Blonde cam-model-next-door Lexi Luv was first inspired to dabble in adult entertainment after sexy FaceTime hijinks and sexting with a long-distance boyfriend.
“I never really knew I was joining the adult industry when I started out,” she reminisced. “I didn't even really know there was a professional or official adult industry. I was in a long-distance relationship just trying to keep things sexy and ignore the fact that I didn't know anyone in my new city.
I have so much love for this industry for bringing some of the best people into my life. All sexy things aside, fans and models really are my best friends.
When her partner’s friend asked why the digitally amorous lovebirds didn’t just give camming a try, Luv decided to read up on what that entailed.
“I had no idea what camming was at the time so I did some research and realized I could be doing the same thing I was already doing, but with more people watching and making money,” she said. “I was totally sold.”
What was initially just “an exciting naughty little secret” that added spice to her relationship and earned her a bit of spending money on the side, soon pulled her in deeper and deeper.
“I never knew I was becoming a part of this amazing community of open-minded, creative and hardworking people,” she noted. “I also didn't realize I was branding myself with the stigma of being a sex worker.”
As time went on, Luv found herself becoming totally consumed with the lifestyle to the point where she preferred it to “performing at my vanilla job, trying to make vanilla friends and finding success in the typical vanilla lifestyle.”
“I finally got the courage to stop the act and lean into the person I was more comfortable being, spending time with the internet ‘strangers’ who knew me better than most of the people I was seeing day to day.”
Luv quit her day job to do full-time camming, surrounding herself with industry friends and letting connections with old friends dry up.
“I am happier and more prosperous than I ever could have imagined,” she beamed.
With around 200,000 followers on Chaturbate, more than 30,000 likes on her two OnlyFans accounts combined — including several thousand subscribers — and a vibrant online presence spanning ManyVids, Instagram, Twitter and Twitch, Luv is a full-fledged content creator and streamer these days.
With her ambitions growing every year, Luv looks forward to exploring where her adult career will take her, sharing her hopes and dreams in this exclusive Cam Star of the Month interview.
XBIZ: What have you learned from being a cam model?
LUV: The biggest lesson I have learned as a cam model over the years is not to judge. I always thought of myself as a pretty nonjudgmental person, even before joining the industry, but I still often catch myself subconsciously applying my experiences, beliefs or lifestyle to other people's situations, so I try to be mindful of that.
Whether it is fetishes, relationship dynamics, family structure, personal health or a multitude of other things, this industry has opened my mind in so many ways. As someone who is judged heavily by society, banks, landlords, the media and pretty much every institution, I try to remind myself that different things work for different people. We are all unique. You never know someone's backstory, and sometimes it is just simply not my business.
So having the opportunity to talk with people from all walks of life from all over the world because of my job has really helped me get out of the habit of judgment. I've found my quality of life is better, my stress levels are much lower and I'd like to think it has benefited the lives of some of the people I cross paths with as well. Many people feel pressure or judgment for their sexual side, their specific fetishes or even just their sexuality. I think we would all be better off if everyone judged just a little less.
XBIZ: What other revenue streams beyond camming do you pursue?
LUV: While camming is my bread and butter, I think it is important to diversify your income and some of the most lucrative revenue streams right now seem to be fan sites and clip sites. I currently maintain a free and paid OnlyFans as well as a ManyVids page as my main clip site. I have a few other clip sites where some of my content is for sale as sort of a backup plan.
There have been multiple instances where I lost access to the original file of a video, like my hard drive getting corrupted, and it totally saved my ass that I could simply download a copy of it off one of my backup sites. There have also been instances where sites have deleted my videos or totally shut down without notice, so having backup copies is priceless. Always have multiple revenue streams, and always have backups for your backups!
XBIZ: Which cam platform best meets your needs and why?
LUV: Chaturbate was my first home for camming and it is where I plan to stay! I have tried a handful of the other sites, because I think it is important to experience other site cultures, but nothing beats CB for me. Chaturbate is the most inclusive site that brings the most traffic while also allowing you to link out to your personal sites and social media.
You can find solo girls and guys, cis and trans, nonbinary, VTubers, couples of all kinds, group sex, fetishes and even non-nude and nonsexual shows. They are among the top 50 in the Alexa global traffic rank, and while it is still up to each model to gain their own following, working on a site with that many clicks a day is a nice leg up! Most importantly, they allow you to funnel the traffic you get on their site to your own sites. The majority of my followers on social media, fan site subscribers and video sales come from the traffic driven from my live shows on Chaturbate.
Finally, I have to say that the CB community is one of a kind. From the members to the models, I have met some of my best friends on this site. I've learned so much from friendly, kind and generous models and members, so I try to pay it forward and share knowledge whenever I can. The CB crew is just like that.
XBIZ: How do you handle social media marketing and keeping fans engaged?
LUV: I wish I could say that I have some polished social media plan that I follow strictly but the truth is I am just out here winging it. Sometimes my social media is promo, sometimes it's my diary, sometimes I ghost for a short time and sometimes it's every single silly thought or question that passes through my head.
Social media is this weird space for me, and many other cam models I think, where it is both work and play. It is hard to find a balance between oversharing and not sharing enough. Too much promo and not enough personality and you just become a boring advertisement. The other way around and you're missing out on sales.
But my followers are more to me than just potential sales so I try to treat my social media that way, which admittedly is sometimes hard to remember when slow days hit. After all, I am running a business. However, nurturing the community first and letting the money flow as a reaction to that has always worked best for me.
XBIZ: Describe your strategy for maintaining work/life balance, given the many responsibilities you have.
LUV: Work/life balance has always been the aspect of this career that I struggle with the most. Despite my hypersocial activity on cam, I am actually quite a home-body and I burn out easily. I have never, ever been able to stick to a consistent schedule, which is the one key to success in every single "how to be a cam girl" guide ever written. But I need “me time,” and I cannot have it penciled into my planner. I need it whenever I feel it, and sometimes it’s for an hour, or sometimes it’s for a week.
I finally realized I needed to stop fighting it when my time to decompress was being filled with feelings of guilt or laziness resulting in a need for more time off. I embraced my imperfect schedule and I tell fans to enjoy me while they can and make sure they're following me if they ever want to see me again because I don't have a schedule! This has helped me relieve a lot of pressure and manage my personal and work life with much less stress and guilt.
My partner, Jake, is also a huge help in balancing my time. Ever since he took a back seat to camming and I started embracing my solo brand, life has been a lot easier. He takes care of the things I don't always have time for, which sometimes on crazy days includes remembering to eat and take care of myself. I tip my hat to each and every model out there doing things completely on their own. This shit isn’t easy.
XBIZ: Tell us how you reinvest earnings into your business for continued growth.
LUV: For a while, every penny I earned either went to bills, groceries or supplies for work. Upgrading my setup was essential, not an option. When I wasn't making very much I had to get creative, because it is kind of a silly little circle where the better your setup is, the more your earning potential is. But the reality is, you need to make high earnings in order to be able to afford the fancy setup.
So I would thrift a lot or go to dollar stores for items to upgrade my cam space. Things like colorful pillows, blankets and wall decorations make a big difference when you are camming from a mattress on the floor. I could get an entire room’s worth of items from Goodwill and Dollar General for what a lamp would cost me from HomeGoods. In turn, my cute, decorative room helped attract more viewers which brought in more money that I spent on items to sell.
Fans don't care what brand your panties are so I bought cheap panties and sold them. That extra money went to streaming equipment like cameras and lights. Better streaming equipment improved the quality of my cam which boosted me higher and brought even more earnings. It is a cycle that I am forever climbing. No matter how much money I make or how many fans I have, I'm always looking for the next upgrade in my setup! Now that my tech is pretty solid, I am looking to invest in other offline things such as piracy control and traveling to events to meet and network with other models.
XBIZ: Talk about your approach to performing with other stars, ensuring everyone’s business and personal needs are met.
LUV: I love meeting other performers and working with them. It is a great way to mix followings and learn new things. My preference is to work with people I know well and can build a friendship with first. I need to vibe things out with someone in order to feel comfortable communicating my needs. I feel like I get a better understanding of the person I am working with and what they are looking for out of the collaboration as well as their comfort zones.
It is important to have all of those things worked out beforehand because things can get messy pretty quickly when you’re mixing sex, money, followers and feelings. It's even more complex when it's all happening live on cam in front of a large audience; things aren't always communicated well. Discussing things well beforehand and getting written documentation is very, very important.
XBIZ: What was your proudest achievement this past year?
LUV: This past year my crew brought home the YNOT Cam Best Friend award for me and I could not have been more overjoyed! I pour a lot of my heart and soul into my work and my community. Being voted Best Friend by fans and fellow models seriously shook me. I have so much love for this industry for bringing some of the best people into my life. All sexy things aside, fans and models really are my best friends so to be recognized that way meant a lot to me.
XBIZ: Any exciting plans, professionally and perhaps behind the scenes, for 2022?
LUV: My biggest goal for 2022 is to buy my first home! Ever since I started camming I have lived in little one- or two-bedroom apartments and working in such limited space is tough. It has always been my dream to own my own home with a big yard, but now it is so much more than that.
My house is going to be my creative oasis and I cannot wait for all the possibilities that having my own space is going to open up. I'm hoping for more room to build props and sets, maybe get into cosplay. All those tools and equipment take up space which is the one thing I have not really been able to upgrade yet. As far as professional plans, you will just have to wait and see!
