For 20 years, Philippe Lewis has dedicated himself to supporting people in their growth towards sovereignty and creating events and learning environments that invite participants to step into their full sensuality, and claim greater power and sovereignty around their erotic desires and boundaries.
Philippe started by co-producing Mystic Temple of Bliss in Oakland, a sensual event that aimed to serve as a crossroads for the Bay Area EDM, underground performer, and ta**ra community. These events brought together hundreds of participants in an exploration of intimacy, relationships, and s*xuality.
When Philippe united with his life partner and future-wife Paget, part of their relationship involved innovating the concept of “2nd-base parties” —erotic events focused on non-s*xual touch and play, making them accessible to a wider audience.
Starting in 2009, Philippe began co-creating Club Exotica, large private s*xual gatherings and public 2nd-base parties at some of the hottest and biggest clubs in San Francisco, including the legendary Supperclub, The Upper Floor at The Armory, and 1015 Folsom. He also began co-producing events with SF underground erotic party promoters Masquerotica.
The dozens of Club Exotica events Philippe has co-produced since then have thrilled guests with programming including EDM artists Bassnectar, Beats Antique, Pumpkin, the Human Experience, PantyRaid, Freq Nasty, Govinda, Phutureprimitive, Andreilien and Antennae. He has also presented educational programming including talks by Christopher Ryan, co-author of the international bestseller S*x at Dawn.
Throughout these events, Philippe always incorporated education about consent, communication, and honoring erotic boundaries. He has always seen part of his mission as ensuring that all attendees can express their full erotic selves through fostering an environment of safety, inclusiveness, and respect.
Around the same time as he started throwing the 2nd-base parties, Philippe also started organizing a series of s*xual events parties, called Ephémère. These highly themed events featured a more exclusive guest list consisting of people who are comfortable potentially going past “2nd base” towards the full gamut of erotic and s*xual exploration in a group setting. They are typically held in private mansions in the Bay Area, and themes have included “Belle Époque”, “Prohibition: Prohibit Your Inhibitions,” “Rites of the Serpent Goddess,” and “Nostalgia.”
Noticing Philippe’s ability to bring people of diverse communities together, while educating, entertaining, and uplift participants, major West Coast and international festivals began knocking on his door, inviting him to bring his production skills and workshops to their events.
Since 2014, Philippe has taught dozens of workshops at festivals around the world, including the following: the Hawaii Ta**ra Festival, Envision Festival, Lightning In a Bottle, Enchanted Forest Festival, Awaken Festival, Lucidity Festival, Serenity Gathering, Sunset Campout, Bare Fest, Heart & Soulstice Gathering, Burning Man, Canadian Ta**ra Festival, SoulPlay Festival (formerly Ecstatic Festival) and many more. He has also organized 2nd-base, erotic, and play parties at many of these events, providing a safe, consensual environment for festival-goers to explore their amorous sides.
The workshops he has taught there (often 2-3 per festival) have included:
- Fifty Shades of Yes: Conscious Collaborative Consent
- Playfully Pushing the Edge of Yes
- Attachment Theory: A New Way of Looking at Relationships and Intimacy
- Attachment Theory: Beginning the Journey to Secure Attachment
- The Art and Practice of Nurturance for Men
- Learning the Language of Touch
- The Art of Sensation Play
- Practical Polyamory for beginners and advanced players
- The Art of Clearing Relationship Karma
- The Dance of Attraction, Intimacy, and Desire
In 2016, Philippe was invited to produce/organize intensive trainings for the International School of Temple Arts (ISTA), a global community of s*x-educators, ta**ra facilitators, and students. He has produced week-long trainings in Costa Rica and California.
Recently, Philippe has been invited to organize and facilitate the Re/MEN/ber Brotherhood Journey, a 5-day experience guiding men to transition from the “Unaware Masculine” to the “Aware Masculine.” In this capacity, Philippe supports men to fully explore their identity as men, to show up for each other and with women in these times when men are searching for positive visions of constructive masculinity.
Throughout all this work, Philippe is guided by a vision of a world in which everyone experiences sovereignty in their own hearts, bodies, and s*xuality.
Philippe says: “Sovereignty is about people making better choices for themselves and each other in connection. When you embody your full YES, you can advocate it and express it wherever you go and whatever you do.”
