Kiss & Ride Atlanta

About

Kiss & Ride is a small queer-centered and disability inclusive sexual wellness store. It can be found inside of Liminal Space Collective in Little 5 Points, Atlanta. Kiss & Ride’s mission is to sustain a queer-centered store that provides space for sharing educational resources, art, and community. We believe Atlanta’s queer community deserves in-person access to a space where folks feel safe and comfortable learning and exploring.

Where the Idea Started

My name is Sarah and I’m the founder of Kiss & Ride. I was born and raised in Georgia. I would say I received a good heaping of the “bible belt” experience. Growing up in southern christianity, I was introduced to purity culture at a young age. And while I could go into great detail about purity culture and the negative impacts, I’ll leave that for another day. I’ll simply say that the lack of sex education I received and the demonizing of “the” act itself left me extremely disconnected from my body.

In my mid 20s, I came to understand myself a little more. I realized I was queer and non-binary. My spouse and I celebrated this new found version of myself while on a trip to Madrid. On the same trip, we came across a small sex store. The store was like nothing I had ever seen. It was open and welcoming. There were no hidden corners that made me feel embarrassed to be there. The owner explained to us that there was a trauma support group held after hours as well as a variety of educational classes. I was able to ask questions, put my hands on toys, and openly talk to my partner about what interested us. I walked away with my first vibrator and only a *small* amount of shame. (Which was a success considering how deeply rooted I had been in purity culture.)

While back home in Atlanta, I started to dream up a similar space. I talked about this idea with friends, and we all shared the same sentiments. We wanted to see a place where people could learn about their bodies. We dreamed of an approachable space where folks, including myself, felt comfortable exploring what sexual wellness meant to them. We wanted to find gender-affirming items, accessible toys, and educational resources. We wanted a space where we could put our hands on things and learn. We wanted Kiss & Ride.

Kiss & Ride Timeline and Events

2022

2023

An image of people standing and talking in the backyard of yes please for Kiss & Ride's Queer Club Social.

An image of people the backyard of yes please for Kiss & Ride's Queer Club Social. Some people are standing while others are sitting on blankets talking.

Drawings from Kink and Draw. The drawing is of two models. One model is standing and holding the bar of a leg spreader. The leg spreader is connected to the ankles of the other model who is laying on their back on the ground.

Drawings from Kink and Draw. The drawing shows a model being suspended by ropes.

An image of two people wrestling in a blow up pool from Slippery When Wet. There are people in the background cheering.

An image of two people wrestling in a blow up pool from Slippery When Wet. There are people in the background cheering.

An image of Sarah standing in Kiss & Ride.

The Importance of This Space

Kiss & Ride created a survey to better understand the needs and wants of our community. Over 100 people answered.

When asked “Do you feel comfortable shopping in Atlanta's adult stores and asking staff questions you might have?” 13.5% of people said yes, 28.1% said somewhat, and 58.4% answered no.

When asked “Do you feel like Atlanta's adult stores carry items that affirm your gender and/or sexuality?” 4.5% of people said yes, 50.6% said somewhat, and 44.9% answered no.

When asked “If you have a disability, do you feel like Atlanta's adult stores carry items that help make sex more accessible to you? ” 4.2% of people said yes, 20.8% said somewhat, and 75% answered no.

Participants were asked in what ways they would benefit from this type of store. Here are some of their answers.

“Lgbtq+ folks rely on community and safe spaces. Having a sex and wellness shop specifically geared toward queers would provide access to products designed for queer pleasure and affirmation. We need pathways to pleasure that are specifically designed for us and for bolstering our well-being.”

“I would feel so much more comfortable shopping in a store that understands my unique anatomy and sexual needs as a trans man. I would also feel much more confident asking questions in a store where my body is welcomed and expected”

“I would feel much more comfortable purchasing sex toys in a place that I know is sensitive to my disability and sexual orientation. Most importantly, as a woman I would benefit from a space where I know I will not be preyed upon.”

“There’s a comfort level when shopping at a queer business. Especially when it comes to intimate conversations/questions/items. I wouldn’t fear judgment based on the way I present.”

“I would benefit from being able to shop for items in a safe and understanding space, also being able to see products and have questions answered instead of just guessing online.”

“The ability to go into a store that feels catered towards me and my safety would make me feel much more comfortable to take care of my sexual health”

“My partner has chronic illness, so a queer-centered disability inclusive space with approachable staff would be incredible and affirming”

Participants were asked what they would like to see from a queer-centered and disability inclusive store. Here are some of their answers.

“so much. there's a lot lacking in our community. first couple of things to come to mind besides more inclusive products, are classes for folks to learn and share more about their needs and how to use the products. creating a safer space for trauma-informed conversations about healing from various forms of trauma.”

“It’s my greatest hope that k&r can have a space to serve the community with the option to shop safely and privately, but also a space that can host events, workshops, wellness courses, etc. atlanta needs kiss & ride.”

“Information on intimacy with all kinds of bodies, open discourse around intimacy and disabilities would be such a wonderful and supportive resource as well!”

“More items that help folks with chronic pain, gender affirming sex toys, and sexual health literacy”

“Prioritization of POC through accessible pricing and representation”

The Taboo Financial Stuff

I know talking about finances is frowned upon by many but we’re about to do it. I always want to be transparent about the business and this is an important step!

I signed a lease for Kiss & Ride with $5,000 in my business account. This money came from the Queer Lube Wrestling fundraiser back in August and some Gofundme donations. That money helped to secure our spot in Liminal Space, furnish the store as cheaply as possible, and buy some inventory but more was needed. I took out a $10,000 loan while also taking advantage of Faire’s payment terms program. (I was able to buy $1,500 dollars of inventory that I would have to pay for in 60 days.) I opened Kiss & Ride in November with around $2,500 left in the business account. Would Dave Ramsey approve of this? Absolutely not but who cares what he thinks. It was and continues to be a risk I am glad to take.

The breakdown since Kiss & Ride opened its doors:

Since Liminal Space’s soft launch in October, Kiss & Ride has made $8,898 worth of sales. $1,210 of that has been products from local artists and educators who get 100% of the money from their sales! ($7,688 that goes back into Kiss & Ride)

Kiss & Ride’s expenses (cost of our prorated rent, restocking items, taxes,and throwing events since we’ve opened) comes to a total of $5,033.

This means that Kiss & Ride has made a $2,655 dollar profit since we’ve opened. I don’t know a lot about small businesses or what usually happens when they open, but I'm so proud of this.

The Ask

I’m currently working on raising $50,000 for Kiss & Ride. While I’m incredibly proud of it so far, there’s so much more I want to do. I would love to start carrying a larger variety of products including positioning pillows, binders, more representational toys, and items that address the issue of painful penetration. I would love to host more events that bring Atlanta’s queer community together while continuing to pay the talented artists that make these events possible!

I’m always looking for creative ways to fund the store and will continue to seek out grants, loans, and other avenues of funding but I’m asking for community help because I’m bumping up against the boundaries of what I can do by myself. If you’re in the place to help and would love to do so, it would be greatly appreciated. If you’re not in the place to give but would still like to help, sharing K&R’s GoFundMe and Instagram page is a tremendous help. (Seriously!)

Spread the word, come shop, or simply come by and say hey!

Thank you to everyone who has supported Kiss & Ride so far. It truly wouldn’t be possible without you.

Sarah