Meet Yaxin Zheng

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yaxin Zheng and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yaxin, what role has risk played in your life or career?
In my career as an intimacy coordinator, risk has played a very important role. When I chose this path, there were no clear models in China or even in East Asia. Many people did not understand what this role meant. It was risky to step into a profession that had little recognition and no standard framework. But I believed that protecting actors and building a safe creative process was worth trying. Each project has its own risks—sometimes it is about cultural barriers, sometimes it is about convincing a production team to adopt new practices. But every time I chose to take these risks, I gained experience and opened new opportunities for myself and for the industry.

For me, risk is not something to avoid; it is something to work with carefully. It pushes me to grow, and it makes me more confident that my work has meaning.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art is rooted in creating safety, honesty, and respect in storytelling. As an intimacy coordinator, what sets me apart is that I approach intimate scenes not only from a technical perspective but also through empathy and cultural awareness. Growing up as an East Asian woman and stepping into a field that is still very new in my community, I see my work as both creative and transformative.

I am most proud of helping actors feel safe enough to take risks in their performances, knowing they are protected and respected. Some of the most meaningful feedback I’ve received is when an actor tells me, “I could fully focus on my character because I didn’t have to worry about my boundaries being crossed.” For me, that is art: building trust so authentic emotions can come alive on screen.

Getting here was not easy. There were moments of doubt, especially since the role of intimacy coordinator was not widely understood in East Asia. I often had to explain what I do and why it matters. I overcame this by staying patient, drawing from international standards, and adapting them into culturally sensitive practices that fit our film industry.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that true creativity comes from collaboration. Intimacy coordination is not about controlling a scene, but about opening space for actors and directors to explore safely. When people feel safe, they can create without fear.

What I want the world to know about me and my work is this: I believe art and safety are not opposites, they strengthen each other. By building an environment of respect, we can tell braver, deeper, and more creative stories.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend came to visit Los Angeles for a week, I’d want them to experience the balance of creativity, food, and nature that makes the city so unique.

Start slow with coffee at a local café in Silver Lake, then walk around the artsy boutiques and street murals. Dinner at a Korean BBQ in Koreatown to introduce them to LA’s Asian food. A day in Hollywood. Not just the Walk of Fame, but also catching a re-release film at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. Drive along the Pacific Coast Highway. Stop at Malibu for a beach picnic, then hike Point Dume for sunset. It’s one of the most breathtaking views I’ve ever seen. Explore the Getty Center or LACMA. I love how these museums combine art with space, light, and community. The last, I will also set a creative day, maybe take them to a film set tour, feeling the normal day I am in when I am in LA.

For me, what makes LA exciting isn’t just the famous spots, it’s the people and the mix of cultures that inspire creativity everywhere you go. I’d want my friend to leave feeling the same energy that fuels me in my own work.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to dedicate my shoutout to the mentors, colleagues, and friends who believed in me when I chose to become an intimacy coordinator. This field was still very new in East Asia, and at times it felt uncertain. But the encouragement I received gave me the courage to keep moving forward.

I especially want to thank my theater professors and peers who first introduced me to this work, and the actors and directors who trusted me to create safe and respectful spaces on set. Their openness allowed me to grow and showed me that intimacy coordination is not just about technical guidance, but also about building trust and humanity in storytelling.

Lastly, I want to give credit to the larger international community of intimacy professionals. Reading their guidelines, learning from their practices, and seeing how the role developed abroad gave me inspiration and confidence to bring those values into my own cultural context. Without this support system, I would not be where I am today.

Instagram: isrita_here

Image Credits
Qimo Li