SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Now that the re-launch of Lavender Lounge is in full swing, it's clear that the site has settled on a fetish theme, something that site owner, Mark Kleim, says “kind of happened by evolution rather than by conscious design.”
When Kleim began shooting new HD content specifically for the re-launch of Lavender Lounge, it was just standard fuck-and-suck shot in his living room. When he got tired of moving furniture every time he wanted to shoot, he decided to try shooting in the garage. By doing so, he was able to leave the lighting in place between shoots to save time — and working in a grungy looking garage space naturally lends itself to rougher, kinkier themes, as opposed to the romantic, natural-light settings of a living room.
In evaluating the garage for a shooting space, with its high ceiling and exposed support bracing, the first thing Kleim thought was, "I need a sling!" He put a call out to his friends and got a response almost immediately. The sling instantly became the focus of his new videos, allowing him to get good camera angles, the models to fuck in relative comfort and the lights set to always provide a good image.
“Working within the fetish theme has given me lots of inspiration to experiment as a film maker,” Kleim observes “Wrists bound by chains attached to heavy wooden beams is an arresting image. Experimenting with power-play and submission can be a mind-fuck. Letting go while restrained can be an emotional release or terrorizing in the converse. And that's just some of the psychological aspects.”
Visually, seeing men in leather gear with various sex toys adds more "action." A muscular top wielding a whip or paddle with athletic intensity shows off his physique and definition. But to avoid fashion faux pas, Kleim asks most of the men to be naked in boots throughout the scene, with harnesses being optional. By avoiding trendy styles of underwear and street clothing and sticking to the basics fashion-wise, the scenes will better stand the test of time and Lavender Lounge will have a more classic fetish look.
LavenderLounge.com just got a nice review from a primarily straight site, Rabbit's Reviews. The site was rated 68 out of a possible 100, which may not sound impressive at face value, but the highest rating of any other gay site is only 86 out of 100. At 86 points, the top gay site at Rabbit's Reviews is Next DoorPass, which essentially sells access to a group of sites for a price, rather than a single site. The next highest rated gay site, Bad Puppy, which is also a conglomeration of hundreds of sites under one umbrella, gets a rating of 85.
Under the category of Gay Fetish Sites, Lavender Lounge's 64 points is pretty close to the top rated gay fetish sites, with Boy Napped and Bound Gods getting 78 and 76 points respectively.
The numbering system at Rabbit's Reviews may seem tough, but I think that by preventing any one site from getting a 100 out of 100 rating, it's actually a fairer way to rank one site against one another, and show room for improvement. To put Lavender Lounge's 68 points in perspective, industry leader MaleFlixxx.com got the same 68 points, Jeremy Roddick got 67 points, Bound Jocks got 66 points, Broke College Boys got 66, Hot Older Male got 65, Sex Gaymes and Xtra Inches got 64, heavily promoted Haze Him and Sausage Party both got 58, and porn star centric Stag Homme Studios got 58.
Here is a sample quote from the review:
“You're in for all kinds of bum fun, including intergenerational matchups where daddies do it with boys in their prime, interracial action, flogging, bondage and encasement in plastic wrap. If you like facial and body hair, tattoos and piercings then you're in for a treat. You should definitely recognize pornstars Alessio Romero, Tober Brandt, Connor Habib and ebony hunk Race Cooper. There are also some amateurs, like some Latin boys who are simply in need of cash.
I must confess that my favorite of the 21 high-res photo sets is one of the solo spreads featuring Josh West who, although younger than me at around 37 years old, still has mature appeal. There's a bit of salt in his pepper when it comes to his short hair and beard. His hairy bod is what I consider perfection, because it's lean and hard. Then, of course, there's the long, thick schlong between his muscled thighs. He's dreamy in a real masculine way.”
