2015 AVN Expo
2015 AVN Expo
Inside the world’s largest Adult Industry convention & Fan Expo
Every January it usually takes me to February to catch my breath from the holiday season and start to plan for the year ahead and usually by that time I’m already swamped with emails regarding SXSW in March. Well January is an extremely busy month in the entertainment industry across the board and it sets the tone for the rest of the phiscal year. But again I’m usually still in such holiday hangover mode, I can never seem to get it together in time to hit some of the major events in January.
I’ve been out to the NAMM Convention in Anaheim a few Januarys but two events that I’ve never attended & always wanted to that usually happen concurrently or right after the other is the Sundance Film Festival & the Adult Video Network Adult Industry Expo & Awards Ceremony. This year I was out to change all of that.
AVN Adult Industry Expo – January 23rd – Hard Rock Casino & Hotel – Las Vegas, NV
Now I’m not always so lazy, in fact I actually officially apply for press credentials to the convention every year and then about a week before I get my yearly rejection letter that I resolved that I’m too busy & tired to do anything about. Not this year – after again receiving my annual rejection letter I decided to do something about it.
I was injected with a burst of confidence after receiving confirmation for press credentials for Sundance + plus I know a few people in the adult industry and decided to reach out to them. Also as I’ve learned over the years, the application process can be a joke for any convention in any industry, my saying is “if your applying you ain’t really trying”.
My friend Matt who usually works security for the Burning Angel brand, was gonna be attending and after telling him of my dillemma he suggested I contact one of the producers of the event that he personally knows. It took almost two weeks to track this person down and when I finally did, though we had a great conversation and he assured me it would be no problem, their was still one more guy that had the final say. After waiting almost another week to hear from the main guy, I decide to track him down myself and in a matter of ten mins it was all straightened out and I was now on my way to Las Vegas.
When I arrived a few things occurred to me: One, I realized I hadn’t been to Vegas in four years and though I was surely to see people I know here, I realized that I had never come here alone as Vegas usually isn’t a solo trip for most. I’m not really a Vegas person per say – I’m not much of a gambler and theirs just something about this place that completely turns me off after a day or so.
I was staying at Westgate, the Elvis themed hotel which is east of the strip on Paradise, the same road as the Hard Rock where the convention takes place. Though it’s more than a mile away, it was so nice out and I despise cabs (especially in Vegas) I decided to make my first sojourn to the convention on foot.
On the way, I noticed quite a bit of change since I was last here: For one theirs a monorail that actually starts at my hotel that will take you straight to the Strip (which I had planned to avoid at all cost) & their’s also something akin to the London Eye – a giant ferris wheel designed for sight-seeing called the LinQ.
After signing in and getting my credentials from then on is total sensory overload. I didn’t really know what to expect – I had heard the convention is much smaller than in its heyday of the 1980s and has steadily declined due over the years but it was still much larger than I expected. Currently located in two large rooms at the Hard Rock. A decade before, the expo filled multiple levels of the Sands & the awards ceremony used to be at the Caesars Palace ballroom. Was this gonna be like a Star Trek convention except with porn stars signing autographs for a premium? And though I’m officially here as a member of the press how was I still to differeniate myself as not just another 40-ish balding pasty dude with a camera?
I text Matt to let him know I made it and make my way to find him where he’s working security for Adult Film Star Sarah Vandella who was just about the nicest girl I met all weekend.
Sarah Vandella
The four corners of the hotel spanned everything from the Rabbit vibrator to porn stars ready to pose with fans from literally every walk of life – I saw everyone: shy, quiet geeks, loudmouthed douche bags, couples, middle-aged men and even a few attendees driving motorized scooters.
Need a new butt plug? I found a company that sells handmade stainless steel ones. There’s even a whole health and wellness side of the industry that was rewarding to discover.
No matter what your into you’ll not only find it at the AEExpo, you’ll find ways to fine tune it and maybe even meet your favorite porn star. What’s not to love?
My plan was to experience it all and get as much coverage as possible, it never even occurred to me that I might be nervous or interactions could be awkward, I’m the most extroverted guy in the world and I work with celebrities all the time but sure enough I was a total spazz more times that I care to remember.
Cam Girls
Case in point: the first person besides Sarah that I spoke with was cam girl Ashe Maree, one of my favorite girls to follow on Twitter – I had just seen a poster of her when she comes around the corner, I politely ask to take her picture but then I was a total awkward mess – sorry Ashe it will take a few more tries to get used to this –
There is a site called Chaturbate (look it up I’m not explaining it here) where I met some of the hottest and most fun girls all weekend including Bonnie Bruise who had the best look & attitude.
Ashe Maree & Bonnie Bruise
And then in the main room that is normally the space that houses the nightclub the Joint where the awards ceremony will be tomorrow night you would come upon this row of other up & coming girls posing for pics to a mob. Now while nudity is still outlawed in the confined space of the convention these girls were out to test those boundaries with some straight up not giving a fuck.
Kassandra Rain & Mandy Muse
Kasey Warner/Kendra Cole & Naomi Heart & friends
Kendra Cole was one of the nicest & most stunning girls I met all weekend).
Now I’m not the most versed person in the porn industry but we all have our favorites I assume and naturally their a big names that work their way into your vernacular regardless if you wish them to or not. For me if I were to make a Top 5 list of girls I was hoping to meet would have been:
Belle Knox
Amy Brooke
Halle Von
Chloe Foster
& Dakota Skye
Besides Dakota I didn’t see a single one of them & I believe that none of them were actually there which was disapointing. Futher adding to that was that when I did meet Dakota she was really super out of it and really seemed like she didn’t wanna be there. I follow her on Twitter and I know that she’s been having a bit of a tough time & is probably in need of a break. She has been outspoken lately about her dibilitating social anxieties that have been a source of comfort for my girlfriend and was hoping to express our gratitude but it just wasn’t meant to be this time.
Porn Stars
The contract girls that make movies for the major porn studios were not hard to find and their respective companies held a major footprint and it was similar to walking down fucking Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras to even get close to these girls as they were so popular.
Bonnie Rotten (last year’s performer of the year winner) & Riley Reid
I saw Janice Griffith who is only 18 & one of the hottest & most fit girls you’ll ever see in person. You might remember her when a series of unfortunate events led her to making national headlines when she allowed herself to be thrown naked from the roof of the notoriously douchy Dan Bilzerian several stories down to a pool where thankfully the only thing she broke was her foot. While most of the other girls were out hustling and working the crowd, these girls (especially Janice) didn’t have to lift a finger and just sit there and give each person their turn for a photo while having a blast.
Janice Griffith & Jillian Janson & Aidra Fox
April O’ Neil (third from the left) & friends – I had met April before in Austin during SXSW – we have some mutual friends & a shared passion for pinball + she’s a nerd’s dream ( her name references the Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles for christsakes haha)
The Main Floor
I think the most fun I had during the whole thing was just simply the interactions on the main floor – Their was no telling who or what you would run into, what new thing or star you would discover and a perceived limitless evening of fun to have. I ran into my buddy Igor who is a professional photographer and he covers this event every year so I assumed I would see him. Then I met all these fine girls of the industry that were all just so much fun!
Silvia Rubi & Amarna Miller (left)
Coralyn Jewel & Frida Sante’ (Frida was easily one of the hottest and most fun & enjoyable girls all weekend).
Marie Mccray & Sabrina Banks
Georgia Jones (third from the left & also Charlie Sheen’s new girlfriend) & friends.
and of the course the girls of Burning Angel who offer an alternative to your typical porn star look – blazing with tattoos and punk attitude.
but my fave pic I took all weekend and who were the most fun of them all were Willow Hayes & Pepper Kester
They were such a blast, you can’t see in this pic but Willow is actually wearing roller skates and together they were a riot.
Fans
The main part of what made the expo so fun to attend because there’s no judgement. At all. Like to get spanked? Head to The Lair, “an interactive kinky playspace” Like girls who have more to love? You’ll see them here. And for me I think really the most awesome thing was to see how much the fans were enjoying themselves.
Sure, some might be here in hopes of being seen by a porn company but largely it appeared to be a “where else could I wear next to nothing in public and have a great time?” Though there were definitely the women here looking for a big break, the ones dressed in cheap, sex shop fishnets, hoping to network with the right people based on their current appearance.
Check out these female fans here to let it all hang out –
After the Expo closed for the day I headed back to my hotel, exhausted & hungry. I met up with an old friend in the music industry and gorged at the awesome buffet at the Monte Carlo. I took that monorail for a spin and was literally the only one on it. For future tourists looking to have their Risky Business moment on a train this one’s for you. After dinner I made plans to meet back up with Matt who was having a few drinks with some of the folks from the Burning Angel crew.
Though I would see alot of them around Brooklyn, I was formally introduced to Mitch the co-founder, his wife who performs under the name Kleio, another performer Draven & her fiancee’. I instantly hit it off with all of them and we sat around and told stories and had a few drinks before they decided to call it a night. They had all been in town for most of the week whereas I just got here this morning and was roaring to go. Naively I was hoping to find myself drowning in invites to these supposed legendary sex parties that happened after the expo closes for the day but instead here it was I encountered.
Matt suggested we hit the Circle Bar in the back and all we discovered was just people sitting around not up to much, you really see that this is a business and these people are at work and that’s why it resembled more of an end-of-work-day at Cheers than some crazy Vegas porn bash.
Janice Griffith (middle) who isn’t 21 didn’t have much a choice (publicly) of course seemed content just to be hanging with James Deen who has been the male face of porn the last few years. Probably one of the reasons for his success is that if you saw this dude at the Mall, you would think he worked there. Just the most normal, average dude ever, super short & skinny.
It had more of a High School kegger vibe than the bachnalia I had hoped for, everyone in groups sitting in the slot machine chairs gossiping.
My friend Igor and the people he was with were all bummed because some pickpocket had lifted his friend’s phone, others telling stories complete with party tricks.
Still fun though as I got to meet a bunch more of Matt’s friends who were all really cool.
Didn’t think I would be seeing professional wrestlers until I got to Sundance but while we were loitering in the slot chairs a semi-steady flow of patrons returning from an AVN sponsored White Party were slowly trickling in when I recognize one of them as Dolph Ziggler.
He told me recently released WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts was roaming around here somewhere, a sign of things to come.
On to Day 2 and the AVN Awards!
Photos –
Roy Turner
Nate “Igor” Smith
X Critic
