Time and resources were donated by Homegrown to fundraising events for the CSPC, which was founded by Allena Gabosch and headquartered at the Wet Spot. Part of the festivities included a naked sushi dinner. The CSPS and the Wet Spot serve as a gathering point for Seattle-area swingers and alternative lifestyle participants.
Sex machine manufacturer Thrillhammer.com also was part of the festivities. Farrell pointed out that Homegrown Video created one of the first sex machine video lines in collaboration with the manufacturer several years ago.
HomegrownVideo.com president Farrell T. told XBIZ that supporting organizations like CSPC goes back to the core philosophy of Homegrown Video. Founded in 1982, the company is one of the originators of amateur content, which was largely influenced by participation in swinger organizations during that time.
Since then, Farrell said the company has seen cultural attitudes towards amateur videos change with widespread interest, especially in celebrity sex tapes.
“That’s where I really can say that Homegrown has had an impact on pop culture,” Farrell said. “By the time that Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee sex tape created a response to the amateur celebrity tapes, that was so different than what it would have been in 1982.
“I think that people recognize that it’s something normal and it’s really become way more acceptable. It’s naughty and wrong in a way that’s fascinating entertaining and that is a positive,” Farrell added. “It’s become, in this world of user submitted YouTube and sites that put the power of entertaining in the hands of the people — I think that Homegrown has definitely been a piece of that. We certainly love the way that culture has come around to that.”
Farrell said that he was not overly concerned with new technologies enabling peer-to-peer file sharing, or the emergence on content piracy on the Net, comparing free content and paysites to the difference between free TV and cable networks.
“You can go on free television and watch ‘Seinfeld’ for free or, if you want more of that kind of humor,” Farrell said, “you gotta pay for HBO. That’s the thing that people forget.”
Homegrown.com, the company’s online portal is getting ready to launch several new paysites, according to Farrell, and continues to support alternative lifestyle organizations in the Northwest, as well as around the world.
“That’s our goal is to get to the roots of our community and really be a center for sex positive culture,” he said. “Try to make a place where sex is safe,’ is our motto and that’s what we’ve come around to. We’re a business and we’re here to make some money, but we want to be a positive force in the world.”
