LOS ANGELES—When AVN reached new Nexxxt Level Talent signing Nicole Sage by phone, she had just finished taking a new set of “selfies” in her hotel room, amidst her increasingly busy schedule of shooting. There was just one problem. She didn’t realize that passers by could see in her window. Fortunately, though she got a bit of a scolding, she was able to stay in the room — just an occupational hazard of the industry that she says she had ambitions to enter for years, even as she worked a series of “civilian,” mostly administrative jobs.
Finally, at the age of 26 she decided to follow her earlier dream.
“I always knew I would get into porn. I thought I would get married, have kids and get divorced first, or whatever. That’s kind of how I envisioned it,” she told AVN, after resolving her hotel situation. “But with the pandemic, nothing really mattered anymore, I guess. So I decided to start living for myself and do what I want.”
That was only in December. She had done some camming, and occasionally danced in strip clubs, but was otherwise a complete newcomer to the adult industry. But she researched the various talent agencies online, and landed on Nexxxt Level where she found co-owners Andre Madness and Jonathan Morgan “just absolutely phenomenal right from the beginning, and they still are. Great with communication, very professional. So I signed with them and dove right in.”
Her new agents got her working right away, though she started off with a “trial run,” she says, before she actually signed with the agency.
“I thought I would like it. But at the end of the day, I hadn’t tried it yet. But I loved it, so I was excited when they said they wanted to pursue a relationship,” she said. “They took a chance on me, too. I’m grateful for them. I guess I wowed them as much as they wowed me.”
In addition to getting her out of her office job, the Albuquerque, New Mexico native says that her young career has motivated her to make a positive change in her entire lifestyle.
“I just decided it was time to do what I genuinely want to. I was not living a healthy lifestyle,” she recalls. “I wasn’t happy in my job. So I knew something had to change, and the stars aligned and here I am! I’m living the healthiest lifestyle I’ve ever lived.”
Sage heads to the gym every day, has changed to a healthier diet, and stays away from “alcohol, and partying.” Her career as an adult performer has been a strong motivator for those changes, she says.
“When I see myself, I want to be happy with what I’m looking at. So it motivates me to work harder and be healthier,” she says. “I always liked going to the gym. That is something I’m naturally blessed with, I guess. But I definitely got a huge surge of motivation and passion with starting this career.”
Sage is no stranger to working out. She says she trained in the martial art of taekwondo when she was a kid, working at it for seven years before obtaining her black belt at the age of 14. “I think that has been a huge contributor to my self discipline,” she says. “It helps me in being confident and aware of my body. And also to be respectful. I think it helps with being focused, and goal driven.”
Despite her age, which may be young in real world, but remains advanced for the world of adult video, she is determined to retain a positive outlook and says that at least so far, she hasn’t encountered any age bias in her travels through the business.
“There’s porn for everyone. I feel confident that through the stages of my life, there’s still going to be somebody who wants to watch me fuck,” she laughs. “I think by continuing to stay positive, keeping a good attitude, in general you’re going to attract more of the same. Same for the negative. If you have a negative attitude — ‘Oh, no one wants to hire me ‘cause I’m old!’ — then that’s exactly what you’re going to get.”
Photography courtesy of Andre Madness/Nexxxt Level Talent
