Yes, my direct family (including one of my grandmothers) and a few of my friends are aware of my project. At first they were very surprised to learn that there is such a thing as a tickling fetish, as well as people interested in buying such videos. In some cases I feel they're not totally comfortable with it (due to the adult nature of the market, in spite of the very down to earth nature of my videos), but otherwise they're reasonably supportive. I guess I'm lucky. I imagine that, for other people, revealing such an activity could have much nastier consequences.
As for any of them asking to be in a video, I'd have to say no. Definitely no one from my family, and it's the last thing I'd want to do anyway. As for friends, well, it depends. I already knew three of my models before starting this project, and one of them actually went to the same high school I did (same grade but not the same class). But otherwise, none of my actual friends have expressed any particular interest in posing. I guess it's partially because very few of my female friends are aware of my project. But I wouldn't expect many to be interested even if they did. Most have regular jobs, a family, etc. They probably wouldn't see much reason to do it.
Not that I wouldn't like one of my friends to pose. It would be a lot of fun to work on a video with someone who already knows and trusts me. But asking a friend means telling her that I produce tickling videos, and that's a very delicate situation. I mean, what happens if she disapproves of my project? What if she think I'm some kind of freak? If a stranger calls me for info and doesn't like what I do, well, I don't like it, but it's no big deal. But a friend or acquaintance? It could damage the relationship and make her uncomfortable around me. Not to mention that she could tell other people about it, and not in a positive way. That could be especially nasty if it happened to be a person who studies or works with me.
Now, it's entirely possible that some of the people I know would be happy to pose, but it's just not a chance I'm willing to take. The consequences could be too negative if there was a problem.