn and how she "had grown so robotic about her life" on and off camera that she no longer cared about how much she was making.

She recalled being asked to perform increasingly difficult scenes, eventually leading to her having panic attacks before each shoot.

Rhoades made it clear that she didn't blame anyone for pushing her out of her comfort zone. She accepted the fact that she was also responsible for not saying "no." But while she faked enthusiasm and appreciation for the opportunity that came her way in the highly competitive adult-film world, she was already planning to leave the industry.

The former porn star shared that she made up her mind to finally stop after she hung out with a social media influencer who had 3 million Instagram followers. She realized that he was making more than she was, and at the time, she was already looking for new ways to earn money beyond adult films.

"He was making, like, $15,000 a post. I'm like, 'I'm getting paid $1,500,'" she recalled. "Why are you making so much more than me?"

Rhoades then focused on growing her Instagram and other social media platforms. She also looked up to other former porn stars like Mia Khalifa, who has over 23 million followers on Instagram. She then spent time with big-time YouTubers like Logan Paul and started to generate her own content.

The OnlyFans star has an estimated net worth of $1 million as of 2020, according to Celebrity Net Worth. She now boasts 14.3 million followers on Instagram.

Rhoades previously said that she has always wanted to be part of Playboy magazine. When she was just 13 or 14, she would watch "The Girls Next Door" and fantasize about one day living a life similar to that of the glamorous and beautiful Playmates inside the Playboy mansion, such as Anna Nicole Smith.

"I would just hide in my room and watch the show, and I thought, Wow, their lives look so amazing," she said. "I want to do that whenever I grow up. That’s where I first had the inkling to do that. I thought the Playboy girls were just so cool. I wanted to be in Playboy."