How do performers pack for the ‘week-long porn camp’ that is the Adult Video Network convention?
Posted on January 29, 2020 by Jessie Sage
Originally published in the Pittsburgh City Paper.
I’m writing this week from the Adult Video Network convention in Las Vegas. The annual convention hosts both the largest porn awards show of the year and also the Adult Entertainment Expo, where fans can meet their favorite porn stars, attend seminars about the state of the industry, and shop for the newest sex-tech gadgets and sex toys.
While this is all happening on the convention floor of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, performers spend the week creating as much content together as possible in the hotel rooms upstairs, away from the gaze of the fans and convention attendees. It is essentially a week-long porn camp. So, naturally, I asked the obvious question: “What do you pack for such an event?”
I learned the hard way that packing matters when my lube got confiscated at security for being in my carry-on baggage and not my checked one. I was curious how other models prepared for the trip, so I asked a few:
Allie Eve Knox, fetish performer and VP of Sales at SpankChain, also had some packing snafus. She says she worked really hard to remember to pack underwear but still forgot and had to get some giveaway ones at the MyFreeCams booth. She also talked about the toll standing and walking all day has on her feet: “I have insoles to put in my shoes and grips on the bottom of my shoes so my feet don’t hurt.” And then, of course, there are medical needs. “In my bathroom kit, I have lotion, a sewing kit, a condom, Pepto Bismol, bubble bath in case of a bubble bath emergency,” she says. “I also have a ThermaCare heat wrap, in case I fuck someone’s neck into hurting.”
Kiara Skye, who is also a performer, as well as the social media manager at SpankChain, packed a ton of cat ears. “When I first started [as a cam model] on Chaturbate, I called myself Kitten Kiara, I wore kitten ears, and then I fell in love with them because I thought they looked so cute,” she says. “Every red carpet, I wear them. I try to make them different every time.” She is also a germaphobe. “I have zinc, I brought Lysol wipes, I wipe down everything I know I am going to touch,” Skye says. “If I don’t have that, I feel like I will go crazy.” She also talked about being ready to take good selfies: “I brought my little tripod for my phone and it has a remote clicker, so I can get whatever shots I want.”
Hunny Daniels is a sex worker with autism who wanted to make sure that they had things that would make them comfortable here. “I brought a lot of clothing to satisfy my sensory needs. A good portion of what I brought are things I would need to keep my routine,” Daniels says. In addition to clothes, they brought a peppermint sniffer because the casino smell (especially smoke) can be overwhelming. And also, “I brought stuffed animals for comfort; you need a nice little piece of home when you’re away.” In terms of gear to make content: “I want to make more fetish content so I brought stuff focused on what I want to do,” Daniels says. “I brought a strap-on for as much pegging as possible, a bunch of impact toys because I want to get beat up, and 10 pounds of chains because I think they are hot.”
To help out, veteran cam model Miss Lollipop put together a guide for packing for adult conventions, which she shared on her popular website Cammodel Express. Some of the more interesting things she included on the list are false eyelashes, pasties (which I couldn’t find on the convention floor and needed!), and “fucking machines.” I am still trying to find out how you pack that last one!
