Dom Smith chats to Valen Vain about his creative inspirations, streaming, misconceptions about the fetish community and loads more – watch the video below:
Image: Kate Sway
Valen says his brand is “excessive vanity”, and that the confidence he has developed comes from the brand he has built over the last 15 years: “My persona has blended into my actual life!”
Vain’s background and degree is in theatre and tech: “If you were to see me on stage doing cabaret now, you’d definitely say, ‘there’s no way he worked behind the scenes!'”
The performer talks about some of the difficulties he has faced getting work as a creative, and shares some tips for others: “The most important thing to any creative person, is having a driver’s license! It was hindering having to take trains, and relying on other people. As soon as I got one, it opened up so many worlds.”
Freelancing can be difficult for many reasons, and Vain talks about the importance of “pricing yourself” in the correct way, and finding your own identity as a creator: “Be the best you you can be. Work towards [developing] your self-confidence.”
Another big stumbling block for developing creatives is the nerves that can build around auditions, Valen has learned over time to go into these situations aiming to make a fantastic and lasting impression, rather than focusing all of his energy on getting the gig then and there: “That little change in the mindset helps – it’s not a pass or a failure then, it’s a showcase of your work. An audition isn’t a job application in my mind, it’s a portfolio.”
Moving on to discuss his work with KEN, Vain says that many people who don’t understand, or have limited experience look at these types of fetish events and think it’s about “having a big orgy”. He comments: “It’s not like that at all at K.E.N, it’s about feeling your most sexual and erotic self, in an atmosphere that is safe for you to do that, and to let loose.”
To his supporters, Valen reflects that even though he has always been self-reliant, and had to push himself because so much of his work is “outside of the box”, the support that he gets from his community online has been “mind-melting”: “I am not used to having support,” he says. “I am used to doing things by myself, and here I am in a position where I don’t know what I would do without it.”
For more information visit: https://linktr.ee/ValenVain
Listen and watch below for the FULL discussion around Valen’s background, persona and thoughts on hedonism:
