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Lexa Terrestrial – who calls herself a “UFO goddess" – was always keen to work in entertainment, leaving college after a year to pursue a career in music and modeling.
Eventually, this led to her jetting to Los Angeles to audition for the famous saucy men's mag, Playboy, even spending a day in the Playboy Mansion and meeting the late publisher Hugh Hefner.
LexaPA Real Life/Collect
There, she first heard about the “weird world “of webcamming, and decided to give it a try, charging $20 an hour for private online chats with strangers.
Now, five years on, Lexa, 26, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has built up an army of online fans, who have become an unlikely source of support since a cosmetic nasal operation a year ago left her with life-changing side effects.
She said:
“In a way, I feel like the job chose me. I got told I have the right personality for it, and people have always enjoyed me being the weird, artsy girl."
LexaPA Real Life/Collect
She continued:
“It has really opened my eyes about human sexuality. Now things I used to think were shocking seem actually fairly standard."
“I have had all sorts of requests from people with every fetish you could imagine – even a jacket fetish – but I also get lots of guys that are just lonely, so we sit and talk about our issues together."
She certainly has no regrets about her trip to the lavish Playboy Mansion, near California's famous Beverly Hills – her first foray into the adult industry – finding it both surreal and lucrative, as it led to her discovering webcam work.
Admitting that, with little idea of what to expect, she was nervous for her first cam session, which she did from home, Lexa said that, once she got chatting to the man who had signed in to watch her – who is still a fan to this day – she relaxed.
LexaPA Real Life/Collect
“I just went with it and tried not to overthink things," she said.
“You do have that worry that you won't be any good, or give them what they want, but I tried to just keep interacting and keep it natural."
“I had no idea after that first session how much things would snowball."
Soon hooked, Lexa really enjoyed the interaction and began hosting more and more cam sessions, eventually becoming a Teddy's Girl.
Though it is not a camming site, it is a platform which provides users access to hundreds of online models, and so helps Lexa's fans to access her videos.
LexaPA Real Life/Collect
Revealing what happens on an average day, she said:
“Some are slower than others, but I always make it work. I log on and wait for fans to join me. What I make money-wise varies hugely, so I can't say an exact figure. For a private chat with just me and one person, it would be around $5 a minute, and for a video even more."
She added:
“You do get some guys who are very demanding and don't treat you like a human being, but if someone is making me uncomfortable, I simply end the session."
“It is a very weird world and you learn an awful lot about the human mind. The rules have changed over time with webcamming and what you can do and show, and gotten less strict, but I've certainly had some very bizarre requests."
“I've had men with foot fetishes, jacket fetishes, where they kept asking me to try different coats on, and even guys into humiliation, where they like to be insulted or mocked for the size of their penis. I would never do anything I didn't want to, though."
As well as the raunchier content, Lexa's webcam sessions also cater to those who are lonely and just want to chat.
LexaPA Real Life/Collect
Some nights, she will sit up talking about her life and sharing issues with the online fans, who log in to watch her.
And, last year, she found herself relying on their support more than ever when a septoplasty operation she had on her nose, to straighten her septum and make the tip a little smaller, left her with Empty Nose Syndrome (ENS).
Lexa performing as a hip hop artistPA Real Life/Cory Pitkavish
According to the US National Library of Medicine's National Centre for Biotechnology Information, the rare condition is thought to arise as a postsurgical phenomenon from excessive loss of nasal tissue, and patients often report profound impacts on all areas of life.
Sufferers frequently say they are unable to feel air going in and out of their nasal passages, leading to breathlessness, headaches, dizziness, feeling that inhaled air is too dry or cold, or that too much air is entering the nose.
Lexa, who is also a hip hop artist, said:
“I can't sense the air coming in and out of my nose anymore, so it feels almost as if I'm struggling for breath."
LexaPA Real Life/Tyler Fairchild
She added:
“As a performer, it makes it hard to sit and chat, so it has had a real effect on my webcam work. It's like an all-day long anxiety attack, where my brain goes into flight or fight mode. It's really dark to deal with."
“My fans have been absolutely amazing, though, and really got me through."
Vowing to keep working as a webcam girl for the forseeable future, Lexa – who said she has not experienced any negativity in regards to her job – wants to use her platform to raise awareness of ENS, and to discourage people from having unnecessary surgery.
She continued:
“For me, the surgery was aesthetic. I thought it'd just give my nose a little tweak. I read up about the risks, but never saw this mentioned. Now I look back and think, 'You didn't have to do that – and now look'."
“I want other girls to realize they are beautiful as they are. At this point, I don't care what my face looks like, my health is more important."
“I am hopefully seeing a specialist in May, but I'm not sure what fixes are out there, as it's such a little-understood condition. I wish I could go back to the strong, capable, badass me I was before, but at least I have the support of my webcam fans to keep my spirits up."