Fantasies Come True as Fans Old and New Flock to AEE on Thursday

LAS VEGAS—Thursday, the second day of the annual AVN Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE), saw crowds of attendees and adult industry professionals mixing and mingling at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas for a weekend that promised a packed slate of official (and unofficial) parties, panels, activities, and appearances by the industry’s biggest adult movie and social media stars. While the show is technically a trade show presented by the industry’s senior trade publication AVN, it is really a fan show where thousands of enthusiasts arrive from all over the world to get an insider’s view and to meet their favorite stars. For a few, the AVN Show is also a right of passage—a gateway to a world that exists only in fantasies and dreams. For instance, take Brennon who waited in a long line at the Fleshlight x Vixen Media booth, where an impressive roster of Vixen exclusive stars signed their signature limited edition Fleshlight strokers, created just for the 2025 show. Brennon’s mild-mannered, sort of average appearance never hinted at a potential porn star in the making. “I am a porn star fan, and I’m trying to get some stuff signed. I’ve got Maitland Ward’s book here and I’ve got Eva Angelina’s original Penthouse [Pet] of the Month issue. I’m just trying to get stuff signed because I’m a big fan,” he said, promising not to resell the items on eBay. “I want it signed to me—I’m a fan, I’m a collector. This is my first AVN.” Fortune favors the bold, and Brennon soon confessed quietly that his trip to Vegas for the show came about in an unusual way. “I actually wasn’t planning at all. I got the chance to be intimate as part of a gangbang, so...” So, Brennon’s first scene was a gangbang shot by popular pro-am producer and 2025 AVN Award nominee Tad Pole, who, like other content producers, had booked some work in Vegas around the show. “That was my impetus for being here,” he explained. “I just decided to make a vacation out of it and I’ve just been doing my fan fantasy. I’ve been watching this for a decade and a half. I’m 35. I just like experiences. I’m just a fan... I don’t know if I could do it full time...” While Brennon’s story isn’t typical, it’s a real fantasy come true for some. In fact, Pole had earlier recounted his rise from amateur status to a 2025 AVN Award nominee. “My first show was in 2020, right before COVID,” Pole told AVN. “I was very new in content-creating but I had an AVN Star page, and because I had a Star page, I was able to go places a fan wasn’t able to go—at the time, I was probably doing content for a year and a half then? I was on ManyVids—that was the reason I went. ManyVids sent me a message that they were going to let me sign at their booth on Saturday and I was like, ‘I gotta go.’” “Looking around at the big stars—it’s really humbling,” he continued. “There were so many big stars, I thought I didn’t belong here—five years ago. I picked up my [AVN] awards pass, and the guy told me, ‘Sorry, you’re not on the red carpet this time,’ and I said, ‘What do you mean this time? I’ll never be on the red carpet!’ He was like, ‘You never know...’” On the show floor, the main room is dominated by content platform Brazzers, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. The company’s stable of exclusive stars is impressive, including fan-favorite gonzo girl Angela White and curvy blonde Kayley Gunner—even more so when the models are projected 20-feet tall on the big screen for long lines of fans to watch while they wait to meet their favorites. Kira Noir posed for selfies while images from her Brazzer’s showcase feature Kira Noir: On Display lit up behind her. Connie Perignon and Baby Gemini signed glossy photos and took selfies, as well. Popular content platforms and producers, like Brazzers, Adult Time, Elegant Angel, Ricky’s Room, and Hookup Hotshots, all have booths populated with a diverse offering of adult movie stars, next to the booths of talent agencies who showcase their clients for fans. The aisles also are lined with everything one might want or need to have a sexual experience—anything from lubes and enhancement products to fetish gear to lingerie to more sex toys than one could use in a lifetime. At the Motorbunny booth, a visually impaired guest felt the texture of a stroker the company has in development, while a local BDSM group gave a demonstration of flogging and rope-tying on the fetish stage a few spaces away. Vendor giveaways of lube and enhancement product samples, mini pocket vibes, and other branded items saw most guests with big shopping bags of merch to take home and try. Just standing in the hotel hallway near the Canyon Tower elevators, one might run into AVN Hall of Famer Tommy Gunn on his way to a meeting or 2025 AVN Trans Performer of the Year nominee Ariel Demure, dashing off to help with a scavenger hunt event. At the MyFreeCams booth, cosplay-clad starlets, including Lexa Love and Emily Bloom, live-cammed from the show, bringing their fans along for a behind-the-scenes look. Increasingly, popular social media content creators also are featured at the show—many of whom do not necessarily perform in adult movie or hardcore content, but who have an adult component to their online persona, whether as a cam model or influencer. Beau Donovan, cameraman for the Adult Time podcast, described the trend as, “it’s lewds, not nudes.” He and photographer Rae Threat were setting up to capture podcast interviews with a slew of stars including Siri Dahl, Isiah Maxwell, and Sarah Arabic, among others. Those interviews would, of course, later be posted on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other major social media platforms. AVN Hall of Famer and 30-year industry veteran Brittany Andrews, who has been an independent content producer for her own website for more than two decades, signed at the AVN booth on Thursday, for fans new and old, posing for pictures like a pro and joking with each person in line to see her. One of those who queued up for Andrews was “super fan” Larry, who has been coming to AVN Shows since 2003. He comes from a generation of fans that idolizes adult stars. Good with numbers, Larry knows the birthdays of all his favorites and sends cards and greetings. At the show on Thursday, he’d brought a bag of mementos to give to some the “ladies,” confessing that he was particularly looking forward to seeing Heather Vahn. The thing he likes best is to have a one-on-one interaction with a model. “They’re human,” Larry said. “They’re not objects—they’re human and they deserve to be treated with respect.” Nearby, first-time attendee and content creator Little Haka signed at the East Coast Talent booth, alongside starlet Selena Imai and veteran performer and 2025 AVN Award nominee Reagan Foxx. Haka said that she was enjoying the show and that, for her, it was more about creators meeting other creators. Her main platform is TikTok, she said, where she does interviews mostly. Haka performs boy/girl only for her own platforms, but said she was open to the idea of professional adult productions. “I’m more on Instagram and TikTok, but the people here are mostly on Porhub,” she commented, adding that she doesn’t have any content posted there. Photography by Mari Blue. Click here for more photos from the 2025 AVN Show.