BUSINESS PROFILE
Samuel Douek, founder of Howl
“CBD has properties that calm nerves — it enhances orgasms”
Lockdown has been unique for all of us. Some of us binged TV, others took up knitting, while I spent days training my lockdown puppy to behave. Filmmaker and event organiser Samuel Douek used his downtime to launch a positively queer sexual wellness brand,
Howl. Their first product, a CBD-infused anal lubricant, hit the digital shelves in December. CBD, or cannabidiol, is derived from the marijuana plant, but does not contain the illegal THC compound that gets you high.
Here, Samuel gives us the lowdown on why we should be using CBD for our bedroom antics, the importance of breaking down sexual taboos and how he has learned to be his unashamed queer self in the workplace.
When did you decide to launch your lube brand?
It began as a queer techno and performing arts festival, which we hosted in August
2019. This was the birthchild of two other live projects that I’ve been running; one of them is BUM.P, which is a bi-monthly club night at the Dalston Superstore, and the other is CAMPerVAN, a travelling performance space in the shape of a caravan which we’ve toured around the UK and Europe. The idea was to combine these events and have a little mini festival, and it was an amazing event. But obviously the pandemic happened and live events stopped, and the future was a bit uncertain. I got approached by some friends of mine who are in the cannabis industry and we decided to launch Howl, a disruptive sexual wellness brand. The reason why lube and CBD was our first port of call is because my experience with lubes was just nothing remarkable, I didn’t have a brand that I really liked. I found a lot of brands very dated, boring or uninspiring — nothing really mirrored the liberal society that we live in today.
What does CBD in lube actually do?
CBD is anti-inflammatory and has relaxing properties that calm nerves, particularly within lubricants — it enhances orgasms. There’s been a big CBD trend over the past few years, particularly in the US and mainland, continental Europe, but those are creams, tinctures, oils and serums. It’s only recently becoming popular in personal lubricants. CBD in anal lube is perfect, because a lot of people who are having anal sex find it uncomfortable or intimidating, and CBD helps to relax you and improve your anal sex escapades.
How much testing did you have to do to get the formula right?
We did many months of testing with different manufacturers and different formulations until we found one that was the perfect feel and had the right effect. I mean, it was quite a fun process getting to test many different lubricants with willing candidates. But before testing there was a whole comprehensive list of certifications that we had to ensure were applied to the product and to the manufacturing partner. That included testing with condoms, looking at microbiology dermal-patch testing and pH levels — there are loads more, but we really wanted to make sure that it not only was a good product, but that it was a well-sourced and manufactured product.
Why is it called Howl?
It’s called Howl after the famous Allen Ginsberg poem. He is one of my favourite beat writers and the infamous poem he wrote called Howl was banned in the 1950s [because of] its profanity, drug and queer, homosexual references. And this led to a big obscenity trial, which made it become the most infamous poem in the world — so counterproductive to what the people who were trying to make it illegal were attempting to do. Eventually, the poem won and that paved the way for a huge sexual, cultural and intellectual liberation in the West. And also we all want to howl during sex.
What’s the customer reaction been?
People who don’t even know me were going out of their way to tell me that they normally hate lube, but they love Howl. The best review was from a guy in Mexico who had this fabulous bike journey home after sex — the CBD was doing wonders around wherever the wind was blowing. I think the most amazing response has been from friends, because obviously they’ll support you, but it’s the fact that they’re all repurchasing and telling me that they’re never going to use another lube again.
What did your family think of you starting a lube company?
Obviously, when I told my parents, there were some muffled chuckles, but they were some of my first customers. I don’t know if they have used the products and I don’t want to know; that’s not a discussion we’ll ever have.
Do you have any advice for people worried about going into careers that might seem a little bit taboo?
Any career that you walk into should be something that gives you fulfilment and it doesn’t really matter what society says, you should go into that job willingly, knowing that it’s your life and you’re not living it for anybody else. I also think there’s huge scope to shift and influence and break down taboos by directly engaging with the subject. The driving force is us wanting to have a conversation about anal sex, not just for queer men, but for straight men who are interested in pegging, or women who love the idea of anal sex but are too intimidated because there isn’t a conversation around it to try it. I think that we should never shy away from having a conversation about that because it’s ridiculous that it exists as a taboo considering so many people engage with it and enjoy it.
You have a Master’s in architecture. Why did you leave that career path to pursue filmmaking and now Howl?
I always wanted to be an architect when I was a kid. I had no idea where that came from but it led me to do a Part I and a Part II Master’s, seven years in total of architecture, which was an amazing education; it teaches you so much about everything from sociology to politics and economics and, of course, design. But it wasn’t until I started making films that I really found something I loved and knew that this is what I wanted to do. My first films were little documentaries about gay bars closing down, The Joiners Arms and >
The George and Dragon. And that led me to a career in music videos, which is my main job now, which I absolutely love. But governing everything that I do, whether it’s the events or the films that I make, is this queer agenda; whether it’s focusing on queer subject matter with my films or hiring queer crew or running events. I really want to give back to the community that has given me so much and that I find so inspiring. I think queerness isn’t just restricted to gender identity or sexual preference; it’s a belief system, it’s a way of operating, and I think Howl is a brand that disperses and disseminates that belief system into mainstream culture.
Has being a gay man ever affected you in the workplace?
I’ve noticed how it’s shifted things in the workplace, especially at the beginning of my film career. I always like to turn up to set in a cute look and I’d always introduce myself to the crew and the first thing they’d say to me is, “Oh, styling’s upstairs, mate.” The film industry is infamously straight, white, and macho, it’s a proper boys’ club, which can be quite intimidating for someone who’s a bit camp or for women or minority ethnic people. And I think you feel like you have to prove yourself to command respect, but secretly there’s a part of me that enjoys being underestimated and then commanding a crew of 40 people and then at the end of the day, these blokey men say, “Good job, mate.” I felt like at the beginning of my career sometimes I’d have to change my behaviour or maybe dull down how I dress or what I say, but now I try to just be myself in front of these people because it’s through exposure that you normalise queerness on set. And I try my hardest to work with queer crew — and female crews are also really underrepresented — to carve out a space for them because I had to really fight for it, so whatever I can do to make that journey easier for people of the younger generation, I will try to do.
Your company’s manifesto says Howl “awakens sexuality” and “cultivates intimacy”. Do you think the British public are still prudish when it comes to sex?
A hundred per cent, the British public are so British, infamously so, but I would say, behind closed doors, there’s definitely an adventurousness which is seldom discussed in public. One thing that was really important for me to do was to start educational pieces. We’ve only done one so far because we only launched in December, which was an Anal 101, and it’s basically just anal tips, because I never knew, nobody ever told me, and the internet was incredibly varied and difficult to navigate. It was actually one of our most successful posts on social media that we’ve ever done.
I saw on your website that you have a ‘friends with benefits’ affiliate programme for OnlyFans, Twitter and Instagram influencers. It is really refreshing to see a company be so transparent about such partnerships.
I definitely think the future of marketing has a solid foundation in social media and social media is always changing — there’s the restrictions brought in by Instagram, there’s the uncharted territory of TikTok and there’s a huge, unprecedented rise in people using OnlyFans, which is amazing to see the sex positivity around sex work that advocates. We wanted to launch an affiliate programme that anyone could be involved with and we also wanted to set a new standard in affiliate marketing. So, any one of our partners can receive a real incentive that is fair and represents the work they do. And we’re actually offering a profit margin which is way more than any other brand and we’re really keen to support sex workers and sexpositive influencers and OnlyFans stars.
How is Howl working with the wider LGBTQ+ community?
We have different brand pillars beyond sex products that really guide what we do and how we engage with our network. There’s our quarterly zine, which collaborates with incredible queer artists, thinkers, writers and painters; a monthly MixCloud, where we support an LGBTQ+ emerging DJ every month; live-stream events like the one we did in January, where we collaborated with Europe’s first trans strip club Harpies In
The Sky. But I think that the biggest thing that we do is support a different LGBTQ+ charity every quarter. Our first charity is UK Black Pride and 50p from every bottle sold is donated to that.
Do you have plans to launch more products?
Yes, definitely. We really want to secure our place in industry as a sexual wellness brand, which means loads of new CBD products, sex products and toys, and merchandise to enhance your experience. We’ve got a lot of exciting projects in the pipeline, so definitely watch this space.
“I try my hardest to work with queer crew, to carve out a space for them”