Originally slated to be held at the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, N.J., the trade show relocated after the mayor threatened the event with eviction, just three days before its scheduled start. Despite this hiccup that might have doomed less organized events, show organizers, Victory Tradeshow Management, claim the event attracted close to 18,000 attendees.
“Given what we had to go through to pull off this event, I couldn’t be more pleased with the turnout,” show director J. Handy told XBIZ. “Cars are even in line waiting to park outside the venue.”
Laid out much like its sister show Exxxotica Miami Beach, the New York (technically New Jersey) version was a porn fan’s nirvana. The show boasted more than 70 adult entertainment stars and 150-plus exhibitors. Foot traffic swelled on Saturday with eager conventioneers packing the aisles and forming long lines to meet-and-greet the industry’s biggest stars.
The hub of activity centered on Genesis magazine’s booth. Dubbed Fantasy Island, the booth hosted such names as Stormy Daniels, Sasha Grey, Kayden Kross, Teagan Presley, Audrey Bitoni and Bree Olson.
One face that has noticeably been absent from the porn scene was that of Taryn Thomas, who made a welcome appearance at Exxxotica and who told XBIZ that she was moving back to Los Angeles after spending the summer on the East Coast.
“I’m coming back in October, so you better be ready,” Thomas said. “I’m excited to be here and see my fans and see so many new and familiar faces. I might have been away for a bit, but I’m coming back hotter than ever.”
Thomas, a New Jersey native, also said that she is in the process of launching her own affiliate program and websites. Her yet-to-be-named program is set to launch early next year.
Also on Genesis’s Fantasy Island was Penny Flame, whose comedic stylings kept the crowd in stitches during numerous seminars held on a stage off to the side of the show floor. At her station, Flame was hawking the brand-new three-DVD boxed set of the “Blazed & Confused” series she directed for Shane’s World. She told XBIZ that the series was being revived and a fourth installment, “Blazed & Confused: Acapulco Gold,” will be shot in the coming months.
Flame’s directorial debut for Vivid-Ed, “Penny Flame’s Expert Guide to Hand Jobs for Men and Women,” (co-directed with Tristan Taormino) streets Sept. 25.
While most of the attendees fit into the “young, white, male” demographic, it was noticeable how many couples — and packs of girls — attended the show together. No longer the exclusive domain of raincoaters, the booths were tastefully decorated and accessible to a variety of new demographics, many of who were excited to attend their first adult convention. Print ads in the New York Daily News and New York Post no doubt contributed to the variety of attendees.
Also making her presence felt was Adam & Eve contract star and current Penthouse covergirl, Kayden Kross. Sleekly attired in tight black pants and a white top, the blonde pinup enthused about her first starring role in a big-budget Adam & Eve project, “The 8th Day.” The futuristic epic directed by Ren Savant is slated for release in February and figures to be the company’s tentpole release next year.
For Evil Angel publicist Tricia Devereaux, attendees were a mixed bag of curiosity seekers and porn aficionados.
“I was a little nervous about what the attendance would be after the venue change,” Devereaux told XBIZ. “I didn’t know if the free press the Secaucus mayor gave the event would scare people away or intrigue them. There were a lot more people than I expected. Some seemed to be people who didn’t really watch porn, but were curious about the show. Others were avid fans, who knew exactly what movies and products they had come to buy.”
The Evil Angel booth prominently featured adult star Lexi Love who posed for pictures and signed autographs for fans all three days of the event.
The enthusiasm for the show extended from the eager fans to the exhibitors.
"In many ways, this was the best edition of Exxxotica yet, and easily the best adult show the New York area has seen,” HotMovies’ director of business development James Cybert said. “Our booth was pumping with the legendary Ron Jeremy and hot stars like Flower Tucci, Roxy Reynolds and Courtney Cummz playing to long, excited lines of fans. HotMovies continues to enjoy the opportunity to work with Exxxotica as the presenting sponsor and we look forward to much continued success in the future.”
In addition to hosting business-to-business only hours, sponsored by IVD, feedback from retailers attending the show was positive.
“We’ve been participating in adult fan shows and events all over the U.S. for the last several years. Exxxotica New York was the ‘perfect storm’ for us,” Charles Craton of Sexy Suz Adult Emporium said. “The crowds were amazing, they came with passion and excitement, and the demographic of the fans who attended the show was excellent. We can honestly say that after several years of attending these type events, Exxxotica New York not only succeeded all expectations in a slow economy, but also actually turned out to be the best show for us ever in every measure of success — attendance, participation, excitement, sales, and quality of people.” The always-perky Sunny Lane set up shop in between Kross and Flame and by the end of the second day she was sold out of DVDs and 8 x 10s. Now a girl/girl only performer Teagan Presley also signed for fans and showed off her newly enhanced boobs. Presley told XBIZ that she recently launched AdultBluReview.com, a site where she reviews the latest adult movies on Blu-ray while masturbating on camera.
One of the show’s highlights came during a panel where fans got to ask a bevy of porn stars anything they wanted. Panelists included Gina Lynn, Penny Flame, Sunny Leone and Hillary Scott.
When asked about the difference between having sex on camera and having sex at home, Travis Knight, Gina Lynn’s husband, quipped “At home I don’t get a check after I come.”
Other events during the show including the Ms. Exxxotica competition, Vivid’s Bad Ass Air Guitar Championship and Strip for Pain hosted by Burning Angel.
Joanna Angel, also a New Jersey native, had her own Burning Angel booth for the first time and told XBIZ that she was happy to return to her old stomping grounds. The BA booth pulsed with loud rock music while Angel’s pierced and tatted booth babes handed out stickers, buttons and other Burning Angel-branded merchandise.
Also attending the show was Wicked Pictures star Stormy Daniels, Digital Playground exclusive Jesse Jane, Gianna Michaels, Sasha Grey, Asa Akira, Moxxie Maddron, Ron Jeremy, Arianna Armani, Cezar Capone contract star Morgan Dayne, Vivid Girls Hannah Hilton, Savannah Samson and Nikki Jayne, Gold Star Models’ Joel Lawrence, Tommy Gunn, Gianna Lynn, Paola Rey, Candace Von, Courtney Cummz, Roxy Reynolds and Ashley Fires.
