Howl: The queer events-cum-wellness brand switching up sex ed

‘How to douche at a rave,’ ‘Why do you like pits’ and ‘What is squirting?’ These might sound like the closed tabs of a private browser, quickly searched and scrubbed from existence, but they’re actually some of the latest posts from Howl, the events-cum-sexual wellness brand – heavy on the cum. Founded by Samuel Douek, Howl exists to strip away the shame that surrounds intimacy, bringing conversations about sexual wellness into the spotlight while also creating spaces where those same desires can unfold in the dark.

When Dazed last caught up with Howl in 2021, it was navigating a post-pandemic nightlife scene while making its space in the sexual wellness industry with its lubricants. Since then, it has continued to not just talk about visibility but embody it. “The LGBTQ+ community is almost like a bastion of sexual wellness and progressive ideology,” Douek says. “We’re very open to having difficult conversations around unconventional subjects. Our goal is to become a go-to resource for sex education.”

This expansion is not just theoretical. Howl is launching a digital and in-person sex education hub designed to make these conversations more accessible. The platform will produce content, host workshops and collaborate with creatives to de-stigmatisatise narratives around sex. “Every product we make is about solving a problem around intimacy, whether that’s discomfort or convenience. So we’re always looking to problem-solve and myth-bust through our content too,” Douek explains.

For Howl, nightlife remains integral to that mission. At a time when club culture is said to be dying, Howl is proof that it is still here, just evolving. While Douek acknowledges the struggles venues face, from where he’s standing nightlife isn’t going anyway. “Raving is bigger than ever,” he says. “People are out more, partying harder. Life is tough, and surviving isn’t easy. The best way to shake off that burden of despair? Party until 6am.” He sees a scene more diverse than ever, with spaces emerging for niche communities that previously had nowhere to go.  

For Howl partygoers, this experimentation comes in many forms: smudged eyeliner, sweaty binders, adorned nails and saran-wrapped tattoos. It’s flashes of  sweat-soaked vests and flesh spilling from torn fishnets between strobes that reveals a beauty that’s messy, real and completely unbound by convention. “I think that the dance floor is such a place of beauty. It’s often trivialised as a low form of culture, but dance floors all over the world are where real culture is generated.” Howl recognises these spaces as essential. “Nightlife and dance floors need to be safeguarded, not just by the communities that support them, but through formal legislation. These spaces should be recognised as protected areas where beauty can flourish.” explains Douek.

That space for experimentation makes Howl’s events transformative for queer bodies. “It’s kind of surreal that people stomp around in this box, have a good time and then leave. But there’s something about the music, the lighting and the community that creates an intimate experience,” Douek says. “Some of the most profound moments I’ve had have been dancing by myself in a club or sharing that beautiful intimacy with friends.”

Much of that intimacy plays out on the dance floor, but Howl is just as focused on cultivating it in other spaces. “We are a sex-positive queer rave,” Douek says. “There’s a difference between that and a sex party, which is sex-first, play-first. For us, it’s about the dance experience first, with a sex-positive offering.” While Howl began as a sex-positive rave, it has since expanded into a sexual wellness brand, launching its own lubricants and championing truly inclusive spaces. “Gay men are familiar with darkrooms, and there are straight play parties, but we need more spaces for all genders,” Douek says. “We’re championing a truly gender-inclusive, sex-positive play space where people can indulge in pleasure and explore freely.”

Unlike most consumer brands, which build a community to sell more products, Howl does the reverse. “We’re a community-founded enterprise with an amazing product offering, not the other way round,” Douek says. “Most lube brands just sell products, and most events just run events – we sit bang in the middle, and there’s really nothing else like it.” Through sex education, inclusive spaces and the de-stigmatisation of pleasure, Howl is creating something bigger than just a party. It is building safe spaces, both physical and cultural, for pleasure while reshaping the way intimacy, desire and consent are understood.

Howl is offering Dazed readers an exclusive discount. Visit the site and use the code ‘DAZED20’ at checkout to get 20 per cent off your order. Catch the next Howl rave, 19 April 2025.