Where Is She Now? The Olympic Snowboarder Who Became A Porn Star

Japanese Olympian Imai Melo began training for her athletic career at the age of seven. During her childhood and teen years, she endured grueling training with her father, a snowboarding coach, for up to 18 hours a day. Her promising career path was derailed, however, after a devastating loss.

77dc4012ac2846b9b839e20e03a45501 — Imai Melo

During the 2006 Winter Olympics, Imai severely injured herself during a half-pipe event and came in last place. To add insult to injury, she was reportedly called “a waste of tax money” by netizens, who criticized her performance.

For many athletes, the Olympics are the peak of their career, but for me, it was a nightmare.

— Imai Melo

Imai, then supporting two children after a divorce, left her sport to start a new career as a hostess then a fuzoku (a type of legal prostitute in Japan that offers non-intercourse sexual services). In 2013, she began working as a gravure idol, a glamor model who poses provocatively for sexually-charged magazine shoots.

Since I started working as a gravure idol in 2013, I began to believe in myself much more. To do that kind of job you can’t be a shrinking violet. It has helped me a lot.

— Imai Melo

By 2017, Imai began working as an adult video actress, making her debut in the pornographic films Snow Drop and Snow Out. Two months before the release of her first adult film, however, Imai returned to snowboarding, taking first place in the half-pipe event at the 35th All Japan Snowboarding Championships despite only having had four days of practice.