When Zaawaadi first visited Venus Berlin in 2018, it was was an eye-opener for her, as she realized the many opportunities the industry offered. While working as a nurse in a German hospital, modeling for fashion and doing erotic photography, she soon began camming on MyDirtyHobby.
“I really loved my nursing job, but it involved very bad working conditions with too much pressure, extra hours and not enough money,” she shared. “So in 2019, I returned to the Venus Berlin event as a cam model with my own small little booth and I met Tiffany Tatum there, who introduced me to Rocco Siffredi.”
That fateful meeting led to two major production opportunities, as she shot with Beate-Uhse TV and Pierre Woodman, who created her first adult videos. Then came a major milestone with Siffredi in Budapest for her Evil Angel movie, “My Name Is Zaawaadi,” for which she later won a XBIZ Europa Awards.
“It was fun… more fun than anything,” Zaawaadi recalled. “I filmed with lots of nice people, getting naked, touching sexy men and so many hot beautiful women. I loved it!”
Now, with over 100,000 followers and 45,000 likes on OnlyFans, as well as her own production company, Zaawaadi has established herself as an in-demand star. In this interview she sheds light on her experiences, personal growth and upcoming goals.
XBIZ: How has leaving your home country and working in adult changed your life?
ZAAWAADI: I found out that I love men and women and need sex with both. Today, I feel more and more liberated from the shackles of my youth in Kenya; I grew up in the countryside where everything is Catholic, conservative and taboo. My body was taboo, my lust was taboo, my vagina was taboo and loving women was taboo. You know many young girls get pregnant by men against their will, but contraception is also taboo? It´s a man’s world there. But I often miss my home so badly, as well as my family and the view of the wide savanna.
XBIZ: What studios and directors do you most enjoy working with?
ZAAWAADI: Beate-Uhse TV/TMC Content Group, Pierre Woodman and Rocco Siffredi are very serious and experienced production studios, so it was very fortunate for me to meet them early in my career. I was able to learn a lot and I always felt safe, because they all care well for their actors.
Working for Dorcel, Vixen, Digital Playground, MariskaX, MixedX, Sinful XXX and Sex Art is always a big thing for me; you are motivated to give it your all, because the movies have such a high quality nowadays. The production teams are very professional and some locations are just, wow! The actors are beautiful and stunning too.
Plus, there are production studios offering their content more and more on big TV streaming platforms such as Adult Time, Erotic Lounge, Blue Movie, Dorcel TV, etc. That means more content for couples watching on the couch and for customers who want high-quality entertainment with hot sex, beautiful actors and more storylines. For these companies, you need to act much more and I like this trend a lot. Production for Ersties is enjoyable too, because it focuses on authentic sex with natural women; you don´t have the feeling that it’s only a product. I can feel like a woman.
XBIZ: Discuss a few of your favorite shoots from this past year.
ZAAWAADI: My productions with Luna Star and Danny D for Digital Playground and Brazzers were hot... believe me! Working for Dorcel in France left a very big impression and was an honor for me; it’s really high-class luxury porn.
I always love productions with MariskaX at Dacada Studios in Germany. It’s a family atmosphere with her and Dacada. I still learn a lot from them and we have fun and sex at work.
I also shot in the Bavarian mountains this year for new episodes on Beate-Uhse TV, which was great fun. We did it everywhere, from nature to the stables.
Of course, I shot for my own production brand, Zaawaadi Media, which was a lot of work this year, but we smashed it! The different scenes I’ve shot include sex with Mugur, Raul Costa, Amirah Adara, Cherry Kiss and Angelika Grays.
XBIZ: Besides studio scenes, what other types of content do you shoot?
ZAAWAADI: I have done a lot of VR videos, which you can find on sites such as SexLikeReal. I also love to make solo and custom videos for my OnlyFans; dare to ask me to fulfill your desires. Photographers can also book me and bring their ideas to life. TikTok is fun for me, too; you will find silly things there from me.
XBIZ: How do you balance your time and energy?
ZAAWAADI: I sleep a lot and enjoy my life, cooking Kenyan food, spending time with my family and some close friends — though as a self-employed individual in bureaucratic Germany, I’m also always drowning in paperwork! After a long COVID break for years, it’s nice to have fun parties again. We also spend time outside in the forests surrounding us a lot. As well, I stay in contact with my friends and family in Kenya, while also being a member of the local fitness studio and drilling my ass there for more curves.
XBIZ: Tell us about your upcoming Zaawaadi Media project.
ZAAWAADI: Everybody needs their own website, I believe. Social media will come and go, with rules to ban porn stars and adult content regularly changing. You can’t rely on them. So you will find my self-produced videos, news, pictures and contact information on Zaawaadi.com. You can buy some credit points and watch what you like there.
Since I’m living in Germany, we have to use age verification for everything. I use the Yoti app from the U.K. for this; it’s always free for the customers, doesn’t collect personal private data and it can be used anywhere for age verification, whether in a club or buying alcohol in a shop.
XBIZ: How do you handle social media marketing?
ZAAWAADI: Ugh, sometimes I feel I have to cut myself into 1,000 pieces. On the one hand, you need to advertise yourself everywhere, because there are so many social media platforms today. On the other hand, every social media has its own content, requiring you to present yourself in various ways.
Without a doubt, it’s a lot of work all the time, but it also makes it a lot of fun to explore yourself alongside people from so many different cultures. It is important to be yourself and to accept that not everybody will like you, though. I’m often sad that in my home country, an adult actress is in many people’s view only a dirty whore. But this shows me again that conservative and intolerant people in Africa are still a majority.
XBIZ: What was it like speaking on panels at XBIZ Berlin and then winning Best Gonzo Sex Scene at the XBIZ Europas?
ZAAWAADI: The ground opened up. I was terribly nervous most of the time because I am not used to talking in public. I’m still very shy, believe me! But despite shivering a lot, it was an unforgettable and great experience for me being able to interact with very interesting people and explore unique things in the workshops. I absorbed a lot of new information. Then yeah, wow! I didn’t expect to win again and I was shocked, but it seems that there are a bunch of people who love my ass! I feel blessed, of course.
XBIZ: Talk about your long-term dreams for the future.
ZAAWAADI: Oh, you really want to hear my fancy dreams? First, I will go to the cinema and watch “Wakanda Forever,” dreaming about playing a little part in a movie like that one day. Of course, the Kenyan Lupita Nyong’o is my idol. I hope I’ll get the option to visit the United States, since I’ve never been there. And I want to make more high-quality and self-produced content, of course.
I have a good friend in Kenya who is an engineer for environmental protection. You can see the climate change in the north of Kenya every day more and more. The cattle are dead, the water is salty and the people are suffering. This is what is waiting for our children: dead earth. So I hope to support a project to unsalt and clean the water for drinking, even if this will not change much, like merely a drop on a hot stone.
Thank you so much, though, for giving me the chance to talk about my thoughts and feelings here!