About six months ago, I was skimming through the ads in the back of a porno mag when the following full-page spread leapt out at me:
WOMEN!
Tired of all those softcore porn videos for women? Seen enough of limp-dicked men? Looking for something HARDER?
Hard For Women
proudly presents
'A Man's Pleasure'
60 mins. of single men doing what comes naturally. Hot and creamy action. Every nook and cranny probed and revealed. By the end, these guys are dripping with it. And have you every wondered what they look like afterwards? You'll see!
Volume 1 - Martin works up a sweat (amongst other things), Tony delivers, and Greg comes up to scratch!
Warning: Explicit close-up footage of the erect penis, solo male masturbation and ejaculation. Includes some close-up shots of the male anus and anal self-penetration.
'Let Me Help'
60 mins. of inexperienced men being taken in hand by confident, fully-clothed women. Guaranteed to make a splash, these women really know what they're at, investigating every last inch of their subjects before working them into a lather. But it's left to the guys to clean up afterwards!
Volume 1 - Allie shows Robbie the way to a wet bottom, Martina pulls it off for Gary, and Janey teaches Marc to shoot!
Warning: Explicit close-up footage of the erect penis and men being masturbated to ejaculation by women. Includes some close-up shots of the male anus and anal penetration and stimulation.
'Spank The Guy'
60 mins. of husbands, boyfriends and male employees receiving their just deserts. See them blush! These women aren't messing around, and the results of their handiwork are plain for all to see.
Volume 1 - Sue makes Dave see red, Helen leaves her mark on Roger, and Ruth has Oliver purple with rage!
Warning: Explicit, uncut close-up footage of men being spanked and paddled by women. Hard action which leaves a very visible mark. The male anus features in my shots, the erect penis in others.
Please note that these videos are extremely graphic, including scenes of a highly intimate erotic nature and men in a full state of sexual arousal. Genuine male orgasms are recorded, with nothing cut or hidden from view. Please do not purchase if likely to be offended.
There was a P.O. Box number for catalogue requests and the following small note in the bottom righthand corner:
Male and female actors required. Contact Lizzie on 28 8888 4888
I had to show the ad to my girlfriend, Jo Jo, who'd never been content with 'Pages For Ladies', even though she religiously picked it up from the newsagents every month.
'Look at that!', she'd say, pointing at a page (in both senses). 'It's obvious he's post-tumescent. Why don't they show the real thing?'
It was the same with 'Hunky Revelations', the ridiculous softcore video she'd ordered from somewhere. Bloodless members dangling and swaying. Just laughable. No wonder she had me stripping for her every other night. Stripping and…doing what comes naturally. Acts she thoughtfully recorded on video and replayed into the small hours on most occasions. Not that she'd paddled me so far.
Anyway, I showed her the ad, and sure enough, she was ecstatic.
'I want to order all three,' she said. 'I mean, apart from anything else, it'll give you a rest!'
'Actually, I was thinking of applying,' I said. 'I could do with the money.'
'Applying?' she asked.
I pointed to the bottom right-hand corner of the ad.
'Oh yeah! You wouldn't dare!' she laughed.
Little did she know, but I didn't say anything.
The following morning, when I should have been looking for work – except I was looking for work, wasn't I? – I took the ad to the phone and picked up the receiver. Got cold feet. Pottered about. Had a coffee. Went back to the phone. Got cold feet. Went down to the shops. Picked up a newspaper. Came back. Went to the phone. Picked up the receiver. Put it down. Sat down. Took a notebook out of my pocket. Picked up the receiver. Dialled the magic 28 number. It rang. A woman with a cockney accent answered the phone. Our conversation went something like this:
Voice: Hello?
Me: (Bloody hell! You could say the fucking number. I might have misdialled. I can't exactly get down to the nitty-gritty.) Is that um…Lizzie?'
Lizzie: Speaking.
Me: Video company?
Lizzie: That's right.
Me: I'm ringing about the ad.
Lizzie: If you want to place an order you need to write, pet.
Me: No, I mean the acting thing. Actors required.
Lizzie: Are you phoning on your own behalf?
Me: Yeah.
Lizzie: And you want to be an actor in one of our videos?
Me: Yeah.
Lizzie: Listen, love, I'm going to speak bloody direct, right? Just in case you haven't got the picture. Our videos are bloody explicit. Blokes jerking off. Close up. Cum shots. Anus shots. Finger-up-the-anus shots sometimes. I'm only telling you cos I don't want to waste your time, like.
Me: Well, I've read the advert.
Lizzie: It ain't exaggerated.
Me: Right.
Lizzie: And you're definitely interested.
Me: Yeah.
Lizzie: Good on yer! You'd better come round for a chat.
Me: Fine.
Lizzie: When are you free?
Me: Anytime, really.
Lizzie: How about tomorrow morning at ten?
Me: Okay.
So I gave my name, took down the address and that was that.
Next morning, a little early, perhaps, I presented myself at the H4W office in Sleam Street in Soho. A woman who turned out to be Lizzie was sitting at the reception desk. She welcomed me and took me into an office. A woman in her late thirties was sitting behind a desk. Smart suit. Nice make-up. Quite attractive. Zoe.
After the usual preliminary social niceties, our conversation went something along these lines:
Zoe: I gather Lizzie warned you?
Me: Warned me?
Zoe: What you might call our requirements. Of our actors.
Me: Oh, right. Right. Yeah, she did. Yeah.
Zoe: Doesn't bother you?
Me: No. Fine.
Zoe: Good for you. Done this sort of thing before?
Me: No, not really.
Zoe: What do you mean, not really? Have you or haven't you?
Me: Promise not to laugh?
Zoe: Give it a whirl.
Me: I strip for my girlfriend. And do what comes naturally, as your ad puts it. She's got a video camera. She records the performances.
Zoe: Well, that's good, Keith. It is Keith, isn't it?
Me: Yeah.
Zoe: That's good. At least the camera won't throw you. Do you want to get your kit off?
Me: In general or now?
Zoe: Very funny. Now. No point going on if you aren't suitable.
Me: Fair enough. Do you want me to do a sort of strip or something?
Zoe: No. I just want to see what you look like.
And with that, she got up and left the room. I stood about for a moment, a bit nonplussed, and then decided I was meant to take my clothes off there and then. I was down to my briefs and socks when she came back. She was lugging a video camera on a tripod.
'Don't worry,' she said. 'There isn't a tape in it. I just want to see how you look on screen.'
She plugged in the camera and switched it on. I was out of my briefs by this time. She looked at me.
'Yeah, you're in pretty good shape,' she said. 'Turn round a sec.'
I did so. 'Yeah. Decent butt. Let's see you erect, then.'
I turned and faced her. 'Erect?'
'Don't say I'm wasting my time. I thought you said Lizzie explained.'
'She did,' I said. 'It isn't that. It's just that…Have you got a magazine, or something?'
'Oh, right,' she said. 'Need a bit of…stimulation, do you?'