Kink.com has announced that it has reached a new milestone of 10,000 adult content shoots. Kink, which began in founder Peter Acworth’s dorm room at Columbia in 1997, estimates that in the past eighteen years the company has shot over 25,000 hours of sex, hired nearly 3,000 performers and has used over 192,000 ounces of lube and over a half a million condoms.
While the first Kink site, Hogtied.com, started in a dorm room, the company itself has grown to become the world’s largest producer of BDSM and fetish entertainment, with over 100 employees working on almost two dozen sites, with a fully realized webcam division, an educational division that conducts workshops, and a Kink-themed bar. The company attributes its success to its “dedication to producing high quality, authentic fetish experiences — many of the employees are part of San Francisco’s vibrant BDSM and fetish communities.”
“Back when I started kink.com, I never envisaged getting to 10,000 published shoots,” says Acworth. “In the early days I would tie up models I found on Craigslist with the video camera on a remote control. Looking back, the production value has risen consistently over the last 18 years thanks to the incredibly talented people who have joined kink.com. I am constantly blown away by the quality and volume of material we produce, host, and sell.”
While the company continues to fight to stay in California, they’re clearly focused on the future. Acworth says that though recorded content is not the juggernaut it was in the early days, thanks to live cams, classes and bars, company growth shows no signs of slowing down. With the documentary kink hitting theaters this summer, and the recent opening of the Armory Community Center for events, the porn company is branching out as a lifestyle brand. This spring, Acworth plans to launch Kink University, an online learning program that “will help those interested in BDSM and fetish to explore their sexualities creatively and safely.”
“There’s a tremendous hunger for authentic fetish entertainment and education,” says Justin Byson, Kink’s VP of Marketing. “Hardcore is only a small part of that, and we think Kink’s next chapter maybe even greater than its first.”
