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Australia's Hottest New Kink Festival Adult X Kicks off TODAY!Australia's hottest new kink festival Adult X kicks off TODAY and we sat down with Club Freak's main man OTK...

Rebecca Daniels | November 06 2019

Australia's Hottest New Kink Festival Adult X Kicks off TODAY!

Club Freak is a name synonymous with all things kink and fetish in Western Australia, and the highly anticipated Adult X Perth Adult Festival that they are hosting is their most ambitious, exciting event yet! They're partnering up with the top Adult Promoters in Perth to bring you an insane 3 night event like Perth has never seen before, starting TONIGHT, Thursday November 14th and wrapping up on Sunday November 17th. With highlights including a kink cruise, tonnes of workshops and the biggest names in international DJs and adult performers, you'd be mad to miss it! We sat down with Club Freak's main man OTK Daddy to get all the goss on the Adult X Festival.

(RedHotPie) Give us a little back story on Club Freak – how did it begin, what have some of the milestones been?

(OTK Daddy) Club Freak began in 2012 after I got back from the US. I had spent a lot of time there in the fetish scene and the club scene and I didn't see the crossover here between alternative music, kink and fetish.  

There were some parties happening, but I wanted something a bit darker, a bit edgier so I created Club Freak and put on our first party at the Rocket Room. They were awesome and gave me my first shot at seeing if it would work. We got 65 people to the first one (laughs) - but it grew and we went through a number of venues until we settled back in to the Rocket Room for the next few years. 

We relaunched in 2018 at Badlands with a bigger venue and bigger night and we've been going strong ever since. 


So Adult X really feels like a consolidation of a lot of years of hard work, is that how it feels for you? 

AdultX is a culmination of the events Club Freak has been putting on, but a bit of a broader scope. One of the key things we learned from being involved with Sexpo is that people were hungry for knowledge - we had 2300 people come to BDSM101 in 3 days - but the format of Sexpo wasn't a festival, it was more of an expo. So AdultX is a combination of the experience of combining a lot of those elements together into one weekend.



Give us the Adult X breakdown – what’s the festival going to involve?

OK so Thursday night is a cocktail reception at Akademi Bar for people to get the chance to meet the performers, the Team, our guests from Germany and the East Coast as well as out local adult industry people and talent. 

Friday night is a choose-your-own adventure night with a number of Perth nightclubs opening up their doors for us. It's a chance to go see places you may not have normally gone to, and a way to showcase the venues that are consent culture based, and adult friendly.

Friday night is also the Kink Kruise which is a 4 hour river cruise on the Deck riverboat. We have play gear on board, a team to monitor it and the crew are all adult friendly so it's a chance to have a night on the water with like-minded people.

Saturday there are 12 workshops in 4 hours, so three learning spaces to choose from and you can sign up when you arrive. Everything from beginner rope to advanced topics like Sex and Sensuality. We are also interviewing Jake Shy on stage so it's a great opportunity to get to know Australia's top adult actor in person.

Saturday night is INFERNO which sees Boris from Berghain - the most infamous nightclub in the world! He plays amazing techno sets that go for hours so it's a real journey. We also have Amelia Arsenic playing sets, Cooper Cooper, Lucky Pete, Bassfiend, Captain Oshi and CF DJ's Jess Kill, Liam, Trebt and Vetch and more. Aerialists, adult performers, dancers, the Club Freak Club Kids and heaps more.

Sunday sees us at the Akademi again for the Jake Shy after party with hip hop DJs, live graffiti and the whole Shy Family getting together to party.

It's going to be an intense weekend!


The festival angle is a fresh approach for this kinda subject matter – what lead you to this kind of format?

I think seeing people going to expos and realising a lot of people there wanted something more than just shopping and entertainment. There is a real community of likeminded people here, and I wanted to focus more on celebrating that - more of a celebration than a shopping experience. Something people felt they were part of and not just attending.


Has attracting the mainstream been a part of your thinking, or are you focused on catering to the Kink community?

For AdultX it has been yes, because there are more people interested now than ever before and a broader festival format is an easier way for people to access the lifestyle and information they are looking for. The hope is that the festival showcases what a consent culture event is like to be part of, and when they feel the difference they will know what's possible - and hopefully become more aware of what it's like to be in a space that isn't consent focused. I guess it's an opportunity to reach the people that are exploring their sexuality, but that might not be ready for a full blown fetish ball.




What are the best aspects of being a part of the kink community?

Having unexpected conversations (laughs). I often ask myself how I ended up in certain situations and what the hell is going on? It's all fun though, it's awesome to see people grow into their sexuality, and into themselves as they go through their journey. You really see people grow and blossom - it's really rewarding. I often share my own experience with others, and seeing them relate to it and get answers for themselves from it is very validating. 
 

What are some of the biggest misconceptions about the kink community?

That we're a bunch of freaks! Honestly though it would have to be that all Doms look like Mr Grey and all subbies look like hot tiny girls. The truth is there is no one type of person involved, and it's not all fantasies and hot sex. Its a lot more to do with making deeper connections, and connecting with other people that are on their journey too. I think people are surprised at how welcoming and understanding kinksters are. 

Education has always been on your radar, why has that always been a priority for you?

Education is the keystone of kink. Without it you are asking for trouble, and I saw a number of things when I got here that made me really concerned. There was nowhere neutral for people to go learn, it was all though online sites or at backyard parties. I wanted to create a space that was public, and outside of the interpersonal politics, which focused on educating people enough to steer them away from potentially dangerous situations.

Things as simple as understanding consent, and the right to remove it at any time is very important to me. If I can prevent even one person from entering into a non-consensual situation because of peer pressure or 'not wanting to get it wrong' then I will have done my job. A little education and a little support can go a long way to empowering people to make better choices, avoid abusive or exploitative situations and give them the tools to guide themselves through their journey. I don't enjoy hearing the horror stories that are all too common, especially for newbies.

How will you measure the success of the Adult X festival?

Adult X will be a success if people come away from it being impressed with our local scene, entertainers and community - and want to explore further. Hopefully it's a bridge for people to cross into their exploration - and if it does that then I'll be very happy.

The Adult X Perth Adult Festival presented by Club Freak runs from Thursday 14th November until Sunday 17th November. Get your tickets at the RedHotPie Events page NOW! Want a taste of what you're in for? Check out this video from the Taboo Ball presented by Club Freak in 2017.


Are you heading to the Adult X Festival? What are you most excited for? Tell us below in the comments!