Twenty Questions with Hot Porn Starlet Sunny Shines

What were you like back in high school?  Who did you hang out with/date?
"In all honesty, I was a big goofy nerd back in highschool. Do you remember the 'scene kids', 'the hipsters', 'the emo kids'... well, I was one of them. What seems kinda silly though, is that when I look back on it all I was actually quite popular. I was the head photographer for my school's yearbook which meant I had the power to get certain students out of class to do 'interviews' for the yearbook. I made a lot of friends because of that position."

Were you a porn fan before you got into the industry?  Who were your favorite porn stars/favorite porn movies?
"I actually really hate to admit that I don't watch a lot of porn... and now that I am in the industry I hate to admit even more so that the porn I did watch was the free stuff. I did, however, work at a little place in San Francisco called DIVAS in the Tenderloin. While I was living in the city, I also worked at a large liquor store and had the opportunity there to meet Sarina Valentina who was on a booze run for a party of some sorts at the Kink.com armory building. I remember being very intimidated by her, but her being super nice and super grateful for the help. I also met some of the TS Seduction girls who would occasionally come hang out at DIVAS on the weekends. To get back to the question though I guess the girls I remember most were girls like Bailey Jay and Kimber James as well as Sarina... they definitely played a big part in helping me believe in myself enough to actually start my transition process. So, for those reasons I really admired those women, and I still do, actually."

What kind of scene have you found is your favorite kind to do so far?
"Oh, forsure the hardcore scenes, of which I have unfortunately not done enough of. My scene with Epic for Grooby Girls was a ton of fun to shoot... for a few reasons. Otherwise, I'm discovering that I quite like to roleplay, A while back I made a sort of video love letter... a trans girl away for school missing her man back home and a reunion on the horizon had really fanned the flames of her longing. It was fun to plan out, fun to shoot, and fun to turn some of my own life story into something sexy for my supporters."

"Easy... MTM three some. I can't believe I haven't had that experience in my personal life yet. Definitely going to have to rectify that in the future."

Who is your favorite performer to work with so far and why?
"Thus far I have only worked with Epic from Grooby, but he and I got along quite well, seemed to have a fair bit in common, and even though I was pretty nervous, he put me almost immediately at ease. I have spoken with a handful of other guys from the industry and so far I gotta say Epic has been the easiest to talk too, and that's important to me."

You respond to your fans a lot on Twitter.  What do you like most about talking to your fans on social media?
"I get a great deal of validation obviously from the work that we all do in this industry, but apart from that, it feels very nice to just read some words of positivity and encouragement... two things I could always use a little more of. My supporters are sweet, I appreciate them quite a bit."

How did you become a porn performer? What led you down that career path?
"Well... gosh... I am going to be honest which may make this seem as though porn was an act of desperation for me, which it wasn't. Firstly, back in about 2013-14 when I was working at DIVAS, I actually did an interview with Kink, and they seemed to want me, but only if I was a Dom. Back then, I said no and frankly I have regretted it ever since. I do want to stay true to who I am though, and I am absolutely not a Dom, although it is a fun role to play. Fast forward several years and after graduating from university, I was very suddenly and very unexpectedly let go from my employer immediately after a promotion without explanation. To this day, I still don't know why I was let go, but I took the opportunity to reach out to several publicly listed producers, found the folks at Grooby, shot a few scenes and felt pretty good about it. So far, porn has been the only place in my life where I feel that my transness is a boon to me and not something that is going to lead to my inevitable departure from where ever I am working... that's why I stay."

"I look around and I see that there are some girls my age doing very well for themselves, but many more who are much younger. I am a realist, I am not going to get any younger. I like porn though, I've never worked closer to more people who are actually quite a bit like myself and I have never felt like I 'fit in' more than when I was shooting for Grooby and in my fairly limited interactions with other models. So, I could obviously wish to become the next Bailey Jay and work my ass off to get to that point, or I can be realistic and recognize that its the environment that I love and not the notoriety. I'd love to become a producer one day, and if I can manage that I'd like to see what else there might be beyond that."

"Snuggle more. <3"

"I love autonomy. I am in charge of everything. When I first started, I went super duper hard into the content creation and saw quite a lot of returns from that effort. Unfortunately, I have some family issues preventing me from going that hard again, but I can still put out content at my own pace and I can still have those little interactions with my supporters. It isn't just that though, it's the flexibility of knowing that I can make connections with other industry folks and make plans to make content, bring people together, produce some grade A smut and go in as deep or as shallow as I like. I guess ultimately... I love being in control of my own trajectory."

What do you think are “must-have” DVDs for your fans?
"Mine obviously!"

What do you like to do for fun?
"I play a lot of video games I must admit, but what brings me even more joy is writing music. I've been playing guitar for over 20 years now, entirely self taught and blessed with very nearly perfect pitch. Some people meditate, I jam instead. It helps me get entirely outside of my head and when I put it all down again, it leaves me feeling very energized and reminds me that I am capable of creating beautiful things in a multitude of mediums."

"Well, I am still pretty new to the industry so I have yet to have the opportunity to explore restraint and boondage on camera, but it is what I am consuming right now and I look forward to any opportunities to explore this side of myself in front of a camera."

Who are your role models in porn?
"Honestly, Daisy Taylor is kind of killing it right now... when I was still in a relationship, my partner would watch her stuff, get all fired up and bring that energy back to me so uh... Thank you  Daisy! Now that I am in the industry though I am tuned into her social media presence and I see a lot of her struggle to remain true to herself and her own values, which I am discovering is actually not even remotely simple. She also has a few of what I call, 'I love you' scenes, which I think I once read she filmed with her actual partner. For me, her work is very important because it conveys the reality of being a transwoman. She isn't the only girl doing this kind of work though. If I am not mistaken, I think Natalie Mars has an entire website that in a nutshell is trans porn, made by trans people, for trans people, telling trans stories. It's important work that I believe we need a lot more of. It's porn... but it's actively humanizing trans people."

What is the best mainstream movie you have seen recently?
"Ha ha ha... I don't watch movies like ever. No time to watch movies with all these video games to play."

How about the best porno movie?  Is there someone whose movies you like to watch who is working now?
I like what I see being produced at Transsensual... which I think is Natalie Mars' site. [Transensual is owned by Mile High Media.-HK]It's just very authentic, the scenarios and stories feel real to me and even if the actual sex is somewhat vanilla... it's quite a bit hotter in my opinion when it's relatable and sincere. It's love making... not fucking."

"A tidal wave of student loan repayments..."

If you could fuck any celebrity, who would it be?  
"Just fuck? Christian Bale comes to mind. But to mind meld with and really like... FUCK... you're gonna think I'm weird but I'd fuck the shit out of Marc Maron."

What single piece of advice would you give a brand new performer?
"Slow the fuck down and think, there is so much pressure at first and it's all crazy, crazy, crazy. Survey the environment... find your place in it... move in that direction."

Is there anything you want to say to your fans here at Fleshbot?
"I love you! I appreciate you! I miss camming for you as much as you miss me camming for you and I WILL be back at that soon!"

All of the images and video here appear courtesy of Grooby.