Homegrown Video is an amateur pornographic video production company based in San Diego. Established in 1982. it was the first company to commercially release and distribute homemade, amateur pornography on videotape.

History

Homegrown Video was born out of the back room of a tiny mom and pop video store in

San Diego, CA San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. The advancement of video cameras and VHS tapes allowed Greg Swaim, the store's owner, to begin filming real couples at his popular sex parties. Swaim called the videos “Homegrown Videos” and rented them at his shop. In 2007, AVN magazine listed ''“Homegrown Video #1”'', the brand's flagship title, as one of the 50 most influential adult video titles ever released, as it was responsible for creation of the amateur pornography genre in

adult video Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include erotical ...

. Homegrown Video was the first company to distribute people's homemade sex tapes; Swaim solicited amateur tapes by advertising ''“Send in your home videos and earn up to $20 per minute”'' at the end of each Homegrown Video tape. In 1993, Swaim sold Homegrown Video to Farrell Timlake (adult performer Tim Lake), who had submitted amateur videos of himself and his wife in the past. Swaim sold the company due to a mismanagement of funds and impending bankruptcy. Still inspired by the first Homegrown Video VHS they ever watched, the Timlakes decided to purchase the company in 1993, with money borrowed from Farrell's mother. Timlake and his partners expanded the business to the

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cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

while taking the sales of their videotapes and DVDs worldwide. Author

Eric Schlosser Eric Matthew Schlosser (born August 17, 1959) is an American journalist and author known for his investigative journalism, such as in his books ''Fast Food Nation'' (2001), '' Reefer Madness'' (2003), and '' Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, ...

, in writing about Homegrown Video said the company served ''“as a clearinghouse for the democracy of porn, supplying hard-core videos by the people, for the people"''. The self-titled flagship title is now well past 800 volumes and is acknowledged as the longest running series in the history of porn. Homegrown Video's establishment and domination of the amateur porn market is evident in its 11 AVN Awards and 2

XBIZ Awards XBIZ Awards are given annually to honour "individuals, companies, performers and products that play an essential part in the growth and success of adult films" and have been described by XBIZ publisher and founder Alec Helmy as being "born out of ...

for ''Best Amateur Release'', ''Best Amateur Series'', and ''Niche Studio of the Year''.

Farrell Timlake, President

AVN Hall of Fame The ''AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') Hall of Fame has honored people for their work in the adult entertainment industry since 1995.Associate Producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

and porn industry consultant for

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. ...

and

Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Trey Parker. Stone was interes ...

’s feature movie, ''

Orgazmo ''Orgazmo'' is a 1997 American superhero sex comedy film written, directed and edited by Trey Parker and produced by Matt Stone, Jason McHugh, and Fran Rubel Kuzui. It stars Parker, Stone, Dian Bachar, Robyn Lynne, and Michael Dean Jacobs. Th ...

'', which included a cameo performance. Much of the porn humor, and porn industry details, in the movie has been attributed to Timlake’s real life experiences in the adult industry. While researching for ''

'',

was invited to an adult industry filming party at

Buck Henry Buck Henry (born Henry Zuckerman; December 9, 1930 – January 8, 2020) was an American actor, screenwriter, and director. Henry's contributions to film included his work as a co-writer for Mike Nichols's ''The Graduate'' (1967) for which he r ...

's house, which had been rented for the shoot. The resulting footage of the xxx-rated film ''Profiles #8'', includes in the background mainstream actors

Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983). She reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last ...

, Richard Dreyfuss, and

Timothy Hutton Timothy Tarquin Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at age 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in ''Ordinary People ...

, in addition to

and

. Timlake has, to date, performed in over 72 films, as well as directed and produced over 17 titles, culminating in 11 AVN Awards.

Spike Goldberg, CEO

Homegrown Video CEO and self-professed ''“porn nerd”'' Spike Goldberg was interested in creating an amateur porn series to sell online; Goldberg's brother introduced him to Farrell Timlake, who hired Goldberg as he demonstrated keen awareness of the fledgling online market. Goldberg was made a partner in Homegrown's parent entity, New Destiny Internet Group, where Goldberg lent his knowledge of technology and analytics to the company. By 1998 Goldberg revamped Homegrown's web department, and by 2000, Homegrown became the Internet's go-to source for quality amateur videos. Being part of the technology and business side of porn put Goldberg in the spotlight in 2004, when he led the industry trade group to fight technology patent lawsuits filed by

Acacia Research Acacia Research Corporation is an American company based in New York City. Acacia partners with patent owners such as inventors and universities to license patents that are infringed. Roughly 95% of the company's business involves licensing i ...

. In March 2013, with over a decade of hands-on experience, trusted business relationships, and a strong ethic guiding him, Goldberg was promoted to CEO of Homegrown Video.

Legal controversy

Starting in 2002, Acacia Media Research filed suit against more than 1000 adult production companies, including Homegrown Video, over patent infringement claims over the use of Digital Media Transmission technology. During the course of the nearly-decade-long litigation, Acacia entered into licensing agreements with

Hustler Hustler or hustlers may also refer to: Professions * Hustler, an American slang word, e.g., for a: ** Con man, a practitioner of confidence tricks ** Drug dealer, seller of illegal drugs ** Male prostitute ** Pimp ** Business man, more gener ...

Vivid Vivid may refer to: Music * Vivid (band), a Japanese rock band * "Vivid" (song), by Electronic, 1999 *"ViViD", a 2016 song by Loona from '' HeeJin'' Albums * ''Vivid'' (Vivian Green album), 2015 * ''Vivid'' (Crystal Kay album), 2012 * ''Vivi ...

, and Wicked. The creation of the "Adult Media Defense Group" in 2007, led by Homegrown Video CEO Spike Goldberg, spoke out publicly over the legality of the suit. As lead defendant in the case, Goldberg asserted that it was impossible to file suits based on a key patent that was indifferent to the mode of telecommunication. The suit was invalidated in 2009 by a federal judge; a federal appeals court affirmed the ruling in 2010.

Awards

References

External links

* * {{American pornographic film studios 1982 establishments in California American pornographic film studios Companies based in San Diego Mass media companies established in 1982 Pornography in California