Page 79 - AVN January 2016

adult industry “retreats,” where store
owners, video producers, attorneys and
others would gather from around the
country in Denver for a long weekend of
seminars and strategy sessions. Wedelstedt
continues to be involved in charity work,
notably his Eddie’s Kids Foundation, which
supplies sports equipment and tickets to
sporting events to underprivileged children.
VIDEO BRANCH
Joanna Angel
A trailblazer in every sense, Joanna Angel
has etched out one of the most singular
identities the business has ever seen since
launching her flagship website,
BurningAngel.com, in 2002 with fellow
Rutgers University student Mitch Fontaine.
Known as much for her bitingly funny wit
as her head-to-toe mosaic of tattoos, the
writer/director/producer/performer has
continuously served up groundbreaking,
indelible fare from Re-Penetrator to her
most recent offering, How the Grinch Gaped
Christmas. She’s also enjoyed extensive
mainstream exposure, from being named
one of the New York Post’s “25 Sexiest New
Yorkers” to her speaking role in the indie
drama Scrapper. In addition, she’s made
her mark in the sex toy world by becoming
a Fleshlight Girl in 2013 and creating a
line of BDSM toys with Stockroom. And
this year she joins the select group of
performers who have served as hosts of the
annual AVN Awards Show.
Nikki Benz
The 2011 Penthouse Pet of the Year
got her start in adult entertainment as
an exclusive contract girl for Pleasure
Productions in 2002. A native of Toronto,
Benz is one of the most successful porn
stars to ever come out of Canada with close
to 300 titles on her porn résumé. Known
for her loyal fan base that has taken on
the moniker of “The Benz Mafia” on social
media, Benz has also built her national
profile from continued crossover success.
She received notoriety for appearing on the
FoxSports.com show Cubed in 2010, when
she played a wise-cracking, sports-savvy
cleaning lady. She also was featured in a
video game, Saints Row: The Third - Penthouse
Pack, in 2012. In 2013, she appeared briefly
in the film Pain and Gain. After finishing her
one-year contract with Penthouse for her Pet
of the Year duties, Nikki made her return to
hardcore sex scenes in the three-part series
The Benz Mafia, which debuted on Brazzers’
PornStarsLikeItBig.com in October 2012.
Nikki gained more exposure in 2014 when
she ran for mayor of Toronto.
Waka Flocka to Light Up The Joint
Born Juaquin James Malphurs, the Atlanta rapper Waka
Flocka Flame rose to prominence as Gucci Mane’s
protégé and his flagship artist of 1017 Brick Squad. In 2009,
Waka put trap back on the map, dropping the first volume
of his street classic Salute Me or Shoot Me that caught fire
with songs, “We On The Way,” “Dreads N Gold” and his
breakout single “O Let’s Do it.” The mixtape’s buzz allowed
Waka to release his proper debut Flockaveli in October,
which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200.
Following his sudden popularity, Waka Flocka Flame
collaborated with hip-hop’s mainstream elite such as T.I.,
Drake and B.o.B. On Waka and Gucci’s 2011 collaborative
effort Ferrari Boyz and 2012’s Triple F Life: Fans, Friends &
Family, Waka’s high-energy is the sole reason why he’s
earned the nickname “Turn Up God.” That style translates
into the EDM world Waka calls home now.
Set to feature production from Southside, Rico Love, Jim
Jonsin, and more, Waka Flocka Flame’s highly anticipated
album Flockaveli 2 is scheduled for release this year. He is
also cultivating a steady EDM presence thanks to touring
with Steve Aoki and appearing on songs by DJ-producer
Borgore and Flosstradamus.
Atlanta rapper Waka Flocka Flame will
perform at the 2016 AVN Awards Show.
Meet the Trophy Girls
Aplum assignment in the porn
world is serving as a trophy girl at
the AVN Awards Show—a high-profile
post that puts the chosen performers
on stage for the duration of the show.
This year’s trophy wranglers, Elsa
Jean and Jenna Sativa (left to right,
photo by Rick Garcia) will join Anikka
Albrite, Joanna Angel and comedian
Kate Quigley on stage on January 23.
Read on for more about these two
newcomers.
Elsa Jean named herself after the
princess from Disney’s Frozen, but she
calls an entirely different princess to
mind for most: porn princess Riley
Steele. Jean says that people note the
resemblance on “every shoot that I
do.”
Not that she’s bothered by the
comparison. “She’s really, really pretty,
so I’m like, ‘Yeah!’” Jean concedes,
albeit with the qualification, “I just
want to be my own person.”
She certainly can lay claim to
her own personhood insofar as her
educational history is concerned:
Having graduated high school at 16,
she jumped early into higher education
at George Mason University, where
she began studying to become a
surgical assistant. Once she turned 18,
however, “I stopped and did porn,” she
said.
But don’t take that to mean she’s
abandoned her scholastic ambitions
forever. “I plan on finishing it,
honestly,” she asserted, “because I’m
really big on education and I love to
learn.”
So what did make her turn to porn,
exactly? “I think I’m overly sexual
compared to the average person,
so I constantly watched porn,” she
said. “I was so frustrated! You don’t
understand—it made me angry all the
time! And I thought, ‘I need to have
good sex, so why not try porn?’”
Now that she’s here, what does she
most want the porn world to know
about her? “I want everyone to know
that Elsa Jean is the greatest person
alive,” she quipped.
One believer is her agent, ATMLA’s
Mark Schechter, who said, “Elsa is
truly deserving of this honor, as she
continues to impress each and every
director who has shot her. Elsa is a
true example of what it takes to be a
big star.”
There’s also clearly something
exceptional about Jenna Sativa, given
she’s the only all-girl performer agent
Mark Spiegler has accepted as a new
client.
“I take no credit for this
whatsoever,” Jenna said. “It was
literally a miracle. I went to see Mark
to get some advice, because Mark is
the best and I wanted to see what he
thought that I should do.” It just so
happened that Spiegler Girls Dana
DeArmond and Asa Akira were visiting
at the same time, and decided on the
spot that Jenna must join their ranks.
As she was walking to her car,
Dana and Asa came running after her.
“Mark said, ‘They totally convinced
me to take you. I asked them what
they thought about you, and they said
that they loved you and that I should
take you,’” Jenna recalled. “We were
screaming and jumping around. That
was the best freaking day ever! I was
beyond excited.”
Having earned a 2016 AVN All-Girl
Performer of the Year nomination as
well, Jenna seems poised for a very
bright career, indeed. And there’s
plenty she hopes to accomplish. “I
want to direct,“ she said, “and I also
want to learn photography.”
In the meantime, she says she
couldn’t be happier. “It’s better than a
dream,” she gushed. “I get to wake up
excited every day!”
Follow them on Twitter:
@ElsaJeanxxx and @JennaSativa.
—Peter Warren
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