Life doesn't always hand out lemons. Sometimes it tosses forth a pile of dad's adult reading material and, tongue in cheek, asks us to see beyond the pages of bare breasts.
Angela Lieben is one of the rare, lucky few who heeded an early calling and followed it down a path seemingly paved just for her. Who else can bring a porn collage to their sixth grade career presentation and return home to praise from mom?
Lieben, the marketing and public relations manager at Liberator, never stumbled into the adult space through a networking connection or vaguely worded Craigslist ad. She's known since childhood that “working with sexy people,” as she's put it since her adolescence, was the only route to personal and professional happiness.
Crafting marketing messages, sexpert blogs and an enticing public image for Liberator aren't even the raciest parts of Lieben's career. Before gracing the floors of sex toy trade shows, Lieben was enlightening the people of Atlanta with fetish photography and live erotic art as a gallery space owner and event producer.
Lieben's autobiography makes for a captivating story, even for someone who's regularly graced the pages of XBIZ. With a “prurient” resume like Lieben's, she would have likely made her way into Women in Adult one way or another, but we're thankful this delightful, industry staple of a gal has chosen to run with the pleasure product crowd.
Sit down with a cup of coffee and settle in. This month's edition of Women in Adult is going to be a juicy one.
XBIZ: You have a rather interesting backstory, even for someone in the pleasure space — could you tell us how you got into the adult realm?
Angela Lieben: My dream of working in the sex industry started early. In sixth grade, I was assigned a project of "What You Want to Do When You Grow Up." It was one of the most exciting projects ever in my young life. My first plan of action was to scour through my dad's collection of "girly" magazines. I spent days methodically cutting and pasting all the pretty, half-naked women posing with their products on my colorful poster board. The ladies were well-placed and represented my idea of working in the sex industry. But dad was not so pleased when he noticed his magazines were missing a few pages.
I was excited about sharing my hopes and dreams with my class and teacher. Sitting through what felt like hours, my classmates showed off their pursuits of working for the State Department or the FBI or the CIA. (I went to school with kids whose parents worked for the State Department and intelligence agencies.) Bemused, I sat patiently for my turn. I was confident and self-assured that everyone would be happy to see that I was different, and going places other than the police academy.
Finally, my name was called. Standing in front of the class, I took a deep breath and shamelessly unfurled my poster and held it up proudly! "I want to work with sexy people," I stated. (Audible gasps!)
First, nothing but silence. Then suddenly a torrent of nervous, tittering laughter. My poster of beautiful women was instantly snatched from my hands and I was roughly escorted from the classroom. My teacher was not amused, and to find out, neither was the school principal. My mother, however, was proud of my project and defended my right to dream.
She said to me afterward, "If you're going to work in the sex industry, then be the best you can be!" She recently told me that she is proud of all the work I've been doing.
I started in the adult realm in 1999 all because of erotic art and fetish photography that was featured in a magazine. I was so inspired to share my enthusiasm for erotic art that it resulted in me opening Shameless Productions, a company that curated solo and group erotic art events in the Atlanta area. Realizing that people wanted to see more of this type of art then propelled me to open a private art space called Friction Gallery. The gallery was more than just about showcasing art and having parties. It was about giving a community of like-minded people a non-judgmental space to experiment and express themselves sexually. We would host events and have experts and sexual enthusiasts come and give demonstrations all while being surrounded by inspiring art. The really cool thing about these shows, too, [was that] we were live streaming them at the time — way before streaming was even established. People from around the world could log in and participate with the art openings and talk with the artists. I loved meeting emerging and established fetish artists and connecting them with collectors. That’s how I ended up meeting the godfather of digital photography and art, Lawrence Gartel, who then asked me to be the executive producer for a documentary called “The Art of Fetish featuring Lawrence Gartel.” I still, to this day, have an affinity for promoting beautiful erotic art and photography and found a way to do that on the Liberator UnZipped Blog.
XBIZ: How would you describe yourself now in regards to your eclectic experience in sexual health and adult products?
Lieben: A “normal” corporate job was never in the cards for me. I tried a few times but was always being drawn back to the pleasure or erotic art market. So when I was offered a content manager job with Liberator, it finally felt like I was at home. I went from managing content on the website to writing product copy to then being the voice of Liberator both on the blog and on television. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined the immense amount of pleasure in my life. When a new sex toy comes in, I get to test and review, and then, write about it. When a new Liberator product is being developed, I get to be a part of the process and even name and design sex position[s] for the products. The really cool thing that blows my mind is that I am now a certified sex educator and have had a number of opportunities to appear on television to talk about sex and sex toys! For me, every day is a pleasure working with products that give other people pleasure.
XBIZ: How have your friends and family responded to your lifelong love of the erotic and pleasure arts?
Lieben: My mother has said, “I was born to be in the business.” Maybe it’s because (as a kid) I was always getting into some type of trouble from adults for talking openly about sex. Overall, my friends and family are my biggest cheerleaders. They are never too afraid to ask about my work or sex in general. However, I did have a neighbor say she recognized me on the “Married to Medicine” show and has not looked me straight in the eyes ever since. My biggest supporter, though, is and has always been my best friend and partner. My husband was right there with me when I started the whole journey in 1999, and ever since then, it has encouraged me to never hold back on living an authentic life. He loves the benefits, too, since we try products together. I am not ashamed of my work. So, whenever someone asks me what I do, I tell them that I work with “sexy people.”
XBIZ: Who have been your biggest supporters within the adult space?
Lieben: I am so grateful for the support from the CEO and founder of Liberator, Louis Friedman. He was the one who hired me six years ago and ever since then has helped nurture my career growth from content manager to marketing manager. His confidence in me has helped boost the confidence in myself. Mr. Friedman challenges people to be better and to think outside the proverbial box. I’ve learned so much just by working directly with him and our amazing creative team. But I also have to say that XBIZ has also helped build my career too by featuring me in the magazine over the years. I truly feel at home in the adult space and collaborating with such talented and smart people. Every day I learn something new! But I am also inspired by the many women in the industry. Alicia Sinclair is one person I truly admire and feel inspired by.
XBIZ: How long have you been with Liberator now, and what unique talents do you bring to the team?
Lieben: I was initially hired as the content manager for Liberator in 2014. I started off writing copy about bondage products and loading new products on the website. The Liberator UnZipped Blog was still in its infancy at that time with maybe a handful of articles written by outside bloggers. So, our former creative director and I started developing content and writing articles on all types of sexual topics and erotic art. I have since then written more 350 articles for the blog and shaped it into a sexual wellness resource guide. The blog plays an integral part in the marketing of Liberator and sex products. That eventually led to creating an email newsletter for our subscribers with a good mix of product and educational content. Personally, I think our email blasts are the best in the industry. We put a lot of time and talent in creating emails that keep people interested. Realizing the potential of digital marketing in the adult realm, I went “back to school” (online) to obtain a certification in that field and am now an expert at email marketing and SEO.
But my one superpower or unique talent when it comes to marketing: being able to forecast future trends in sex. Even as far back as 1999, I knew that BDSM was going to make it into the mainstream consciousness. I see a future where sex toys and pleasure objects will no longer be considered taboo!
XBIZ: Tell us about one of your best moments in the industry. This short tale can be proud, funny, surprising, shocking, or all of the above. You choose!
Lieben: When I look back over my career, I think fondly of the time spent curating and producing the Lightworship show. This was the first-ever fetish photography exhibition with emerging fetish photographer Victor Lightworship. I wanted this to be something that people would talk about even 20 years later or even tell their grand kids about it. And that’s exactly what happened. The show opened with great success. We even sold $10,000 worth of art on opening night. But the cherry on the cake was the midnight “blood-letting” piercing event by two BDSM performance artists. The local paper, Creative Loafing, was there and then the following week we had a three-page spread about the show. It was unforgettable and something my friends still talk about to this day.
I’d say the other exciting moment in my career was saying the word “clit” a number of times on the Bravo show “Married to Medicine.” After the filming of our segment, the main character of the show, Dr. Jackie, contacted me about contributing a chapter in her new book, “The Queen V.” It’s kind of crazy seeing my name in a published book!
XBIZ: How is the future looking for the remainder of 2020, both for your personal and professional lives? Can you reveal anything about what's next for Liberator?
Lieben: With the COVID-19 crisis, it’s been hard getting some things off the ground. However, this year I’ve been focused on a personal pet-project that helps promote erotic art and fetish photographers. Many of these artists are great at creating the work, but not so good at promoting themselves or selling the work. So that’s where I come in and help with their web presence, SEO, digital marketing and social media. Everyone else in the art world has representation, why not erotic artists too?
On the professional side, I am in the process of outlining a new marketing strategy for Liberator and user-generated content. Since we are still in the planning stages, I would hate to reveal what it is, but it’s very exciting and will be something completely different than what other brands are doing. But the coronavirus crisis has basically put the brakes on any production for the time being. However, this gives us more time for planning and development. The great thing about the adult realm is that the sky’s the limit when it comes to creating content and I look forward to being a part of that in 2020 and beyond.
Each month, industry news media organization XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
