blog.iafd.com – Page 2 – News and Reviews from the IAFD Staff

AEE 2025

AVN’s Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE) moved to Virgin Las Vegas after a two-year stint at ResortsWorld. Virgin was somewhat familiar grounds since AEE was at the former Hard Rock Hotel & Casino from 2013-2020. Beyond the familiar layout, the atmosphere and security was more similar to ResortsWorld. Newer talent complained about a strict dress code that was consistent with those of previous years.

AEE was spread across two large rooms while the Adult Novelty Expo and Internext were in separate areas. Vixen and Fleshlight hosted a pop-up store outside of the convention. Brazzers had the largest and most popular booth at the show with lines for Abella Danger, Angela White, Lily Phillips, and Violet Myers waiting for more than an hour.

Photo Gallery on Flickr

Congratulations to Anna Claire Clouds for winning Female Performer of the Year at the AVN Awards. I first met Anna while sharing a smoke with Don Juan Demarko at Exxxotica Denver in 2018 and joked about the industry need for three-part stage names. It has been a pleasure to watch her growth over the past years.

Congratulations also to Jeff Vanzetti and Peter Van Aarle for their long overdue inductions into the AVN Hall of Fame. Without them, there would be no database for the obsessive fan that need a name or number to the person they just fapped to. I only knew Peter for a brief time, but he was a mentor and ideal as a historian for the industry. Jeff had the technical know-how to put IAFD together and the temperament to manage a motley group of contributors that followed. I am glad that the selection committee recognised and gave them their flowers.

X3 2025

XBIZ returned to the Hollywood Palladium for its fourth edition of the X3 show where fans get to meet some of their favourite performers. Given the ongoing fires in parts of Los Angeles, some industry talent from out of town were apprehensive about attending. However, XBIZ LA and X3 went off without much of a hitch.

The start of the X3 show was delayed by an hour due to a reported bomb threat. Once the police and their bomb dogs cleared the venue, we had the busiest X3 show ever in terms of attendance. The organisers run a good ship. The most popular booths were Brazzers, Fleshlight, and Ricky’s Room while the most popular signer was Violet Myers.

The show also featured a musical performance by rapper, Bia. I didn’t know her beforehand, but she was entertaining and led a raucous concert.

I couldn’t attend the rebrand of the XMA Awards, but the judges made the right call on many of their picks. Congratulations to Anna Claire Clouds on winning Female Performer of the Year, Gal Ritchie for Best New Performer, and Lilly Bell for G/G Performer of the Year.

For the rest of the photos on Flickr.

Exxxotica DC 2024

The Exxxotica tour made its third stop in the DMV area. The show here is smaller with less exhibitors and had the vibe of an intimate affair. An attendee would be able to chat with their favourite star and not feel like they were holding up the lines. The industry talent also told me that the attendees were more likely to spend money at this show rather than just gawk so everyone was happy.

The busiest booth was the Loyalfans spotlight booth with Alex Coal and April O’Neil consistently having people waiting for them. The Chaturbate booth was the second busiest as the cam models regularly interacted with the physical attendees in addition to their online cam room.

The nights were laid back with the after-parties being at a neighbouring restaurant. People didn’t go too crazy, and this show was a good stopover before awards season start next month.

Rest of the photos on Flickr

Exxxotica New Jersey 2024

Exxxotica returned to New Jersey on October 25-27. I attended the show mostly to catch up with the boss over at IAFD and get some ramen at this local place called Yaraku that offers a mean cheap bowl.

The show was busy and at times overwhelming if you are antsy with crowds. The foot traffic on Fridays can be bumper to bumper given the free attendance for women. Saturday is steady in attendance throughout the day while Sundays are not as slow as the other locations on the tour. The crowd behaviour was respectful, and there was no alcohol sold at the show presumably due to state law.

There were less major booths compared to last year, and it made the lines longer to visit with the performers. Many of them were in costume since Halloween was the following week. Violet Myers at Loyalfans held the longest lines with people accruing hours before she was scheduled to sign. Both Alex Coal and April O’Neil had their share of waiting attendees at the same booth.

April O’Neil cosplaying as April Oneil from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

After-hours is when the alcohol came out as Exxxotica hosted parties each night. Friday and Saturday featured a live band and large crowds while Sunday had a more laid back trivia contest that focused on sex and porn.

Rest of the photos on Flickr

Exxxotica Miami 2024

Three weeks and one hurricane later, I should just give an abbreviated summary of the most senior Exxxotica show in Miami. The Miami show gives me an opportunity to meet some of the newer talent that are based in Florida. The show is easy to access in the sense that it’s near the airport and the convention center is next to the host hotel. The crowds are not too heavy, and the food in the surrounding area is excellent.

Suck and Blow, a stage game by James Bartholet

I didn’t see any signing talent with huge lines but that may be because of the constant entertainment at the main stage where crowds gather. I also saw Florida-based talent randomly walking around the show like Kelsi Monroe, Leana Lovings, and Daisy Lavoy.

Rest of convention photos

As for the off-hours, I didn’t stray too far away from the hotel with Mr. Blue Lou Boyle. Even though I kept getting invited to the after-parties by my feature dance friends with incentives of free alcohol, I was just too beaten to hang out at strip clubs.

Oh, and Rose Carter, thank you for being magical.