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.)

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.