2025 TEA Best Industry Professional: Rick Garcia

Best Industry Professional: Rick Garcia

By Kristel Penn

This award is to honor and thank those working in the adult industry, but not necessarily exclusively in the trans adult industry, who have helped shape, platform, and support adult performers, with specific emphasis on trans performers and content creators.

Every time I see Rick Garcia at an event, I immediately run up to him to give him a big hug. Although he is often camera-in-hand and busy, he always makes sure he always welcomes me (and my hugs) with open arms. He is as warm and lovely as he is talented as a photographer, and I’m very honored to present this award to him this year. 

Rick Garcia (also known by his social media handle @IndustryByRick on X) is a rockstar in the adult space. With 20 years of experience working at our industry’s most well-known events, you’ll often see him in his coveted spot on the red carpet as one of the first smiling faces you’ll encounter of the night. 

He started his career in 2005, covering tattoo conventions and other events. His first creative work was featured in the popular tattoo publication Pain Magazine. He then branched out to work in the Hollywood music scene, covering club and music events for local LA music magazine Rock City. He teamed up with a local club promoter to start shooting adult industry events, where he met Will Ryder, who asked him to cover his official porn event, the infamous annual Heaven and Hell party held in Hollywood. 

Rick’s coverage of the events and other industry gatherings encouraged him to start submitting photos to major adult publications AVN and XBIZ. This move led to feature work, shooting stills for studios such as Adam and Eve, Hustler, Wicked, Metro, and Naughty America. 

Since meeting Rick, I’ve noticed the consistent and above-and-beyond effort he makes to ensure our community is represented in event photos, especially at mainstream events where trans performers encountered prejudice and were historically underrepresented. This inclusion is not an afterthought for Rick. I have seen him on countless occasions go well out of his way to ensure that not only is the trans adult community highlighted but also that these performers feel respected and welcomed during the experience. 

The TEA Pre-Party is sometimes one of the first industry events trans performers attend at the beginning of their careers. The media wall, although smaller than the one set up on Vine St. during the Awards on Sunday, can still be a place of anxiety for newcomers. Some are unsure how to pose or if they are welcome to take photos in front of the wall, and Rick steps in every time to help. He is patient and kind, even as the line for photos curves into the bar area as the night progresses. Last year, I asked him if he could take a few non-work pictures at the Pre-Party because my friend Spencer Bradley and I wanted to celebrate our respective missed graduations. To my surprise, Rick showed up with multiple graduation caps, gowns, and a fake diploma for both of us to pose with. The pictures he took that evening are some of my favorites to date. 

Congratulations to Rick, a talented and kind human whose hard work and dedication elevate not just the trans community but the adult industry as a whole. We all are better for it (and look amazing because of him).