Born from the scrappy, DIY ethos of Oakland and the East Bay, the East Bay Brats of TROUBLE Films are pushing the bounds of queer BDSM porn since 2020. The fourth installment will be screened at The San Francisco PornFilmFestival on August 24th, and to celebrate, we sat down with Courtney Trouble, Chelsea Poe, and Lita Lecherous to discuss the history of The Brats, making porn in Oakland, and just how sexy latex makes you feel. Check out our conversation with The Brats below, or watch it on our YouTube page! And if you’re in the area, be sure to check out The SF PornFilmFestival, running from August 24th-27th, 2022.
JH: Introduce yourselves!
LL: I’ll go first. I’m Lita Lecherous.
CT: I’m Courtney Trouble.
CP: I’m Chelsea Poe.
So East Bay Brats 4 is going to be screened at the San Francisco PornFilmFestival. Can you tell me a little bit about what viewers can expect to see?
CP: Yeah, so it’s the first scene of the film screening. It’s the pumping scene, where they pump my boobs really big in these cup things and they were swollen for days afterwards. It was our first time coming back together after the pandemic, so we really kind of jumped right into it. It was the first scene we shot and then we instantly went into a foursome—really intense scenes—putting ass on my face after not doing porn for like a year. So it was really fun.
CT: And I was the videographer for it. So it was Chelsea was being dominated by Lita Lecherous, Ruby Riots, and Jupiter Jetson. And then I was behind the camera, but I also had another camera set up on a tripod. So we’re able to get a two-camera setup, which is how I like to operate when we’re doing East Bay Brats stuff, because it gives a more cinematic feel. But yeah, it was definitely fun to watch while they were shooting it. [laughter] And it was fun to shoot even though with more people, it’s always like a fun challenge for me.
LL: It was really fun. I know we all wore latex for that film and we all took a bunch of glam shots before and we were all super excited. I don’t think any of us had shot anything for a while. And it was just a really good time. We shot at Black Thorn Dungeon, which is like our home dungeon in Oakland. And that was really cool. Then we shot in the house—there are multiple dungeons—so we got to shoot a new space and it was great. Then we also use a milking machine in that scene. I think we left that out. So we were really excited.
CP: Yeah.
LL: Yeah. We got to use the Venus 3000, so that was really exciting.
Can you tell me about how the East Bay Brats series came to be?
CP: Courtney and I obviously have been in the Bay Area for a while making porn through the height of like the whole Bay Area queer porn thing. I moved to the Bay to do porn and there was just a lot going on. The Armory was still here. There were a lot of people moving to San Francisco to become porn stars. And I felt like that kind of died off a little bit. And Courtney and I were, I would say, we were a little bit—I wouldn’t say lost, because we were still making stuff—but just asking who are the people we are gonna find who have a similar outlook and everything. Finding Lita and Ruby, it was just like an instant click. And we did a few things together. And I live three blocks away from this dungeon, so I was just, “Maybe we should do a thing where we shoot a whole movie there.” And it just really came together naturally. We ended up shooting three films, I think in a matter of two or three months. And then Jupiter Jetson reached out to us and was asked to be involved in a scene. We’re like, “Of course!” So they came in for the third one, and this was after the whole pandemic. I feel like it’s a complete collective where we all co-own everything. Courtney and I shoot everything. Everyone’s involved in every process. I think we’ve all edited bits and pieces of every film. It really feels like a band where it’s great to see all these people and we can all get together and make these things, but it’s also seeing everyone do their own thing and see Lita shoot some amazing porn and some intense BDSM and I’m like, “Oh my God! That’s amazing.” And lately Jupiter’s been shooting more mainstream porn. So just being able to see everyone do their own thing and then come back to this collective has been a really, really special thing for me.
LL: It was actually the first film that I ever shot. I had just started doing porn. I shot for Crash Pad, and then I remember thinking like I was trying to be a Dominatrix, I didn’t know what I was gonna end up doing, and so I wanted to make more content. I saw Chelsea’s profile on Crash Pad and I started looking at Chelsea’s stuff and realized, “Oh, Chelsea’s a sub.” So I hit Chelsea up, and originally we were joking about making an emo-sub-girl porno. And then Courtney was like, “Oh I would love to shoot for both of you.” So we shot a scene and then I think I introduced you to Ruby because I was friends with Ruby, and Ruby was also modeling and wanted to start doing video. We all got along really well, and we just decided we were gonna show up at the dungeon. We were all gonna wear latex and shoot with whatever equipment they had there. And it ended up being really awesome. And then the day after we shot the film, I went and shot more porn.
CP: You left in the middle of the shoot. It was about 11 o’clock at night when we were shooting, we did an overnight rental. And you were like, “I have to like catch… ” I felt like it was a train for some reason or something.
LL: It was an Amtrak…
CP: Yeah. [chuckle]
LL: Down to Southern California so that I could shoot my first submissive videos. It was like a whole week of just me shooting like this intense queer BDSM. It was my first film, yeah. It was awesome.
How does the East Bay shape the character of the series?
LL: Do you wanna tell them where we got the title?
CT: Yeah, this is… I got this one. [laughter] The East Bay Brats was the title we came up with as we were forming what we were doing. After we shot the first film, we asked, “What are we doing? Okay, it’s bratty, it’s fun, and we shot it in the East Bay and we all live in the East Bay. Oh, wouldn’t it be nice to put together a film that was a shoutout to how Oakland became a place for queer porn?” And I’ve been living in Oakland for such a long time that it did kind of make sense to start thinking about making something that was really Oakland-focused. And as a filmmaker and an artist, I often think about site specificity. Whether I’m in San Francisco or Oakland or Berlin, there’s always gonna be something about the place in the film—be it the people, or the architecture that we’re working with, the interior decorating, the art that’s around it—it always sets the tone. And well, the first thing is Black Thorn Dungeon in Oakland is one of those big beautiful Victorian homes that Oakland and the East Bay are famous for. It’s a gigantic Victorian mansion and it’s been kept perfect; all of the cool goth structure is still built into the home. So shooting at that location is able to give the film this spooky, goth, Victorian vibe to it. And then when we were naming it, we were like, “Well, we’re kind of like the fight club. We’re kind of like the fuck club. Well, remember Fight Club, the movie? Where does that come from?” We’re like, “Oh my God. Oh my God, the East Bay Rats,” which is the biker gang that has a bar in Downtown Oakland. And we’re like, “What if we called ourselves The East Bay Brats?”
CP: So…
CT: As a shoutout…
LL: They have a fight club. They have a…
CT: They have a fight club. We have a fuck club.
LL: But the East Bay Rats literally have a ring and it’s an open thing you can go to and you…
CP: You can just go and show up and put on boxing gloves and fight random people.
CT: Yeah.
CP: Which is crazy. [chuckle]
CT: From a queer porn BDSM perspective, that was kind of what we were doing, like setting up this BDSM structure and putting ourselves in it to play and we’re like, “Yeah, that’s kind of us.” So it’s a play on the biker bar, East Bay Rats. [laughter]
CP: I also feel like the whole DIY ethic really fits into the whole East Bay punk scene; it was very much like we just show up, we have a loose idea of what to do. The scene that’s screening, it was originally just Lita and I being like, “Oh, I wanna use the milking thing,” and us being like, “Oh, does anyone else wanna join?” and everyone else was like, “Yes.” So everyone else recording was in the scene, essentially.
CT: I wanted to be in the scene too, but someone had to make sure the cameras were rolling.
CP: Yeah right? [laughter]
CT: That’s the only downside is that because we’re just doing it ourselves. There’s no crew. Well, sometimes there is like one person helping us, but very…
CP: Yeah.
CT: We’ve had someone take pictures and then leave.
CP: Or the videography, yeah.
CT: So it’s really like a private, personal, intimate kind of affair. And it also means we are all holding the camera at one point.
CP: And the editing too, I mean, everyone edits all different parts of it, which I think is particularly unique for porn, because so many times performers or the videographer have nothing to do with the editing, and really it’s a true collaborative process from when we show up to when we’re putting the film out.
LL: Yeah, we even have someone make our own music. So our music is owned by us. Yeah, Oakland is super DIY. Before I was doing porn, I was in the music scene, throwing house shows. It was all DIY collaboration and all the events are community events. So doing DIY porn feels really true to the community there. It’s like, invite your friends, everyone collaborates on something, we all bring our own stuff, and yeah, I really like that.
CP: It’s definitely like a band feel more than anything. I definitely go back to that a lot where it’s like I have the same feelings about everyone that I felt like I had about my bandmates when I was in bands.
And what does it mean to be a brat?
[laughter]CT: I don’t know if it’s just a queer thing, because I feel like all kinds of kinky people who are into BDSM probably have some affection for the brat. For me the brat is like a bratty bottom. It’s not so submissive, a masochist who likes to get punished.
CP: I feel like I’m a really obedient sub, so I don’t even necessarily feel like I fit into the whole brat thing [laughter] but it’s a good name.
CT: Usually Chelsea’s turned into a piece of furniture by the end of it. [laughter] That or in a cage or something.
LL: I’m a switch. So I’m definitely a bratty top and a bratty bottom. I like to egg my tops on a lot and I think that’s very true to me. You don’t follow rules. There’s not really a protocol. I don’t think we have any protocol in our videos. We have a lot of dialogue and back-talking and just doing whatever feels right for those individuals. It’s not super protocol at all. And I really like that because that was something I struggled with when I was trying to be a Femdom-only; I don’t do protocol. I don’t like fitting into boxes of having to be on top and this person has to be on bottom. And this person can’t see me naked and… I just really identify with that bratty mentality of doing whatever feels good for you. And kind of egging on, feeding off the energy of the person you’re playing with.
What do you think makes for a good on-camera Dominant and for a good on-camera submissive?
CP: I think it’s going in with an idea for the scene and just allowing yourself to be creative and get lost in the scene. With this scene or any scene we do, there a very vague outline where it’s like, “Okay, I wanna use this thing, I wanna get fucked at some point.” It’s all pretty vague; even when Courtney got double-teamed in the scene, it was like, “Okay, you’re gonna get fucked by both Lita and Ruby.” But we didn’t plan out that we’re gonna use this line or we’re gonna use this or that tool. It was very open-ended. I feel like that’s kind of the creative part about The East Bay Brats; we really have a lot of room for improvisational stuff instead of everything being written out and a checklist having to do this, this, and this. I think that’s what really makes it different from a more mainstream BDSM company like Kink.com across the Bay.
LL: I feed off the energy of people, but I’m also really familiar with people, what people like and what they don’t like. That way when I’m in the scene, I don’t have to break that connection. I don’t wanna say a mistake, but people make mistakes. So I think it’s really important to communicate beforehand, even as a submissive, what you like and what you don’t. That way you don’t have to exit; it’s really hard to come in and out of that energy of the power exchange. I think it’s just really important to establish what everybody wants, and then you have room to be, “Oh, I know this person likes being spanked, or I know this person likes humiliation.” So they don’t like X, Y, or Z, but I think I could do this really humiliating thing and they would really enjoy it. And then you get a really authentic reaction from somebody.
CP: I think it also comes with us working together so much; we’ve worked together for four or five movies now. Where we’ve really known each other, and you figure out each other’s kinks and what each other are into.
CT: I would also say, as I’m a switch performer and especially in The East Bay Brats, it’s been a lot of fun to experiment and explore my more submissive and dominant sides individually. Because we do so many different scenes on the same day, there is a chance to be a top and a bottom on the same day for me. And that’s always really exciting. And time and time again, I think what makes for the best performance and for the best session is to have a good time, right? Yeah, exactly what Lita said. I love it when the Dominant already knows what my boundaries are, and also knows what my buttons are. I feel like Lita and Ruby are always being like, “Oh, I know what’s gonna piss Courtney off just enough.” [laughter] And I know what we shouldn’t do. So that intrinsic knowledge, that communication that happens before the scenes or whatever, when we’re getting to know each other as performers and as a team. I feel like we’re all accountable to each other and ourselves in that way. And that’s what makes for the good performance, because I do feel like we get a chance to do some pretty edgy, hardcore stuff. It’s a little scary on camera and I think it’s because we’ve built a level of trust.
Are there any other movies at the San Francisco PornFilmFestival that you’re excited to see?
CT: I’m excited to go. I wanna see everything in person. That’s my big thing this year.
CP: I don’t really know the schedule that much. I feel like we were just getting ready for a scene that we shot a few days ago. I felt like that’s where all my energy is, and I’m going overseas next week. So I haven’t really looked at the schedule yet, to be honest.
LL: I haven’t looked at it either, because I don’t know if they’re streaming it and I won’t be able to go.
CP: Same.
LL: But I’m looking forward to seeing some performers that I really like that I’m hoping are on the roster. As far as kinky stuff, yeah, I’m excited too, I gotta look at the schedule and see what’s on it, but I’m looking for kink. [chuckle]
CP: I hope Fuck The Fascism is part of it. They’re my favorite porn collective in the world and just doing such cool stuff.
What makes you feel sexy?
CT: I like some good lingerie. Some sexy lingerie or high heels always kind of put me in a different posture and make me feel like “Ooh, I’m sexy.” There’s a transformation in an outfit, but I guess I also feel sexy in a pair of sweats and just topless, and maybe that’s more about just comfort.
CP: I feel like for me just being on set and seeing all your friends and freaking out over how hot each other are. I feel like everyone has their own dysphoria as a performer where you have ups and downs about your body. Just being on set a few days ago, everyone was like, “Oh my God, your boobs are this much bigger now, that’s amazing,” and just freaking out about each other’s bodies in a positive way. It’s just such a positive feeling and I feel like most people don’t have a space like that where you’re naked around your friends and all your friends are like, “Wow, you look so great.” That’s just such an affirming thing for me and that really gives me a glow for quite a while afterwards.
LL: Yeah, I really like dressing up, that’s what I like. I like getting ready and then collaborating and helping other people get ready and picking out toys and getting excited. I really like dressing up, I’m always wearing lingerie and stockings. I also like picking out outfits; if everyone was like, “Oh, we want to wear pink,” going and picking out outfits and collaborating. I like being naked, but being dressed and wearing something special really makes me feel authentically sexy and powerful, and I really like that we usually gravitate towards latex, because latex is not something that everybody thinks they could wear but everybody looks good in latex and everybody can wear it.
CP: For sure.
CT: I Love latex.
LL: Yeah, I like how it feels on my body.
[laughter]CP: Everything but the heat involved with latex is amazing.
LL: I don’t like that…
[laughter]LL: I don’t like the feeling of the sweat dripping down your legs for like four hours, but…
[laughter]CP: Yeah. Yep. Everything other than that about latex, 100%.
Yeah, you guys were selling me on latex for like ten seconds, now I don’t think I’m sold anymore.
[laughter]CP: Just wear it when it’s cold out.
CP: Winter, you’re great.
CT: Oh God, and it’s so sexy on camera too, it looks so good photographed.
LL: Now latex is really unique, it takes on the temperature of the environment around you, so yeah, don’t wear it when it’s hot, but when it’s cool, it’ll get cold. If you wear it in water it feels really cool.
What’s coming up next for the Brats?
CP: That’s a big question. We’re a little bit spread out right now; Lita’s now on the East Coast and Jupiter’s in Vegas, so it’s just figuring out whenever it’s going to happen again. I really want to go to the LA Pink Dungeon and do an entirely pink BDSM scene for The East Bay Brats, so eventually that’s going to happen when everyone’s in the same city, but I feel like it’s a little bit up in the air right now just because we’re all kind of spread out.
CT: Yeah. I’m really excited about all of the screenings that East Bay Brats projects have been getting, I like the idea that the Brats are going global in a way. The next time we do make something, we’re probably going to have people calling in one way, and then a new person involved and a couple different road trips to make it all happen, but it’ll definitely happen. And then Ruby and Chelsea and I are definitely continuing to make queer kink outside of East Bay Brats; just being able to make queer BDSM is just absolutely so rewarding. I definitely feel that while it’s a collaboration that we all still want to do, it’s also just inspired so much other work that I’m making queer BDSM all the time now. It’s kind of my thing and I love it, so East Bay Brats has birthed so many other projects.
CP: Yeah, the first East Bay Brats is screening in Berlin for the Berlin Porn Film Festival in October as well.
CT: It’s Lita and Chelsea’s scene.
CP: Yeah, the electro-slut scene.
LL: That scene is insane.
CP: Yeah.
[chuckle]LL: Yeah, I think East Bay Brats, I want to make another one. I know that there are a couple other people that have asked about doing it and so I don’t know what that would look like if people wanna travel, if we would go to a different location, but most of the people are in Vegas. I don’t know if there’s a location in Vegas, but I would like to do LA at the Pink Dungeon for sure. I know that that is something I’ve wanted to do for a while.
CP: It’s so pretty.
LL: Well, whenever we’re ready I can ask Veronica.
CP: Road trip!
CT: We know all the dungeons, it all depends on the dungeon mothers.
[laughter]LL: Veronica just put a lot of work into it with all of the custom stuff, I’m really proud of her. Veronica Vixen co-owns it with somebody else, but a lot of work has been put into that dungeon and I like the theme; even though it’s a different color than what we’ve been doing, it still has a color theme and it fits. It’s kind of spooky in there, they have a lot of hardcore equipment and I would like to shoot there.
Any final words for your fans at HotMovies?
CP: Catch East Bay Brats during the San Francisco PornFilmFestival and in Berlin, and whenever we release the Pink Dungeon movie it’s going to be really good and I hope you guys all enjoy it.
CT: And go check out the TROUBLE Films channel and watch East Bay Brats 1, 2, 3, 4. [laughter] Pretty sure you can watch all of this content that we just talked about on the HotMovies platform which is amazing, thank you for being such a good space for queer kink.
CP: For sure.
CT: 100% feel welcome in that space, we’re going to keep pushing the envelope, making weird shit.
CP: Yeah. Next time in all-pink though.
CT: With violet wands and mommy milkers and whatever the fuck else is in the dungeon.
[laughter]LL: Yeah, it’s been really great working with HotMovies because there’s a lot of queer space on there and I want to send in more of the solo scenes from the East Bay Brats stuff. I’m working on making trailers and stuff for that right now and I think that that’ll be really great.
CT: Yeah and both, there’s both TROUBLE Films and Lita’s studio on HotMovies, those can both be linked out. All of Chelsea’s stuff is on my label.
CP: And then I have all my mainstream porn stuff; if they go over to East Bay Brats, they’ll be like, “What is she doing?”
[laughter]CT: Yeah, you guys got all the magic over there, I know.
CP: Spotify of porn, Spotify of porn.
[laughter]Watch East Bay Brats 4 on HotMovies, or catch the screening at The SF PornFilmFestival on August 24th!
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