Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Happy Halloween

Saturday night was the main night out for the party people. I dressed up as a Roman Catholic Cardinal (with a conveniently-placed hole in the gown ;)). We went to a pre-party at some friend's hotel room and then went to Pumpjack for the night. We kinda hung out in the back room, things got a little oral LOL. I am really really loving that new privacy wall they put in!

It was great fun, lots of great costumes. Afterwards Mr. P, Mook, the Satyr and I went home and fucked all night. That was even more fun! haha

Tonight I plan to rubber up casually and go out for the Vancouver Men in Leather night/HIM education session/General Halloween evening.

I hope you all have a great evening. Rubber up and show it off!  Be careful out there folks; it's a crazy world.

Halloween Tightness

Kamil from Latex'd is soooo hot. I could watch him pose for pics and vids in suits from his huge closet of rubber all. day. long.


Monday, October 29, 2018

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Countdown

MIR 22 is only two weeks away! I hope many of you are making an effort to attend this wonderful event. I have been many times; unfortunately finances and scheduling have prevented me attending the last two (and now three) years. I feel disconnected from my international rubber tribe somewhat; however I love to watch the contest and keep in touch with friends that are attending to find out what's new, what's hot and who the big whores are this year haha

In the Chicago Rubbermen newsletter that was sent out today:


We've been updating our Online Schedule with new events and more details to help you get the most out of your MIR22 Weekend. Here are some highlights from those updates.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2018
~A Welcome Dinner hosted by Mr. Midwest Rubber 2018

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2018
~Lubing Up - An MIR Newbie Orientation
~Mocktails - A Recovering Rubberfolxs Social
~The Rubber Ball - A Dance Party with DJ Moose
~Slick & Twisted: The M.A.F.I.A. Party at Steamworks Chicago

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10, 2018
~Chgo Waterbuddies: The MIR Wet Party
~ MIR22 Brew and View at the MCA
~Tight & Shiny : The Omnisexual Party at Galleria Domain 2

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2018
~The Rubber Club Summi: Moderated by G-Man MIR2011

See the fullschedule on our website for all the details!
We've tabbed the days in our online schedule so you can see each day individually. Convenient even!
PLAY PARTIES...WE'VE GOT THEM!

Last year we made a concerted effort to partner with reputable clubs and organizations in Chicago to provide you with more opportunities to play while you are in your rubber gear. No need to bring someone back to your hotel room or house share when you've got access to these professional dungeons and playspaces with built in ambiance! Here's the details on our play parties this year.

THE MENS STRICT RUBBER DRESS CODE PARTY
Friday November 9, 2018
11pm - 4am
The Leather Rose Association (4405 N Clark Street)

Join rubbermen from around the globe at our rubbermen's play party. This year the party returns to the Leather Rose Association, a private membership club with a long history in Chicago. With a space in the Uptown Neighborhood of Chicago, this venue is located on two floors of a nondescript storefront and features a social/chill out space and plenty of equipment on two floors for your enjoyment.

The Details: Admission to the Men's Strict Rubber Dress Code Party is available only as an add-on with an MIR22 Social, Theater, or Priority Package purchase. There are a limited number of tickets available to this party. It will sell out so act now. Purchases must be completed by 5 pm on Friday November 9, via MIRubber.com. A coat check will be available (please limit the items you bring for coat check as space is limited.) The first floor of this space is ADA compliant, the basement is not. Consumption of alcohol or drugs is strictly prohibited at this party. You must bring your photo ID and name on ID must match legal name on file with registration.

SLICK AND TWISTED : THE M.A.F.I.A. PARTY AT STEAMWORKS
Friday November 8, 2018
10pm - 4am
Steamworks Chicago (3246 N Halsted Street)

"Slick & Twisted" is the party for men who flag red on the left, right or both! Founded in 1978, M.A.F.I.A. is the premiere club in the United States for men into fisting. Join M.A.F.I.A. at Chicago's premiere bathouse, Steamworks Chicago, for a "hands on" night of FFun. There will be multiple slings and benches in the third floor gym, and so much more! Explore all three levels of Steamworks from the wet area on the first floor, the Windy City Blow Holes on the second floor, and the private booths on the third floor - you'll find a paradise of pleasure awaits you at Steamworks! Your hosts will provide the basics of fisting (gloves, paper towels, newspapers, nail files, etc.) all you need to do is open wide to the experience and slide in to the FFun!

The Details: Individuals interested in attending "Slick and Twisted" The M.A.F.I.A. Party at Steamworks should bring their Photo ID and check in to Steamworks Chicago at 3246 N. Halsted Street on Friday November 9 from 10pm - 4am. Normal rates for Steamworks apply. You may choose either a locker (~$23) or a room (~$36-$65) for an 8 hour period. (All rates and rooms based on first come first served availability.) This event is dry, there is no consumption of either alcohol or drugs allowed on premises.

**NEW THIS YEAR**
CHGO WATERBUDDIES - THE MIR WET PARTY
Saturday November 10, 2018
3pm - 9pm
Location and Address Provided Upon Registration

You've been asking for it, so we've partnered with the pros to provide you a Watersports Party! The ChgoWaterbuddies invite you to join them for a party thrown especially for Mr. International Rubber 22. The Chgo Waterbuddies is a social fetish group for gay, bi-sexual and gay-friendly men into watersports (piss play, WS). Whether you are just curious about watersports or are a soaking wet & thoroughly drenched piss pig, you are welcome to join in the fun. You will find a bunch of nice guys with a little splash of something yellow!

Individuals interested in attending this party should visit the CHGO Waterbuddies website and sign-up there. For legal reasons, your registration must be received by Noon Saturday, November 10th for entry into this event, however your admission fee of $25 will be collected at the door. There is no registration at the door. Check with website for full details on party, "wettiquette" and other helpful info. Address is confidential and will only be disclosed following registration. Attendees must be 21 for entry. Photo ID required.

TIGHT AND SHINY : THE OMNISEXUAL PARTY
Saturday November 10, 2018
8pm - 3am
Galleria Domain 2 (Address Provided Upon Registration)

This omnisexual play party (for folks of all genders and orientations) is a special gear focused event hosted by Galleria Domain 2 (GD2) in partnership with MIR. GD2 is a private membership club that has been hosting BDSM and kink related events in Chicago for almost 20 years. Located in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, this 4000+ square foot play space includes three rooms of unique, high quality BDSM furniture and two social areas, all just a short ride from Boystown or the Museum of Contemporary Art. Many Chicago kinksters are members of this private club and enjoy the change in scenery, space and energy provided at GD2 events.

The Details: Individuals interested in attending "Tight and Shiny" should visit the GD2 website and sign-up for a "trial membership" using discount code "MIR22". This will bring your membership fee to $15 total. Your membership is valid for 21 days and entitles you to all the benefits listed on the GD2 website. For legal reasons, your membership application/fee must be received by 11:59 pm on Friday November 9th for entry into this event. There is no registration at the door. This event is dry, there is no consumption of either alcohol or drugs allowed on premises. Soda and water are provided. This venue is located on the third floor of a walk-up and is not ADA accessible. Attendees must bring a government issued ID for admittance.

OUR EVENING AT THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART

On Saturday November 10th, at 6 pm, our weekend shifts to the Museum of Contemporary Art, located at 220 E Chicago Ave, just off of the Magnificent Mile in Downtown Chicago! We hope you are excited as we have a wonderful evening in store for you!

DINING AT THE MCA - MARISOL
Think you might want to have a nice dinner before the cocktail party or contest on Saturday night of MIR22? Make a reservation at Marisol, the restaurant at the Museum of Contemporary Art! This award winning restaurant was named a Michelin "Bib Gourmand" just last month! (That means it was ranked as one of the best restaurants in Chicago for "High quality food" of two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less!) Marisol opens at 5:30 on Saturday evenings and serves until 10 pm, with Bar and Counter service options as well. Visit their website to view their menu, or make a reservation at marisolchicago. com

ART AT THE MCA - EXHIBITIONS
During our Saturday night cocktail party, in the Grand Atrium and Commons area of the Museum, weekend package holders will be able to enjoy a number of exhibitions in the museum's second floor galleries. Mix and mingle in your gear, all while taking in some of the amazing work on display this world class museum. Exhibitions you'll be able to see include the following:

THE CONTEST AT THE MCA
At 8 pm attention will turn to the 300 seat theater located on the ground floor of the museum where the 22nd Mr. International Rubber Contest will be held. Theater and Priority Weekend Package holders will be able to be seated in the theater, with Priority Package holders having reserved seating.

Social package holders (as well as Theater and Priority Package holders) will be able to watch the contest via two live stream broadcast areas set up in the museum for the evening:

A social viewing area will be located in The Commons on the second floor with easy access to the atrium bars. This viewing area will be ideal for those who wish to talk and socialize while watching the contest.
A quiet viewing area will be located on the third floor in the Museum's Board Room overlooking the Grand Atrium, and will include bar service as well. This quiet area will be ideal for those who want to stay glued to the action and the contest details.

GETTING TO THE MCA
The nearest train/subway station to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) is "Chicago" on the Red Line.
The MCA is served by multiple bus routes. Use the CTA Trip Planner to help plan your transit travels.
Taxi's and Ride Shares are also an excellent option for getting to the Museum.
Parking garages are abundant in the blocks immediately surrounding the Museum.

OTHER DETAILS TO KNOW ABOUT THE MCA
Enter the MCA through the grand stairs at the front of the building, or via the accessible Marisol entrance at street level.
The MCA provides free coat and bag check at both the first and second floor entry lobbies.
We ask that all attendees come dressed in street legal gear, as befits a world class art museum and/or a food service establishment. All butts and bits covered.
Bars at the MCA will take both cash and credit. There is no ATM at the MCA.
Food, drinks, bags, tails and flash photography are not allowed in museum galleries.
Food and drinks are prohibited in the theater.
The contest will feature two intermissions of approximately 20 minutes each.

Monday, October 22, 2018

October Meet + Play

Wow, what a great turnout on Saturday! The numbers of guys that showed up exceeded my expectations. There were many that also couldn't make it that are gunned to show up in November. I'd like to thank all the guys that helped out, and though we had a mishap with the vac-cube (I hope it is repairable) and a few items of clothing, we got a lot of new guys out and exposed many newbies to the joy of wearing and getting bound in rubber.

I'm waiting for more pics to show up, but these ones show the fun that we were having!

Rubber Progress

Congratulations to the San Francisco Rubbermen on the unveiling of their new logo and marketing tools, and congratulations to the Rubbermen of London on their first year anniversary!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/487524064944536/
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/1951205985204836
Art by James Newland

Rubberstud of the Week #549


Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Bar Poster

Vancouver Rubbermen have the opportunity to put a permanent VRM Meet + Play event poster up at Pumpjack Pub and Junction Pub where we hold our events. It was meant to be a hi-rez 11"x17" and will be posted in the back area of the bar where we set up our play and bondage equipment.

Third Saturday of each Month....come out and join us!
What do you think? Paul at Invincible Rubber has kindly allowed us to use this image in any of our promotional materials. In addition to the December play event (obviously.....a rubberman in festive bondage strips/gift wrapping), this image is perfect enough and brilliant enough to provide an eye-catching impact on the wall of a dark bar :)

Vancouver Rubbermen Meet + Play Posters

J and I finally got the VRM Meet + Play Event posters done last night. I think they look pretty good!

Monday, October 15, 2018

My Type of Fist Pin


These were designed by Dimitrii Dmitriev for Regulation London.

Bluzee Drone Conversion

I think I need that modified gasmask....!!!

Rubberstud of the Week #548


Friday, October 12, 2018

Daddy Issues


Play Days

I had a great Thanksgiving weekend extended sex session with Mr. P, Mook and DS. We started early on Sunday and went to about 7am on Monday morning. We started with a turn each in the vac-cube. I managed to be the one that actually got fisted in it. After that I put DS in some latex, put on a rubber tank and jockstrap myself, and then we each took 2 shifts as bottom in the sling. Everyone got turns topping and bottoming, fucking and fisting. DS got Mr. P's load, everyone basically got a fuck by everyone else. So hot.
Fists, fists, more fists please.
We tried a layup of the sling/fuckbench/rim chair combination which worked a bit, where I was fisting DS in the sling from the fuckbench, while Mook was fisting me from behind the fuck bench. Then we did some toy play and finished the evening with Mook and I jumping on each end of the double-ended dildo and sliding it back-and-forth between us. So fucking hot.
I was taking fists up my pooter like a champ on Sunday night.

I love my sex with these guys, I hope we can get this going regularly throughout the winter. Saving money by staying home and ending up with more fucking and fisting in gear than we would have had we gone elsewhere for it haha
DS hot butt in the rubber chaps, and how he looks legs in the air and toy in the butt in the sling...

Thursday, October 11, 2018

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Rubber @ VML Leather Social

Next Saturday is the VML Leather Social - RUBBER theme! Vancouver Men In Leather and Vancouver Rubbermen cum together for a night of shine and leather at The Pumpjack Pub Saturday October 13th! GUN OIL will have FETISH Brand silicone lube on location to keep your rubber slick and VML will have a Bootblack in attendance to keep your leathers clean! Swag by Steamworks Vancouver to end your night right!

Monday, October 8, 2018

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Social Commentary

Why is the gay leather scene dying?
Ed Siddons, Guardian.com
Thu 4 Oct 2018 10.44 BST
Last modified on Thu 4 Oct 2018 15.26 BST


In a dimly lit sidestreet in London’s East End there is a black box of a building scrawled with graffiti. A CCTV camera perched above the door signals it probably isn’t a squat, but there is no signage. Inside, past three sets of doors and a changing room cordoned off with an old tarpaulin, is a shadowy warren of alcoves, cages and dark corners. Knee-high leather boots hang from iron chains looped through ceiling hooks like fetish bunting. Men kitted out in chaps and overcoats prowl the corridors, while others sip Foster’s, waiting for a nod and a wink. A gregarious barman greets regulars while hairy-chested musclemen appear on a small screen next to an ice bucket.

This is the Backstreet, London’s only remaining gay leather bar. But after a 33-year run serving London’s kinksters, its days might be numbered. “The developers have been sniffing around us for years,” says Aaron the barman. “They want to build another high-rise.” Opposition from Tower Hamlets council and community activists has granted the club a brief reprieve, according to the staff, who all work under the assumption that any day could be the venue’s last.

A string of closures has caused concern for those interested in a variety of fetishes, but the leather scene seems to have been hardest hit, particularly in London. Bars such as the Coleherne, the Anvil, Bloc, Substation and, most recently, the Hoist, have all disappeared into the annals of gay history, replaced with gastropubs, luxe apartments and identikit offices. Rising rents, competitor fetishes and competition from online dating apps have all been a turn of the screw. Aficionados fear its decline is another milestone in the gay scene’s slow descent into homogeneity.

“If some people want to have their matching knitwear and a cocker spaniel, then I’m happy for them,” says Nigel Whitfield, director of the Breeches and Leather Uniform Fanclub, “but some of us don’t. For lots of kinky people, we knew we were kinky before we knew we were gay. Losing these spaces is a tragedy.”

On today’s gay scene, leather denotes an aesthetic and, sometimes, a set of sexual practices. An entry-level leather fetish might just look like getting your rocks off in a well-cut bomber. But for the more committed, it’s a full look: boots, trousers or chaps, belts, shirts, jackets, overcoats, captain hats, all in premium, black leather. The sex tends towards BDSM, from rough horseplay to sadomasochism.

“For me, it’s all about the sensory experience,” says Eder, a 34-year-old leatherman who moved to London from Mexico nine years ago. “It’s the look, the feel, the smell – combine it with sex and it just feels amazing.” He discovered leather five years ago and estimates he has spent “a few thousand pounds” on the gear to date. Leather matters to Eder: he ended a long-term relationship because his ex was “vanilla” – a term for people not into kink or fetish – and has since explored his tastes more extensively on Recon, the world’s largest fetish app for gay men. “It doesn’t define me, but it makes me feel so much more confident,” he says. “It’s not just the sex, there’s a community, a social element that provides you with a sense of belonging.”

Eder’s story of stumbling upon leather online, exploring in real life, and discovering some form of community was common to the leathermen I spoke to, but it’s only the latest incarnation of a famed subculture that stretches back to the post-war boom of America’s coastal metropoles.

Leather as a gay subculture traces its roots back to the appearance of US biker gangs in the 1940s and 50s. Leathers were practical, but the rugged masculinity of biker culture imbued the material with an allure that spoke to men interested in men. Among gay men, leather was also a rejection of the tropes of effeminacy and passivity that homosexuality had accrued since the mid 19th century, a disavowal of the “sweater queens” – well-to-do, preppy gay men – of the time. “Leather was everything that the self-consciously effeminate homosexuals weren’t. They were some of the first gay men to reclaim masculinity,” says Eric Chaline, author and historian of gay sadomasochism.

International travel – at least for the wealthy – helped the US leather scene percolate across the Atlantic, notably to Amsterdam, Berlin and London.

In the UK, leather subcultures first seem to have taken root in London in the late 50s, though the history of those years has largely been lost. Networks of wealthy and closeted gay leather fans hosted invitation-only private parties to avoid the glare of the authorities.(Homosexuality for those over the age of 21 was not decriminalised in England and Wales until 1967, and some S&M practices remain illegal to this day.) The scene was necessarily limited to the middle classes: hosting orgies isn’t easy when you are crammed into a two-bed terrace with a wife and kids, and leather gear is rarely cheap.

From the 70s onwards, fan clubs for leathermen popped up in London, Brighton, Manchester, Birmingham, Bournemouth and elsewhere under the guise of Motor Sport Clubs, disguising the gay fetish as a passion for biking. Around the same time, permanent venues rose to the fore. The Coleherne, a bohemian pub in Earl’s Court, became a lodestar for the leather scene. The horseshoe-shaped bar separated regular punters and a morass of leathermen. At the same time, Tom of Finland sketches of burly men in leathers and denim spread through nascent fetish communities pushing life to imitate art.

The gay leather scene had reached its peak. Thousands of leathermen congregated in multiple micro scenes across London, while thousands more revelled at club nights and events further afield.

Then came a crisis. In 1981, the New York Times reported a “rare cancer spotted in 40 homosexuals”. In San Francisco, one of the first Aids-related deaths was Tony Tavarossi, founder of the city’s first leather bar. Entire communities were eliminated. Bars closed. Hospitals swelled. The leathermen were some of the first to go.

Kellan Farshea, a veteran sadomasochist and campaigner for sexual liberty, recalls the early years of the crisis in the UK. “The Aids crisis was very much based in the leather community because that’s where a lot of the sex clubs were. A lot of the people involved in Earl’s Court were wiped out completely.”

But the virus wasn’t the only threat. “Every single leather S&M club in London was raided by the police at least once, but they couldn’t get any convictions because juries wouldn’t convict us,” says Farshea. The high-profile conviction of gay sadomasochists arrested in Manchester in 1987, known as the Spanner case, drew lurid headlines and stoked public prejudice. A campaign to appeal the conviction, spearheaded by Farshea and others, went through the high court and House of Lords before being referred to the European high court. The ruling on the case holds to this day and it is still not possible to legally consent to a range of “extreme” S&M practices.

Decades of stigma, epidemic and state persecution haven’t killed leather, but the feeling that the scene – or at least its physical spaces – is in decline is widespread.

“The internet changed everything,” says Farshea. Apps such as Grindr and Recon mean getting off doesn’t necessitate going to a club; online hookups don’t come with a £15 cover charge; and they are not limited to a venue’s opening hours.

But the internet has also fractured, and democratised, fetish. Retailers and club owners were often guided by their particular tastes – leather boots, in the case of the Backstreet’s owner – that dictated what people had to be into in order to get access to the kinds of sex they were chasing. “Leather was the dominant practice and discourse of gay BDSM from the 1950s to the 80s,” says Chaline. If you wanted to get tied up of a Saturday afternoon, chances are you had to do so in leather.

According to Farshea, leather’s hegemony in gay BDSM scenes was as much about its commercial saleability as some mysterious gravitation towards processed cow skin. When the full look can cost north of three grand, it’s perhaps not surprising that younger generations are opting for PVC or rubber, a scene that has “exploded” in the past 10 years according to Sandy Pianim, brand director at Recon. “The leather scene hasn’t modernised, it hasn’t evolved,” he says. Many leather nights still exclude women. Lesbian BDSM nights existed separate from the gay men’s scene, but no clubs have lasted. The scene also remains glaringly white, according to Pianim. And in a time when queer cultures are shifting to conversations around gender rather than sex, leather’s celebration of unfettered masculinity feels out of joint, he argues. “Leather is based on this archetype of hyper-masculinity that doesn’t resonate in the way that it once did. Our cultural archetypes have changed.”

For all the speculation on the reasons for the leather scene’s decline, however, there is a much more mundane truth. Venues in London that cater to specialist audiences, from leather fetishes to the queer communities more broadly, have been buffeted by spiralling costs, predatory developers and councils turning a quick buck to survive swingeing budget cuts. People in other cities in the UK, where venues were sparse due to the difficulty of maintaining premises catering to a much smaller scene, now rely on one-off nights or travelling to fetish events abroad.

For the leathermen who spoke to me, old-school bars can’t be replaced with Grindr-fuelled hookups or occasional events such as Folsom Europe, a continent-wide fetish and leather festival held annually in Berlin. Farshea fears the death of physical venues will make it harder for him to meet with fellow campaigners. Whitfield is concerned that the unique atmosphere of a leather bar will be lost to history. And Eder, who has accrued a “leather family” in his five years on the scene, fears that community bonds are weakened when that community has nowhere to meet.

“It’s always been the freaks who have been the canary in the coal mine,” says Whitfield, whether in the fight for basic rights or in the ongoing closures of minority spaces.

For now, the Backstreet lives on, throwing specialist parties for rubberists and occasional gigs to keep afloat. For how long, though, nobody quite knows.

Is this a phenomenon only in certain cities, possibly those tied to contemporary real estate stresses from globalization? Some cities, like London, New York, and Vancouver seem to be suffering immensely in these respects, while others like Seattle, Chicago, and Berlin seem to be thriving. Discuss.

Monday, October 1, 2018

The New Rubber Doll






Boning with Bluzee

ZOMG


Rubberstud of the Week #546