Rubber Pride 2022

This weekend, Vancouver Rubbermen are going to resuscitate the monthly Meet + Play events, 2-5pm at Pumpjack (on the third Saturday of the month, generally). This is the first event since February 2020! Everyone seems really keen and excited to get things moving again; I can say it's symbolic at least that community groups are starting to host events that get everyone close and squishy together. 

This is good timing for this, since the July event on the 23rd will tie into Vancouver Fetish Weekend; I've already been in touch with the VFW Producer and he's keen to have VRM get involved with VFW much the same as we did a few years before. This is a pretty cool progression. There will be pics to come of the upcoming event on Saturday. We'll also be raising a toast to our brothers in Manchester, who will be hosting the 11th Manchester Rubber Weekend at the same time as we're sucking each other into vac-beds and sleepsacks.

This past Wednesday - June 15 - was International Day of Latex (IDOL, or in Spanish as I discovered, DIDL). A few of the rubber guys joined me with the Vancouver Men in Leather group who do a weekly Wednesday dinner at Junction and drinks/karaoke at Pumpjack. It was pretty fun and the best IDOL event we've pieced together to date. I'll be sure to encourage a bigger better IDOL next year.

So there is lots for our club to consider. I lost a good portion of the equipment I previously brought to the events and let everyone use, thus there is less now to do demonstrations with. I think it's a good time for me to start considering sliding out of the lead on these groups; as much as I am older and have more money for my own gear and equipment, I don't think it's right that I should be responsible for all the cleaning, repairs and organizing anymore. I don't have time for it anymore with everything else that's changed in my life over the past few years. It's time for the torches to be passed and it's time for the younger guys to step up and assume responsibility for their own destinies and outcomes and create visions for the future of what they want group fetish organizations to be and what they are meant to represent. I would like to see more guys donate their own equipment more, but ultimately that the Vancouver Rubbermen start to build their own inventory of equipment - that there be processes around what gear to get for everyone's use, who gets to use stuff when, who is responsible for its upkeep, where is it stored (a huge consideration in Vancouver!), and how it is shared.

I've had a few chats around this, and a few think that annual membership is the way to go, but I still think there is more to be discussed around the who, what, where, when just listed.

I feel it is the right time to get things started again, then step out. These guys need to realize that everything they had before the pandemic isn't the case anymore and they have to be more accountable for the fun that they want to have. I am hopeful that I'm going to be pleasantly surprised by what happens next.