Treasure Island Media Vs. Folsom Street Fair

Oh, no! According to controversial studio Treasure Island Media, officials from the Folsom Street Fair attempted to shut down their event (i.e., a gay bareback orgy) this past Sunday–an event held inside the TIM office and not a part of the actual fair (TIM has been banned from Folsom for several years).

Are you #TeamFolsom or are you #TeamTIM??

While this is exactly the kind of incident that Treasure Island just hates to have to report, here is a Treasure Island press release about the attempted shut down, with photos!

Even though Treasure Island Media’s office doors were open for business during the Folsom Street Fair, we were officially shut down after event officials complained to the San Francisco Police Department, reporting visible sexual activity from our third floor studio windows. We had been selling DVDs and greeting fans all day from our lobby on 9th Street and Folsom, but I guess when the huge crowd gathered in the streets it pissed off the street event organizers.

Next thing we knew, a policewoman was asking to see the man in charge.

The responding police officer said she had no problem that sex was taking place, but asked us not to do it in the window with our curtains open. Fair enough, but we promised our fans some live sex shows! The policewoman suggested we invite our fans upstairs into our the office for a more private viewing.   On-site General Manager, Matt Mason explained that the suggestion made sense but security would be a concern.

Ever so helpful, the officer called the Folsom Events security chief to our office to get his suggestions. The security dude behaved like an idiot, lashing out, “There’s no fucking way I’m going to help you guys when I’m here to shut you down.”

Matt Mason responded, “It’s your fair and I’m not responsible for what happens on public streets, and we’re not about to violate anyone’s free rights to do what they want.”

The Folsom Events guy said, “Come on! I know some of them were your people. I recognize them from your videos!” Um, busted!

Mr. Mason just looked at the policewoman, who shrugged her shoulders.

After we ejected the Folsom loudmouth from our offices and said farewell to our incredibly polite public servant, we quickly re-arranged our office, set up a security plan, and let people in by the dozens! A great time was had by one and all, despite the intentions of the street event organizers to stop us from engaging with our fans.

The actions of the street event organizers just go to show you that they are on a petty mission to STOP all sex everywhere and that we are the last bastion of free sex culture in San Francisco. It’s clear to us that the event organizers don’t even like sex but are willing to exploit yours and our sexuality in order to rake in huge sponsorship dollars. And they treat us like the Hypocrites? They should be glad we decided to show up and give people at least one reason to come to their homogeneous little fair.

At the end of the day, they weren’t shut down, which is good. Unless maybe the poor dog across the street complained?

It is of course just as much Folsom’s right to ban TIM as it is TIM’s right to do whatever they want on their own property. But is it fair to accuse Folsom of being greedy for sponsorship money when in fact all of the money they take in goes to charity? No. On the other hand, and more importantly, is it fair that a Folsom official was wasting his time trying to shut down TIM when my crackhead neighbor (note: I live right behind Folsom Street) was allowed to freely jack off on his balcony all day, shooting loads of cum into the crowd below? Uhh, NO.

 

 

40 thoughts on “Treasure Island Media Vs. Folsom Street Fair”

  1. Thank you Demetri for attempting to help the community. But there are pictures of other booths having sex at the fair all over the internet. Will they not be included in future fairs or do they have some type of special permit that TIM did not have? I just want to know so that I can decide if I want to attend next year.

    1. Good question Tony as the pictures, story, and video of the Kink.com boys fucking the hell out of Noah Brooks through an open second story window are everywhere now. Why aren’t we hearing about that?

  2. TIM is a business plain and simple. Anyone that think otherwise is deluding themselves! This is not some non-profit trying to benefit the community, they are a corporation trying to make money. Quite acting like they are some modern day gay Rosa Parks fighting for our rights to fuck in public. They are doing this for publicity to try and make more money!

    Like every other business that participates in the Folsom Street fair they have to follow the rules. For years they refused the follow the rules, but where given chance after chance after chance. When they repeatedly refused to follow the rules that every other business has to follow, they were no longer allowed to participate in the Fair. It doesn’t matter that they are a bareback company, it matters that they refused to follow the rules that all the other business have to follow. If a condom only studio had done the same things they also would have been booted from the fair.

    Lastly…lay the fuck off Demetri! He busts his ass to make a great fair that hundreds of thousands of people enjoy, and gives hundreds of thousands of dollars to the community. TIM is using him as a scapegoat to try and get free publicity. If they hadn’t acted like complete assholes they would still be welcome at the fair. They made their choices now they have to live with them.

  3. I just wanna say cheers and give many thanks to Demetri.

    Every year the fair comes off despite all the opposition and controversy. Despite being caught from both sides you walk a line that is balanced and rational. Grace under pressure is rare, but you show it time after time. We need more leaders like you and all the people that help you to make FSF happen each year .

    That’s all.

  4. Interesting comments. I’m a pretty big TIM fan myself as well as the old Hot Desert Knights when the owner was still alive. I’m not POZ nor do I have an urge to become POZ, but I love their work and keep coming back for more. My nephew even set up something google active or alert that gives me an email when TIM is mentioned in the news.

    I’ve attended several parties, events, and find the people representing the company extremely friendly and respectful… and i’m not a very young man so it means a lot to an old fart like myself. What I don’t understand is why doesn’t Folsom just let TIM in the fair. Seems like Folsom is worried about their image by allowing sex so they ban them. Then they are worried about them creating PR for themselves. Has anyone from TIM commented on this blog because I only recognize people from the FOLSOM organization responding. No offense to you boys but you are creating a mockery for yourselves. If you don’t think TIM has a story here then why do you keep replying? Seems a little defensive if you ask me.

    Tony Darboy
    -Apptleton, Wisconsin

    1. I’m only replying because I want to: A. Correct misinformation (which is running rampant here); and, B. Defend myself because people are no attacking me personally. When I said this was a ‘non-story,’ I meant that it’s three years old. TIM hasn’t been allowed on the fairgrounds for three years now; that’s all.

  5. Ok, I’m all for sex shows but it’s shameless the way TIM attacks the Folsom Street Fair. TIM is using a fake fight with Folsom to create PR and it’s disgusting. They are also manufacturing the fight with CalOsha. They called calosha themselves and then put a press release out about making an all POZ movie. They are manipulating and using their POZ employees, most of who quit or are being slowly forced out of the company just to make money. Let’s be for real,PAUL MORRIS HAS BEEN EXPLOITING THE POZ CULTURE FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS. Do you really think he’s POZ himself? Why isn’t he announcing that in a press release like he does the status of his performers. He just sees a way to exploit and make money off of the backs of people with real issues and a real positive attitudes to sex.
    Folsom is just another victim of his manipulation. ACome on. They are putting on an event for us every year. You’re not forced to pay the donation and many of my friends attend for free.

  6. Im for #TeamTIM although their product of late is very redundant. The same crew of performers going through the motions for a company that just wants to turn a fast buck. As the technical quality of their productions improves the quality of the sex has gone way down. TIM and Paul Morris are spreading themselves too thin they have everything but a Kardashian style debit card. Folsom this year was a complete mess as usual. First get the fucking beer booths away from the corners you dunces. Second don’t allow morons to just park their fat asses in the middle of an intersection to just stand there in groups and block every body else from moving.

  7. oh Demitri moshoyannis, please! you’ve been using the ‘christian right’ bugaboo for years now–since WAY before the last supper poster!–and it’s getting really tired. we get it. you’re a control freak. well, i’m an old faggot, and i can tell you from experience that nothing of ours was built out of fear. we’ve clawed our social, cultural and sexual freedoms by demanding them and by fighting for them and by being OUT and OUTRAGEOUS. you call this a non story. well, it’s a very real story and an important one. it’s about our freedom to be who we are IN PUBLIC. thanks to conservative gays like you, our culture gets smaller and more “presentable” by the year. and yes, this years fair was a sad spectacle as far as i’m concerned. honestly, when did a game of “twister” become the gauge of our cultural presence? we’ve lost the Eagle (a profound loss!) and what we have now is your folly-fair replete with “twister”, “performance artists” being drawn about by straight men in a zebra costume (how transgressive!) and spanking. that’s it. well, you’ve caved Demitri moshoyannis, and you’ve failed. i’m personally a safe-sex freak but i applaud TIM for what they did. i’ve only seen a smidgen of their porn, but by god i like their courage.

    and by the way, i’ve been to ISCOTT meetings. many of them. and you are blowing smoke out your ass. (or is it “up your ass”? i never get that right…) don’t try to distract attention from your FAIL. as my momma used to say, ‘honey, if it’s too hot, get out of the kitchen.’ demitri, get out of the kitchen.

    1. I guess we can assume from “phil the fag” and dimitri santos that neither will be happy until gay men can be permitted to fist each other’s assholes openly on BART and then run over to Pier 39 for a piss orgy that the entire general public can see.

      It’s incredibly sad that one’s identity, happiness, and view of “acceptance” is based on sexual acts and where they can or cannot be performed. Get some therapy guys.

      1. I’m not looking to openly fist people on the BART or fuck your mom on Pier 39. I think there is a time and a place for everything. And Folsom should be that time to express our sexuality freely. Castro Street Fair is coming up this weekend and you can bet that I will be fully dressed and acting accordingly to the occasion.

        Maybe I’m completely wrong with what I thought Folsom was about and how it has been marketed. If so, I apologize and will keep an eye out for organizations like TIM to lead the way. Move over Folsom, …cause I’m board!!!!

    2. @PHIL THE FAG: First of all, you don’t know me; so, don’t address me in a condescending fashion. I work my ASS OFF for my community because I love my friends and colleagues, and I enjoy the philanthropy that happens as a result of it. Second of all, I pushed our board of directors to do the Leather Last Supper in my SECOND YEAR of being the Executive Director. So, WTF are you talking about when you say “you’ve been using the ‘christian right’ bugaboo for years now–since WAY before the last supper poster!”?? That’s just made-up nonsense. So, if you’ve never produced a fair for 400,000 people – a sex positive fair that rubs up against the demands of businesses, residences, the City, and others (sometimes, at odds with our community’s desires), then watch your mouth. The fair is about expressions of BDSM play and kink. There are lots of creative ways to do that that don’t include boring vanilla sucking and fucking (bareback or not). Being “who we are IN PUBLIC” doesn’t mean we get to suck and fuck in the streets, sorry dude. We have a fine line that we have to walk, and that means walking on this side of the law. Believe me, we already push the bounds. But, if you don’t like it, start your own fair; that’s fine. On a final note, I find it interesting that you can find ME responding personally in these forums. Where the hell is Paul Morris? Some of you guys are totally blind.

      1. Demetri, I think it was Madonna in “Truth or Dare” who said “….there are always going to be Queens on the rag; you know it’s bullshit so why let it get to you?” I think this is precisely one of those times, don’t lose any sleep over it…and good for you to have the balls to face the ignorant critics, unlike Mr. Paul Morris.

  8. Sissy’s should just learn to get along. It is a choice. We know that it is not safe to do it, but I do like to watch! That is what porn is watching. Most of us will never look like a porn actor or score a cock that pretty. If someone has been under a rock for the last 30 years does not know the consequence’s…would they really be at Folsom Street Fair?

  9. Dimitri Santos, I think my position is validated by the comments made by the Folsom Street Fair ED. It isn’t just Folsom that has had pressure put on it by communities and sponsors to “tame” the activities at such events. Like it or not this is the reality of America today as we become an increasingly divided political culture, with homosexuality used as a weapon to defeat progressive causes. There is simply a choice to be made, be flexible enough to do what is necessary to maintain events or we will lose them.

    Secondly, no where did I condemn bareback sex or say that TIM should “go back in the closet.” What I said was if they are smart businessmen, and the demand for what they provide is truly there, they should take what they offer “underground” (my term) and do things in a way that doesn’t bring controversy to them, Folsom Street Fair, and gives greater ammunition to the lunatic religious right of our country to condemn homosexuals. Being loud and proud is NOT always the best or smartest marketing when it comes to business! Folsom is learning that lesson since the Last Supper poster which has brough us to this point we are at today. I can point to several sex events that do not promote heavily, do not push what they do/provide into the face of the community drawing backlash, and they continue to grow attendance and profit each and every year.

    Lastly, I completely disagree that TIM is making a “political stance.” Don’t be so naive. The porn industry is about two things, (1) self-promotion and (2) profit. It’s a business in a capitalist economy, nothing more and nothing less. Gay men don’t need TIM to protect our culture or our freedoms yet TIM, through their careless actions, certainly can play a role in taking it away.

    1. Last Supper Poster – BEST THING FOLSOM EVER DID.

      Porn Industry about 2 things – Self-promotion and profit – IT’S CALLED BUSINESS and they are doing it well. You’re even talking about them.

      Our Culture – Hide my friend… continue to hide and see if anyone can hear you.

  10. It’s very unfortunate that adult entertainment is used as scapegoat for overly ambitious polititians to demonize homosexuality to this day. It’s no secret that members of family council like organisations visit Folsom to take pictures and post them on their sites to “inform” the public what sick stuff is pushed down people’s throat when they “accidently” take the wrong turn and enter the fair.

    You can say a lot of bad things about TIM, but it still remains adult entertainment for consenting adults who want to watch this type of porn. If Folsom is given such annoying security measures it’s really the city council’s fault that TIM could not host the event they wanted to (with a window live show) away from the Folsom Street Fair.

  11. Sausage Smoker you are crazy. Are you actually saying that TIM should crawl back into the closet to protect what the LGBT community has carefully built? If you don’t push the limits then you won’t get anywhere. Playing it safe and careful will get you no where. TIM is making a political stance that you are completely missing. They are protecting a culture, a freedom, a part of the LGBT community that is wrongfully looked down upon. It’s very disappointing that you can’t see this. And going off of your comment about Cal/Osha… I don’t know much about Cal/OSHA but asking the government to get involved with the industry is a waste of tax payers money that could be going into schools to teach kids about sex before they are adults. The whole thing seems a little backwards if you ask me.

    I vote for TIM on this one. Bareback might not be safe but at least TIM is standing up for what they believe rather than being pushed into a corner losing all expression and individuality which is what the LGBT community is made up of.

    1. What is this “vote for TIM on this one”? There is no ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ here. Folsom Street Events has nothing against TIM. But, everyone has to, for better or for worse, follow the laws about public sex as enforced by SFPD. If we don’t, there is no fair AT ALL. And without a fair, there is no live audience for TIM. Last year, there was a TIM sex party at Mack Folsom Prison during the Fair that didn’t get anyone in trouble with the City. What was wrong with that arrangement? Clearly it didn’t give TIM the media attention that they wanted. This is SUCH a non story.

      1. TIM had a sex party? I was there and I don’t recall a sex party. How could TIM cause the fair to be cancelled when they aren’t even involved? It doesn’t make sense. Does that mean if someone in Golden Gate Park was having sex in public on the same day as the Folsom Street Fair that it could potentially get the fair closed down? If so, then the city isn’t being fair to Folsom, just like Folsom isn’t being fair to TIM.

        1. The police are holding US accountable for sex that happens in second and third floor windows above the fairgrounds. Unreasonable? I think so. But that’s what we have to do now if we want to have a fair. Again, complain to the City. We’re caught in the middle now.

  12. First of all, most of this article is extremely inaccurate. I’m the Executive Director of Folsom Street Events, and I know what Sergeant Fraser and my head of Security said because they called me immediately after the incident on the radio. Second of all, if you have a complaint about Folsom Street Fair, you can blame the religious right. Ever since they protested us for our “leather last supper” poster, we were asked to enact a stricter security plan for the fair. That plan REQUIRES us to monitor and report sex in second and third floor windows to SFPD. If we don’t report it, we risk losing the fair altogether. So, instead of pitting Folsom Street Events against Treasure Island Media, why don’t you show up to the next ISCOTT hearing (probably in March) and speak out to the City officials that are requiring us to follow this plan. This made-up ‘battle’ is just ridiculous.

  13. “I think the Folsom officials were just jealous that the TIM window show was getting more interest than the fair.”

    Again, without going into great detail, the issue is NOT Folsom; rather, it is the state of our country right now and the forces that want to squash anything sex or sexually-oriented. Pay attention people and get your heads out of the sand!!!

    One reminder I failed to mention before, it is TIM that has been fined by Cal/OSHA which in itself has caused heightened awareness of the studio and its activities. Don’t think for one second that potential sponsors, politicians and city managers have not all quietly voiced concerns about gay events and the influence of the bareback porn industry. It is not just happening in San Francisco. The gay bareback porn industry has pushed the boundaries with their glamorization of the number one method of HIV transmission for MSM and the “mainstream” public (ie. politicians) is starting to have to deal with these issues because of the far-right radicals using these types of things to create controversy in order to deny equality to LGBT Americans.

    This whole issue is bigger than TIM vs. Folsom; the time has finally arrived for the bareback community to deal with this issue in an intelligent and responsible way that doesn’t harm everything LGBT Americans are trying to achieve. As I said before, if TIM were smart they would quit being selfish, heed these comments and adjust their actions/activities at a time when conservatism is sweeping the country before the porn industry is run out of the state/country and more harm is brought to the gay community because of the actions by a few.

    The question for the bareback industry is will they listen and do what is right?

  14. Oh, there were plenty of other bareback-related vendors there, you just had to look. The TIM guys did a great job of making lemonade… they actually tried to keep the “activity” on their property as it were and not much happened on the street. In fact, I was surprised by how tame and uneventful the actual Folsom fair was this year. Yeah there was some nudity but it was all… tasteful. For the most part.

    But I have to point out the reporting on this article is pretty bad. The party inside the TIM offices wasn’t shut down — the “orgy” was the result of the cops telling them they couldn’t do a live sex show in the window of their office. So they invited their fans inside. And I suppose there was some public sex going on outside on the sidewalk. BUT IT WASN’T IN THE FAIR. So why did the Folsom security people get involved? (I was with Damon on the sidewalk when a Folsom security guard said he was going to get the cops — and the cops were already upstairs in the TIM offices.)

    Anyway, the phrase of the day that I overheard someone say was “It’s not Folsom if they don’t get in trouble.” And that puts me squarely on #TeamTIM.

    1. Uhh, like I said at the end of the press release, they weren’t shut down. Everything in grey/italic type is the TIM press release, not my “reporting,” in case that somehow isn’t clear.

  15. Totally agree with what Sausage Smoker said regarding the AHF. While TIM could be a little less controversy generating as to not give the AHF and their right wing buddies ammo to make condoms mandatory and worse, it is their right to throw a private function where the guests engage in sexual activity.

    I think the Folsom officials were just jealous that the TIM window show was getting more interest than the fair.

  16. when you have booths in the same fair, advocating healthy sexual practice–it sends a mixed message when you have bareback studios attending; and TIM, i guess, is spiteful about this.

  17. Just checked the guide that’s online and the only one that had any advertising for a booth was next door studios. I imagine that they didn’t have a booth since they do nothing but bareback porn now, as well as sx video, and dick wadd.

  18. I don’t watch, rent or buy tim stuff but don’t they have a right to be at folsom like the other porn companies ? Was dark alley media there ?

  19. There are forces above and beyond the Folsom Street Fair at work here folks, don’t be so naive or so quick to point fingers at Folsom. California is already dealing with the lunatics at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation trying to shut down the entire porn industry which would cost the state BILLIONS of dollars in tax revenue; what TIM promotes and what occured during the Fair is exactly NOT what anyone wants to see occuring right now which gives the far-right more ammunition for their crusades.

    TIM is getting a lot of media out of this but clearly they aren’t that smart. If there is such great demand for what they promote/sell then they simply should do it in a way that doesn’t attract attention….take it underground….smart business men would see the value in that instead of waging a political campaign they are not going to win and only will cost them in the long run.

  20. #TeamTIM all the way.
    The TIM event seemed to be the only spirited thing about the fair this year.
    Folsom has really turned into a pale representation of what it used to be.

  21. Absolute trash. Exactly why I refuse to go to things like Folsom. I have only been to IML because it occurs the same weekend as the Grabby awards. Ick…

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