AEE Panel Delves Into the Wonders of Twitch

LOS ANGELES—Adult performers are finding a new platform to explore their video gaming habit that is both supportive and non-judgmental, said a group of adult stars during Saturday’s discussion panel “The Itch to Twitch: Adult Stars Running Serious Game,” during AVN’s Adult Entertainment Expo. The panel, moderated by AVN Senior Editor Peter Warren, featured Adriana Chechik, Evelyn Claire, Manuel Ferrara and Christie Stevens. Speaking Saturday during the online discussion, Ferrara said he was pleasantly surprised to find an outlet that allowed him to join other gamers who were both accepting and supportive of his work in the adult industry. For those unfamiliar with the platform, Twitch is a live-streaming platform for gamers and other lifestyle casters that supports building communities around common and streamable interests like video games and similar gaming topics. Twitch streamers broadcast their gameplay or activity by sharing their screen with fans and subscribers who can watch them live. “Four and a half years ago there was a moratorium so I had at least a week off so I had plenty of time and I decided to try Twitch. I fell in love with it,” recalled Ferrara. “The first time I streamed I had ten or twelve thousand people right away. Because there was a big videogame forum that brought everyone at once … the moment I started streaming and someone saw me launch my Twitch and he went on that forum and he brought everyone at once and some big name streamer—they were a big porn fan—and they hosted me so I ended up with so many people and it was crazy.” As an early industry adherent to Twitch, Ferrara was taken aback by the unique community of gamers who saw him as another gamer rather than a sex worker or porn star. “It has that cool effect where people are like, ‘Wait, those people don’t just fuck all day long, they also play video games like us.' It opens a window into an industry where we’re just like they are,” Ferrara said. Chechik, who joined Twitch after hearing about a friend’s positive experience there, is among the site’s biggest boosters. “If you’re an outsider and you hear about Twitch, you think, ‘What the fuck is this?’ It’s a streaming platform like Instagram and anything else. But the real thing about Twitch is that it’s an individualized community,” she said. “It’s a platform that you essentially create your own community of like-minded people that all share the same views and not that they won’t contradict you, but for the most part share the same views or just like-minded views and that’s why I think it’s so cool.” Ferrara agreed: “I really fell in love right away [with Twitch] and my community is big French community. And for someone like me who was born and raised in France and moved to L.A. and I’ve lived in L.A. for 18 years now, I miss the French side also and speaking French now, it allows me to speak French with everyone every day, so it’s good.” Herself a video game devotee, Claire sees Twitch as a way to share her gaming passion with her fans while creating her own community of gamers. “I actually started playing more video games and trying new games because it gave me something to do with my viewers. But like, I don’t think that’s why they’re watching,” she said with a laugh. For Christie Stevens, she credits Chechik for allowing her to discover her inner video game nerd through Twitch. “I bought my boyfriend an Xbox 360. He never taught me how to play. He ignored me. So I never learned how to play,” she said. “But I got into it and Adriana was playing video games and I was on her stream a few times and there were quite a few people on stream, so I learned how to do the streaming software and it took a pandemic and a porn star to get me into gaming!” Chechik’s passion for Twitch and gaming took her from porn performer to a techie who is well versed in the comings and goings of computer technology and gaming. “I bought a computer in the middle of the pandemic and within one month, I was so tired how slow my computer was, so I hardwired and built my own PC,” she said. “I’m so obsessed with Twitch, on the technical side … I actually have three monitors. Three panels of key lights … a mixer, a PlayStation 5, Nintendo and two different VR set ups.” For Chechik, the site has been one of the few positives of the past year: “It’s such a wholesome community where you can actually be more wholesomely yourself,” she said. “And you immediately have people who want to have a conversation and help you get through a next step in life or the next step in a video game. Unlike other platforms where you’re getting haggled … I can’t get on Instagram Live without somebody every few seconds asking me to twerk.” But as more industry members join Twitch, Ferrara said he encourages performers to explore the site and engage with fellow members. “When I arrived on Twitch, there were almost no people from the industry. I know when I first got on Twitch there were a couple of people from the industry that did stupid shit like showing their tits and get banned and stuff like that. Because there are rules,” he said. “But I’m not on Twitch to push my porn or to push my OnlyFans or anything else. It’s to do something completely different … I always joke how I’ve made more friendships in four and a half years on Twitch than in 23 years in porn.” View the full panel "The Itch to Twitch: Adult Stars Running Serious Game" in the AEexpo Clips Store on AVN Stars.