HIV-positive men want to be able to enjoy an event, where having HIV is the norm, where there's no stigma. When you started throwing parties for seropositive men in 2012, you wrote: "'People with HIV are still being discriminated in the cruising scene.
And sex sells, right? Now I can combine a successful business with my battle for sexual freedom.
I started working in this business out of personal interest.
The dark room is sort of my natural habitat, my playground. What's the best part of owning a sex club? That may be a factor, but they also have the internet in Madrid and Berlin, and those cities still have a huge gay scene. And a club like Club Church wouldn't be able to survive, where I come from.ĭon't you think that gay clubs are disappearing because of apps that help you find a fuck buddy with the touch of a button?
When I got here, I saw dicks on the local TV channel! You'd never see that in Australia. The Netherlands was very progressive at the time. In Amsterdam, I found freedom-I could smoke weed and just be myself. So, I thought about where I wanted to go next. I lived in Japan for a while until my visa ran out. Was the lively gay scene at the time the reason that you came to Amsterdam?Ībsolutely. Hopefully now with PrEP we can pick up where we left off with the sexual revolution." Then AIDS came along in 1981, and fucked it up for everyone. "After the discovery of penicillin, there was a sweet period when people were not afraid of deadly STDs and sex was free. You shouldn't strive for uniformity-that's bad for the city. I think there's always going to be a clash between cultures, where one side goes: "Just act normal" and the other side goes: "Normal makes life dull." But a big gay scene fuels the creative class and questions what "normal" is. I think a lively gay scene fuels creativity in urban environments, as Richard Florida once wrote. Some people think that's a sign of growing equality, because gay people have started to go to mixed bars. Nowadays, the only dark rooms are situated in gay bars. When I arrived here, in 1990, there were 34 dark rooms in Amsterdam. It feels like there isn't anyone doing anything new at the moment. With every year, the number of gay spots that are closing grows. How has the city changed since you arrived, 18 years ago? Eventually we got the opportunity to buy the club, and that's how it all started. During those years, we occasionally threw parties in Club LA, which used to be located right here in this building. We sold souvenirs and organized events on Queen's Day, Gay Pride, etc. Richard Keldoulis: Before I started Church, I had a kiosk near the Homomonument, which I opened in 1998. I spoke to Keldoulis about PrEP, sex parties, and Amsterdam's changing gay scene. Besides Club Church, they also run the city's last gay sauna, Sauna Nieuwezijds. While the Dutch capital is undergoing intense gentrification, with a number of its gay bars and saunas closing down over the last few years, Keldoulis and Peeks remain intent on keeping the scene alive. The club was founded in 2008 by Australian Richard Keldoulis and his business partner Wim Peeks.