There’s plenty of kinky porn online, but finding images of people
who really get off on what they’re doing, and who also don’t pull any
punches, can be difficult. Enter Russell and Lauren, the evil
masterminds of the Seattle BDSM porn site TwoBigMeanies.com.
Russell and Lauren had a great flick in the 2005 HUMP! called
Pirate vs. Ninja, and they’ve submitted a piece this year
called Lauren Likes Candy. TBM bills itself as “kinetic and
connected porn,” and knowing Lauren and Candy, I imagine it’ll be an
intense helping of both.
How did Two Big Meanies get started?
Lauren and I realized in 2004 that there was little BDSM porn that
fit our tastes, and that we were in an excellent position to make some.
We’d both been doing SM play long enough to feel comfortable modeling
our own versions of it, we had attractive and exhibitionistic play
partners and photographer friends, and I had a good understanding of
the technical side—I work for (bondage site) House of Gord as
their sysadmin/webmaster.
Kink.com throws a long shadow over
the world of BDSM porn sites these days. What do you think you offer
that they don’t?
Most of the models are people we play with off-camera. We try really
hard to show connection between the people playing. Some of the play we
do can get pretty edgy for on-film, but we also make a point of showing
the happy endorphin glows, cuddling, etc. We also aim for less of a
classic porn-star look than they do. I envy the Kink.com infrastructure, and really respect the
integrity they bring to the industry, but I’d rather do what we’re
doing.
What’s happening with the site now?
We were shooting twice a month until 2006, when we realized that we
were having less fun than we wanted to be. Having to
arrange
models, come up with scene ideas, locations, and crew, then put energy
into the scenes—it was becoming a creative drain. Rather than
sliding into doing the same thing over and over, we tried to think of
another way to approach it.
We decided that pay-per-download with a blog to maintain continuity
was the best option. This way, we can shoot when we have good ideas,
and feel proud of
everything we put out. We can try different
things and not worry about alienating subscribers. It also puts our
occasional commentary on scene mechanics, safety, etc., out there a
little more accessibly, gives us a better platform for activism.
What advice would you offer people who are thinking of starting a
porn site?
Find a niche, and look for alternatives to the monthly subscription
model. It’s the dominant model in the market right now; obviously it’s
working for the bigger companies, but I don’t think it’s the best fit
for everybody. Pay-per-download gives the user something to keep, and
is much less of a technical headache than the other alternative,
pay-per-view. 