SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – It takes something extra to be “America’s Naughtiest nightclub” in a town like San Francisco, but that’s exactly what the Power Exchange aims to be.
Located at 220 Jones Street, the Power Exchange takes pride in being “more accepting of more lifestyles than most of the other sex clubs out there,” according to its marketing materials. Among the club’s amenities are dungeons, fantasy rooms and public play areas.
Mike Powers is the Power Exchange’s owner.
YNOT: What exactly is the Power Exchange?
Mike Powers: We are a fantasy nightclub, better known as a sex club. I was a male escort looking for a place to take clients and realized it didn’t exist.
What do you offer at the Power Exchange, and how do you cater to a range of diverse sexual preferences?
We offer a fantasy place space for patrons to interact with other patrons sexually. We find the diversity of so many preferences opens up new interests as patrons interact. Someone who has never seen a spanking as erotic may discover it to be so [when] seeing it occur in our place.
What are the challenges of running a fantasy nightclub, from a bar-management and client-safety perspective?
It’s not that challenging, since we don’t have alcohol service. Take out alcohol and almost all issues go away with it.
What are some of the wildest events the club has hosted?
We used to have what we called a slave auction. It brought a great deal of increased fun interaction into being, as patrons bid on each other with play money.
What misconceptions do people have about sex clubs, both from a personal and business standpoint?
The biggest misconception is that people who are not swingers think it’s not safe, due to the issue of sexually transmitted diseases and such.
How has the industry changed since the Power Exchange opened?
The biggest change is we no longer have a men-only exclusive area. The internet has created a huge decrease in male-only interests in a club, as men find it easy to find them on male-for-male-type sites.
What are your future plans?
Our future plans are to open in multiple cities. Our goal is to have at least 10 [clubs] before I kick the bucket.
