Behind the Scenes at a Porn Studio

I bought a Groupon for a porn studio facilities tour.

Let me back up…. Remember porn star James Deen? So when I was doing my “research” for that interview (I guess I don’t need quotes, I really was doing research), I read a lot about Kink.com, one of the umbrella companies that he works for. Most Kink.com videos (and their site is obviously NSFW) begin with an external shot of a scary looking medieval building.

A few weeks ago, I was flipping through San Francisco Groupons, and lo and behold, there was that giant brick building! Groupon was indeed selling discounted porn studio tours. Win! I talked two of my very brave friends into accompanying me last week, and the photos you see below come from our 90-minute tour (Disclaimer: There’s no actual porn here, but the images are of porn sets, props, and some seriously NSFW artwork. So…. use your discretion?)

The tour was a fascinating mix of architectural notes on the century-old building, neighborhood sociology of the changing patterns of the Mission, and behind-the-scenes fun facts about the sets, props, policies, and personnel at Kink.com. For example, Kink employs 100 people not counting all the models and actresses. They pad the floors and finish them with faux-wood for the models’ comforts. Sparkling clean facilities are aged and grungified with paint and fake rust to make it look like sketchville, despite a higher OSHA rating than the average San Francisco restaurant.

Here’s a few of my favorite photos, but the whole (non-pornographic but decidedly NSFW photo set is here at Flickr):

Interesting costume tidbits lurked everwhere

You never know when you need a lifesize hampster wheel

Lots of porn means LOTS of lube....

The basement was the rifle range for the National Guard

Bottom line, if you’re in San Francisco and you can stomach some porn-talk, the Armory tour is well worth your time!

Related Post: Anything we can learn from porn stars?

Related Post: My last CA trip left me with some much safer photos…