But one by one, they upped and left Peter Acworth, founder and CEO of Kink A lot of the Castro was built on the back of porn companies.
Although it operated much like a mainstream porn business, Kink was rooted in a San Francisco scene that was distinct from the Los Angeles and Las Vegas industries – with more radical content and a more diverse workforce. Kink built its reputation as the rare porn company with a mission statement – to “demystify and celebrate alternative sexualities by providing the most ethical and authentic kinky adult entertainment”. “A lot of models went through their own BDSM journeys through the company.” “There are so many of us that have come out of Kink and started out there,” said Arabelle Raphael, who began performing for the site in 2010. Photograph: Courtesy of San Francisco Armory San Francisco Armory which, at its height, was making as many as 100 films a month. The national landmark became the headquarters for his growing network of BDSM and fetish subscriptions sites, including an interactive live page and a news site, and has housed public tours, shows, workshops and other porn events.
In 2006, he purchased the 200,000 sq ft Armory, which is a 1914 reproduction of a medieval castle. Combined with the financial turmoil in the porn industry, Kink’s business model has become unsustainable, leading Acworth to cease all production in the Armory.Īlthough will maintain Armory offices and continue to provide content, some San Francisco performers are lamenting the closure of a porn studio that elevated the profile of fetish entertainment and BDSM and provided stable jobs and a safe workplace for LGBT people and sex workers.Īcworth, who is from the UK, launched the company in 1997 out of a grad school dorm room. The studio is the latest uniquely San Francisco institution to shutter in the rapidly gentrifying city, which in recent years has become exceedingly unaffordable and culturally homogeneous amid a huge technology boom. Peter Acworth, CEO of Kink, launched the company in 1997 out of a grad school dorm room.