AutoErotica: We Buy Gay Stuff

Behind an unassuming “We Buy Gay Stuff” sign in San Francisco’s Castro district – complete with a striking leather daddy illustration – lies an unexpected treasure trove of queer history. AutoErotica’s proprietor Patrick Batt has spent decades curating this living museum, packed with artifacts from shuttered gay bars, vintage leather magazines, activist pins, and rare 8mm films. While long a neighborhood curiosity, the pandemic nearly spelled the end for this irreplaceable archive. That’s when customer Bradley Roberg launched a campaign that transformed this local secret into a global phenomenon, saving not just a store, but a vital piece of LGBTQ+ counter-culture. Through Patrick’s journey from a leather scene fixture to an accidental historian, this documentary reveals how preserving the ephemera of the past helps illuminate queer history’s untold stories.