You have a definitive aesthetic—the pin-up girl—where did this come from? When did you start getting intetested in the look?

When I started doing photography, how I got into the whole pin-up thing is that it was pretty much what was around me. I've always been into the whole rockabilly scene, car culture, swing dancing and the bands. So when I started getting into photography, the only girls I knew were rockabilly girls.

How long ago did you get into photography?

4 years.

So you're relatively new…

Oh yeah. I'm a newbie. I was in the music business for 12 years as a recording engineer. I was working with Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones. I was just in a recording studio. You have no life. As a therapy, I picked up an old Pentax camera that I had since high school and starting learning photography. I went to all the car shows and I'd bump into all my friends who were the rockabilly girls who owned the hotrods. So I would do photos of them, just learning how to use the camera. Next thing you know, they liked them so they'd say, "I have this new outfit, why don't you come over and take pictures of me in [it]." The rest is history.

So all of this culminated in your book of pin-ups, WinkyTiki…

Also, how I got into it, in terms of the aesthetic, is that growing up my dad had a really big collection of those bachelor pad records and Italian movie soundtracks and lots of weird stuff. Back in the day, the album covers didn't have anything to do with the music itself. But they were mostly pinups or some weird interesting photos. That's when I became a young-horn dog.

How did this translate into the adult industry? It seems like that's where you're focused now…

Even before I picked up a camera, I always loved porn and the adult industry. From day one, the moment I picked up a camera, I said, "One day, I want to work in the adult business." That was my main focus. My main goal was [shooting] for HUSTLER… Four years later, I'm shooting for them.

That rules.

I've always had a one-track mind, which I think helped me out. I didn't get distracted by other things like landscapes. Put me in front of a fucking a tree I would not have a clue how to photograph it. But, I can convince the Virgin Mary to pose for a centerfold. That's just the way it workd out.

You have "Atomic Vixens" coming out on the 18th.

I was the production designer, I co-produced and directed some of it for VCA.

Is this your first adult movie?

Unofficially, I directed a lot of scenes. But this one is the first one where I get full credit.

And this translated into directing for Vivid.

I just finished a movie called "The Rebel Rousers". Over time, with a lot of promotion and me working in the adult business and my website Winkytiki [taking] off and since I shot a lot of adult models in the pin-up style, I caught the eye of a lot of people in the adult business.

How did your experience go? It was the first one you were "the man" for.

Regardless of who you work for, it's the same thing over and over again in a different package. One cool thing about working for the bigger companies like Vivid of VCA is that once you give the company a basic idea of what the hell you're doing, you pretty much have a carte-blanche to just do whatever.

A little birdie told us that it was Masuimi Max's first adult shoot.

Yeah, she's in the movie and that's all I can tell you about that.

Are people going to be happy when they see her?

It all depends. Masuimi Max is very big in the whole fetish subculture. She's a great performer, a burlesque dancer. And she's somewhat impossible to book. She handles her own business, she's very selective and she makes some very radical business decisions. When they idea for "Rebel Rousers" came up, she was down and she came onboard.

So who else did you get to work with in Rebel Rousers?

I had Kimberly Kane, Lexis Bardot, Nadia Styles, Page Morgan, Dragon Lily and Smoking Mary Jane…

Were they all previously into your particular style, is that why you chose them?

Yeah. Exactly, When I was given the project, I had two sets of responsibilities. A) as a director and photographer and B) someone who was going to represent a certain subculture. A big mistake a lot of adult and mainstream companies do is when they try to do something that fits a certain market. They just can't pull it off because they don't cast correctly or [you] can tell the girls are just dressed up.

It's just makeup and wardrobe and they're not into the lifestyle.

You can put a vintage dress on anybody. You can put a vintage dress on a monkey and it's still going to be a monkey. Since I've been shooting for a few years and shooting a lot of models, I had a list in my head of girls who I clicked with or showed some interest.

Is there anything else you want to say?

Who would have known that in a little over 3 years I'd be directing for Vivid and I have a book out with people waiting on line outside to get a copy? It's kind of amazing.

• Visit Octavio's WinkyTiki website.
• Purchase a copy of Modern Vixens: World of WinkyTiki
• Visit Atomic Vixens on the Web, out of DVD April 18th.