AVN 2023 - The Homecoming of Porn

It's been so long since Vegas was crawling with pornstars, and our first time back since the pandemic was interesting, to say the least.

First, it was held at a new venue - Resorts World - rather than our beloved Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. That, in and of itself, felt odd. This was my 6th time attending the AEE/AVN (Adult Entertainment Expo / Adult Video News) convention and something just felt off being in a new spot. At the Hard Rock, I was familiar with the layout of the convention, I knew my favorite spots for grabbing food and coffee, and I loved the huge posters of my naked friends sprawled across the casino floor and adorning the elevator doors. At Resorts World, it felt like we didn't even exist, there were barely any advertisements about the convention throughout the hotel. The White Party was no longer held at Vanity Nightclub with agencies having an entire lounge spaces for their bottle service, but instead was in an outdoor event space akin to a wedding tent... not exactly an upgrade. Another thing that felt strange was that the festivities were spread out across three venues: Resorts World for the convention, The Sahara for the VIP Suite Parties, and The Peppermint Hippo for the VIP Feature Dance Parties. There was a lot of traveling outside of the hotel, which made the whole week a lot more stressful than having everything in one location.

Second, it was held immediately after Christmas and New Year's. I don't know about you, but I need some time to catch up on life after the holidays. Personally, I was traveling, so I ended up having to pack for a three week trip. It was a lot to think about to make sure I had everything I needed and if I had the choice, I'd vote that AVN isn't held right after the holidays again. It added unnecessary stress for everyone in attendance. One thing I will give them props for though, is that we FINALLY didn't have to stand outside in the cold to walk the red carpet. That was one thing that was always annoying about having AEE in winter, and this year, Resorts World had a large enough space that we weren't freezing our butts off to walk.

Third, the entire convention just had a different vibe than in previous years, with SO MANY content creators having their own booths, as opposed to the huge corporate porn sites dominating the floor. With less mainstream companies in attendance, the networking opportunities seemed more scarce, especially with the lack of a central meeting spot for after-show rendezvous, more on that later. Another notable difference was the addition of a show room for the gay side of the industry. I love that we are expanding and including all performers in AEE, but I didn't particularly like that those studios were segregated to a different conference room altogether. I understand why, but if we're going to be inclusive, let's combine everyone into the big, happy, horny family we really are! In my opinion, if an attendee doesn't like a booth, they can walk right past it. But I digress.

One thing I really loved this year were the retail vendors in attendance. There were so many handmade luxuries available for purchase, from custom body jewelry to fine leather BDSM implements (one of the paddles I looked at had spikes and was designed to draw blood! 😳). I was lucky enough to spend an afternoon shopping around the floor with one of my dearest friends and got quite a few goodies (be on the lookout for those being used on my OnlyFans!). He treated me to a vibrating cock ring with a g spot vibrator, a suede flogger, and a few necklaces. My favorite necklace he got me says "Ethical Slut" and if you haven't read the book by Dossie Easton and Janet Hardy, it's a must read. It's perfect for anyone that wants to improve their connection and communication with any human ever, it's not JUST for us sluts. 😉

Speaking of sluts, I cannot tell you how wonderful it felt to finally see all of my friends again. AVN is usually the one time of year the entire industry is in attendance for an event and you get to see people you've been missing. On set, we usually only see 1 to 3 other performers, so meeting in Vegas always feels like homecoming. It's been 3 years since the last in-person AEE, and it felt more like a high school reunion than anything. Unfortunately, there was no Circle Bar where everyone meets to get drinks, and no Mr. Lucky's for a midnight omelette. It felt like I missed seeing a lot of friends because there wasn't a known meetup spot like in previous years. I DID, however, get to meet on of the cutest performers I've had a crush on FOREVER, Melody Marks! And we were both dressed in all pink so naturally, I had to get a pic of us together. I failed to get pictures with everyone, but here were so many people I hadn't seen in so long and I was overwhelmed with joy getting to see their faces and hug them again.

And not just my performer friends, but fans too! It was an almost surreal experience. There were countless faces I recognized at the expo, but couldn't quite place their names. I guess 3 years in between seeing people will do that to your memory stores. Some of the interactions I had this year were among the most meaningful I'd ever encountered at one of these events. I had multiple people tell me how my TikTok lives have helped them, particularly from sharing about my mental health struggles, and how it inspired them to seek therapy and they're growing and getting better. I nearly cried during those conversations because it's that kind of connection that makes this job worth it. I love enriching the lives of other people, whether it be through my smut or our deep conversations, it's incredibly validating to know I can make such a big impact on the lives of the people who support me. So, if you were one of those people at the expo, and you happen to be reading this, thank you for sharing your experience with me. It made AVN 2023 my favorite expo yet.

Although there are a few details that could be improved upon for the next convention, AEE was still an event to remember. We're all a little out of practice after such a long expo hiatus, but I have every confidence that next year will be even better. A new venue always poses its challenges and the industry has evolved so much these past few years, so some growing pains were expected. I'm so excited to see my family back in Vegas next year for an even better time!