With a Bert Kreischer- and SLC Punk!-esque spirit, it’s storytime with Jim Powers, as heard on the Holly Randall Unfiltered podcast. Jim Powers started his career about as far from the adult film industry as possible, Powers would go on to become a thread in the fabric of pop culture.

The Godfather of American Bukkake, Jim Powers Behind the Scenes

"I was a stockbroker, minding my own business." Then, while in Florida starting a kickboxing venture, fate had other plans—Powers met Buck Adams, his ticket to California. "Buck's like, 'Jim, let's go back to California and make porn.'" And just like that, Jim became Buck Adams’s producer.

"That first movie I did was Speed Trap. They ran that on the Spice Channel or one of those stations with the Ferrari racing the Porsche in the rain."

Soon after Powers' career as a Director began through sheer necessity during his second film project when his rock band friend showed up to produce while tripping on acid. Powers shared what he walked in on,"one of the guys (the director) was on acid the morning of the shoot, rolling around the ground, staring at a cigarette. And I felt, you know, somebody has to step up here."

From there, the adventure continued with a legendary chapter at Midnight Video for the production of Beach Bum Amateurs. Kevin Beach asked him to shoot amateur content—despite Powers having zero experience behind the camera.

Determined to make the beach setting authentic, Powers took his crew to an actual beach, completely unaware of the legal implications: "I figured, well, it's a beach bum amateurs. We gotta go to the beach to shoot this. You have to do it right, I figured. I didn't know about these rules."

Whether just or not, the situation escalated dramatically when police arrived mid-shoot. While Powers stubbornly continued filming, his production manager David Lord made a strategic retreat: "All the cops are coming down to get us. David Lord swam in the ocean to escape, you know, around to the next cove. I kept on shooting."

The beach incident resulted in serious charges: "They hit me with felony counts. They gave me conspiracy and pandering. Fortunately, the Freeman case precedent helped to reduce any too serious of a sentencing.

Powers painted a vivid picture of the constant harassment adult performers faced in the 1990s: "In the 90's, they were still hitting locations all the time. We were always being lined up, sitting there for hours."

Powers discovered that The Knolls (near Box Canyon) didn’t require permits—something he learned after a disgruntled neighbor falsely reported underage activity at the alleged Hells Angels house where he was filming. When the police arrived and found only adult performers, they explained that everything was okay and that, “there’s no such thing as permits in the Knolls.”

Today, things have changed, as Holly Randall has described how increasingly restrictive the permit requirements have become. She recalled a conversation with FilmLA in which she was told that even snapping a selfie to share a location with followers—if posted on a monetized YouTube channel—technically requires a permit for that location.

Back in the day before social media, Powers learned to work around regulations by avoiding formal setups: "You could run around, as long as you didn't set up a tripod... I did so much handheld stuff because the tripod would get you in trouble."

Adding perspective, Powers noted how the number of "porn studios" has dramatically expanded: "If you look at OnlyFans, there are roughly, what, 50 million porn studios in America?"

It was this innovative spirit that would lead Powers to his most lasting contribution to adult entertainment culture, American Bukkake.

Working with partner Jeff Mike, Powers adapted a Japanese concept that became his signature creation. The inspiration came when Jeff Mike showed Powers a Japanese video featuring a woman surrounded by 35-40 men in complete silence. "I was fascinated with this," Powers recalls. When challenged to recreate it, Powers initially balked: "Where the fuck am I gonna find 40 Japanese guys?" But they decided to test an American version.

The first American Bukkake took place in Powers' warehouse with about 20 performers. "We did it exactly like the Japanese version—same shots, everything. People went nuts," Powers explains.

Powers saw it philosophically as "feminism in action."

So what is Bukkake exactly? What makes Bukkake a phenomenon is that in these films the woman was completely in control while "these guys aren't even allowed to touch you. They have to jerk off to you."

As demand exploded, Powers scaled up to 100+ participants, placing ads in LA Weekly and setting up a "Bukkake hotline." The productions became spectacles unlike anything else in adult entertainment.

"I wasn't shooting porn. I was shooting an athletic event... like performance art."

The concept spawned multiple variations and became a cottage industry. Powers even staffed productions with Universal Studios' Jurassic Park ride employees. "That was my Bukkake crew," he laughs. Looking back, Powers reflects: "I had something that became Americana... You're part of the fabric of pop culture."

The stories and adult film lessons continued to unfold—from Jim the stockbroker to Adult Film Hall of Famer and founder of American Bukkake. Enjoy the episode and hear from the legend behind Bag Ladies and himself, as Powers reveals fundamental shifts among today’s performers: the Pre-Viagra Era, the Camming Revolution, and a generation entering camming (or sex work) more to be seen than to be sexual—while others remain inspired by classic stars like Christy Mack and Briana Banks. Despite decades in the business, Powers maintains an infectious enthusiasm: “Well, it’s because I’ve never made a good film yet, so today is the day. I don’t have any laurels to rest on.”

For those interested in Powers’ current work, he remains active across multiple platforms and studios. “I do a lot of stuff for Adult Time. I do those MILF Overloads. I do the Accidental Gangbangs.

“It’s always an accident—nobody plans on a gangbang,” Jim laughs.

His work can also be found on Gender Acts, Biphoria, and “some stuff for Dogfart and more.” For direct updates, fans can follow him on Twitter at @jimpowersxxx.