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By: Amanda Sandström Beijer Popo Fan understands the impact films can have, and to say the least he has also experienced it himself - from being censored by the government because of the theme of his movies to suing them and winning. Popo Fan – Photo: Pan Jinxin Popo is a queer film director, actor and writer who does everything from directing porn movies for Erika Lust, to documentaries about being queer in China and coming out in Chinese families. He is also writing sci-fi porn scripts, and none of this started with a particularly big film interest. Neither with a feeling that ”movies will change the world”. Actually, he didn’t even have any particular interest in films. It pretty much started out with poor grades in math. ”I grew up in a small city on the countryside in China, with only six million people”, he explains and continues; ”I wanted to study literature, but I was terrible in math and in China you need good grades in math in order to study literature, of course” He says ironically. ”But since I spent most of my time during math classes sewing, I got really terrible grades.” ”My friend asked me why I didn’t apply for studying art instead since you don’t need math to be accepted in those universities, and so I found this film school that I applied for.” During the interviews I pretended that I love movies and they believed me Beijing Film Academy accepts 250 students a year, and out of 30 000 applicants after several tests and interviews, Popo was one of the lucky people who were accepted. ”During the interviews I pretended that I love movies and they believed me. But when I started out, I felt totally off since everybody in my class were very interested in films. Many of them knew that they wanted to create films already when they were born.” Popo Fan, queer activist and adult movie creator Photo: Martin Garbig ”I had a professor who was homophobic, and we used to fight all the time till I realized that he was old and helpless. I also had a friend in my class that was homophobic, but he was much younger and shapable. So, I started working on him. Since he was a movie fantast, I told him to watch all these LGBTQ movies. Of course, I didn’t tell him about the storyline, but more about that he must see the lightning in this movie, or the setting in that one because it was unbelievable, and so he did.” I don’t believe that films can ’change the world’ After some time, the classmate started to shift perspective and became more accepting. ”It made me realize the power that films can have. I don’t believe that films can ’change the world’. But they add a new perspective, and it’s a great tool that can be used for LGBTQ rights.” One of the first movies Popo created was a documentary called Chinese Closet, in 2009, which is about people coming out in their Chinese families. ”It was pretty hard finding families who wanted to appear in that movie, which makes sense. When it was released, even only undergroundly, in some small places, it got very strong reactions. Which made me want to create more on the same theme.” He therefor created Mama Rainbow the first part in a documentary trilogy which follows mothers of gay and lesbian children throughout China, a film that was persecuted by the Chinese society and government. ”The authorities took down the film and a friend of mine who was a lawyer wondered if I wanted to file a lawsuit against the government, so I did.” Every time you mention Berlin people go like ’Ah Berlin, did you have a wonderful time? Isn’t it a woooonderful city?’ Believe it or not, Popo actually won the case, which was a landmark event in fighting against state censorship in China. Although the film is still banned. ”Then they banned me from all film projects in Beijing, which made it meaningless to be a filmmaker there. But I found this opportunity to do research about a script in Berlin, and so I moved here.” ”I had already been traveling here sometimes before to various film- and art events and on vacation. It’s pretty weird. Every time you mention Berlin people go like ’Ah Berlin, did you have a wonderful time? Isn’t it a woooonderful city?’ Well, sure it’s a great city, but I didn’t see what was so special.” Finally, here Popo was and although he doesn’t brag, he left some major marks with his work for LGBTQ rights in China. Besides organizing the Beijing Queer Film Festival for more than a decade, he’s the founder of Queer University Video Training Camp, received Prism Award from Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and won the best short film at CHOUFTOUHONNA. Popo also started shooting porn with some friends in Beijing that was shown at Porn Film Festival Berlin in 2017. Popo Fan, queer activist and adult movie creator Photo: Yuan Yuan ”When going on the festival I got to know some people from the porn community here, there among Erika Lust who I later on wrote a script for based on one of the XConfession, which means you can write your own fantasy and they’ll make it into a film.” The story Popo wrote was about Sex between human and AI, in a kind of sci-fi atmosphere and was released on the XConfession. ”It was really great working with Erika Lust, they are doing porn mainly for women and have a feministic perspective and they really care about showing diversity within race and body types as well as gender. I learnt a lot from them, especially about women, desire and female bodies.” Erika Lust have their own way of aesthetics and gives the creators and performers a lot of freedom within their work. ”I also have amazing line producers based in Berlin, Paulita and Sonja from Amard Bird, they are very well connected with the porn community here. I got such a great team” he says and continues; Instead of the ideologies about what we can’t do and can’t say in real life, we should show it in porn. There’s a lot of potential in pornography ”Porn is important to our life now, especially during the pandemic when a lot of people were living in cities with a lock down and couples needed to be separated in different cities.” ”The future is porn, so instead of the ideologies about what we can’t do and can’t say in real life, we should show it in porn. There’s a lot of potential in pornography” The joke’s on them, because now the whole evenings revolve around porn When Popo told his friend that he started making porn they were all very happy about it. ”They were half joking, saying ’all your dirty mind has a place to go now’, and ’now you can finally stop crashing our dinner parties so that everybody ends up talking about sex’. But the joke’s on them, because now when people find out that I’m doing porn they’re so curious and the whole evenings revolve around porn.”

By Amanda Sandström Beijer Photos by: Zeina Idris Slim Soledad for Playful Magazine This party girl is the perfect combination of beautiful and fierce performance together with energetic demonic rave energy. We’re not alone being obsessed with her; and as her name starts to blink faster and stronger on stages around the world – we got to know her. Slim Soledad came to Berlin from Sao Paulo three years ago for the CTM festival, something that unexpectedly made her decide to stay. “It was in 2019 and I came to the festival together with Linn da Quebrada. I was performing and ended up having the idea of doing a tour together with my queer collective Chernobyl. I got all kinds of ideas about performance and music related stuff we could create.” “I didn't intend to come and stay here, but the city ended up captivating me somehow, especially because I was already working with music, and I sensed the city had a strong and accepting community.” As a kid she was rebellious and fearless. She didn’t slow down and it was obvious to her mom that she was more drawn to having fun, than resting at home. “I remember from the age of 13 until I was 17, my mother used to tell me that I spent more time in outside than at home. At that age I started to discover parties and the fun side of Sao Paulo. I was young, yet had so many adventures with my friends that if I told you what we did, you won't believe me.” The fun didn’t stop when she came here. Although Slim Soledad has traveled around Brazil and moved around within the country, the trip to Berlin was her first international travel. “As it was my first international travel, it really marked me. I left my home country and arrived to a place that was very different; with a totally different culture and climate.” “But what I remember was one of the strongest sense, energetically as well, as the history in this city. I remember going to the concentration camp on the third day here. It was winter and even snowing a little. The whole experience shocked me. It’s a big difference from hearing and reading about it in history books, to seeing it in person and feeling the energy of the actual place.” Slim Soledad for Playful Magazine As she stayed, she started getting to know the nightlife scene on a deeper level, something that also gave her creative input. “Having the opportunity to go to clubs and concerts – all the time – certainly activates my creativity. Not in a generalized way, but through my personal experience throughout my life. I know that my creativity can be awakened by traveling as it gives me a lot of gas to start producing.” “One of the most genuine and beautiful feelings that drives my creativity is seeing myself through other people's work, I mean as a spectator. One of my newest memories when doing that happened around two months ago; although I’m not sure if it was a moment of creative awakening or just serious inspiration. But I watched a performance that touched my weaknesses as well as strengths. I strongly believe that creativity can come fromdifferent places, paths and experiences yet still touch on your ground. It happens to me a lot.” Slim Soledad says that her creativity can be awakened in various ways that often give her energy and push her to create. “Receiving new input by traveling is something that definitely gives me a lot of gasto produce. It often happens at unusual occasions, when I’m not expecting it. It’s like I receive a ‘click’ in my brain and boom, suddenly I have a feeling that the idea has been with me this whole time, though it’s not yet created.” “But speaking in a more abstract way, even eating well or loving yourself is a way to awaken creativity.” After three years in the city, Soledad has created a network of people who influence her, and who have a similar lifestyle. “Berlin is known for its nightlife, and I would say that it’s the best place to find a good party that I have ever been to. But Sao Paulo is not far behind either.” One of the most memorable times so far was on her birthday on the Spree. “My friends rented a boat and made a mini party for me. With super loud music and seeing the city from the lake while I was on the boat, surrounded by people I like, was definitely very cute. Another moment I won’t forget was when I was invited to play at CTM in 2020. I felt so proud to know that people believed in me and my work, and seeing my name amongst the lineup at such a big festival was amazing.” What many people say when moving to Berlin, is that it starts with a bit of a ‘trial and error’ especially when it comes to the group of friends you first meet. Although Slim Soledad got into her group pretty smoothly. “I didn’t know how to communicate very well as I didn’t speak any English when I came here, so it was a bit of a process to study music and language, but as I managed to make some solid and genuine friendships I integrated pretty good I’d say. At the beginning I think it can be a bit strange for everyone who’s moving to a new city. Amazingly I was always very well received.” Slim Soledad for Playful Magazine Even when living in Brazil, most people consuming her music live in Europe – something that may be a reason why she felt welcomed within the scene as well. “I've always been welcome on the scene here, I moved here as I already had a community of people who enjoyed my music. Most of them aren’t living in Brazil, but Europe and USA. I ended up meeting a lot of people that I only had contact with through Social Media before, so it all happened in a pretty organic way.” Back in Brazil she co-founded the collective Chernobyl; the name comes from what the citizens normally name queer people. “It’s a way of reclaiming that name. Yes, sure – we’re Chernobyl, and we’re pretty damn good.” “We started the collective with the first intention of creating a safe space for us, LGBTQIA+, and also with the idea of making more trans people circulate at parties, and creating more safe spaces. The parties that we created ourselves were the first ones in Brazil that were created by trans people, for trans people.” “To us it means so much more than just a party; the collective we’ve created is a space where we can fuel our creativity, create and share what we do amongst our circle of people.” SLIM SOLEDAD’S TOP 3 FAVORITE PLACES IN BERLIN – Funkhaus It was the first club I visited after the pandemic and I had such a great time there. – Roses The first bar I visited when I arrived here. I love going there with my friends to have a drink and talk shit. – @Deadhype.gmbh A collective that makes itinerary events that are just spectacular. I would keep an eye on their page if I were you.

By: Filip Sandström Beijer Photos by: Shanélle De Melo Héctor Oaks for Playful Magazine The Madrid born DJ talks about his childhood, his love for Berghain and his special connection to his father. He’s also giving a shoutout to Tbilisi, Georgia, which has become one of his favorite places to play. Wanna read this article in the print magazine? Order it here. Reading about Héctor Oaks online, you’ll mostly find interviews on the topic of his DJ career and music. We want to know more about the Spanish guy with the mullet and the massive collection of Fred Perry shirts, and what he’s doing when he’s not on stage. “I’m a quite normal guy. I like vintage”, Héctor says and laughs as he’s pouring up a glass of red wine, which he prefers over a beer. He grew up in Madrid and describes himself in school as a little boy who never really found his context. He was neither bullied nor popular and knew both everyone and no one. "I was good at getting people to gather, but I never felt completely included myself," he says when we meet in his apartment in Berlin. He’s got a special and complex connection with his father. It was him who introduced Héctor to the music by constantly playing Pink Floyd and Supertramp mixed with other 80's music in the car radio. "I really enjoyed it and I especially liked the songs with high energy" His relationship with his father was in many ways built around the music, since he otherwise was hard to connect with. “I would say that we only connected through the music” Héctor Oaks for Playful Magazine In this way, his interest in electronic music grew and he got curious about creating his own sounds. At a school disco he realized for the first time that he also wanted to start DJing. But it would take a few more years before he really got the chance. “A guy at my school had turntables and played in this club for people under 18. My friend had rich parents and he told them he wanted the same. He got it, and then I just went to my friend all the time to play. Around two years later, when I was 16, my mother gave me the shittiest turntables available and then it started." When I was DJing before, I was playing a different kind of music. More Hard Trance and Eurodance As a teenager, he became more involved in Madrid's club life and ran between the venues on Malasaña, one of Madrid's most vibrant neighborhoods. When he came of age, he visited the nightclub Macumba and got a mind blowing and lifechanging experience. "When I was DJing before, I was playing a different kind of music. More Hard Trance and Eurodance. But in Macumba they played something that I couldn’t understand. There were no lyrics, no song, no beginning and no end. Only strobe lights and people freaking out. And I was like 'what is this?' It attracted me so hard that I couldn’t stop going to this club. I went every Friday, and that's when I discovered techno music. " At the age of twenty, he received a student scholarship in Berlin and took the chance moving to the German capital. He had visited the city before, but only as a tourist. It’s perhaps not very surprising that he had already fallen in love with Berghain. "I did not know I wanted to be a DJ until the day I went to Berghain. I decided that I'm gonna do whatever I have to do to play there just once, and then I can live in peace.” Héctor Oaks for Playful Magazine Moving to Berlin, besides studying, Héctor got a job as a sound engineer that didn’t last for long. He quitted after the first day since they just spoke German and he was only allowed to carry cables in and out of a truck. Instead, he got a job at a record store which suited him much better. When he was not working in the shop, he spent his hours partying. "In the beginning I was over the top. I was trying to meet everybody and at the same time making music. I was in every party, socializing. It took me some time but slowly I got into the scene." There are certain rules that you have to respect, but besides that all is okay. That means, not judging people for how they look, their heritage and their sexual orientation As of being a new DJ at the time, he describes the techno scene as including to newcomers, and he always felt welcomed. “There are certain rules that you have to respect, but besides that all is okay. That means, not judging people for how they look, their heritage and their sexual orientation.” Anyone who has seen Héctor Oaks live or on stream knows that you can expect a high-intensity set with a mix of music genres at mostly high tempo. One of his most liked comments on a Youtube clip is a user comparing him to a modern Mozart. He is not afraid to push the boundaries mixing genres together. Don’t be surprised if a German punk song gets mixed in the upbeat techno tracks. "I believe that techno is the real punk. The old punk movement are in the end very into following the rules today. They're drinking their beers and are abiding to the law. Techno is the opposite with the drugs for example. Techno is the true punk music with the real punk attitude.” He continues; "I consider myself a hybrid of all the genres. The only way of moving forward is to take all the information you get and make it into something new. Héctor Oaks for Playful Magazine In a world without the pandemic, Héctor is busy touring. He’s specially in love with Tiblisi in Georgia and he’s constantly coming back to play at Bassiani, the country’s biggest techno club. At Bassiani, it does not matter how you dress, for example. I love coming to these places and being a part of the atmosphere that is created there During the years he’s built a strong connection to both the club and the city and he’s eager to recommend techno fans to go there. The techno culture in Berlin is something many take for granted, with its freedom and openness. But in other countries it is more of an oasis where people can finally have a safe space to be themselves and live out their desires and energies. "At Bassiani, it does not matter how you dress, for example. I love coming to these places and being a part of the atmosphere that is created there." In Berlin, it’s sometimes easier to spot the techno crowd by the looks. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing though. That makes Berlin, Berlin. It’s just different.” Bassiani has recently had problems with law enforcement in Georgia, which is struggling to shut down the culture. That’s something that makes Héctor's commitment and longing to come back and play even greater. 10 years after Héctor moved to Berlin, he’s one of the city's most in demand and popular DJs. He doesn’t slow down the partying and the memories of fantastic club nights around the world are many. But when we’re asking about his strongest memory, he actually is carrying it with him as an audio recording on his phone. Just before the pandemic hit, Héctor’s dad passed away after a long time of illness. The day after it had happened, he was booked to close Berghain, something he decided he would follow through with. He wrote officially about it, and decided to pay tribute to his father from the stage. "I wrote on Instagram that I was going to play this song for my father for the opening of my set. So, a lot of people was already aware of what was going to happen. My friend, who was there, managed to get the sound recorded on his phone.” Héctor asks if we want to listen. It starts with the familiar sound of an electronic engine starting joined by a clear acoustic guitar chords. Then the voice of Roger Waters joins in together with the crowd. ”Welcome my son Welcome to the machine Where have you been? It's alright we know where you've been"

By: Filip Sandström Beijer Photos: Guille Chipironet / Marta PR Gloria Viagra interview, Playful Magazine World famous drag star Gloria Viagra takes us back to life in Berlin before the fall of the wall and tells us about how a blue pill on Ibiza in the 90’s changed everything. Michel, also known as Gloria Viagra, has taken an involuntary break from the glamor and spotlight and works during the pandemic at a chocolate shop in central Berlin. "I miss to laugh, have fun and to feel free. To not have to think all the time. Just go around kiss. And flirt. With this fucking mask you can’t flirt. I hate it. And just to be connected with people in a different way. In the summer it was beautiful. Getting drunk and nasty, that's what I’m missing.” When we meet, it's Michel, but Gloria Viagra is always present. He himself makes no major difference between the two of them. "When people say that Gloria is my art person, I always say I'm the same. Sure, I dare to do more stuff as Gloria, but I’m still Michel. I have the same way of thinking. The mood is different, and the courage but it's still me.” “I dare to do more stuff as Gloria, but I’m still Michel” As a child, he grew up in a small town in Germany and fled with his mother from a violent father. With the help of her sister, the mother took them both to West Berlin – at that time an oasis surrounded by the GDR. Michel and his mother moved into a WG in Kreuzberg and already at the tender age of six he opened his eyes to politics. "As a six-year-old I went to my first political rallies against the Vietnam war, against Pincohet in Chile and Franco in Spain. For me it was always very political. This was just how we grew up”. He describes West Berlin as a city strongly influenced by its alternative culture. “It was really like an island because of the wall. Kreuzberg was half surrounded by the wall and it was a very alternative area where a lot of young men came because they did not have to do military service if they lived there. " "It was also very cheap because it was this island in the DDR. People got a lot of money from the government to live and work there. It was always quite alternative and very artsy. A lot of people who tried a different way of life moved to West Berlin.” He mentions his mother as his role model and the one who molded him into the person he became. She allowed him to sleep in dresses instead of pajamas and supported his childhood fashion shows in the long corridors of the typical Berlin apartment he grew up in. Michel talks about how activism was always present during his teens, both as a punk and a left-wing supporter, but that he took a short break from it when he came out as homosexual. “For some years it was more important for me to discover my own sexuality and learn how to enjoy it. I knew that I was gay for a long time, but I did not want people to say ‘no wonder you're gay growing up like that” “I was around 19 when I came out. For some years it was more important for me to discover my own sexuality and learn how to enjoy it. I knew that I was gay for a long time, but I did not want people to say, ‘no wonder you're gay growing up like that’. “For six years it was important to discover my sexuality and then I went back to the political stuff. During that time, by being gay, either you were in hiding or you were politically out - fighting for the rights. There were still no rights for the gay and queer community.” The starting shot for the alter-ego Gloria Viagra came in 1987 when Michel and a group of friends decided to try to convince a local TV channel to start a drag show, which got accepted. "My friends painted me and afterwards I did not want to take the makeup off." Since then he’s always been part of the club SchwuZ and its queer community. He also started hosting different shows at SO36 in Kreuzberg before he took off to Spain and Barcelona, ​​where he lived when the wall came down. “When I came back, the east part was like a different town to me. People there already went to the backyards for techno parties”. In Berlin, Michel always performed on stage as Gloria von Tuten und Blasen. In English that’s an expression for “not the faintest idea” but it’s also a loose play on the German word for blowjob. Gloria Viagra was born in the late 90’s on Ibiza, just when the blue pill got on the market and since the Spanish people could not pronounce the German alias. “In 97 my mother gave me a ticket to Ibiza for my birthday and said, ‘there are a lot of cute men, so go there’” His connection with Ibiza started as a birthday present from his mum. “In 97 my mother gave me a ticket to Ibiza for my birthday, and said, ‘there are a lot of cute men, so go there’. Then I started working there and that changed a lot”. Gloria Viagra returned to Berlin in the 2000s as an award-winning drag artist and became the city's first drag DJ. The time in Spain shaped her into the Gloria Viagra we know today. ”During this process I changed my outfit a lot. Before it was more political, we called ourselves faggots and we didn’t shave the arms. It was more of a statement that ‘I’m a man, what do you want?” But after this period, I shaved much more. I changed my look so much that a good friend of mine didn’t realize it was me he was talking to one night.” Becoming Berlin's, and thus one of the world's most famous drag artists, was never something Michel planned for though. “I never planned to become a big drag star; it came by itself. I started DJ:ing and people loved it. It came by accident. I’ve always been myself.” After a rough 2020 as an artist, Michel is now looking forward to a new era that he is sure will involve some changes in the industry. "I do not know what will be different but I'm sure it will be. For sure not every bar will survive. Not every club either, but there will always be new ones. For the queer community I think it's very important with safe spaces, and we do not have these places now. I miss being surrounded by people who are thinking the same and have the same understanding knowledge of respect. ” When it comes to the drag scene in Berlin, he predicts a generation change. “In the drag scene I think we will see a generation change. I know a lot of people who has had to do other jobs during the pandemic and some of them will not go back to drag.” But one thing is for sure - Gloria Viagra is getting ready to shine on the stage again.

Playful Magazine took a chat with Soledad Har Sheleg, who sells unsolicited dick picks on pins outside Berlin clubs to make them solicited. 3 Tips For a Successful Dick Pic An unwanted dick pic is nine out of ten times a harassment. That's why we asked the dick pic expert Soledad to guide us through your photoshoot with your wiener to make it a fair trade. Soledad's 3 tips for a successful dick pic: 1. Ask permission - very easy to forget 2. Use flash - you want the receiver to see what you have 3. Make it personal - know your audience

Her Twitter bio says she sweats in films and something about Slut Alchemy. Porn actress Lina Bembe met Playful for a chat about why she likes to fuck in front of the camera, the job behind it and why you should stop being a snake and start paying for your porn consumption. Written by: Filip Sandström Beijer Photos by: Sonny Barthley Lina Bembe for Playful Magazine If you’re a fan of the Berlin porn scene you might have come across Lina Bembe. If not, you may be a tube-viewer, and maybe then you should dig in to your wallet and reach for your credit card. The last few years Lina Bembe has appeared in various films with other famous Berlin performers such as Bishop Black and Paulita Pappel, founder of amateur porn site Lustery.com. When not fucking on film, she’s been visiting talk shows, podcasts and being part of an explicit sex education project – Sex School Hub, founded by Anarella Martinez Madrid – where she works both in front of and behind the camera. It all started nine years ago, when Lina came to Berlin from Mexico to study political science. She finished her Masters degree but only got jobs that she describes as “meh…” and decided to change the direction of her career. "I left Mexico with the intention of not going back right away so when I came here, I was already open to see what the deal was about. Berlin is a city that makes it easy for you not to fall into a certain place and not feeling pressured about integrating. In that sense Berlin makes it easy for some people to follow their own hunch rather than a certain path. " The not so creative and unsatisfying job situation gave her plenty of time to think and she got more curious about being naked and performing in front of the camera. "After I finished my studies, I started to do small things. I did not have much planned for myself and my career wasn’t set etched in stone. So I had the time to think ‘oh, what if I did porn instead?’. And it was something that came out of the blue. Well, more like a gut feeling. And I gave it a try. – Ever since I started to look at porn, I have always watched it with a lot of curiosity. Both for the pleasure but also with questions about how it works. What kind of people do porn? What kind of sex and what kind of bodies, and do I see myself represented in it? The next chapter in her journey to become a porn performer was very similar to any other career change. She met with a couple of producers and directors for a coffee and started to build up her network in Berlin. One day she decided to sign up for her first job with a female director. Her first porno movie she describes as a very casual event, and the whole arrangement as minimalistic and raw. The scenery was simple, a room in a Berlin apartment. "My first shoot was with a porn director in her flat. It was just her, two camera people and the other performer. I mean, I was definitely nervous but when it was time to do it I ended up relaxed and then I just let go and went with the flow." During the first year as a porn performer Lina Bembe was very aware of taking breaks in between the shoots to get some distance and think about how it all felt. She came to the conclusion that it felt good and she decided to continue to be intimate in front of cameras. "It gave me a very special kind of energy and it’s something that’s gratifying in many ways. I truly like to perform." Today Lina Bembe is mostly working with producers and performers in Berlin, but the job also includes travelling. She’s experienced with both vanilla and mainstream porn and her content is on various sites. She’s got her own OnlyFans-site where fans get access to her videos, exclusive pictures and other uploads. Lina highlights how important it is that porn consumers to support the performers. ( www.onlyfans.com/linabembe ) The tube-sites are getting loads of traffic, but an important part of it is pirate material, which means that the people in the pirated videos lose their only source of profit, or worse – they might not even consent to being online at all. That, and the crappy quality, is why she has rarely been into Tube-sites herself, and the absolute majority of her work is behind a paywall. . “People should be more used to pay for their porn just as you pay for Netflix or Spotify. Viewing porn should also be far more normalized. There is also this stigma of paying for porn. I mean, if you have a thing for ‘hairy girls’ for example, it doesn’t say that you have been paying for that on your bank account. It’s discrete. And I also think it should be normalized to have a specific taste. People are very open about which music they like or the series they watch, so why not be the same when it comes to porn?“ She is very clear with the message that the viewers should support the actors in the way that they ask for. That means, your money, and not your dick picks, is a good way of showing support. Lina Bembes way to discover what she likes to do on film started in the vanilla spectrum, neither hardcore nor too niched. Today her performances includes group, solo and experimental fun riding a Sybian sex toy with a bunch of other female performers. "I have diversified the types of films I'm in. For example, I started doing a lot of content aimed at heterosexual audiences, but lately I've been doing a lot more content far more detached from the typical heterosexual fantasies, Lina Bembe says and continues "I started by doing stuff that wasn’t very challenging. Doing porn teaches you to always be extremely clear about the things you like and don’t like. You get to define your boundaries and learn how to negotiate. Things could also change and that’s something you really have to know and figure out for yourself. Otherwise you could be a danger for yourself and for others. Still, there are stuff I do just for money and stuff I identify with, that are more in line with who I actually am". For those who are curious and thinking about making their own career in porn, Linas best advice is precisely to think it through . A lot. – Think about it one, two, three or seven times. You really have to consider the reasons you want to do it and the consequences. First of all, whatever you do is going to be online forever. You will lose control of it. There is also a lot of people having problems with their families and even having their kids taken away. There are risks about doing porn, because of how stigmatizing it is, but if you calculate with that, it can also be the most fun and creative thing to do. Except shooting new films both as a performer and a director, this spring Lina Bembe is current as a TedX speaker and sex educator with her fellow porn colleagues at sexschoolhub.com . Lina Bembes best places to find porn: www.pinklabel.tv https://afourchamberedheart.com/ https://www.aortafilms.com/ https://brightdesire.com/ https://carrerosefilms.com Favourite performers: Bishop Black, Sadie Lune, Paulita Pappel, Dante Dionys, Ze Royale, Jiz Lee, Maria Riot, Vex, Carmina , and a lot more incredible people I've got the honor to work with.

Porn director and actor Paulita Pappel from Lustery gives you her best advices. How to make your home made sex video We took a chat with porn director and actor Paulita Pappel , of L.s.tery where hundreds of real couples share their sex lives on camera. And since we all are forced to stay home, maybe it's time to get creative! Paulitas best tips to make your own homemade sex video: 1. Enjoy being an exhibitionist and a voyeur at the same time. 2. Make the camera part of your game. 3. Take your time, try things out, watch the videos together and start again! READ MORE: PORN SITE FOUNDER: "I DON'T REALLY WATCH PORN"

These lollies connects people. penis and vulva shaped ice creams PHOTO: JAVIER CERRADA If you’ve been at a Pride, festival or a nightclub, you might have come across Marc Poggia and his penis- and Vulva shaped ice lollies. Lollies that connects people. Paris-born Marc Poggia chose to move to Berlin because of the culture and for his interest in people living hedonistic and alternative lives. Growing up in an environment that was the opposite, he fell in love with the city that stands for openness and freedom. Today he runs Lusty Ice and sells phallic and labia shaped popsicles at the city's hottest clubs and festivals in large parts of the country. Thanks to his previous involvement in running a magazine in the city, he came in contact with festival culture, hardcore feminists and proud sex workers – people who inspire him. – Those perspectives inspired me to developing what I thought was a product of our time. I saw that trend in the millennial generation, of having people like Miley Cyrus who were wearing dildos on stage. Going from Hannah Montana becoming this over sexualised Miley Cyrus – I found that fascinating. The ice creams are a reflection of society's contemporary change and of the new generation (although the lollies are sucked on across the generational borders). – I have a lot of clients born in the 70s who find it cool too. MARC POGGIA – PHOTO: JAVIER CERRADA With his background from a more conservative environment, the personal journey with ice lollies has led him to develop and explore himself as well. Today Lusty Ice is more than just having fun with an ice stick, it’s become educational. – I come from a background where we didn’t talk about sex, and I think it’s important to do that. This is why I don’t just do ice lollies. I do sex education via the product as well as through the events that I’m organizing. That’s what I stand for. Its empowering! The ice lollies come in different tastes – strawberry, basil/apple, raspberry, mint/apple, banana, orange, mango (100% pure fruits) and then two vegan cocktail versions (Mango Collada and Strawberry Daiquiri). Both with and without alcohol and yes, you can combine getting drunk and getting cooled down on a warm summer’s day… and even “hot” up by this sensual dessert. – The ones we have are quite strong. And they are also quite big, so it’s like drinking a beer alcohol-wise. The Mango Colada doesn’t taste strong because it’s got coconut in it. The daquiri feels stronger, a little too strong for some, but others love it. As a penis and vulva lolly vendor in some of Berlins hottest clubs and events such as Gegen at Kitkat, House of Red Doors at Wilde Renate and Pornceptual in Alte-Münze, we all wonder if he and his crew gets invited to more than just lolly licking. – I definitely get a lot of attention. I have created a reputation around me and my ice lollies. I believe, that it’s definitely a magnet for fun. My coworkers get that feeling too, they can score a lot of phone numbers very quickly! Marc laughs. penis and vulva shaped ice creams The summer of 2020 should have been on the road for Marc and Lusty Ice. But since the corona virus banned all major events, he had to change his plans and is now looking forward to Christmas. – I am living week by week. Adapting to the news however I can. Planning winter events (Queer Xmas Market, Merry Clitsmas Market and Kinky Xmas Market) but all this work could also all go down the drain. I’m hoping things go back to normal or even better next year. I try to stay positive and make sure my friends, family and chosen family are in good health.

Can you be a feminist and a sex worker? The longstanding belief that strip clubs are sexist and increase the gender imbalance is something that this stripper collective would like to dispute. Written by: Amanda Sandstrom Beijer Photos by: Ida Marie Tangeraas This is the Berlin Strippers Collective They work in one of Berlins biggest strip clubs and got inspired by ’the Lusty Lady’ which was a cooperative strip club owned and managed by the dancers themselves during the 70’s in San Francisco. Meet Berlin Strippers Collective. Outside the building there are screens showing pictures of the strippers working inside. The entrance is tiny, and I don’t expect the place to be as big as it is when I enter. I walk past a smaller stage with a pole and the bar until I come to several private boots and the main stage. Some of the girls are sitting by the main stage, as the place hasn’t opened yet. There’s no smell of smoke, even though some of them are relaxing with their phones, having a cigarette and waiting for the night to start. ”We’re about 60 strippers working here, all in all and most of us work during the weekends which can be a bit challenging, but thankfully most dancers are really nice and we still manage to have a good atmosphere among us compared to many clubs where things can get really tense among the dancers, specially when there isn’t enough customers for everyone”, Karo says after greeting me by the bar. We walk past the it to find a more secluded part just behind the booths as Anna joins us by the round table. ”When I told my mom what I do, we had a disagreement since she’s a second-wave feminist, so her way of thinking is that strippers are victims and we had this huge discussion where I mean that stripping is not giving up the autonomy of our bodies, and that it’s my decision if I want to do this kind of job”, Anna says. Feminism and sex-work are subjects that may be especially trending at this time since the new feminist era and the second-wave’ feminism are clashing. ”I guess I subscribe to the newer way of feminism, the ’sex positive feminism’ I guess they call it nowadays, which from my understanding is more about empowering females’ sexuality and including that into the disillusive feminism. My understanding is that the second-wave feminism is about keeping back females’ sexuality and that if we please men’s sexual desires we are somehow upholding the patriarchal order. There is no room for exploring and strengthening women’s or other gender’s diverse sexualities in that mode of feminist thinking. But I think that’s changing. That’s why a steadily increasing number of younger women are able to combine a feminist identity with being a sex-worker”, Karo says. Karo’s has been working at three other clubs in Berlin before and says that she could never have imagined starting a collective with the strippers she used to work with over there. ”For them this was a job, and they had accepted the way things were no matter how shitty things were it was. It’s a feminist vibe at this club. Here some people are identifying as queer or non-binary, challenging gender roles and norms and they’re very politically conscious. I think that’s the kind of attitude you need in order to start this kind of collective”, she says. ”I’ve worked at a few clubs in Australia and there you stick to yourself. You may have one or two friends, but here I’ve got like 20 fucking awesome friends at once who are really interesting and powerful”, Anna says. Berlin Strippers Collective The club has obviously attracted a diverse and political group of women, something that made the collective possible, and also something I could understand would attract more clients since the energy around their job makes a difference at the club. ”This place really is special for the camaraderie among dancers which is actually quite rare at most clubs, I think Berlin also attracts a certain type of people, most of the dancers here are very creative and free spirited”, Karo says and continues; ”Most of us think of ourselves as feminists and due to unpleasant situations we had to endure during our dancing careers, we had the need to create these collectives in order to provide a network support. A sisterhood that understands your struggles and also the need to show our side of the story. We are all incredibly creative and we know the future of the erotic industry is more inclusive, open and certainly feminist. We understand very well how it feels to have to hide what you do, to be judged or to have to overlook certain situations because you need the job. This power imbalance is something most managers and owners understand very well, therefore immediate sacking as well as unfair work practices aren’t unusual in this industry”. ”In general, this is pretty rare and magical. Since women normally compete against each other in a patriarchy, and if you are divided you can’t conquer, right. We’re all from different places and we all have a need of sharing, since we’re in this together”, Anna says ” What’s unique about this club is that we’re really close” Karo says and continues; “We also get to pick our own music here, which is great because many of us really enjoy performing and the music is really important for being able to express ourselves. We undress to express.” ” That’s why I stayed here for over 7 months.” ”Yes well, you’re not a baby stripper anymore.” The political consciousness and engagement that pervades Berlin, while also being a city filled with young expats, may be reasons that this collective came to exist here. But in the end, there’s other stuff that makes this city a good place for strippers. ”Not only is it the one city where you can go out after stripping, particularly in the summertime when it’s bright outside and you can go to Kater or whatever. You have this huge nightly variety compared to other cities that are all closed down when we’re off work.” ”There’s a good and a bad part about that, Anna jokes. “Yeah, sometimes it’s hard to resist going to Kit Kat after a Wednesday shift, even though some of us might have to work on Thursday! It’s nice that we can just go there wearing our work clothes.” Berlin Strippers Collective Berlin Stripper Collective may have started as a necessity to support each other during the challenges of the often-precarious nature of the job itself. But they’ve started to spread their word to a broader audience through Social Media. In one of their posts, with a picture of an illustrated busty woman showing her cleft, they write:” They are smart, they are sexy, and they are fed up with your bullshit. Watch out!! We are ready to bring you down with all our brains and boobies!! And we prefer to do so in our 8-inch pleaser heels (they make us seem arousing and intimidating at the same time). In case you wondered: yes, we can kick in those shoes as well!” Meanwhile Instagram and other platforms are trying their best to delete sex workers out of existence. Also deciding that it’s not a legit job to promote - being a stripper, or anything else that includes nudity, the collective is doing their best to get their message out. But the rules make it hard for them to open up a private account to promote themselves. ”The less direct you can be with your clients, the more misunderstandings there will be, and that makes work more dangerous. Since Instagram for example is a platform we could’ve used to communicate with clients, it would’ve been a lot safer to keep the communication open and direct”, Karo says. ”Being a feminist stripper means being there for one another, creating events that allows us to share our art to a wider audience that appreciate what we do in a respectful and fair environment, we are just trying to survive in a system that is clearly unbalanced, we have autonomy of our own bodies and we decided to do this because it suits our needs, there aren’t that many jobs around that supports such a varied group of women, from so may different backgrounds, all doing this for million different reasons, being a feminist means to understand each other’s struggles without judgement”, Anna says. Movies, on the other hand, try to foster these myths about sex workers. Karo mentions the movie Hustlers with Jennifer Lopez, and how it portrays strippers as money-hungry people who hate their clients and that they’re perpetually trying to cheat them. ”That’s pretty damaging. And it’s so wrong as well, since we’re not providing a service like a sales job. We’re no more manipulative than people who work in marketing. There’s also that myth that stripping is glamorous. That it pays bundles of money all the time and that you can quit your corporate job and start dancing and just get rich. That’s an accurate lie”, Anna says. ”Another myth is that we’re all doing more than just stripping. People like to fetishize that, and actually it’s normally the first question journalists ask us when doing interviews, like, ’is it true that you’re doing more?’ That we would be prostitutes. There are girls who do full service, but there are plenty who just dance and never even consider doing that. And also, why is that so relevant? Do you ask models that on interviews too, if they have sex with their photographer or whatever”, Karo fills in. ”Yeah, and If you do full service, that’s fine and if you don’t that’s fine. It’s not something secret that we’re trying to hide. It is what it is.” Berlin Strippers Collective The men going to the club, on the other hand, are also portrayed in stereotypes. Either young men on a bachelor party, or really fat and old. ”I guess that’s one of the myths that are actually partly true. But one thing I learnt working here was that there are all kinds of people. And maybe 20 percent of them are female, at least here”, Karo says and continues; ”There might be more here than at other clubs, and I guess It’s something that’s changing. At the club I worked at before for example, I rarely saw women and the women who went there were kinda aggressive.” ”They usually are. Because they feel threatened or that you’re an object of sexual tension and It’s like they think they can touch you because they’re also women, so they’re quite grabby sometimes”, Anna fills in. ”It’s just self righteous, that I would be able to touch you because I am not a man, so my touch will not be as patronizing, and that’s not the point. You’re here and this is a space for the service that I provide, so I will treat you just like everybody else, it doesn’t matter what gender you are. But most clients are actually pretty shy.” ”Cause they’re horny” Anna laughs. ”I guess they’re not used to this since it’s like a parallel world. They’re not used to being approached by half-naked people. So I think that’s also why they can be shy at first”, Karo says. This is the Berlin Strippers Collective Shy or not there’s a lot of stuff that can happen in a Strip club where you might have to get comfortable (even on stage) no matter how shy you are. ”There was this stud who got hand-cuffed to the pole as part of a stag show on our stage, and whoever was doing the show didn’t know where the key was. So he was on the stage for forever, and the bar guys tried to help, but we couldn’t manage to get him off. We’ve never seen so many men on the stage at once before”, Karo jokes; ”Finally they cut him off and he had to leave with the cuff still hanging from his arm.”

After closing the famous Berghain Monday morning, Freddy K is meeting up with Playful in his second home – Hard Wax record store. Text: Filip Sandström Beijer Freddy K for Playful Magazine Note: This interview was made before the Covid-19 pandemic. What could be a more relevant place to meet an iconic Berlin DJ than at the Hard Wax record store in Kreuzberg? As old as the falling of the wall, Hard Wax is the record store that has been a specialist for electronic music and is now regarded as a pioneer of the techno scene in Berlin. Alessio Armeni , also known as Freddy K , arrives in time, very fresh looking for having closed Berghain just 24 hours ago. His closing has become famous for its feeling of never ending and when his name is on the Berghain schedule, you better make sure to arrive early. For him, Hard Wax has always been the place to go to explore new music and inspiration in his techno lifestyle. "It was the most important record store in the world and it still is." Freddy K on Hard Wax record store. – Since I was a teenager, and when I started DJ:ing, Hard Wax was already there. In the early 90’s it started to become the most important and iconic shop in Berlin. It was the most important record store in the world and it still is. When I moved here from Italy, it really was a point of referment of the quality and history of techno, dub and reggae, he says. It’s very relaxed to meet Freddy K in this environment. Between his travels around the world, the store and Berghain is what makes him feel at home. – I realize that I go here once or twice a week. I’m addicted to buying vinyl. I play vinyl only and the guys working here sometimes give me stuff that just arrived or something new that I haven’t discovered yet and they know it fits my style. I’ m super happy for this, it’s a big satisfaction. Freddy K for Playful Magazine "When Berlin is changing, the whole scene is. Everything is created here, one way or the other." Living and breathing Berlin since the early 90’s, Freddy K has seen how the city has changed over the years. And he still loves it. – Berlin is a bubble. And It’s a paradise Island. There are so many clubs for all kinds of music. When Berlin is changing, the whole scene is. Everything is created here, one way or the other. And though it’s always changing, it’s still some steps from the rest of the world. Berlin also makes the rest of the world change, and there are many cities that are getting inspired. We can see that on the queer scene for example. Sometimes you take everything for granted here. If you want a queer party, there are like 40 every month. According to Freddy K, the main thing that makes the city so special is the lack of rules and restrictions. If you want to go naked, nobody will care, and the parties don’t close after six hours. – You can spend a whole day in a club. You feel free. You don’t feel obliged to go out, or that the police will stop you? The public transport is working all day and all night in the weekend and everything you need is right outside. It’s different from the rest of the world. With Freddy K it’s pretty much all about Berghain. If the techno temple was a person, it wouldn’t surprise us if it would’ve been him. To him, the vibe of the club has changed in the past years since it became the worlds most famous. – In Berghain, a place that is my life, you can see that three years ago, the naked people and atmosphere of freedom were spontaneous phenomena. Now, people who go there for the first time, dress up only for Berghain. But still, it’s super solid inside. There’s still the no photo or video policy and to me who has an overview from the stage where I stand and watch this massive dance floor, it’s crazy that there’s no pictures or videos online, Freddy K says and continues; – The club culture is completely different from other places. There are no separated toilets and so on. It’s about the deep moment you share with other people. Something that we don’t always have in normal life. You get into a certain state of mind. Talking about the techno temple with feelings as though it was his own mother, you kind of take for granted that he never wants it to close. But, no, you’re surprisingly wrong. – We are living in a different era. We are living a legend because Berghain is still open and we are free to be ourselves inside until this day. The day they will close… Wow… We will see documentaries and read books about it. But honestly, I love Berghain so much that I hope it will close one day when it’s still at its top. But when that day happens, I will be first in line of the protest. Freddy K for Playful Magazine Celebrating his 20th birthday in the early 90’s, Freddy K comes from an era before the emergence of social media. Today he’s on Instagram but, even so, his relationship with social media is complicated. – When social media came, it was the most beautiful thing. It was a way to reach out on your own. But the day you could start to pay for likes and followers, it all went down. Today it’s like a dictatorship. It doesn’t matter if you’re good or bad, as long as you can pay for visibility. But, if you have the knowledge and experience, you have to use it, it’s where the young people are, he says. Together with Ellen Allien he represents the old school DJ:s on a scene that’s constantly growing with up and coming artists and inlfuences. Their common features is continually creating music, and also – being friends. – Ellen is a crazy motherfucker. Even though our music is different sometimes, she’s a legend. Best places in Berlin for techno: Berghain Tresor Pornceptual Disclaimer: In the printed version it says that Freddy K closed Panorama Bar. That is incorrect. He closed Berghain.

By: Amanda Sandström Beijer Photos by: Alina Rudya Stinny Stone for Playful Magazine Fully assured that they’re good enough, even when people all around have been trying to make them understand that they’re a freak that doesn't belong. Stinny Stone’s road up to this day has been uphill. This brought them big muscles and, an even stronger urge of letting their true visions materialize. Stinny brings their brain waves into form by sewing clothes, drag, photography, creative direction, make-up, and it makes Playful go Ahhhh. ”Not relatable, relatable and trashy”, that’s how Stinny describes themself. They grew up in a small town named Porta Wesfalica, and say they couldn’t have had a more beautiful upbringing. Although the more we talk we understand that it has a shadow to it. ”It was a very safe upbringing, in the sense that everything was so close by, and everyone knew everyone. I had a five-minute walk to school and all around there were farms with pigs, horses, sheep, and all kinds of animals. Our ways of having fun were shooting with guns and playing with animals.” The downside of growing up in a small town, where everyone knew each other was the talk. ”I found it hard to be myself, but I have never compromised, as I’ve been this way since I was a little boy. Back then everyone thought I was a freak in my dresses. I was obsessed with Pippi Longstockings, she was my icon and I saw the films over and over. Then the yearly Carnival came, and I wanted to dress up like her, so my mother sewed me a dress and bought me an orange wig. The problem was that after being Pippi for that one day, I didn’t want to wear anything else. So thenceforward I was always dressed as Pippi Longstockings in kindergarten. The apron got so dirty and ugly, but I never wanted to take it off. My parents wondered ’what the fu*k was going on, what can we do?’ because everything was falling apart, and the parents of the other kids were wondering what was up with this kid. My mom just answered that ’it’s my kid and he just loves to dress up like Pippi every day of the year.’” Sometime after this period Stinny started school and everything suddenly felt very different. ”People recognized me and asked if I was that weird kid that always wore Pippi’s clothes, and they didn’t want to be my friend since they thought that I was a total freak. I was so shy and embarrassed and suddenly I had a feeling that everyone was seeing me as a mad person. So, I got bullied a lot which was also really tough for my mother. She works as a hairdresser and had all the kids' mothers as clients, and they asked her all the time what was wrong with me and why I was acting so crazy. She had to defend me against her clients and it was just very intense for her'', Stinny explains. Stinny Stone for Playful Magazine ”As they all talked so much it took away part of my youth. Like I never got the chance to ’come out’ to my parents and tell them that I’m gay, because everyone in my hometown outed me to them, and didn’t give me the chance to do it myself. The people at my school told my mother that their son was gay even before I knew it myself. I hadn’t even started to question that yet and didn’t know much about my sexuality, if I was bi, transsexual or what I was, before I was told from every direction.” Stinny Stone for Playful Magazine Being bullied took a big toll on their life and self-confidence and Stinny eventually got depressed. ”I think what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and after some time, I found a boyfriend. I was like 15 when we got together, but after all this bullying I felt I was too much, so I tried to be less of who I was, and acted more masculine and tried to not look gay. My boyfriend was also looking very heteronormative. It was a pretty toxic relationship in that sense. He was very pretty, and I was trying to be perfect for him. We were basically teenagers, and that’s also why it wasn’t very hard when I ended it.” The end came when Stinny turned 18, decided to make reality of their dream and moved to Berlin. ”I wanted to study arts, photography and design and to spread my wings and get the space to become the person I really was, without any limitations. But my boyfriend didn’t want to leave our hometown, so I left by myself.” Before moving to Berlin, Stinny, who had their uncle and cousin already living here, had been visiting the city plenty of times. Although their view on the city has changed since they were young. ”I thought Berlin was dangerous. I could see that young people were drinking beer and people were looking through the trash bins and there was graffiti everywhere, and as a small-town-person I was shocked by all of this. But already back then, I knew that I needed to live in a big city to get the creative freedom I was looking for and to meet people who had a similar way of thinking. I saw so many opportunities to express myself and to make my dreams come true. I basically moved to Berlin to be accepted for who I was.” Although Stinny used to have family here, when they arrived, they didn’t know anyone. ”It was very hard to find an apartment of course and I found my first few friends in the university where I studied photography.” This was a private school, and it wasn’t really the vibe that Stinny had imagined before coming here. ”People were a bit snobbish, and I’m rougher and more straight forward in a sense. I didn’t really feel understood here either. They were very particular with what they assumed was ’working’ and not working, and into one particular way of fashion- and contemporary photography and the teachers told me to ’calm down’. They said that I didn’t have my own style and that I had to figure something out, but I didn’t want to figure something out, I just wanted to realize my vision. But they all thought it was too trashy and wanted to ’correct it’. In Germany we say, ’Durch die Blume sagen’ and it translates ’through the flower’ and means that one doesn’t yet have style and soon will realize it themselves.” Stinny Stone for Playful Magazine Once again being surrounded by people who didn't understand them and wanted to change them, left Stinny once again feeling depressed. ”I was supposed to come to Berlin and feel accepted, but this was just the same as before but with fancier words describing it. The teachers were on me as well, telling me that I looked so crazy with my hair and my clothes and asked why the things I created weren't as crazy as I was. I just wanted to ask them why they were looking so boring and creating things that looked so plain. I didn’t want to stay around people who told me that I wasn’t good enough, smart enough or creative enough, and that I didn’t have a clear vision, by people who were lacking any kind of creative thinking whatsoever, so I left.” Stinny quitted university and decided to find their ways elsewhere. ”Suddenly I felt free to do what I wanted and found people who understood my vision and asked for it. I wanted to start sewing my own clothes and do the actual fashion rather than that fashion photography which I found to be so f*cking boring. But if I should be honest, I actually started hot-gluing. I hot-glued everything until I realized that it wasn’t sustainable and a bit too trashy. So, then I started sewing, and then the singer Valentin was doing a music video and asked me to create her outfits for it and style her. From the start she loved my vision and understood everything I created, which was such a big moment for me. My work was appreciated, and I wasn’t this Pippi creature, weirdo, freak, with their wig on the side, and a dirty apron anymore.” This was the first experience where they felt they could be themself fully and that their creativity was appreciated and wanted by someone else. After that Stinny has styled a lot of celebrities such as the German rapper Katja Krasavice. But as mentioned before, Stinny works within various creative expressions besides styling. One of them being videography and they have done the’10,000-hour rule’ of cutting videos, which pretty much makes them a professional on paper. ”Back in my hometown, as I didn’t have any friends but still wanted to be creative, I went to the theatre and applied for some roles in an ensemble and found some friends. But they were all a bit small-minded, so I was bullied by them as well. I then started to create my own music videos, like drag performances, as a young boy in hot-glued couture, and I started cutting and editing the videos of myself and finally I became really good at it. Even today I sometimes take jobs from advertising companies and help out with editing and cutting their videos.” Stinny Stone for Playful Magazine Even if a lot did shift once they moved to Berlin, as they now have a big community and achieved a lot of creative freedom as well as being publicly acknowledged, the city is not a utopia for queer people. ”Berlin is never as good as when you’ve left the city. Because the city’s very intense and I tend to get overwhelmed here from time to time. Although every time I leave the city, I’m like ’oh my gosh, I want to go to Berlin’. I then realize that people don’t question me in this city, in the same way they do everywhere else. We don’t have the same kind of judgmental theme where we analyze everybody and tell them how we perceive them”, they says and continue; ”At the same time, it’s not a safe space when one is looking like I do, in the streets of Berlin. Inside Berghain, KitKat or my own parties, I feel safe, but not on the way to them. I always must scan the street and risk to get harassed and spit at, and people sometimes throw bottles at me. Even on my way over here we had to switch sides of the street. I’ve learned how to read this to a certain extent, but it’s dangerous and exhausting to not be safe in the streets outside my home and being harassed with homophobic words or being attacked from the behind. I thought everyone would be so open here, but they’re not. You can do whatever you want to in one of the many safe spaces, yes. But you can’t even be yourself in the streets of Kotti.” Berlin - the city of openness, could be a good tagline. Although Stinny points at that we do have a long way to go until that’s the reality for all of us. ”Me and my friends are always in a big crowd. If we’re five or more, then we’re mostly okay but otherwise I must go with Uber. Although there’s been times when I couldn’t afford it and instead, I got assaulted and pushed down the stairs. It’s strange the way the laws work; if you steal something you go to prison, but if you throw a glass bottle on someone the police doesn’t care. Although Stinny can see a brighter future for the city and watches their friends and community take place within politics. ”My friend Gloria Viagra went into politics now and I’m so proud of her and I know that if someone will change this, it’s not the white cis men, it’s women like her.” Stinny Stone's favorite spots in Berlin Roses SchwuZ Monkey Bar

Is KitKat all about the famous Saturday nights? No. We met with the organisers of Four Play – a Friday club that is a little more colorful and open towards newbies. We went ourselves and we loved the vibe. Photos by: Shir Zilber Four Play at KitKat – Where sex positivity meets curiosity Four Play, how did it all start? About ten years ago, there was a line in Kitkat called "Hellektro", where one of us - Roy (DJ name "Tripolitan") - was resident. We used to frequent Kitkat, and found the scene to be quite exclusive and not so open. The outfits were mostly black leather or latex, people's faces were too serious, and since we always strived to take partying not so seriously, we hoped to create a new concept that will be friendlier, more open, more tolerant and patient towards newbies, more colorful and with a well-curated musical program. It took some time for the concept to form, and the first club that actually gave us the opportunity to try it, was Ritter Butzke, back in May 2016. The parties in Ritter Butzke were great, but since the club isn't really associated with the sex-positive scene, it was quite a challenge to educate the crowd and even the staff. We had to become more and more exclusive at the door, until we decided that it was simply not the right place for it. Fortunately, about a year later we were able to restart the project in a more natural environment - Kitkat Club. Who is Four Play for? At first, the concept was based on 4 dance floors, each with an entirely different character, artistic content and musical style. In Ritter Butzke, the four dance floors are indeed very different from one another, the club had a good reputation for strong DJ bookings, and it was easy to create content that fit. So, at the beginning, Four Play meant playing in four different areas - whether it's the play button on the CDJ, or the playful interaction between the guests and the moderators/performers, and the guests between themselves. Nowadays, Four Play stands for the four partners that lead the project: Roy, Annie, Jonathan and Slawik. However, the Four Play is one of several parties run by the Section 8 crew - a beautifully diverse group of about 20 ravers that do parties in Berlin since a decade. Four Play at KitKat – Where sex positivity meets curiosity What would you say are the key differences between Four Play and the other club nights at KitKat? The events in Kitkat are very different from one another. At first, when talking to our guests, a lot of them wished us to become like the Kitkat Saturday club nights. However, this wasn't and isn't our goal. Our party is different, since it is first and foremost built interactively. This means that we create content that engages the crowd and encourages our guests to experiment with the many aspects of the kinky lifestyle, without having to live it on the everyday, and without being part of a specific scene. In addition, we curate our musical program very carefully. There is a very clear distinction between the styles played on the different floors, and the DJs we book have a profile also outside the kinky scene. Nowadays, we have reached a point in which we have about 100 people working at the party, and we are happy to be able to include so many creative souls in the project. We also understood from a very early stage, that a sex-positive party must be a safe space, and we are proud to have a very dominant and professional awareness team, that makes our parties much safer. What is important for you when creating a vibe? First, the musical curation must be coherent. We believe in a development, a journey through the night, and a warmup set cannot sound like a closing set. There has to be a clear story that is being told by the DJs. Also, each floor must offer a different style. These are musical principles that define all our parties - not just Four Play. We try to engage a lot of people in our parties, and we work very hard on creating a pleasant experience for our guests. It starts with a large admission staff that is friendly, and continues with lots of performers and moderators that seek to engage actively with the guests, rather than to offer them a passive role. We call it "the kinkteractive experience", and we hope to create a place that enables each and every one of our guests the room and the motivation to experiment, to broaden horizons, and to feel welcomed and safe. Four Play at KitKat – Where sex positivity meets curiosity As a sex positive party, what is your recipe for a good and safe environment? It begins with the recognition that when hosting a big event with more than 1000 guests in it, you can't control everything that happens in the club, and that even the best most educated people can do foolish things when the chemistry in their blood goes wrong. The second step is to have as many eyes out there as possible, who can intervene and prevent unpleasant experiences from guests. It begins with our experienced crew members, who - even when just there for partying - keep an eye on things, and continues with a large awareness team that patrols the club and is trained to identify sensitive situations. With the years, the bigger the Four Play became, the more important the role of the awareness team got. Nowadays, we can't imagine having a party without a strong awareness presence, and I truly hope that more parties will follow this pattern. Parties must be as safe as possible, while also being as free as possible, and this contradiction is not easy to manage. We heard some rumors that Four Play is not the only party you're creating... wanna tell us about Paradise Garage? Paradise Garage is indeed a new, beautiful sex-positive project of ours. Corona gave us all a lot of time to think. We thought about life and death, about economic stability and despair, and we also thought about the rat race that the Techno and House scene in Berlin had succumbed to. We thought, and we yearned for clubs to return, and for us to change things. Out of all that thinking and all that yearning, an important desire was born. We looked back at much purer years, and felt that it is time to take some steps back, towards our roots at this city's underground, and towards the roots of the music we play and love. The journey back in time stopped at a place that, for us, connected all the dots: Paradise Garage . The famous New Yorker club, in which House music and Disco joined hands with hedonistic club-culture and safe spaces for minorities and LGTBQ. It was probably - more than anywhere else - the place that started the revolution of House music and the golden era of Disco. Since March this year, we meet on a monthly basis for a night that is solely dedicated to the musical style of Paradise Garage. We added a kinky touch to it, Berlin-style, and the party requires a dress code, similar to the one we enforce at the Four Play, and many performers that interact with the guests in the maze-like cosy Renate club. On one floor - pure House, on the other - old school disco. The lineup? Always secret. We want people to come for the party, not for the DJs. It's so amazingly colorful, and the small rooms make the party feel very intimate. Those who love our Four Play, will surely fall in love with the Paradise Garage. In addition, we run a Techno party in :// about blank for more than four years, called " Expeditions ". Since we believe that a good party must always be more than just a nice club and good DJs, we keep trying to integrate more elements of performance and sex-positiveness into this party as well, and we are always open for cooperations and collaborations. Four Play at KitKat – Where sex positivity meets curiosity As promoters and organizers, what are your goals for your clubs in 2023? I think the goal of every promoter in this city should be to be at all able to continue doing parties. Unfortunately, Germany is probably still the only place in the western world in which Corona is still an issue that threatens cultural and music events, not to mention the club-scene. We wish to grow our existing projects, and to be able to include more creative people in them. We try very hard to fight for a healthier scene, in which DJs are not idolized, the fees remain sane, and in which a direct contact between the party organizers and everyone who performs in it remains unmediated by booking agencies. It's a lost battle, but one of our most important achievements is to create concepts that are relatively independent of the insane DJ-headliner rat race that our scene tremendously suffers from. At some point, we hope to be able to spread the Four Play spirit to other places in Europe, perhaps by organising showcases or even entire nights in neighbouring countries. Also here - we're open for collaborations.