X3 2024

The third annual X3 show on January 17-18 in Hollywood was the most successful with attendance being at a max. There were no omicron fears to worry about as in the first year, and the weather mostly cooperated with the outdoor lines unlike less year.

Chaturbate stage show
Chaturbate stage show

Logistics for the show also changed. I noticed that only Hussie Models had an agency booth this year, and the lack of agency booths contributed to less talent signing. Less talent and more people made for some tight spaces. The stage presentations by exhibiting companies brought large crowds to the front, but also hampered the people that were signing in front of the stage. Fortunately, there were no distracting celebrity musical performances so people signed on until the end.

Angela White
Angela White

Brazzers had the busiest booth for the third year in a row, and Angela White again was the most popular signer at the show. Their security coordinated lines that did not impede the flow of traffic.

I liked how the organisers ran the show overall and made on-the-fly decisions to improve the flow of traffic. For example, many of the talent signing upstairs were brought downstairs to the perimeter on the second day to make them more noticeable and pull some of the traffic outwards.

Naked News crew
Cosplayground featuring Naked News

I did not attend the XBIZ Awards this year due to an emergency back home. I heard it went well, and there were no surprises. The red carpet photos looked dazzling.

Gallery on Flickr

Exxxotica DC 2023

Exxxotica returned to the DMV (DC-MD-VA) area for its third appearance. Even though this location is probably the smallest of the tour, the crowd was steady and happy to see their favourite performers. There was a good attendee-exhibitor ratio, and the crowds tended to congregate at the stage where multiple feature dancers performed like Christiana Cinn.

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Christiana Cinn

I did not see many performers that I did not recognise and mostly visited with the people that I knew. The smaller show allows you to have conversations without feeling a rush even if there is a line waiting. Outside of the stage, people mostly congregated near the webcam companies, Chaturbate & MFC, and the Spotlight booth sponsored by Loyalfans.

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Maya Rue from Chaturbate
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Babe Ariel & River Moon from MyFreeCams

In terms of after-hours, I took it slow and forwent the after-parties that were mostly inside the District over 40 minutes away from the expo. I mostly stuck to bourbon tasting inadvertently.

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April O’Neil at the Loyalfans booth

Exxxotica New Jersey 2023

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Fiona Frost

The busiest traveling show celebrating pornography returned to the New Jersey area this month and again crowds were overwhelming on the Friday and Saturday of the show.

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Kayley Gunner, Angela White, and Kendra Sunderland

Brazzers was the busiest booth with Angela White and Abella Danger having the longest lines that were stretched across several roped sections that were designed to allow foot traffic between them. Abella was only there on that Saturday since she was taking a break from her studies to meet her fans. Angela continued to sign every day past closing time for the people that were still in line, and she graciously took selfies with random attendees who sought her out afterwards. I stood in line early one day which had the Brazzers staff incredulously asking what I was doing, but sometimes it’s easier to meet and greet the performer that way rather than interrupt her while she is engaging with the fans.

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Abella Danger

The second busiest booth was Ricky’s Room (Ricky Johnson) next door featuring Kylie Rocket, Blake Blossom, and Roxie Sinner. Kylie was the first person to greet me when I walked in. I talked to Blake about her “Blake Blossom Only” fan account’s penchant for removing watermarks for no reason. Roxie was giving attendees dances on a bed which created a patient line of people waiting to be motorboated.

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Kylie Rocket

The show was so busy that I didn’t realise certain people like Spencer Bradley were at the show until Saturday. I also had trouble finding performers who were just wandering about and networking without a booth. Some performers were signing for autograph companies, and the companies were somewhat strict with the girls’ interactions with their fans.

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Spencer Bradley

Venus Berlin 2023

It had been 7 years since I last attended Venus Berlin. Part of the absence had been because of the coronavirus pandemic, but I was also not motivated to go to a foreign show where I did not know most of the producers. Sure, there is a lot of nudity at these European shows, but I’m not the average attendee who seeks out nudity.

These attendees are mostly older men (age 55+) who look and behave like they haven’t pulled pussy in a while. They rush and gawk at the first sign of anyone removing clothing. I think this would happen at an American show too if they allowed nudity. Many are openly aggressive in touching and groping the performers to their discomfort, and I think part of it is the rampant drinking that goes on at these shows. I think the only way to make the attendee leave a performer alone is if the performer asked the person for a tip.

The crowds of these type of people prevent me from actually taking photographs of who I want to photograph. I’m no longer of the age to wade into a crowd, or as Murtaugh would say, I’m just too old for this shit. Whereas in 2016, I took about 3,000 photos; I only took 650 for this show.

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Nela Decker

This was the busiest Venus I had ever been to. The organisers are very good in designing the layout and staggering the stage show schedule so that the crowd runs from place to place in a somewhat coherent fashion. I mostly hid in the Brazzers booth when the mob went from booth to booth. Nela Decker performed a stage show portraying a terrorist taking a hostage which was in bad taste given the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

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Angela White had the longest lines in the show

Angela White and Mia Julia (formerly Mia Magma) had the longest lines at the convention. From what locals have told me, Mia is now a reality television star and a singer, but her line was too long for me to meet and photograph her again. Brazzers in general had the longest lines for autographs, and crowds circled around Lily Lou when she bared her breasts and encouraged attendees to grope and choke her. Ryan Reid celebrated her birthday that weekend also.

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the Brazzers girls
  • Somewhat Safe For Work gallery on Flickr
  • NSFW photo thread on Twitter

Exxxotica Miami 2023

Exxxotica Miami was a laid back show this year with its third show since the pandemic. There was the same square footage of exhibitors, but the crowd only seemed intense on the first night with the ladies’ free entrance. There was no ridiculous lines at any particular booth. It seemed like the crowd gravitated more towards the stage and Dungeon areas with their entertainment than waiting to see their favourite stars.

The Loyalfans-sponsored main booth featured several popular performers over the years. One signer who stood out was Jenna Haze who made her return after a 5 years absence from Exxxotica. She said she was in between her studies given the summer and missed her fans. She plans to remain close to the industry in becoming a therapist.

Outside of the Loyalfans booth, there were new and local performers walking out and about the convention. Being out of touch with current porn, I did not recognise many of them to ask for photos. I was thrilled to see the best talker in porn, Anya Olsen, though after not seeing her for over 5 years also. She’s a bit laid back in person compared to on the screen.

After hours, I stayed clear of the official parties at the strip clubs and instead hung out by the pool with friends mostly from the Chaturbate booth even though the weather was hot and stormy. I was randomly handing out White Claws to people who asked knowing that it was still cheaper than buying booze at a strip club. One night I tried to drag Emma Sirus out to the pool, but all she wanted to do was sleep after a long day at the con.

Emma Sirus

Photo gallery on Flickr

Photo gallery on Porn Crush