Mr. American Rubber 5

The fifth installment of Mr. American Rubber will be taking place at NYC's Rockbar on the October 12-13 weekend.

Pavel in Rufskin

Pavel Patel is sexily showing off these Rufskin mesh leggings.  Completely by coincidence, I was in Priape Vancouver today and saw a size large on the rack.  I...am...seriously...tempted...

I marvel that so many 80's styles are back in vogue now...I don't think I've seen a pair of male mesh tights since some Undergear catalogue in 1988. I am not upset about it.

Rubbered Up, Four Men in the Tub

Oh The Things You'll See...on Google Streetview

Liked the pics in the article.  That could've been me!!!

Kinda Cool....

From the Archives

The Mickey Mouse Mask

The United States Army Chemical Museum has a very special gas mask. It looks like Mickey Mouse (©Disney)!! This mask was produced early in 1942 to protect children in case of a chemical attack on the United States.

By Major Robert D. Walk

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii with massive force that destroyed the battleships of the Pacific Fleet. In the dark days of early 1942, the US government was faced with the specter of defeat and gloom. Our military was fighting a losing battle on all fronts and fears of saboteurs and submarines attacking the US were high. A critical need existed to protect the civilian population, especially children, from gas attacks. Hawaii was of special concern and thousands of US military training masks were rushed in for the civilian population’s use. No masks were available to protect children, so the Hawaiian Department used a locally fabricated expedient that consisted of a hood with bunny ears.

On January 7th, 1942, one month after Pearl Harbor, T.W. Smith, Jr., the owner of the Sun Rubber Company, and his designer, Dietrich Rempel, with Walt Disney’s approval introduced a protective mask for children. This design of the Mickey Mouse Gas Mask for children was presented to Major General William N. Porter, Chief of the Chemical Warfare Service. After approval of the CWS, Sun Rubber Products Company produced sample masks for review. Other comic book character designs were to follow, depending on the success of the Mickey Mouse mask.

The mask was designed so children would carry it and wear it as part of a game. This would reduce the fear associated with wearing a gas mask and hopefully, improve their wear time and, hence, survivability.

The protection of children was a primary concern of all nations during World War II. Germany had a child’s gas protective crib for infants and a protective hood for toddlers and children unable to wear the adult noncombatant mask. The United Kingdom had a similar program. In the United States, the M1 Infant Protector was developed, using a standard civil defense filter with bellows to push air into a layered protective sack. The M1 series of Noncombatant Gas Masks was produced in large numbers for older children and adults. The Mickey Mouse Gas Mask was designed for small children in a valiant attempt to give them something that would work and still be fun. Ultimately, the Office of Civil Defense bought the M2 Noncombatant Gas Mask for small children to protect them from chemical agents. In tests, with proper coaching and good salesmanship by the leader, young children could be induced to wear the gas mask for extended periods.

The Mickey Mouse Gas Mask was produced as part of the war production program. The Sun Rubber Company produced approximately 1,000 Mickey Mouse gas masks and earned an Army-Navy ‘E’ for excellence in wartime production in 1944. Overall, production of the Noncombatant Gas Masks (and in fact, all gas masks) was one of the most successful production programs of the war. In fact, production had to be curtailed early due to the vast quantity produced.

Thankfully, no chemical attacks occurred in the United States. Mickey Mouse Gas Masks were distributed to senior officials and others during the war as keepsakes. When the war ended, further desire for the mask vanished. It became an old idea whose time had passed.

Very few of the Mickey Mouse gas masks survived. The US Army Chemical Museum at Fort McClellan, Alabama, has a hand-made prototype. The 45th Infantry Division Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has a production specimen on permanent display with other gas masks in the combat support area of the museum. The Walt Disney Archives, Burbank, California, has a facepiece without ears, lenses, or a canister, and a mask owned by the founder of the Sun Rubber Company was on display at the Summit County (Ohio) Historical Society’s "Toys Made in Summit County" exhibit in 1982. Have you seen one of these masks?
Gas mask is at approx 03:00.

Rubberstud of the Week #226

For Next Year's Rubbout Puppy Play Poster...

HOT!

Why The Gays Hate Their Bodies

Ruff just posted an interesting blog post titled, "Why the Gays Hate Their Bodies".

These are the author's reasons, summarized:
1. Because we are surrounded by images of perfect bodies.
2. Because we compare ourselves with our partners.
3. Because if you’re a gay guy with a boyfriend, what he sees every day in the locker room make you jealous (sic).
4. Because our most cherished community leaders are bartenders (sic).
5. Because gay people are more successful than other people, which makes them more competitive with each other, which makes them more competitive about what their bodies look like.
6. Because we are always running around with our shirts off.
7. Because of fear.
8. Because all our friends look like Ken Dolls.
9. Because our most cherished teachers are personal trainers (sic).
10. Because we have nothing better to do.

Okay, first off, this is supposedly written tongue-in-cheek. Second of all, it's written by a West Hollywood gay. So we know: 1. This was written by someone living in a bubble, and 2. These are definitely not facts, but only opinions. Regardless, whether this is honest expression or not, it does reflect on a lot of body-consciousness, self-absorption, and self-esteem issues gay men have.

Generic gay culture (eg., that of the A-gays we see on Bravo!) is the WORST culture to follow if you're looking for self-esteem and leaders of any character. It is generally shallow and visually-obsessed...and I don't say this lightly. We used to be cultural leaders and early adopters ourselves but somewhere in the past 15 years we lost our way and now seem to cow-tow to whatever capital-driven trend and tendency fed to us by pop culture. We so desperately want to be 'normal' we've given up everything that was special and unique about being gay and we've collectively become as lame and boring as the suburbanites.

Those of older generations, and some of those of the current generations grow up hearing over and over that they are sub-standard or abnormal people which of course leads to low self-esteem. I deal with this internalized homophobia as well from time to time. We all do to some extent when trying to figure out who we really are and what we represent. Gay culture has become so clone-like and vapid because it has been high-jacked by corporate, money-driven, shallow and hedonistic aims, it only makes issues with self-esteem and anxiety even worse. I sometimes feel so disappointed with the gay community; that there could be so much more accomplished and actualized but everyone seems complacent because 'the big fights' have already been fought and with social media and smartphones there isn't even any need for most gays to interact with their community at all anymore, so they don't whether they know better or not. I used to think that the AIDS crisis generated this huge generational divide between older gay generations and younger ones, but now I don't think it really matters. Gay culture as much as straight culture has become bland, institutionalized and homogenized for easy mass consumption. I think gays have become complacent with this because it is so much easier to aspire for shallow aims than for the true soul-shaking ones.

A lot of these guys that are aspiring for gym-body perfection spend so much time working on this they neglect challenging themselves in others areas of their lives such as their intelligence and personalities. Because gay corporate culture has made the pursuit of physical perfection and fulfillment of sexual objectives the be-all and end-all of gay existence in order to generate profits, a lot of gays don't even think about intelligence or personality development anymore. All the gym time in the world will never compensate for stupidity and/or douchebaggery. I don't know why it's so hard for guys to figure out: your partners and friends stick around because of who your are, not who you think you should be aspiring to be or what they might possibly get out of you by becoming a more 'perfect' individual. If you feel the need to still be insecure about your partner and your friends, either you have a lot of self-improvement to work on or you need to find some new people to hang out with.

"Readin' and learnin' are SO HARD! Why can't I just work on my pecs?"

I guess maybe this hits such a nerve for me because I have seen both sides of the coin. I came out late; as I was developing my gay self in my late 20s and 30s, I was one of those gym people who concerned myself with becoming more defined and thin, though I was going through this a bit differently as a competitive athlete wanting to become stronger and faster and not so much doing it for esthetics - because I wanted to be more desirable to other men (though of course this passed through my mind as a great benefit, for sure); I was a little older and wiser than most guys doing the same thing at a younger age. I believe this is why I didn't OBSESS over it. Now that I'm even older, with a few more grey hairs and more weight around my gut, I am floored by how nasty and snide some gay men can be when they make negative comments about my weight or my age (and rarely anything positively reinforcing). It really sucks because that shit makes you feel worse about yourself and we all tend to take the criticism of our peers more to heart than those of the general population even when you know that it's all superficial and ridiculous. We are all our own worst enemies, and it seems like the gay community has no problem running a close second to our own criticisms of ourselves when it comes to cutting our own kind down and making ourselves feel worthless or insecure. Self-loathing and marginalization breeds more self-loathing and marginalization, apparently. Fuck you, generic urban gay community! We have permitted our own culture (or whatever's left of it) to enslave us.

It makes me think of a couple of examples. Starting with the infamous stories about the gym-perfect guys who descend on Palm Springs for the White Party every year. They have spent the last year working so hard on their bodies that when they arrive they forget how to interact with other guys and end up not getting any sex or having any fun because they are all fluff, no substance and don't understand why they aren't able to meet other guys and make connections. Yes, this story isn't really accurate anymore since the advent of social media, Grindr and Scruff and their ilk, but it kinda makes the point I was trying to make. The other example are the sad, seemingly neverending stories of the male model/porn star suicides. Given how many beautiful underwear models/porn stars/bartenders at the ‘top’ of our food chain end up committing suicide, possibly there is only a false and fleeting sense of security in feeling like one of the most attractive people in the room. All of that beauty is masking the feeling of ugliness that is so deep rooted (thanks to churches, or families, or mainstream culture, or *gasp*, the gay community itself) that there aren’t enough gym routines in the world to ever be free of it. And so the only option is suicide. Mr. Mason summed it up nicely earlier this year.

Everything in gay culture has been commoditized to consumable chunks now, which is why we are no longer the cultural leaders we used to be.

I think as we get older we simply get more self-actualized. At least some of us do....there are definitely guys in their 40s and 50s that don't 'get it'. The physical and superficial is fleeting and is not what will carry you into your later years. There are some guys out there that still try to achieve the shallow aims of their 20s and 30s and find themselves chronically undateable because, well, because their personalities SUCK. They don't get it and they probably never will until it's too late. They will continue to pile on plastic surgery, lifts and implants, and supplements and gym time delaying the inevitable until it's too late for them to learn that this stuff was the stuff that mattered the LEAST. I'm only saying some guys are like this, obviously not all. I like to believe that my partner and my friends like me for who I am and vice versa. We don't really worry so much about how we look except to try and suggest ways to improve ourselves. We certainly aren't model material and we're okay with that! We certainly are a lot more comfortable in our own skins than we were 10 or 20 years ago and we realize that, yes, your body needs to be healthy because it's connected to your general health, your mental health, your longevity and how you will fare in your shadow years...though we still have that nagging feeling in the back of our heads that if we just lost that last 2 kilograms, we'd be so much more desirable to so many suitors. Is that really the truth? Probably not as much as we're led to believe.

I don't really take much of what pop culture has to say anymore, not only because I'm no longer in the target demographic, but when mature adults are basing their decisions on the wisdom of 18-year olds, you know society is fucked. Why we exalt the rich, beautiful, and muscular when they are precisely the reason we're all so fucked in the head, exhausted, insecure, and desperate to get even a tiny share of the pie is something I'll never figure out. Today, this is all driven by the capitalist need to have us feel inferior, frustrated, and unsatisfied with ourselves so that we will buy buy buy their shit to make ourselves feel better.

It leads back to the truth of why theocracies, empires, and dictatorships have dominated human collective existence by magnitudes over democracies and open societies: it is much easier to follow and not question or criticize since that requires assuming risk, exerting ourselves, and making an effort to learn something. It is much easier to blindly follow and have what appears to be comfort and safety than to risk one's comfort in order to aspire for egalitarianism and self-actualization for all. That kind of talk doesn't sell high-end fashion, facelifts, pharmaceuticals, or home gyms.

But I digress. It is a complicated issue. Wow, this turned out to be a rant more than anything. Sorry about that. I think I just needed to vent on how ridiculous gay culture has become...we are all so insecure and lost. I don't know what we need to do to get back on track. As long as general culture is in just as bad (if not worse) shape I doubt there is anything gays can do except look introspectively and realize how stupid these dead-end aspirations are. If we can get past the shackles of self-loathing and feelings of marginalization, maybe if we can look at ourselves and see the world for what it really is (this is definitely something we do better than the unchallenged worldview of the white hetero male worldview that dominates our society), maybe we can be the ones who get the ball rolling to initiate these changes that are so desperately needed in our society and community to make it more inclusive and healthy for everyone.

National Capital Leather Pride Weekend

Woof! Scout wins Ottawa’s first-ever pup fetish contest

Contestants barked, howled and gave inspiring speeches at the first-ever National Capital Leather Pride Weekend Pup contest, held at the Centretown Pub.

The contest was similar to the Miss America Pageant — but for people who like to become puppies, dressed up in fetish gear. Contestants were judged in the jock/thong, speech and formal categories.

“Pup play,” is an international phenomenon, but has only been organized in Ottawa for the past year, said Mr. Leather Ottawa 2010 Mike Tattersall, who emceed the competition, but isn’t a pup himself.

“It’s a human expression of freedom and self-expression,” said Tattersall. “Imagine a room full of Labrador retriever puppies and the chaos those puppies would do to themselves as they play.”

Pups will generally wear leather, rubber or other fetish gear. Some have handlers, others are “strays.”

Tattersall organized the competition, which he believes was the first in Ontario and perhaps the first in Canada.

The runner-up was Karl Couture, who came out as a pup for the first time at Pride last year, helping launch Ottawa’s pup community. He spoke about the courage it took to go out in public as a pup during the speech category of the competition.

“Everyone sees us differently, positive, negative, I don’t care anymore,” he said. “I’m proud to be here and can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish.”

He had to get over the fear of what would happen to him for coming out as a pup, but now he’s glad he did, he said.

The winner, Scout, wore wore hockey pads, blue underwear and a leather dog mask in the formal wear section of the competition. He gave an emotional speech about seeing Rolph in his full pup gear at Pride, which inspired him to come out as a pup as well.

“I want to say thank you all for allowing me to feel safe and for allowing me to be who I am,” he said.

I had to let them know that we've done a puppy play party and contest for two years now at Rubbout, just to make sure Ontario didn't get the thought in their heads that they were the innovators or something like that, since they like to claim that sort of stuff! ;)

So early in the week...

...to lament so many excellent rubber breathplay and bondage videos taken down over the years on various sites. So many of my favorites gone forever :(

I wish the owners would re-post somewhere else, but since I know how they feel....just recently one of my vids on YouTube that has been there for years was tagged inappropriate, however not inappropriate enough for them to remove it. It is frustrating that fetish stuff that shows no overt sexual activity is such an issue for the YouTube censors, and it is even more annoying that they have an obvious bias for censoring stuff with males in it versus females. The amount of female rubber fetish video on YouTube compared to male rubber fetish video? It's gotta be 1000:1. Anyways, back to XTube...

Vakuumsack

If anyone knows who makes these ones, let me know, thanks.

Rubberstud of the Week #225

Folsom 2012

Just paid for my flights to SFO for Folsom Weekend Friday September 21 to Tuesday September 25. It's going to be a great weekend....reunion, 40th bday parties, and..oh yeah, Folsom Street Fair!

So....excited!!!!

My Head Just Exploded

Sweat, muscle, spandex, and salt deposit...I think I just came!

Really Hot

Nice suit on a nice bod.

Today's Jerk (Off)

Rubberstud of the Week #224

Woah, quiet week

My apologies, but it's summer, I'm not working and not spending a lot of time online. Be back soon!!! Maybe some Wreck Beach updates this week?

Rubberstud of the Week #223

Vancouver Pride 2012

BC Place is flagging rainbow colours this week as Vancouver Pride kicks off! The weather is set to be the best so far this year and that heralds in lots of skin and sexy men traipsing around downtown Vancouver, the beaches and Stanley Park. I am trying to keep my schedule as open as possible as I know how often one has best intentions to hit as many events as possible, when all that really happens is that you end up spending most of the weekend partying with friends and meeting new people.

I've just found out a few friends from out-of-town are in town this weekend unexpectedly so there will be a few more reunions to fit into the mix. It's going to be fun! I hope to be out there in rubber as much as possible this weekend. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully there will be pictures ;)

HAPPY PRIDE!

Morton Park at English Bay

I just realized this is my 1500th blog entry! Holy smokes!

Artist Profile: InkedKenny

InkedKenny is a photographer and artist from Vancouver who is now in demand for many commercial and fashion projects. His work is recognizable around the world and some of his work has high visibility in some of Vancouver's 2012 Pride Events. Enjoy his stuff and check out his website and the Gearheads collection!