Rubbout Reviews and Rant

There have been a few reviews coming in from various sources talking about Rubbout 21. I am just getting around to reading some of them; the past week I've been laying low and avoiding any Rubbout-related conversations. I have been just so drained and exhausted (and relieved), and a bit low. In addition, I have been dealing with my injured achilles tendon flaring up again, and had a dose of flu staring on Sunday until yesterday.

The reviews are generally pretty favorable; one has to keep in perspective where the reviews are coming from. Raziel Reid's review in this week's Xtra! was very good and he covered it a lot more than last year, though last years' review by him was generally favorable too.

A WELCOME INVASION

Rubbout XXI invaded on Easter weekend - fittingly, since Jesus nailed to the cross is the original poster boy for BDSM.
The annual kink fest held events ranging from gear swaps to dance parties - and even diving expeditions off Porteau Cove for those into a different kind of watersport.
The first event I ever covered for Xtra! was Rubbout's 20th anniversary last year. I'm a year old, bitches, and walking on my own! If you'd like to buy me a birthday gift, cabernet sauvignon and dildos (big ones - you know it!) are always graciously accepted.
I remember being nervous going to Rubbout because I'm not exceptionally rubbery; my biggest fetish is vintage clothes.
But one thing I quickly learned is that our leather/rubber/fetish community is one of the warmest and most welcoming in the city. They're not like the Eastside hipster cunts with Petrine Cross tattoos, dressed head to foot in F as in Frank, who give you a dirty look if you're not wearing the right '90s denim (Oh shit, I just described myself, didn't I?)
They're also not a bunch of creepy old men wearing harnesses and cracking whips. Sure, there are plenty of harnesses and whips, but there's nothing creepy about it. The fetish folk are jolly, open-minded and in it for the fun as much as the depravity. I learned some rubber etiquette at The Junction's Puppy Play Party. First, never tweak someone's rubber. I thought they said never treak in rubber and started to run for the closest exit, but as it turns out, when they're geared up, you can look but not touch. The second rule is definitely the most important. Never pull on a pup's tail. Ever. Why, you ask? Because it's stuck up their asshole! Now I'm not sure how one douches when one has four legs, so I wouldn't risk it.
I was surpirsed when I asked a partier dresss in a full sci-fi outfit if he'd care to pose in a photo with me for my column. He declined, saying, "I'd rather keep my gay and straight worlds separate, you know?" I nodded and smiled, but the truth is, I don't get it. Maybe I'm just such a camera whore that it's inconceivable to imagine that anyone would not want to pose for a picture (if photos steal your soul, I couldn't care less - I don't have one!) But mostly I was taken aback because the Rubbout:Invasion weekend was entirely without judgment, shame, or insecurity. This "gay world" is a Vancouver tradition to be proud of.

The review by Rubber Trooper wasn't so rosy, but I encourage you to read it. The event recap is pretty complete, and I always enjoy reading what people have to say about events I was at, but especially the events that I missed out on. Even though I was upset when I initially read it, I think that Rubber Trooper is trying to be helpful from the perspective of one of the guys that comes to Rubbout for the play and not for the parties...there were a group of the out-of-towners staying at the hotel that I'm sure would've been just as happy staying in the hotel and playing and not leaving for off-site events at all. I think Rubber Trooper just wants to see it become better, though it bugs me that people that do not contribute to the execution of the event feel compelled to criticize at all. The reference to Icarus, really? We have to make money somehow; putting on an all-access party with control of the bar is what makes us money, not selling ultra-cheap weekend passes to the out-of-towners, I'm sorry to say.

I was a bit put off that he said that because Rubbout was "under new management" this year that it was to be expected there were going to be disappointments and room for improvement. I don't think he knows that Doug and Rob have been pivotal volunteers of Rubbout for many years and I was Mitch's right hand man last year and have lots of previous event planning experience. I wouldn't consider us seasoned organizers of this large-scope event but we certainly aren't unfamiliar with Rubbout and the expectations people now have of it. Everything we did went off almost exactly to plan and this is what I consider the big success of Rubbout 21. There was a huge variety of parties and events to choose from spread over two weeks that should've appealed to most; just because some of the events we put on or cross-promoted didn't have full rubber as their focus doesn't mean that they shouldn't have been checked out. The parties on Thursday night, the play party at Steamworks and the Sunday parties were ALL fun, it's too bad some people missed them. Once again, the reality that we are trying to make money in addition to putting on a high-quality event seems to be lost on some.

To me, it is a no-win situation for the organizers of an event as big as Rubbout. We had eight events over two weekends plus six monthly events before that; we wanted to try a few different things this year to see what worked and what didn't. We had the parties in an attempt to encourage younger guys to come and check it out, giving something to the party boys, while also appeasing to the returning rubberguys with some raunchy play parties and more rubber-only events, but it seems that nothing was up to the expectations of some of the people that attended. Something that is too loud or smoky upset a certain cohort of the rubber community while exciting another group. Some of this stuff was out of our control. The target demographic of some of these events weren't the ones that complained about it, obviously, so even though I am receptive to their input, not every event we put on is going to appeal to everyone. We tried this year to have a variety of things going on that would appeal to the largest number of guys possible while trying to further engage the local Vancouver gays and Davie Village businesses and community groups. The events that I overlooked from a distance were successful, though the specific organizers sometimes seemed to take a position of not having to make an effort to promote Rubbout in general and only concerned themselves with promoting their events, and Rubbout in general seemed a good target for criticism from many different vested interests yet none of these interests made any effort to assist in addressing the issues of which they were critical. It was very very frustrating from my perspective. I've personally come to the conclusion that most of the guys coming to Rubbout don't want to party but want to play, but I don't think they should expect for a $45 weekend pass that EVERY event on the weekend is going to be tailored for them; that we might hope that they will throw us some cash in other ways. I'm sorry, it's just the truth. Maybe most frustratingly, I'm now convinced the local community isn't sophisticated enough to realize a great unique local event if it was literally thrown in their faces. It was killing me that so many people picked apart the event and found lots of things to fault us on, yet these same people would not and will not lift a finger to help us in the planning or execution of it.

Realizing that Rob, Doug and I, after the cleanup week and the reviews coming up in the next few months, have probably devoted 400 hours and $20K to this year's Rubbout might make a few people take pause in their criticisms if they realized how much time and effort was required to pull off what they witnessed at Rubbout 21. I know we are going to have quite a few reviews and discoveries in the coming weeks about how this years turnouts, promotion, and finances are going to shape what Rubbout 22 is going to look like. One thing for sure is that I am not putting this same effort and personal finances into next year; this means either more people are coming onto the organizing committee or the event is going to be radically scaled down. Simple as that. I have not had fun at Rubbout the past several years and I don't think that's right or fair. In a way, I am hoping that the collective vision is to scale it down and make it a rubber-only event again; it seems to be what most of the rubbermen that attend want. I think focusing on making it a party that rubbermen from all over the continent want to come to is what the future holds for Rubbout; I am disappointed by the Vancouver gay kink community in general that they cannot come out and support events that are unique to Vancouver, that they will continue to go for the same repetitive events over and over again, that they will not make an event which has lots of out-of-towners a priority to attend, that they will not even do the simplest of promotion for Rubbout - spreading the word about Rubbout through word of mouth and social media, though none of this really surprises me. I no longer want to depend on them for the viability of Rubbout in the future. Even though the Slick Party is only two years old, the numbers who attended were only half of last year's and despite incessant promotion of the truth, there is still lots of belief out there that it was rubber-only therefore accessible only to a few. I've been receiving comment from some people that this will only change by continuing to bang the drum...that eventually the Vancouver crowd will get it, but I want to cut our losses and scale back to what Rubbout originally was; for rubbermen by rubbermen. It pains me to say that I don't think Vancouver deserves an event like Rubbout, and it's only the tight, proud, group of the same organizers and volunteers year-in and year-out that make this event feasible year after year. All the locals have to do is show up for the party, and they didn't even do that this year. Like I said, I don't have faith that Vancouver is sophisticated enough to 'get it', and there are too many others out there who seem hell-bent to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs before it even gets a chance to build a nest.

That being said, there were other factors, like the Rubbout date this year and the location of the Slick Party that hindered the numbers and positive financial outcome. I have vowed never to have Rubbout on Easter Weekend ever again; the parties at the beginning of the weekend took numbers away from us as did events in Europe that took away some of the guys around the continent that would've been here otherwise. The guys in Vancouver's gay village are so fickle and flaky that anything that takes place 'over the bridge' from downtown is too far to go for many. This disappointing and lame and one of my major pet peeves about Vancouver's gay community.

A week ago, I was so despondent about the whole thing I was seriously thinking about throwing in the towel. That would show them! No more Rubbout! They will appreciate it too late now that it wouldn't take place! But this week I've come back to reality. I will plan Rubbout again next year, but it's going to be simpler, scaled down and more intimate. I already have a few potential 150-200 capacity locations in mind for Saturday night next year; places that can be developed into multi-room parties that will hopefully make everyone at least a bit more satisfied. I need help with sponsorship and promotions next year. Though I abhor the idea of going to corporate sponsors for money, I don't see many other ways to go since the event sponsors are about sponsoring gear prizes over cashn and always will be, but cash is what we need more than prizes. I dunno, food for thought. A decision like that will piss off a bunch of rubber queens as well. Our decision to have Labatt as a sponsor this year drew criticism as well. They gave us cash, what do you want me to do? We are so close to being in the red right now (and probably will be once all the bills are paid), I don't see any other way to do this that won't require even more effort from a collective of volunteers that all have full-time jobs and real lives to contend with in addition to putting this event on. I don't think it's fair that the organizers have to personally absorb financial losses for putting on this party.

Anyways, rant over for now. I have lots of positive and negative points to mull over in the coming weeks as we start having our review meetings for Rubbout 21 and discovery meetings for Rubbout 22. And hey, if YOU want to help us out planning for Rubbout 22, then by all means get in touch with me.

By the way, the photos from Rubbout 21 are now available at Rubbout and Rubberzone :)