How a former stripper became a successful Web entrepreneur. Danni Ashe shows Lisa Anne Auerbach her hard drive.

Webmistress Danni Ashe, a diminutive stripper turned cyber-entrepreneur, feasts on a Godiva chocolate sent in by fans and brings her cuddly version of softcore sexuality to the masses via her Danni's Hard Drive site. And the masses are many -- she claims 5 million hits per day, has 17 full-time employees, and has gotten props for her business acumen in pubs like the Wall Street Journal and U.S. News and World Report.

Bikini: Gosh, you have big boobs.... Has anyone ever told you that?

Danni Ashe: My great grandmother had tits literally in her lap. I remember visiting her in the old-folks home. She was in her 90s; she'd had six kids and [her breasts] were in her lap.

Bikini: What do you think of the proliferation of boob jobs, especially with people in the adult film industry?

DA: They're certainly overdone. I can understand someone wanting to do something for their self-esteem, if you really want to have more cleavage. But there does seem to be some pressure to get them, even if you don't need them, just because there's a certain cup size you have to reach if you're going to be in the porn industry. It's a real mistake, and it's not true. The fans are so sick of seeing silicone. I know all the girls with the mega-breasts, and I see them go through all the pain, the back pain, not being able to find anything to wear, the taunts. It's a burden.

Bikini: What's the best thing about being online?

DA: Being in control. When I was dancing, the thing that was so unacceptable to me about being on the road is that I was at the mercy of all these agents and club owners who didn't really give a shit about you. You're really at the bottom of the food chain, even though you're glamorous, you're the headliner, you're the feature.

Bikini: Have you ever done phone sex?

DA: No, I'd be terrible at it. I can't even talk dirty to my husband.

Bikini: But you've done all-nude dancing?

DA: Oh yeah, I've done the full spread shots and everything. I'm completely comfortable with total nudity, but when it crosses the line into penetration it becomes more personal, and then it starts to invade my private life.

Bikini: Is it true that sex is the only thing on the Internet that makes any money?

DA: I think there's a few other industries making money, but we're the ones doing the best job of it.

Bikini: Do you do any of the programming for the site?

DA: I taught myself HTML on a beach in the Bahamas. I'm kind of a control freak. I did the whole website myself for the first year and a half.

Bikini: What kind of bathing suit do you wear?

DA: Always triangle-top bikinis, because those are the only kind that fits. And I tend to prefer thongs, cause the full bottom ones work their way up your butt anyway. Might as well put it up there to begin with.

Bikini Magazine - April 1999