A version of this feature appears in the December issue of AVN magazine. Click here for the digital edition.
Word eventually began to spread.
But for a while performers didn’t realize there was an unwritten rule—a “prerequisite”—that applies to anyone who shoots with Alex Coal.
You must be able to dance.
“Or least be willing to look silly trying,” Coal, the raven-haired Las Vegas native, says with a laugh. It works like this: as soon a scene ends, with cameras still rolling, Coal clasps hands with her partner and hops up and down.
“We did it!” they’ll chant. “We did it! Yeeeaaahhh, we did it!”
Often the impromptu boogie sessions end up on Twitter or Instagram, much to Coal’s delight.
“I try to get performers who usually only show their serious side to also show their fun side, their happy side,” Coal says. “I like getting a laugh out of people. I like making people smile.”
“I like hugging them and talking to them and taking pictures and getting to know people,” says Coal, who is 30. “I feel very rewarded when people tell me I made their day better.”
She pauses.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it,” Coal says. “I’m right where I’m meant to be.”
Studio shoots, custom clips, lingerie sales and messages on Cameo. Alex Coal has so many revenue streams that she sometimes struggles to remember them all.
Still, make no mistake: the most gratifying paycheck Coal ever earned was for $800.
And it was money she didn’t even keep.
Coal was just a few months into her adult career when she promoted and hosted a 14-hour cam session, with all of the proceeds going to a foundation for abused children. The fundraiser was the first of many by Coal for a cause that is close to her heart.
In a courageous YouTube interview posted in 2017, Coal revealed that she, too, had been sexually and mentally abused as a young child by her father, from who she is now estranged. Coal never reported the situation and bottled her emotions for years. When feelings of pain and confusion threatened to weigh her down, Coal fought back with positive energy.
Whenever she sensed darkness, Coal projected light.
“My family would fight with each other,” Coal tells AVN, “and I was always the protector, the peacekeeper. No … everything is OK. See, look over here. Everything is fine. I just tried to make everyone feel better.
"I was known as the happy kid. I’d tell myself, ‘Other people around me are visibly unhappy, so I’m going to cheer everybody up.’”
Coal’s parents divorced when she was 14—“I wanted to throw a party,” she said—and Coal made the easy choice to live with her mother. Her dad was still in the picture, though, and before long both of her parents became engrossed with religion. As Pentacostals, Coal’s mom and dad forbade her from wearing pants or makeup, and she wasn’t allowed to cut her hair.
Coal was also steered away away from boys and dating and, obviously, sex.
“My mom told me sex wasn't fun,” Coal says. “She was like, ‘It sucks. You should put it off as long as possible, because you’re never going to enjoy it.’ So that was ‘the talk.’ It’s not fun. Don’t listen to people who tell you it’s fun. It’s not fun. I took that to heart and I kept that in my head.”
Deep down, though, Coal was fascinated by sex as a teen—or she puts it, “super sex-focused.” And she went to great lengths to educate herself. The computers at her high school had blocks on IP addresses containing adult content, so Coal simply logged on to biology and health education sites to learn more about sex and the human body. By her senior year, Coal jokes, she was already an expert on frenulums and erogenous zones.
Coal also looked forward to visits to her grandmother’s, where there was a wealth of naughty literature scattered across the coffee table.
“There were bondage books next to the recliner,” Coal chuckles. “My grandma was different than everyone else in my family. She had tattoos and piercings and a red Mustang. Looking back, I think she was probably a domme.”
Her first kiss was at age 18 with her then-boyfriend, and for the next two years all they did was make out and hold hands. To satisfy her urges, Coal turned to self-gratification. She became so addicted to masturbating that “it affected my life.” Coal recalled one session where she experienced 26 consecutive orgasms.
“Another night, when I was 21,” Coal says, “my boyfriend was asleep and I went into the restroom. I layed on the floor and started furiously masturbating. I was so frustrated that I actually cried out a little, and thought, ‘I can’t take it anymore. I’m doing it!’ I woke him up and convinced him to have sex with me.
“The rest is history.”
The next few years were a crash course for Coal when it came to exploring her sexuality. One night stands—often with men she met on websites such as Ashley Madison—were common. And she took things a step further in 2014, when a man Coal was dating suggested she begin camming to improve her financial situation. Coal was working three jobs at the time, often bouncing from shifts at a sushi restaurant, Van Heusen and Tommy Bahama in a single day.
Coal was hesitant at first, but when a female acquaintance revealed she’d been secretly camming for years, Coal became intrigued. She agreed join her friend for three Chaturbate broadcasts. More than 6,000 people viewed their first show.
“And that was in 2015,” Coal says, “when camming was nowhere near as popular as it is now. We did back-rub shows, strap-on shows … eventually I was like, ‘OK, I want to try this by myself.’”
Coal began watching broadcasts from other top cam models. She took notes on their outfits, their energy and how they interacted with fans. She even monitored their Twitter and Instagram feeds, hoping to pick up tips that could help her be successful.
By the time Coal ventured out her own, she was confident—and determined.
For six consecutive months, Coal cammed between eight-and-14 hours per day, seven days a week. As her popularity grew, so did her passion. Coal eventually quit her three day jobs to devote all of her energy to her new career in the adult industry.
“I’d talk to people for eight hours straight and not get bored,” Coal said. “They liked me and I liked them, so it worked out.”
As much as they loved the sexy talk and watching her solo performances, Coal’s regulars were drawn in by her personality—her humor, her warmth, and the sincerity she exuded when asking about their lives.
Similar to those tough years during her childhood, Coal was consumed with spreading happiness and upbeat vibes.
“People can tell that I actually want to make them feel better, so they open up to me more,” Coal says. “I like listening to people’s problems and taking them on. I don’t get overwhelmed. I can take in the information and process it, and they can let it all out. It works out really well. Even people in the grocery store will stop me and start telling me about their lives.”
Coal has a theory on why people are so comfortable using her as a sounding board.
“I have an oval-shaped, blank face—nothing terribly distinguishable,” Coal says. “But people always say it’s a very familiar face; that I look like someone they know. I can look like anybody, so I think that helps on a subconscious level. I don’t hate it. I’m fine being the chameleon.”
As the months and years passed, Coal developed friendships with many of the regulars in her cam sessions. One young fan asked her to attend his college graduation. A handful of older gentlemen in search of someone to mentor offered Coal tips on finances and other life obstacles.
Another man struggling to raise his troublesome teenage daughter routinely sought advice and then began sending Coal video clips that showed encouraging signs of progress. Some fans, Coal says now, have been following her for more than six years.
“The reason they’ve stayed,” she says, “is because I actually give a shit about them, and they can tell the difference.”
Becoming such a prominent figure in the lives of others was uplifting to Coal, but there was something else at play all those years ago—something bigger that her fans probably never realized.
Coal was helping them, to be sure.
But they were helping her, too.
“Camming made me a more confident person,” Coal says. “It helped me become more accepting of myself, because I was surrounded by people who cared about me and how I felt. I’ve let a lot of emotions out on cam. I’ve cried on cam and gotten really angry on cam and vented on cam. People have been receptive to that, because they can tell it’s real.
“I found my home as soon as I started camming. I found my people, and it changed my life.”
***
There are numerous ways to judge the popularity of adult performers. Social media followings, award nominations, high-profile bookings and DVD sales, to name a few.
But Dan Davis uses a different metric. Each year he snakes through the aisles during Exxxotica conventions and looks for one thing.
Who has the longest line?
More often than not in 2021—at events in Chicago, Miami, New Jersey and Washington D.C.—Coal was the one who commanded the most attention from fans.
“She’s always one of the biggest draws,” says Davis, Exxxotica's Director of Operations. “People love her because they can sense she’s genuine. She’s the star that appeals to everyone, kind of like the girl next door.”
Indeed, seven years after she started, Coal is now one of the most popular, in-demand performers in all of porn. She made the transition in 2017 when members of the adult industry heard tales about her hot cam sessions. Coal accepted offers to shoot a few scenes and, after a few weeks, she was hooked.
Lesbian and threesomes … boy/girls and solos …. creampies, foot jobs and facials … Coal has produced content in almost every genre. While she still finds time to cam, Coal’s main focus is now geared toward studio porn.
“It’s the life I’ve always wanted,” Coal says. “This job lets me do whatever I want. I have all of these friends, and I get to fuck all of them. What’s better than that?”
Coal is earning a reputation in porn for the same things that made her a popular figure on cam. As easy as she is on the eyes, and as strong as her scenes may be, it’s the energy and warmth Coal projects on-and-off camera that have her in high demand. No one can vouch for that more than the crew at Nubiles Films, which has shot Coal more than any company in recent years.
“I can count on one hand the truly exceptional people I get to work with, and she’s on that hand,” said Nick Stecki, a director at Nubiles. “She really cares about people. It seems like she really loves it. She’s having fun the whole time, and you can tell. It’s in her face, it’s in her eyes, it’s in her performance. It’s like shooting a Roman candle off inside. You can’t ignore it. It’s a lot—but it’s fun. That’s really hard to find.”
Stecki most recently shot Coal for a girl/girl scene featuring newcomer Liz Jordan. At one point, when Stecki was re-arranging lights after yelling “Cut,” he glanced at Coal and Jordan, who were still sprawled across the kitchen counter.
“She was kissing Liz,” Stecki said, “and I think she booped her on the nose, just to be goofy. They were both laughing and having a great time.
“Whether the camera is rolling or not, she’s having a great time with other actors. Her desire for her partner that day doesn’t stop when you yell ‘cut!’ It’s there when she walks in the door. It’s there when she leaves for the day.”
“I get shivers,” Coal says. “My hands shake and my body tingles all over. I’m like, ‘I’m going to fuck a new person today.’ It’s the same feeling I would get when I’d do one-night stands off Ashley Madison. That same, tingly-all-over-the-body feeling. I hope I never lose that. As soon as I touch them or hug them or shake their hand, that’s when it usually starts, and then it kind of builds.
“I think, ‘I’m going to learn everything about you.’ Guys never get enough credit or positive attention. I’ve been on sets where girls get on their cell phones as soon as the camera cuts. I’m not like that. I’ll be in the other talent’s lap, petting their hair. You know I wanted to fuck you as soon as I saw you on Twitter. I’m really happy I’m here today. What do you like? What can I do that gets you off?’
“I’ve had guys open up to me and say, ‘I really like having my nipples bitten, or you can pull my hair like this … “ Guys aren’t used to hearing that from other performers. I want to know everything that they like. I want to figure out something they’ve never done that I can make happen for them.”
Coal is also known for the impact she makes away from set. A few years ago she began opening her home to industry newcomers who needed a place to crash while shooting in Vegas but couldn’t afford a hotel. During their stay, Coal gives them tips on camming and critiques their OnlyFans accounts and other platforms.
Blake Blossom, a 2022 AVN Best New Starlet nominee, stayed with Coal during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 and the two produced some of the best at-home content of the pandemic.
Chloe Temple is another young performer who has been mentored by Coal. Temple recalls being frazzled the day she met Coal a few years ago on a Primal Fetish set.
“It was a really long script and I was nervous,” Temple told AVN. “She just made me feel so comfortable. She lightened the mood and made me laugh. She made me feel like I was I doing a good job, even if I probably wasn’t.”
An Arizona native, Temple began making trips to stay with Coal in Vegas. Some nights they’d go to dinner and talk about the business; other times they’d “stay home and cuddle and watch movies.” Even now, when Temple is upset about something and venting on Twitter, she usually gets a call from Coal.
“Everyone has their moments,” Temple says, “but Alex is the least-judgmental person I’ve ever met. She builds people up. She’s always telling me how good of a person I am, which is funny because I’m the one that should be saying that about her. She’s the best person you’ll ever meet. She’s special.”
The only problem with Coal’s nurturing habits are that they often overshadow the fact that she’s an elite performer who consistently delivers sizzling scenes for the top companies in the industry.
Coal is at her best during slow, sensual encounters—many of which occur during girl/girl scenes, one of her specialities. But Coal also flourishes when the pace is fast and furious. That was the case “May 2021 Fantasy of the Month,” a boy/boy/girl romp for Nubiles Films featuring Codey Steele and Seth Gamble.
Coal wrote the script for the scene, in which she seduces two football-watching buddies, and it was nominated for a 2022 AVN award in the Best Tag Team Sex Scene category.
“When you’re working with Alex,” Stecki says, “you don’t have to work too hard, because you can pretty much press ‘record’ and she’ll do everything else. There really isn't a lot of directing, because she knows what to do intuitively."
Stecki said Coal possesses another unique gift: her voice. She routinely does voice-over work for Nubiles, and she’s been contracted to narrate the audio version of mainstream star Gina Gershon’s book.
“I came from an audio background before I started working (in adult) eight years ago,” Stecki says. “I’ve edited hundreds of audio books. Alex has a natural talent. Normally I make notes for people that say, ‘Put the inflection here or there.’ But I didn’t have to do that with her. She knows how to tell a story. She knows how to bring you into it with her voice.”
With so many scenes, mainstream opportunities, camming projects and interview requests, Coal is busier than she’s ever been. She’s learned to set cell-phone alarms throughout the day to keep her on schedule.
Wake up! You have an interview in 30 minutes!
Don’t forget to take your birth control pills!
Start getting dressed for your camming session!
Go to bed! You’ve got to drive to Los Angeles in the morning!
“I’ve got ADD,” Coal says with a laugh as an alarm goes off in the background. “Without these reminders, I’d be all over the place.”
One thing Coal never forgets is the date of a convention. She says the Exxxotica shows and the AVN Expo are her favorite events of the year. No matter how successful she becomes, Coal says she’ll always be thankful for the fans who helped elevate her stature, the ones who continue to support her after seven years.
"I love watching her engage with people,” Davis, the Exxxotica official, says. “It’s never just, ’Take your picture with me, give me your money, here’s your autograph ... next!’ It definitely seems like she enjoys engaging with them.
And Coal doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon.
“They’ll have to kick me out of here kicking and screaming,” Coal says. “There’s a feeling of pure joy when you make something and you’re proud of it. You’re like, ‘I fucking made that! That’s mine! I did that! I made that come to life!’
“I don’t want to give that up.”
Photography by @mriveraphotolv
