I visited Miami from May 13 through May 16, where I attended my first in-person XBIZ and first XBIZ Miami, first in-person adult industry convention, and was thrown out of an event for the first (and hopefully last!) time in my life. It was an eye-opening experience. The lows were made up for by feelings of loving connection, and I’m grateful to have made industry friends.
Day One (Monday, May 13)
I landed at Miami International Airport (MIA) aboard AA2451, and hailed a Lyft after learning that none of the hotel shuttles offer service to South Beach. My driver, Edilberto, picked me up at 4:30PM, and dropped me off in front of the Crest Hotel at 4:52PM. He didn’t get out of the car to help me with my luggage when he picked me up, which I forgave on account of it being very busy at the rideshare passenger pickup area, but when he did it again at drop off, I was peeved. Still, I tipped the man, because I’m a G.
I checked in with the front desk, and rode the little elevator up to the third floor. After checking my room and dropping off my belongings, I walked over to the Sagamore Hotel.
I touched base with a woman at the entrance of the Sagamore holding a BLOSSM sign, got a time estimate for the next shuttle, and headed inside.
The lobby was packed with attendees waiting to clear registration. I decided to skip the crowd, and walked through the hotel and toward the pool area, where I found my way over to the Chaturbate cabana. I said hi to a man whose name I recognized from searching Bluesky for posts about XBIZ Miami prior to committing to attending (he will not be named, because his demeanor toward me remained icy throughout the event). It was pretty quiet outside, not to mention hot, so I headed back inside.
I joined Chloe Wildd, Jo Wildd, Lushiana, and Drizzy on the limousine shuttle bound for the BLOSSM House Party. I listened to Chloe and Jo conversing in French, and asked them where they were from to break the ice, learning about how they work together as the conversation progressed. A man on the shuttle (I want to say his name was Vlad – I bummed a smoke from him early on Day Two) rolled some video of us.
When we arrived at the house, I spotted a drone overhead. Security had us each show our invitations, and we were welcomed with a glass of champagne and a swag bag to kick things off. It was nice enjoying the more intimate setting of a house party, complete with wait staff and hors d’oeuvres. I met a couple folks that worked for Blossm (Katie and Ryan), and a bunch of content creators (Brody Biggs, Laila Delight, Jeremiah and syndica, Jake and Margot Diamond, Grey Desire, juicypomma, and patootiepeaches). I met heartmyarc, likemyashe, and nedfitness on the shuttle back to the Sagamore.
Back at the Sagamore, I bumped into a couple folks whose names I recognized from the XBIZ Telegram group: Uncle D Assman and Dugmor. They were joined by TheAntonioHard.
I waited in the Chaturbate line for registration. When I eventually reached the front of the line, the woman helping me couldn’t find me on the list: I thought this was strange because I’d engaged in some rapid-fire correspondence with XBIZ prior to the event, and had even written in right before its start to confirm my registration. She gave me a wristband so I could attend the evening’s White Party, and urged me to find her in the morning.
I walked from the Sagamore over to GALA Miami, meeting Holly along the way, and attended the White Party. The venue was packed, the music pumping. I pulled my earplugs (Amazon.com) from my bag and inserted them, made a lap, and went back outside for a breather before diving in again. I snaked my way around the venue, and eventually settled at one of the two Chaturbate booths, where I drank some mixers and chilled, soaking in the atmosphere.
Chloe, Jo, and Lushiana eventually showed up. They invited me to dance with them. Jo and Chloe left at some time in the night, and the XBIZ sponsor booths were eventually taken over by other patrons (I learned this when I went to fill my cup from a booth, only for a man to pry away the bottle from my hand, and set it back upon the table). I tailed Lushiana out of GALA Miami, a story I’ll save for my premium OnlyFans.
I wandered the Sagamore grounds in the wee hours of the morning, and bumped into Ricky Johnson of Ricky’s Room and his crew (Riley and Janae).
Day Two (Tuesday, May 14)
I grabbed a cup of coffee to go and walked over to the Sagamore to register. While in line, I met Heather Dominique. I found the woman who helped me the previous night, and she saw me through registration.
I’d arrived early enough to catch the tail end of ’80s-Themed Aerobics, but passed on joining after seeing a cameraman filming the participants. I walked out to the pool, and happily, saw a group of people doing yoga. I hadn’t realized there would be yoga instruction, but decided I’d run through my flow in the relative comfort of the Chaturbate cabana. It had been a while, and I knew it wouldn’t hurt.
I attended the Speed Networking event, and met a bunch of folks (Joey of Joey’s POV, Peter with Frosting.ai, DrRideout, Emily Hopkins with Beyond Closed Doors, Al Cheech, Charlie Rae Hunter, Begi, Wendy Nelson, Kristy, Dan Cooper, Caitlyn Brooks, Slim Flexxxington, Abe, Tyler of gigsocial, Blaze Von Byrne, Anna Lynx, and Gleb Sanj of AS Talent Agency).
I popped over to the Creators / Models Lounge and met Daniel, Marketing Director with My.Club. I caught MelRose Michaels walking past, recognized her name, and made sure to say hi. Back in the lounge, I chatted with August Skye. I had a slice of pizza or two, and cooled off. I met Nicole Aniston and Joseph, and scheduled a reiki session with Nicole. I met Eric and Ky-Lee, and may even have snuck Diesel a pizza crust (with permission!).
Just past 2:00PM, I experienced my first ever reiki session under Nicole Anniston. She told me that she had done some work to unblock my throat chakra.
Back outside, I met Alex Anne, Account Manager with FansRevenue.
I wound up visiting the Hookup Hotshot cabana for a while, where I met Scott Tann, business manager. He pointed out some of the other folks behind Hookup Hotshot (Mike, the investor; Leon “ogfoto”; Nade Nasty) as well as visitors to their cabana (Jeff Dillon, Lola Aiko), and encouraged me to connect with them.
I linked up with Brody, and we walked over to I Love Liquor, where he picked up a six-pack of Coronas. We smoked a cigarette together before heading back into the Sagamore: he had a nearly-finished pack of Lucky Strikes on him, as well as a pack of Marlboros. He offered me a choice between the two, and I went for the Luckys, holding onto the pack with one for the road. I offered the final Lucky Strike to Scott after linking up with him again.
The wet t-shirt contest kicked off behind schedule. I had my Fujifilm X100V with me, and wanted to shoot coverage as content for my channels, so moved to position myself to be able to capture the contestants and their performances. Prior to any filming, I’d been warned by a large, older security guard that a couple of the photographers in the thick of it were being paid by one of the models to provide coverage, and I’d dismissed him by telling him I’d talk to her and try and win friends.
The X100V has a bad habit of overheating during long takes, so I had to switch over to my iPhone 13 Pro before long. This is all the footage I managed to capture before I was ejected from the Sagamore Hotel by security:
I initially tried sharing this video through my Pornhub channel, but it got caught up in their review process, which doesn’t seem to have the flexibility to account for scenarios like this (they requested IDs for everyone depicted, an impossible ask). I decided I’d try sharing it through MEGA: if you experience any playback issues, especially as a free user, please let me know, and I’ll re-encode and re-upload it at a lower bitrate.
It’s clear from the video that I upset some folks there. Beginning at 8:43, Buster complains, and threatens to talk to security. I thought he was tripping. We were standing right by Theresa Nguyen Muñoz, who also joined in the complaint. At 9:06, the security guy announces, “Alright, I’m gonna give you five more seconds.” I tried my best to avoid bumping anyone while still keeping a clean frame. At 11:44, the security guy says, “Yo, you gotta back up.” Theresa Muñoz complains again, and I try explaining my camera strap touched her. The situation escalates, and the security guy starts pushing me.
At 11:56, I’ve repositioned to get a better shot, and to avoid being too close to the complainants. I was able to record another 16 minutes 55 seconds. For whatever reason, I didn’t capture the final moments leading up to my removal by security. In the final frames that I captured, the security guy is looking my way, his face obscured by the flash diffuser of Jay David’s camera.
I was able to get some footage from another attendee capturing the moments leading up to Buster’s complaint, which I paired with audio recorded from my camera:
Most notably, I was also able to get some footage capturing what happened after I stopped recording:
Starting at 0:19, I begin to leave the frame. At 0:59, I reenter from the right side of the frame, and yield to Theresa Nguyen Munoz. I return to where I had been filming, stepping behind Moe Helmy. At 1:14, Moe Helmy can be seen looking in my direction. He moves to the right side of the frame and, at 1:20, pauses by the security guy. At 1:31, the security guy begins moving in my direction, and by 1:33, his right hand is on my left shoulder.
I don’t think Moe’s pausing by the security guy, followed swiftly by the security guy’s laying hands on me, was coincidental. He had sufficient time to communicate that he wanted me gone. However, only Moe Helmy knows what Moe Helmy did in those crucial seconds.
If you or someone you know has better coverage of what happened, please do contact me, because I’d love to see and share it (I’m happy to provide attribution, or to leave your submission anonymous)!
The tall, younger man with the dark hair and tattoos jabbed a finger my way, locked eyes with me, and said something to the effect of, “You. Out. Now.”
I resisted his pushing me and tried to talk with him, but he wasn’t having it. I remember him lifting me at one point, and me using my legs to brace against something to prevent him from moving me. One of the Sagamore hotel bartenders I spoke with on Day Three remarked that it looked like I was doing parkour.
He pushed me to the ground outside the back gate. My X100V was outside of its case, and I was holding it in my right hand. I instinctively moved to protect it, knowing a solid hit to its face might be the end, and landed funny, resulting in an injury that continues to plague me even now (July 19).
I was a bit stunned at first, and my first move was to attempt to gain reentry through the same gate. The security guard who’d just pushed me out looked at me, shook his head in disbelief, and shut the door on me again.
A Francophone black man wearing a rastacap accompanied by some young children happened to be walking by the back gate. He engaged me, and offered me the last of the blunt he was holding. Some other guy asked me about the event, and I told him he could, like, me, earn his way in.
As I walked around the property, the pain began to set in. Not only had I suffered the embarrassment and humiliation of being pushed out of the event by security in front of everyone, but now I had open wounds on my hand, forearm, and knee.
I racked my brain, trying to figure out who had loosed security upon me. Was it the other photographers?
I found myself suddenly looking at the entrance of the Ritz-Carlton. I’d seen it on the map, and decided I’d pay a visit. I took a seat at the end of the wrap-around bar, and the bartender got me a glass of water. I didn’t take a sip of it, and decided I’d go in search of a restroom. I bumped into the bartender while wandering the corridors, and she pointed me in the right direction.
I was approached by Ritz-Carlton security: the bartender must’ve been weirded out by a man walking in off the street, sitting at her bar without ordering anything. I asked the man for first aid, showing him my fresh wounds. He led me to a sitting area in the lobby, and instructed me to wait. I grew tired of waiting, and decided to clear out.
I walked back to the Sagamore. The big security man I’d spoken with earlier came out and spoke with me. He told me he couldn’t let me back in, yet. I told him there were other events taking place that night that I wanted to participate in. He told me to go back to my hotel and get showered, and that he’d communicate with the rest of his team, and they’d leave me alone.
By 7:52:36PM, I was showered and back inside the Sagamore. I know this because I inadvertently recorded a short video clip at that time: I was keeping my phone at the ready in the event I had another unpleasant interaction with security. Fortunately, none took place. I made a point of stopping at the front desk and requesting first aid and an incident report. The man there produced some alcohol wipes and bandages, but didn’t seem willing to help with the latter part of my request.
Looking at my watch, I realized I might catch the end of the AS Talent Agency Cocktail Hour. I entered the Water Lion Bar, and a woman seated at the bar beckoned for me to come over. She told me she was a writer, and she wanted to film a project. I got suckered into buying a drink, and showed the footage I rolled earlier.
I dipped, and hung around the Sagamore pool for the Neon Nightswim Pool Party.
I reached out to AS Talent Agency at 10:19PM requesting details on their Nyotaimori Sushi Party. They initially responded with the address, but withdrew my invitation at 10:30PM:
(It turned out I didn’t need to do all this, because the photo I’d taken of Gleb’s phone at 11:13:48AM actually contained the address, but given my invitation had been rescinded, it wouldn’t have been right for me to have shown up. AS Talent Agency did not respond to my request for further information on how they were informed of my “incidence.” I’m still salty I missed this party, because I love sushi and hookah, and I don’t use that word lightly.)
I caught up with Brody Biggs and some of his friends on the beach, but felt my energy flagging, and went back to my hotel room to crash.
Day Three (Wednesday, May 15)
I freshened up, grabbed a cup of coffee to go, and arrived at the Sagamore in time to catch the tail end of yoga, but couldn’t participate on account of my wounds.
I participated in the speed networking event, and met some new people (Sofia with IWantClips, Steve G with Hope, Laurel with Fancentro, Carla Volk with Amateur, Zach Levy with Composer, Katherine Studley of The Only Consultant, Mia Zavala, Britti Bratti, Tati of sex.com, Lydia of lyd.io, Avneet Walia with Peach Club, Michael Sperber, Shay with Traffic Haus, Ian Austin Humboldt, Bosslady, uirigame, PeachyCatSnack, Ronnie Costello with Spoiled Productions, Big Max, Manoeshka, Cody Webb) in addition to chatting with folks I’d met during the previous day’s session. I shared my security incident with one of the folks I’d met the previous day, and they suggested I speak with Theresa Munoz.
uirigame stuck around to chat afterwards. Meeting her turned my XBIZ Miami experience around.
uirigame took me over to the Fansly cabana, where I engaged with Kelvin Nguyen, Creator Acquisition Manager (Kelvin did not respond to my email asking if there were higher-ups at Fansly who had requested Theresa remove me from their cabana). Toward the end of our interaction, I asked if I might grab an energy drink. I’d just cracked into it when Theresa Nguyen Muñoz approached me, tapped me on the shoulder, and asked if we could talk privately. I was surprised she came and found me, and sensing this might be an important interaction, surreptitiously began recording at 12:36:18PM:
I moved through the convention differently for the rest of my visit to Miami: camera always at the ready, and never rolling solo.
I met Asa Akira at the Pornhub cabana. Meeting her was important to me: I’d made a note before heading to Miami that she’d be in attendance, and knew I had to defuse the situation with Theresa Munoz, if only to ensure I got my face time in with Asa. I handed uirigame my camera, and at that time, realized there were smudges on its optic.
We met Sona Bella, who rolled with us. I met Judith (Karups?). I bummed a Lucky Strike off of Lana Inked, who’d picked them up in Switzerland.
Back inside the Sagamore, I chatted with John S. Austin, Esq.
uirigame, Sona Bella, and I found a table indoors, right beside the Creators / Models Lounge, where we sat and cooled off. uirigame scored a slice of pepperoni pizza for me.
I met Dylan Rose, Athena “Bella,” Ryan Woods, Nick Zargarpour, Jasmine with Fleshlight, Taboo Toby and Claire Black, Wendy with Pineapple Support, and Lawton Ceeblue.
I went back to my hotel room, and swapped my Fujifilm X100V for my Sony A7SIII, bringing it out for the first time since my arrival in Miami.
uirigame told me she had a friend who wanted to meet me. I walked over to where she was staying, Aqua Hotel, and it was there that I met Princess Sophia Quinn. I saw her post on Reddit prior to the convention and sent her an email, but failed to respond, for which I apologized profusely upon meeting her.
uirigame hadn’t gone to the beach, yet, so together with Princess Sophia Quinn, off we went.
I headed to the Chaturbate dinner at Dolce Italian, but was turned away by the Chaturbate representative on account of the fact I didn’t have a wristband. Apparently they’d been handing them out, and I’d managed to miss out. The host told me there were some folks in attendance who weren’t supposed to be there, and they had hit capacity. Shame.
I wandered back to the Sagamore, stomach empty, and met Tiger Lilly at the Chaturbate cabana. I’d seen her the previous day at the Hookup Hotshots cabana, but didn’t want to intrude at the time, so it was nice to make her acquaintance.
That night, I broke form. Maybe it was a result of my reiki session with Nicole, or maybe it was adrenaline from being manhandled the day before. I saw Daria with Bongacams in the pool, wearing just her shorts and a bra. She climbed out and rejoined the rest of the Bongacams folks, but I caught up to her, and called out her name.
“Daria?”
She turned and looked at me.
“I’m sure you get this all the time, but you’re beautiful.”
We walked and talked, and I learned she had done some international modeling, including a stint in Tokyo.
I doubled back to the pool area, and met Taylor Nicole. I reconnected with uirigame and Princess Sophia Quinn at the LoyalFans cabana, where I chatted with Dr. Tampa, whom I’d bummed a smoke off of the night before. Teeny Nene sat on the couch, but I wanted to bounce ideas on prevention of piracy with Dr. Tampa.
I rolled some footage of WeGotTheFeet collaborating with uirigame and BrattyTickles.
We walked the perimeter of the pool, and met James at the Chaturbate cabana before bouncing over to the Aqua Hotel
At uirigame and Princess Sophia Quinn’s suite, I met Leairis and BodyByBlunts in proper.
uirigame, Princess Sophia Quinn, and I went to Moshi Moshi, where we had a bite to eat.
We went back to Aqua Hotel and uirigame caught some precious shuteye before catching a cab over to MIA.
Day Four (Thursday, May 16)
My flight out of Miami, AA2055, was delayed. I shared a Lyft with Princess Sophia Quinn to MIA, accompanied her through security, and took her to the South Terminal Turkish Airlines Lounge, where we grabbed a drink at the bar, and then led her on a mad dash through the terminal, dragging her wheeled carry-on behind me.
I had to clear security a second time to enter MIA’s North Terminal to wait for my flight. Once clear, I made a beeline for the Turkish Airlines Lounge. The man in front of me was denied entry on account of the fact the Priority Pass he showed the receptionist didn’t match his name as it appeared on his boarding pass. She offered that he could purchase a day pass. Upon hearing the price, he hesitated, and began to walk away.
I moved my luggage along and smiled at the receptionist, that smile that says, “Glad that’s over…” and presented my own Priority Pass and boarding pass for inspection. I mused aloud, “Maybe I can invite that guy in.”
A woman waiting in line behind me overheard me, and offered to call for him, if I’d like. I gave a nod and a shrug, and she got his attention. The man joined me at the receptionist’s desk, and we walked in.
The North Terminal Turkish Airlines Lounge was not nearly as well-appointed as the one I’d just been in, but it had enough to tide me over. I poured myself a drink from their self-service bar, and checked out the buffet.
I learned that my guest was flying to Doha, and from there to India. He revealed that he was from Delhi, and I uttered a, “namaste,” before dipping for the restroom. He needed to go, too, and I held the door of the single-occupancy room for him after finishing my business.
The Priority Pass app stated this lounge had shower facilities available, but I didn’t see any. I asked someone working there, and they directed me to speak with the receptionist. She told me to wait about ten minutes, during which time I grabbed a few nibbles, and refreshed my drink. I enjoyed the shower facility, and made sure to tell my Indian friend about it, too, before fixing myself one last beverage, chugging it, and running through the airport to my gate to catch my flight home.
Post
I’ve been covering events officially since 2008, when I began working for The Collegian, my alma mater’s newspaper, as a photographer. I’ve shot events next to ESPN crews, including an exhibition match between the OKC Thunder and the Houston Rockets. In my time at the University of Missouri, I developed an increased appreciation for the valuable work of journalists through my time spent engaging with students and faculty at the Reynolds Journalism Institute. I make a habit of engaging respectfully with media and security everywhere I go because I’m very much cut from the same cloth as them. You bet your ass I’m mad about what happened to me in Miami.
Through my interactions with other content creators, I learned I wasn’t alone in feeling like I’d been mistreated at XBIZ Miami 2024. I heard firsthand about E11EVEN Miami’s mishandling of creators with disabilities.
Separately, another creator told me that she was sexually assaulted in the pool at XBIZ Miami 2023. She cried after the incident, and someone with XBIZ spoke to her friend, asking them to pass along the message that she was harshing the vibe. What sort of response is that?!
On June 2, I learned Theresa Nguyen Muñoz blocked me on Instagram, in spite of the fact I have made no attempt to contact her there.
Thank you for your attention, and stay blessed.
Notes
Theresa Nguyen-Muñoz = Theresa Nguyen Muñoz = Theresa Nguyen-Munoz = Theresa Nguyen Munoz = Theresa Munoz