ANNA Richards, 50, lives in Yorkshire with her IT director husband, 48, and their son, 16, and daughter, 19.
Here, she explains how she ended up working in the adult film industry.
“It was my first day directing erotic films, and I’d already lost my semi-naked models. They were going to be filmed in a lift having sex, but someone else in the building – which we’d thought was empty – had called the lifts and the models had disappeared.
I couldn’t help but laugh as this was a far cry from my previous job in marketing. I never dreamed that I’d end up working in the adult film industry.
I met my husband at a party in March 1992, and three years later we got married and began running a successful marketing business together. We had a healthy sex life, and I’ve always been very open about sex.
Like many women, I’d browsed erotic content online, but could never find anything I liked. Most films seemed vulgar and often cheapened sex and degraded women.
In October 2012, I began blogging, posting stylish, erotic photos I’d found online. I got lots of comments from women who liked them, which made me think that there must be a real appetite for female-friendly erotica.
In February 2013, I began discussing with my husband how I wanted to produce my own upmarket erotic movies. He was supportive, and we decided to fund the start-up costs ourselves through our savings, with him working on the IT side of things.
We initially kept it secret from the kids, who were then 10 and 13, but we told my parents-in-law, who were proud. My father-in-law was an entrepreneur and thought it was a great business idea.
At first, I had no idea how to make an erotic movie, let alone find models, so I employed George, a Czech producer I’d found online whose style of porn was more in line with what I was trying to do.
He put me in touch with models and a crew and joined me on the set of my first film in Prague in November 2014 – the unforgettable lift scene. During that first shoot, I operated on pure adrenalin.
Instead of feeling embarrassed, I felt empowered, and I was surprised at how easy it was to work with the models – they were very professional.
There are many vulnerable and exploited people working in the industry, so I made sure my models were well-known, completely in control of their own decisions, and clear about what they were happy doing.
After that first film, I quickly built up my own team and over the following year I filmed in Ibiza, Paris and Prague, from couples having sex in swimming pools to private beaches, alleyways and even during a picnic.
My inspiration came from comments on my blog, images I saw online and chats with friends.
It was important for me to ensure that my films were ethical, so I often used couples who were married or friends in real life. During filming, I’d make sure the models were briefed and looked after, with lots of breaks.
There were never more than five people on set – me, the cameraman, a make-up artist and the couple – and afterwards, we’d go out for dinner together.
I also made sure I featured a wide range of body types, from women with small boobs to more curvaceous shapes, and slimmer guys as well as those with more athletic bodies.
The following year, after a whirlwind 12 months making 20 films, I was ready to launch my website, Frolicme.com. Since then, we’ve gained more than 95,000 members in 216 countries, and we’ve been nominated for Erotic Site Of The Year at the XBiz Awards.
Relationship counsellors and therapists even recommend my site to couples.
When I put my face on the website in June 2017, so members could see who was behind it, I knew I had to tell my children.
Luckily, at 14 and 17, they thought it was cool. When they’re older, I would rather they watch my films than learn about sex from less ethical movies.
Some of my son’s friends’ parents have told me they’re subscribers, while my own friends are fascinated and often tell me what kinds of scenarios they’d like to see. My husband and I watch the movies together to critique them, but we’re too close to the films to enjoy them purely for pleasure.
Sex is so important for our wellbeing, and I’m pleased I can play a part in women being able to see respectful, female-friendly porn.”
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