An Interview With... Mod Cat on being a Lyla Mod

[lydiahardwood 2168]

We only have four more interviews for the rest of the year! Can you believe it?! This time I thought it'd be nice for you to get to know another Mod here at Lyla, the wonderful @ModCat 😍 

I've not had the pleasure of meeting her in person yet, but we talk nearly every day and I already call her a friend. Her passion and dedication to this industry, as well as her killer humour, makes her just my kinda person and I think this interview will make you love her too! Enjoy and don't forget to like and comment. ❤️ 

Q: Hey Mod Cat! It’s great to have the opportunity to get to know a fellow Mod a bit better. So, tell us a bit about yourself!

Hello everyone, you might have seen me around but mostly I'm pretty quiet here and behind the scenes. I'm Cat, 30, celebrated that milestone in this crazy old year. Originally from the North East of England, I'm a Geordie but have spent most of the last 8 years living abroad. I am obsessed with travel and languages, I speak Spanish quite well and studied French and German for a long time too but now would only be able to speak those to a basic level. I've worked in Moderation and Admin roles since 2015.

Q: Nice to meet a fellow Brit who loves to travel! I know that this job allows you to travel (or it did, pre-Corona). Can you tell me a bit about the places you’ve travelled to?

A: Pre-corona I was travelling a lot, I work remotely and in the last 2 years I made a huge effort to travel after a turning point in my life. Life is too short, so I took off for a little while. Highlights would be drinking absinthe in snowy Prague, Christmas markets in Poland, Christmas day in Ho chi minh city, all of the food in Asia, a music festival in Vietnam for New years eve, spending as much time as possible at beaches, Greece having some of the best, Last gin and tonics on a rooftop in Bangkok before escaping because of Corona and spending winter 2018 In North Macedonia.

Q: How long have you been a Mod for Lyla?
A: I’ve been a Lyla Mod since 2018, I was hired by Lyla and hadn’t heard of the brand before.

Q: What has changed in that time, in the industry and on Lyla?
A: I guess finally for Lyla we are seeing it grow again. It was very quiet but when @lydiahardwood was brought on board we finally got it going again, I’d like to say in that time in the industry peoples attitudes have changed towards sex work although I know there is still a huge stigma around it, I feel the popularity of onlyfans has helped.

Although onlyfans is far from perfect, I feel it has helped, the creators there are in control and everything is consensual.

Q: Before you started doing this, did you have much experience within the adult work industry?
A: I really didn't have so much experience in the Adult industry, but between the ages of 16-19 I hung around a lot in a strip club. I lived in a small town and was going through a whole lot of things. I was homeless and living in a hostel for homeless youths. I had befriended some of the dancers there and they had taken me under their wing. I would just sit and have a drink or they would take me to the back room and do my hair and make up before I went off to another bar to meet friends.
A lot of people especially from school found it weird, there were rumours flying around about me, as you can imagine, 'I was on drugs, I was this, I was that’ but really it was just pure friendship I had with some of the women there. I was envious really of them at the time, the confidence they had, which I didn't have at that age and in honesty never really found it within myself until I was about 27. Plus they understood the struggles I was going through and would always be there for me when I needed a chat. They were a family to me.

Q: I love that - I get a family vibe from the community here at Lyla, too. What have you learnt from this industry so far?
A: I’ve learnt you should never put anyone in a box. The Adult industry is so negatively looked upon and when you take time to get to know people who work in this industry, you’ll find they are some of the kindest non-judging people, you’ll ever meet. Every person has different reasons for being in this industry which is why these interviews are so important every story and every person is unique and we shouldn’t make assumptions about anyone. I’ve also learnt how to talk more openly about sex and sexual health and that we should all learn to understand our bodies more.

Q: So true! Before you started this job, what were your thoughts on the industry? Have they changed?
A: I have always believed that people who work in this industry shouldn't be shamed and as long as you aren't hurting anybody in your work then why shouldn't it be allowed? Just make sure if it is BDSM you’re after you have a safe word, but really I had known a few cam girls and people who worked on love hotels and for me, it was not a big deal, it’s another career and as we see here, some of you are killing it!

Q: What is the most challenging part of your job?
A: We have a great community here and it’s not too challenging, but it can be hard to explain over and over to some people that we don't want any negativity here. We don't want any of it at all. It’s there at the top, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

Q: What is the best thing about it?
A: The best thing is getting to interact with some genuinely amazing unique people and that when I wake up every day I am not dreading logging in, like other jobs I had, as I love this one so much!

Q: Would you describe yourself as a feminist? 
A: Yes I am a feminist. I believe in equal rights, I believe all women should have access to legal abortions and everyone should be protected from rape, sexual harassment and domestic violence, and people should be held accountable for their actions, it’s sad that the justice systems around the world have let so many people down.

I believe that being a feminist means you must fight equally for all people no matter what gender, race, social status or sexual orientation. 

Q: What would you say your core values are?

A: I think my core value goes back to my Catholic upbringing, although found in most religions, the golden rule.
Luke 6:31 - Do to others as you would have them do to you. 
Treat others the same way you would like to be treated. I believe this works the whole world over and I personally have always treated everyone with respect as I wish the same for myself. I believe if you are negative towards someone else, that will come back to you, Karma, so i stick to not judging, always listening and respecting everyone I interact with.

Q: Thanks so much for your time. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
A: I think that is it, Just play nice and always play safe! 

[Sharpe 664]

Thanks Cat for sharing this information about yourself.  I had wondered who @ModCat was, having seen the occasional comment and like here and there..  The COVID must be driving you particularly crazy not being able to enjoy travel adventures like that.  Did you work for Lonely Planet as well??
 
Thanks as always @lydiahardwood 😘

[NotchJohnson 198694]

It's so nice to get to know @ModCat better, I often notice the "like" on some post so we all know that she is there and appreciates our posts.  Also thank you to @lydiahardwood for inviting her to the interview, I would have sworn that you 2 have known each other for a lifetime. 

[roamingguy 299567]

Thank You Cat for giving such a positive and informative interview.  It is nice knowing Lyla has moderators that seem to care about this site and its members.  It is very much appreciated

And Thank You Lydia for not just continuing with the interviews but also interviewing Mods too. Who would have imagined a few years back reading/conducting interviews of any sort from Mod?  And could we see any of the other boards (eg _erb comes to mind) doing these type of interviews

A Long Winded Rambling And Thank You

RG

[clearbluesky15 1620]

Great interview @ModCat. It was great to get to know the person behind the role. @lydiahardwood., thanks as always for a great series. Maybe a meet the owner(s) panel for a future one?

-cbs

[lydiahardwood 2168]

5 hours ago, clearbluesky15 said:

Great interview @ModCat. It was great to get to know the person behind the role. @lydiahardwood., thanks as always for a great series. Maybe a meet the owner(s) panel for a future one?

-cbs

Ooh I'll see what I can do!

[Allie Zeon 1993]

Awesome interview. Thanks 🤩 

[ModCat 275]

On 12/6/2020 at 2:49 PM, Sharpe said:

Thanks Cat for sharing this information about yourself.  I had wondered who @ModCat was, having seen the occasional comment and like here and there..  The COVID must be driving you particularly crazy not being able to enjoy travel adventures like that.  Did you work for Lonely Planet as well??
 
Thanks as always @lydiahardwood 😘

It has been really annoying but I have just thought how grateful I am that I have seen some wonderful places in the world and I have never put that off, who knows when we can travel properly again?

 

I have this summer though, being a traveller at heart, tried to see new cities where I live, new villages, even just walking new streets I have never been down before, still feels like I am getting lost somewhere new.

 

I do not work for Lonely Planet unfortunately but I can live in hope!

[ModCat 275]

15 hours ago, roamingguy said:

Thank You Cat for giving such a positive and informative interview.  It is nice knowing Lyla has moderators that seem to care about this site and its members.  It is very much appreciated

And Thank You Lydia for not just continuing with the interviews but also interviewing Mods too. Who would have imagined a few years back reading/conducting interviews of any sort from Mod?  And could we see any of the other boards (eg _erb comes to mind) doing these type of interviews

A Long Winded Rambling And Thank You

RG

 

 

Thank you for your kind words, we really do care!

[Sharpe 664]

4 minutes ago, ModCat said:

It has been really annoying but I have just thought how grateful I am that I have seen some wonderful places in the world and I have never put that off, who knows when we can travel properly again?

 

I have this summer though, being a traveller at heart, tried to see new cities where I live, new villages, even just walking new streets I have never been down before, still feels like I am getting lost somewhere new.

 

I do not work for Lonely Planet unfortunately but I can live in hope!

I’m glad you’re keeping your spirits up.  That’s certainly a challenge these days.  If I read one more GD news article about how everything is getting worse....

You are right in saying there’s lots of hidden treasures to see locally.  Easy to overlook that normally.

And it gives you time to plan future trips in detail

[roamingguy 299567]

10 hours ago, clearbluesky15 said:

Great interview @ModCat. It was great to get to know the person behind the role. @lydiahardwood., thanks as always for a great series. Maybe a meet the owner(s) panel for a future one?

-cbs

Great Idea clearbluesky Its nice "meeting" the people behind this site.. a board which (and I stand to be corrected) stands alone in these boards in being a positive site, not a negative review board

RG

[Allie Zeon 1993]

6 hours ago, ModCat said:

It has been really annoying but I have just thought how grateful I am that I have seen some wonderful places in the world and I have never put that off, who knows when we can travel properly again?

 

I have this summer though, being a traveller at heart, tried to see new cities where I live, new villages, even just walking new streets I have never been down before, still feels like I am getting lost somewhere new.

 

I do not work for Lonely Planet unfortunately but I can live in hope!

Aww. I love traveling too Cat! Omg.. I can talk for days about traveling . Vaccine will come soon. I have invested my money in one particular company that produces the vaccine and it keeps me updated with great news. Within months from now for ALL OF US FOR SURE. Trudeau says it will start to become available hopefully before Christmas 🙂

[Onceinawhile 1066]

Great interview. It’s always good to get to know the people behind this wonderful site, and their views.

[Kitten 760]

On 12/6/2020 at 7:27 AM, lydiahardwood said:

things. I was homeless and living in a hostel for homeless youths. I had befriended some of the dancers there and they had taken me under their wing. I would just sit and have a drink or they would take me to the back room and do my hair and make up before I went off to another bar to meet friends.
A lot of people especially from school found it weird, there were rumours flying around about me, as you can imagine, 'I was on drugs, I was this, I was that’ but really it was just pure friendship I had with some of the women there. I was envious really of them at the time, the confidence they had, which I didn't have at that age and in honesty never really found it within myself until I was about 27. Plus they understood the struggles I was going through and would always be there for me when I needed a chat. They were a family to me.

 

I cant relate any harder with this 💋 

 

Only, for me the rumours were true. I didn't care to have to explain myself to those who wanted to judge me for it, speaking them. Still don't!

That life experience did provide me with a good opportunity to learn how to manage my emotions, my mind, and myself much more effectively. 

Something to this day has served me incredibly well.

I appreciate your time modcat and you sharing this with us all!