The Fox Den

Where have I been?

Looking back at my calendar, since March 17th, I've been to New Orleans for Dayton's Surprise B-Day party, St. Paul for NACA Northern Plains, to Detroit for a show at Wayne State University, Iowa for a show at Grinnell University, Minneapolis frequently to work at Twin Cities Leather, Rochester to work my "day" job, and right now I'm on a plane home from Seattle.

And through all these monumentous life experiences, I've failed to write. But it wasn't until this trip to Seattle that I figured out just why that is.

I'm back.

More posts coming. Stay tuned. :)

Please click the link above and vote! I have been nominated for "Best Bondage Advocate" and "Best Bondage Blog". You can vote once per day through the end of November!

MAL Highlights

I'm finally recovered from a really, really EPIC weekend in DC.

Last year, MAL was held at the Hyatt Regency in DC for the first time, and there were a few problems that attendees chose to be vocal about. This year was just really, really awesome from start to finish. I'm not one to complain much, so I don't care about many of those smaller details, but even I can appreciate the lengths the Centaurs went to to make sure things were smooth this year. I appreciate all of them and their awesome club so much!

I want to say thank you to everyone's encouragement and for following my live-blogging on Leatherati. It's not easy for me to be able to keep up and type that fast during the events and the press conferences, but I know that there are plenty of you at home, pounding "refresh", reading what I have to say and wishing you were there. I'm just glad I can give something back. 

I don't know what's gotten into me lately, but I've been sniffing for a good time for a while, and I ended up playing more at MAL than I ever have before at an event. The scenes were really hot. A fox doesn't kiss and tell! I will mention, though, that when a hotel is U shaped, it's important to remember to shut the curtains before you play, otherwise you might just end up with an audience staring through windows on the other side of the complex. That, and that I need to be flagging more colors (on the appropriate sides, of course).

There was a huge attendence from Minnesota for the weekend; probably the biggest non-IML turn out at an event I've seen. It was great to show our brotherhood together, to cheer for Jayson Glynn as he carried the Aton's flag in the parade of colors, show off our kinky creations and blab about how awesome we are. 

The contest was pretty sweet! The new Mr. MAL is pretty sexy, I'm sure he'll fill the role well. One of my favorite portions, though, was the stepdown speech of the outgoing Mr. MAL, Doug Pamplin. His parents were sitting in the audience for the entire contest, and during his speech, he announced this and invited them up on stage with him. His PARENTS. That was an amazing moment; I can only wish I could have that kind of support from my parents.

It was great to meet some new friends and reconnect with some old ones. Events like these make me realize how lucky I really am to be a part of this at 27 years old. I don't take it for granted; I know a lot of guys don't get these experiences until much later in life. It makes me very, very thankful for my leather family.

I flew back on Monday and immediately went to work for a couple shifts, back to back. A couple days off to recover, sort of, but my event at UMSL is right around the corner next week on Wednesday! And I have to work all weekend. I guess there's no rest for the wicked.

Live Blogging MAL 2012!

So I don't think I ever announced it on here, but I'm going to MAL! As I write this, I'm currently in flight to DCA. So pumped to see everyone, it feels like its been forever!

And to make things even better and to show my leather love to the world, I'm live-blogging once again for Leatherati. Go check out Leatherati.com and click on "Leatherati Live" to see my interviews, introductions, press releases, excursions, and hook ups! (Oh, I mean, forget that last one.)

Will keep you updated as the drama unfolds.

It's Working

For those of you who have only recently joined this blog and/or may have not read every single word dating back two and a half years ago, let me rehash why I started writing in the first place. 

I was looking at Recon profiles and blogs for years, and reading about all the hot experiences guys have, wishing it were me. They all seemed to be from guys who either lived in the Northeast or the West coasts. Years of looking at all these profiles and seeing things that I didn't have, yet wanting so badly resulted in giving me a complex of feeling powerless to change anything about my kinky life. And I thought to myself, yes, I've played, but not like that....

.....but I've played. I thought about it more and more, and I realized; I've been doing bondage since I was 18. Despite living in the middle of nowhere in college, I played a LOT. I found guys out there on sites and went for more weekend excursions than I remember (fortunately, most of them had photographic evidence). Maybe the pictures weren't as hot as the ones I've seen by other guys and maybe I didn't have a whole room full of gear and a dungeon of my own, but for being 25 years old, I have a pretty fucking kinky life! There's no reason I shouldn't be proud of it.

Moreover, there's no reason that anyone else can't have it. Maybe if I wrote about my own life, others won't feel so inhibited to get out there and play while they're younger. Grab your kinky life by the balls, kinkster, because you're not the only college boy dying to break into this. 

I've been pouring my life out to you all through this site in the hope that someone, somewhere is reading it and feeling like they're not alone. I track my stats a little bit so I know I have plenty of readers, but being that the blog really isn't that old (only 2ish years), I'm sure there's an impact yet to be made. 

But it's working. 

This weekend, MPLSGuy invited me up to help entertain a couple boys visiting him from Florida. FLABound and FlyBoyFL came up for their first big kinky excursion. It was an absolutely perfect weekend. There was a LOT of play, a tour of Minneapolis dungeons (thanks to MPLSGuy, b1point5, and Pterodactyl), good food, great laughs, EPIC bondage scenes (thanks to all our hosts and my partner in crime, PupTrigger), awesome nights at the bar, and a wonderful feeling of family with two really hot, young guys. As I sit here and write this on Monday evening, I feel a little bit like IML just ended. I'm kind of on cloud nine from these guys. 

On top of it all, the boys couldn't stop gushing over how excited they were to meet me. It was almost embarrassing how much they treated me like some kind of celebrity all weekend. I hadn't really talked to them on Recon or anything before meeting them this weekend, but they both told me how long they've been reading my blog for and how inspiring it was to them. Without the words and experiences I've written about here, they both told me that they would never have had the courage to dive in deeper or to go fly off to visit a dom for a kinky weekend. They were both too nervous to ever chat with me before, but they both said, "Reading your words gave us hope, and courage."

I'm not telling all of this just to blow my own horn. Fuck the fame, the fortune, the power, or the glory. That's not what this blog is about. I'm just so proud that I'm already somehow meeting the greatest goal that I ever set out for myself in this little spot on the web. I'm not here to be a celebrity. I'm just a regular guy! But I'm so, so proud that the words I've written are already having an impact on lives, somewhere.

But it's not just my words. More and more blogs, tumblrs, and twitters have been popping up from kinky, younger guys all over the country. People like TallGlassOfOJ, KinkyBoiNick, AlphaPupAlpine, BenInLeatherLand, JohnnyGear, VagaBondageBoy, PupSkoll, LeatherBondageLove, AllAmericanKinkster and RubberFreak are all pouring their kinky hearts, souls, and lives out for all the world to understand. These are all pivotal for our entire community. The more we share our own lives, the less isolated we'll feel, the more kinksters will come out, the stronger our community will be, and the more family we have.

To FLABound and FlyBoyFL, thanks for an awesome weekend, thanks for reading, and thanks for having the courage to take a leap of faith.

And to all the other blogging, tweeting, and tumblring kinksters out there,
Keep playing.
Keep traveling.
Keep photographing.
Keep writing.
Keep reading.
Keep living. 
Keep loving.

We're reaching them. It's working. 

#MIRrumors!

So here's an idea.  Besides viewing my live coverage on Leatherati, check out this twitter app here and keep updated on all the MIR drama.  Tweet your MIR rumor here, with hashtag #MIRrumors !

 

Dry Spell?

Where've I been lately?  Why the delays in writing?

I'll be the first to admit that I've lost some motivation to write, but hear me out.  I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. 

This blog started out as a look into the kinky life of a 20-something from the Midwest.  I had lived in Minnesota for just a little bit over a year.  It took a lot of focus to throw myself into my work and become comfortable with that facet of my life.  I hadn’t invested a lot of time or energy into a new community until I found myself on my feet as a nurse.  There was work to be done to find the kink in Minnesota.  There were friends yet to be made, bars yet to be explored, clothes yet to be bought, play yet to be had, etc.  And through the journey, I brought you with me through the magic of the internet. 

This blog turns two years old last month, and as I look back and reflect on what I’ve written thus far, I realize that something more has been going on here.  I can’t say I was born proud at all; there was a day in college where I didn’t like the Showtime series Queer As Folk because it promoted promiscuity (don’t laugh).  Becoming the proud, gay boy was a journey.  When I started writing for you, I hadn’t dreamed of the day I’d feel comfortable enough to run down Hennepin Ave and try to hail a taxi while wearing nothing but latex.  In order to find the kink in Minnesota and the Midwest, I first had to find the kink in myself. 

I never dreamed of the day I would feel so empowered that I would even attempt a run at a contest, and certainly not MIR.  The day I decided to start writing for this blog, I owned two (2) articles of latex gear/clothing. 

I’ve written enough sappy posts about how amazing my life has become and how much I value my kink brothers and the life I’ve grown into, and I don’t want to bore you with yet another.  Therein lies the point; my kinky life has become such an integral part of my everyday routine that it’s not even a separate part of my life.  I don’t have any friends who are vanilla; I can talk about kink with any one of them, even if they’re not as kinky to me.  I go to kink bars, I go to play parties, I go to events all over the nation, and I have friends in all corners of the USA and beyond.  I even go to vanilla bars in full latex and I feel completely comfortable.  And I do it often enough that it’s not such a novelty.  I don’t get as excited about leather or rubber events because I go to them all the time.

I’m no longer striving to become a Minnesotan kinkster.  I am one.  The journey has ended, and thus, my motivation to write.

With the death of one journey, a new path must be taken.  You can see that I’ve added a “hire me!” link above some months ago, and I’m proud to say that in the coming months, I’ll be attending trade shows to try to sell myself to colleges and universities throughout the country, to provide lectures and speeches on kinky life, BDSM, rubber, leather, and so forth.  I’m sure that will bring plenty to write about.

But what, my readers, do you want to hear about?  You are, after all, the ones who keep me motivated, and the reasons why this blog exists.  I began writing because I thought there was something someone somewhere could learn by seeing life through my eyes.  I can’t tell you all enough how much it means to me when someone comes up to me at an event or while I’m out of town and tells me they read my blog, and that it speaks to them.  I’ve met several other 20somethings from various parts of the country who have told me that they never would have taken the plunge to dive into this community if they hadn’t first read about it here.  Those people are so happy they took that leap, and that is what this blog is all about. 

In the process of placing myself under your scrutiny, I’ve learned so much about myself.

So is it fun to read about what I now consider to be a mundane, everyday kinky life?  Do you want to hear about it when I play with others?  Just the events?  Are you still interested in when Gear Night at the Eagle will be, and do you want to read a follow up post every month about how it went and what I did there?  Are you only interested in pictures of what I think is hot?  Should I reserve my ramblings for topics that really inspire me?  Do people go back and read my back posts from the last two and a half years, or is it acceptable to write about the same subject multiple times?

What should I do with this space?  I’m not very inclined to post picture after picture after video after picture of things I think that are hot.  Ruff’s Stuff and the All-American Kinkster do that, and do it well.  I spend enough of my own time on those sites.  I write a blog because I enjoy writing.  It’s the only thing that I feel I have even the smallest amount of talent for, and it’s something I enjoy doing.  But only if I know what you want to read.  Maybe it’s just too hard for me to grip the fact that my kinky life, though mundane it has become to me, is inspiring to others.

Please, leave some comments on this post, or send me an e-mail (Tynan@TynanFox.com).  Tell me what it is you like to read about in this space.  And thank you thank you THANK YOU for being a part of this blog for the last two years. 

By the way, I turn 27 next week…..

Numb

I haven't written in a long time.  I hate it when I let myself go so long without writing; I never know how to kick off the first post after a long break.  So what's been up?

I've been riveted by the local news in Minnesota.  You may or may not have heard, but the MN Senate, and the House this week, have/will pass a referendum to be voted on in 2012, which will ban gay marriage in the state of MN.  I'm hopefull it will fail at the polls, but you have to remember that anti-same-sex marriage amendments have come up in 31 states so far, and it has passed in EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.  I'm hopeful.  But the odds are against us.  

That said, I'm not yet willing to give up on human integrity.  We can defeat this.  Right now even, the polls are in our favor.  But there's a long road between now and November 2012.

Beyond that, I've been working a lot of overtime lately.  Lots of sick people at work, many of them the unfortunate type.  My work generally isn't that dramatic, but I feel like the drama level has been turned up extra high these past few weeks.  No one's "just" sick, all my patients have been sick-and-32-years-old-and-broke-and-have-three-young-kids.  Then I haven't been sleeping well during the days and, to top it all off, I was attacked by a patient last night, and now I'm wide awake at home.  (No, I'm not injured.)

I've kinda spent the past few weeks on a sleep-deprived some what stressed out and rather emotional rollercoaster.  Where does that leave me this morning?  A gelatinous pseudo-tweaked out ball of goo on the couch.  Hungry yet stuffed.  Sore but tranquil.  Thinking clearly yet a total mess. 

Numb.

..................................until.......I remember what I'll be doing in exactly one week from today.  I'll be in a Tahoe with two rubber pups on my way to Chicago for the yearly kinkfest for gay men in the nation.

IML is on the horizon.  Time to be the fox again.

And this fox is crawling back into bed.

Kinkphobia

I believe that I'm going to be trying to spend a lot more time on Fetlife in the near future.  For one reason, I realize how important the hetero community is to kinksters.  There are a LOT of them on Fetlife, and I feel like I haven't really extended enough of a hand to the hetero community of players - and I really am interested in what makes them tick.

The other reason is that I'm continually disappointed by Facebook.

Last night I decided to try some of those little ads on Facebook to promote this site/blog.  I figure if I really want to start doing more workshops, presentations, discussions, etc. that it's not just going to be handed to me.  So I fill out all the info for my ad, preview it, specify that it should only be visible to people who are 18 or over and who say in their profiles that they "like" bondage, bdsm, kink, flogging, etc. etc. etc.  I wouldn't really want to expose completely vanilla people to my ad and/or my website.  After I had all the possible keywords put in for potential viewers, it said the ad would have a reach of around 400,000 people.  That's definitely more than just a little bit.

So I finish things up and submit my ad for review by Facebook.  I was hopeful that given all these barriers coupled with the fact that this site really isn't pornographic (although it is for an adult audience), it would be approved.  Much to my disappointment, it was not.  Included in the rejection e-mail was a specific reason:

"The content promoted in this ad is not permitted on Facebook. We reserve the right to choose the advertisements that appear on the site, and ads for this product or service should not be resubmitted. Please visit our Help Center for more specific information."

So I go in and look at the help center and from what I can tell, it shows that they do not allow content of "adult" themes.  Specifically, "Facebook does not allow advertisements that contain or promote adult content.  This may include nudity, adult dating sites, adult toys or products, or images of people in positions or activities that are excessively suggestive or sexual. Some sexual health products or services may be allowed, including ads for contraceptives or sexual health resources, but such ads must be targeted to users over the age of 18. Sexual performance enhancers are not permitted."

Let's not forget that the whole point of this website is to be a "resource".  And yet, it's completely allowed in their terms of service for alcohol providers (think: Budwiser, etc.) to promote themselves on Facebook.  Last time I checked, alcohol was an adult product intended for an adult audience.  What kind of sense does this make?  And if the ad would only be viewable to people who are over the age of 18 who clearly state sexually-suggestive material on their own profiles, how is this really harming anyone, or facebook for that matter?  Isn't it worse for their to be alcoholic advertisements on people who are recovering alcoholics or prefer not to drink?  

My ad was not rejected because it was "adult" in nature.  It was rejected because Facebook is kinkophobic.  

I would fight it if I had the energy.   In the meantime, however, I'll just be going back to a social networking site that is made by us, for us, and doesn't discriminate against us.  I hate that no matter how much progress we make, we're always taking a step backward.

This is the face of kinkphobia.  

Things I've done in the last Month

I judged Leather Eye for the Preppy Guy at the Minneapolis Eagle in November.  It was an awesome time, great to see those vanilla boys get kinked up.

I made a visit back to St. Louis for Thanksgiving. 

I met with a physical therapist for my back, who said that there wasn't really anything that needed to be done.

I quit working out.  Two weeks later, I started working out again.

I worked at the hospital.  A lot.

I caught a cold and gave it to several of my friends.  Crap.

I walked into the Eagle as a leatherman on underwear night, and then after a couple hours, stripped out of the leathers and joined the underwear party.  There's two sides to this fox.

I remembered why I love my husband so much.

I held my breath, swallowed my pride, and let my guard down to make up with a boy.  So far, for the better.

I was visited by my Sir in Minneapolis, for the first time.  I introduced him to my husband for the first time.  I got snowed into a hotel room with my Sir for the first time.  I watched as the Eagle canceled Gear Night and closed at 5pm for the first time, and shook my fist in the air at them.

I've moped around in the cold of Minnesota.  I've brightened up at the prospect of sunny days despite single digit temperatures.  I've survived the worst blizzard in almost 20 years.

I've been very thankful for all the kind words my friends have for me - I guess I never knew you all looked up to me so much.

I've run around like a headless chicken.

I booked travel and room for MAL and IML.  (WOOT!!!)

I've struggled with writer's block, hence, the lack of updates.  I'll start writing soon.

 

Hope everyone's winter is shaping up as....white? as mine is!

~Tynan

MIR - The Reaction

So I didn't win, or place.  I still went to the competition, I learned all kinds of things about myself and I have a new stash of confidence.  No one can take that back from me.  I'm pleased with how I did.  Really.  I mean, I'd like to say that I'm taking it really really well.  

....But in fact, when I got back to Rochester, my husband Chris videotaped my REAL reaction.

 

~Tynan

Birthday Present for Me

OMG.  I got a huge chunk of my rubber gear in the mail today. Are words really necessary to describe the elation I'm feeling right now?  Pictures to follow.  Maybe a virtual fashion show?  It's like a birthday present, to myself.

Looking back, 25 was a good year.

There's been a lot of positive things happening in my life.  Moving into a house, my partner finding a dream job he loves and is good at, making a TON of new friends in Minneapolis, writing this blog, attending my first IML, getting into shape again, working toward competing at MIR...things have been looking up in a lot of areas in my life.  I've never been happier than I am now.

I know I haven't been writing on here as much as I used to, my posts have slowed down to about once a week to a week and a half.  That's mostly because I've started working out for an hour or more per day.  Truly, the hardest thing about working out is trying to find the time to fit it into your schedule.  Fortunately I've been able to get into a routine, and although some days I still hate doing it, I'm still pushing myself forward because I'm seeing results.  And I can't thank all my friends enough for their motivation to keep going.

The road to MIR is getting shorter.  It may sound stupid, but I'm already learning a lot about myself just working on the application, finding a sponsor (thank you Cockpit Minneapolis!), and working out.  Working out is something we all should be doing anyway, but my "quest for the sash" is the thing that really motivated me to get going on it.  Finding a sponsor has pushed me to talk more to local businesses that support the leather/rubber community, and making those community ties has opened my eyes to another have of our leather world.  I guess I could say that going for the sash is already changing my life and we're not even to MIR yet.  I'm really excited about it anyway - it'll be a great experience and I'm looking forward to being on stage side-by-side with some friends.

GEAR NIGHT is at the Minneapolis Eagle this Saturday.  As much buzz and talk as I have heard, I think we're going to have an amazing turn out, much like we did last month.  Even if all you can do is meet the minimum dresscode, PLEASE try to come out and experience what it's like.  As always, if you see me there, please stop me and say Hi!  I love meeting new people.  Besides, I need to find someone to give me 26 spankings. 

Then, on Sunday after Gear Night, I get to hop on a plane in the morning to head to Michigan to join the Chicago Hellfire Club for Session B of Inferno.  I consider it to be an honor just to be invited, but I'll also be doing a demo there on - what else? - mummification.  I'm really pumped about that too and I think it'll be an awesome time, even though I'm a little bit nervous and I don't quite know what to expect!

25 was amazing.  I expect 26 is going to be even better.

~Tynan

Happy Birthday to...

.....tynanfox.com.

Wow.  It's been a year now that this blog has been up and active. 

I made a wordle of the words in this blog.  Kinda cool huh?

A redesign/rollout is on the way.  Keep your eyes open for it.

~Tynan

Older, yet Younger

A friend is currently asking me for a list of things that turn me on (and things that turn me off) to get ready for a weekend we're going to have down the road a bit.  He's looking for what my deepest, darkest, most sadistic, most twisted, most dangerous, and craziest fantasies really are.  He's looking for something under the surface.  Something I'm embarrassed to tell people.  Something that could never truly be done.  Something EPIC.

It's turning out to be a harder assignment than I thought.

The only things I can think of to write are the same things that have been turning me on since I was 13 or 14 years old.  Have I really not changed that much?  I turn 26 next month.  Have I really stayed exactly the same for those 13 years?  I think that I have.  Sort of.  I honestly haven't had much of the opportunity to explore a lot of those extreme areas I've been looking to get into - so yes, I think it's natural that they'd stay the same.  Fantasies won't change until they're fulfilled, generally.

There are still some subtle changes though.  The fantasy is the same but maybe I think of them more on the other side.  Take kidnapping for example.  When I was younger, my only fantasy was to be kidnapped.  These days, I think it would be just as hot to be one of the kidnappers as one of the kidnapees. Perhaps that's also natural as one gets older and wiser (?).  There are so many people out there that were strictly sub and eventually switch and eventually are strictly dom.  Is this bound to happen to me?  Not that I would be disappointed...I'm really enjoying exploring my top side.  Really.  But as you can see what happened in my visit to Detroit, I still have plenty of sub cravings as well.

Even though I'm getting older, I still revert back to my younger fantasies.  So I guess we'll just have to find out together what will become of me.

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I've been working hard for the past year or so on the Gear Nights at the Minneapolis Eagle.  Some new friends have been very helpful in recent months as well, and they're growing like wildfire.  Leatherati asked me to do a write up about what that journey has been like, and they posted it to their blog.  Check it out.

Final update, today is day 30 of working out.  I took my Day 30 photos.  I'm somewhat disappointed with them.  I'm not disappointed with my progress, I think I'm looking great (in person) and I can see a lot of progress.  I think my photography skills are so poor that they don't show off the changes very well (due to poor lighting, poor camera, etc.).  At minimum, you can tell that I'm getting more cut even if I'm not making many size gains.  Oh well, like I said, I'm not unhappy with the progress so far.  I'm eager to see what the next 60 days will bring.

~Tynan 

Weekends in Minneapolis

What can I say?  I love to get up to Minneapolis on the weekends.  I've got some of the best kinky friends in the world.  I wasn't even up here to celebrate anything, but I felt like I was with all the awesome times.

Gear Night at the Eagle was Saturday.  I didn't do a whole lot of advertising or arm twisting, simply because of my work schedule.  But WHOA!  It was the BEST attended Gear NIght we've had yet!  There was easily about 150 HOT kinky guys in the underground.  So many so that it was difficult to move around at times (not that that is a problem!)  Special thanks to TrainerAndBoy and his partner for working so hard to motivate all the hot kinksters to show up, and thanks to them for being such good people - I'm looking forward to getting to know them more in the future.  And also looking forward to seeing the crowds get bigger and bigger and bigger on the 2nd Saturday gear nights!  There's a few pics from a pre-party we went to on my Facebook profile - go check it out, and see what you're missing at the MPLS Eagle.

My best friend in Minneapolis is a pup.  He's really the only true one around here that we can find.  I'm so happy for him because he finally figured out his pup name.  Everyone, please welcome PupTrigger.  It happened in his car.  Such a cute face when he found it felt right.  We then spent the rest of the afternoon shopping for some rubber for my run at MIR.

Speaking of which, I'm starting to see some results from working out.  I've been doing P90X.  It's been three weeks and I already see a huge difference.  It's not gimmicky!  If you need to get in shape, look into it.

And finally, I've been talking to local business about sponsorship for the competition.  Making a little headway.  And hopeful to have a local sponsor at MIR.  I really, really want the world to know that Minneapolis has kink, and I'd like to show just how awesome it is here.

Coming up: Next month's gear night is September 11th at the Minneapolis Eagle, which is right around my birthday.  So de facto, I'm making it into Gear Night/My Birthday Party!!!  Come on out, someone needs to give me 26 spankings.

Oh!  And check out Leatherati.  They've posted a new Issues column on "What is Leather?"  I submitted a post and they're still looking for others to submit as well.  Check them out - that's one of my favorite other leather blogs I read.

~Tynan

Pride, MIR, and Blogs

Twin Cities Pride is this weekend.  I've been pumped about it all week.  There's something to be said for MN Leather Pride .  Plenty of kinky activities going on at the same time as regular pride.  I plan for a weekend of much debauchery, good friends, good food, and hopefully, some play.  :)  

I'm planning on doing something radical and also kinda scary - I'm planning to walk in the parade with the leatherpride flag/float, whatever it is.  I would consider it a kinky "coming out" if you will, but since I don't really live or work in MPLS, then I don't think it will really be that painful.  The more important question I have is, what do I wear!?  Leather or rubber??

I often wonder how other people show their "leather" or "kinky" pride.  Do you show it in everyday life?  Are you "out", in a kinky sense?  Do your coworkers, friends, and family know?  Do you wear that hanky in your back pocket every day?  

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MIR has launched their new website with current information on this year's upcoming contest.  I was mesmerized last year watching the contest, and after seeing all the cool stuff MIR gets to do and how big they are in enhancing the community, I'm considering entering this year for the contest.

But even so, just the thought gives me a pit in my stomach.

I'm kinda nervous in front of people - the onstage portions might just be murder.  Those of you who know me personally know that I can be somewhat shy and nervous in public.  I would definitely have to work on that.  Oh yeah, and I'd need more rubber outfits, but I never seem to have to big of a problem spending money on rubber gear. 

I plan to ponder over it for a couple days, weeks, I don't know.  Any feedback would be appreciated as to what you all think I should do!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On one final note, about a week ago, I submitted an article to Leatherati.  To my delight, they thought my work was good enough to post.  :)  Thought you all might like to go read the article.  It subsequently got reblogged onto Mr. Kristofer's site, to whom I am ever so grateful.  :)

Happy Pride!

~Tynan

Hero

Been a while since I've updated.  Life's kept me too busy.  What have I been up to?  Work.  A play party.  Or two.  A gear night.  I've met a friend, I've lost a friend.  I've taken pictures, been photographed, drank way too much beer, and slept alone in my bed.  It's been a busy few weeks.  

Amidst the chaos, I managed to listen to the latest podcast from Dart's Domain.  He interviews the man responsible for the "Leatherboy" movement and provides the audience with some insight into that community.  Vincent Andrews is his name, and he also wrote the Leatherboy's Handbook.  I particularly enjoyed the end of the interview where he details why he no longer considers himself to be a Leatherboy.  It was a fascinating interview.  Even with all of my experience, I've learned I still look to these communities, that is, the "Leather", "Leatherboy", "Daddy", or "Bear" communities as a spectator for the most part.  

I just feel I don't belong.

That's not to say that I wish I belonged.  I find myself rather indifferent, really.  As long as everyone present and accounted for is having a good time, then that's the most important bottom line.  I feel like my identity is so mutable, I could be a leatherboy, a rubberboy, a fetishist, a bondeur, a master, a slave, a boy, a boi, a guy, a Fox, or a superhero.  All of course, dependent on my mood, and the atmosphere surrounding me at that time.  What's that old adage?  When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

I think that if it makes you happy, DO IT.  I want to experience what it's like to be a part of every one of those communities, and more.  I'm curious.  I want to learn what they're all like.  I wish that everyone in these communities felt this way, but I am constantly reminded how much all of these communities adhere to those old, rigid standards that don't allow for deviation or exploration into other territories.  You have to maintain your assigned identity until you're allowed to move on to your next one!

I witnessed this even at the Eagle on the last gear night.  (Yes, I was so busy I didn't even have time to post an announcement).  The night was alright.  Much smaller than the April event, but then again, I wasn't inviting people.  My friends and I had fun there, and met some fun new people too!  The bouncer, however, was only reluctantly letting people into the Dresscode-area who didn't have boots on.  One of my friends was in sneakers (his fetish) along with a neoprene shirt, and he almost didn't let him in.

I can understand that.  I will be the first to admit that I may push the boundaries on "Gear Night" as I've been referring to it.  After all, the bar does, in fact, still refer to it as "Leather Night".  The thing that is glaringly obvious about younger, new-generation kinksters, however, is this same attitude I described above.  There's just no rules.  There's no standards or quotas and there are certainly no expectations.   There's just horny guys, with various fetishes.  

But one guy last Saturday was wearing a fetish the Eagle hadn't seen yet, I believe - a wetsuit.  VERY hot.  He that he had coordinated a new event with the Eagle.  It's to be entitled "Alter Ego" night.  A strict dresscode will be enforced on Friday June 4th, and the only ones to be allowed in will be those dressed in their favorite costume of a super hero or super villain.  

 What an idea!  And even though turn out may be small for the first go, if 20 people can get their arms twisted into going, it will be a success.  Personally, I will be there in my Robin costume. You can bet on it.

But the best part about the whole thing is that it's happening at the Minneapolis Eagle in the first place. Some young kinkster came up with some crazy new idea for a fetish night, and the bar owner was more than receptive, hell, was even willing to advertise it for a night and give it a chance. Even when his own staff may not be so accustomed to people even not wearing BOOTS let alone dress like heroes! To be willing to drop the ranks, let go of the past for a second, and give an idea from the New Guard a try? It's so heartening to know that there are those out there, ready for us.

That man, whoever he is, is MY hero.

~Tynan

Jumping In

For the past few months, I've been encouraging guys, through this blog and online, to go to the Eagle for Gear night every 2nd Saturday.  I've always thought to myself that guys need a "jumping off" point, so to speak, and this would be a great event.  It's been busier and busier for the past couple of months, and I'm happy to see some more socialization return to the leather community in Minneapolis.  (This past Saturday, of course, was no exception.)  It's also brought me to consider my own involvement, and my own "jumping off", so to speak.

I've been being tied up since I was 18 years old.  I guess I got started early, but living in the middle of nowhere in Missouri for college somewhat put a damper on my exploration.  Now I'm 25, and when people ask me how long I've been into kink, I say seven years.  Seven years can mean a lot, or it can mean only a little if its movement has been at a glacial pace.  Has mine?

In means of practical, hands on experience, I would say "no".  I think I can pull my own weight in that department (but that's for another post I'm working on).  In terms of history, knowing who is who, reading the works of others, and my own socialization?  I would say "yes", the pace has been rather glacial.

I am forever impressed at the amount of leather I learn about in the world around me.  Just yesterday, while in Minneapolis, I picked up the latest issue of Lavender Magazine.  One of the main articles featured on the front cover caught my eye: "Leather Life becomes Leather Bound".  Upon further inspection, I found that apparently, the magazine has been running a column on leather lifestyles for the past 15 years.  And in a triumphant move by the columnist, he's finally publishing highlights of it into a book.  It looks promising, and like something I would actually read.  But how could I not have known about this sooner?  Seriously, 15 years??

Some days I feel I need to open up my eyes, look around, and dive more into the history of our community.  Perhaps I should pick up a copy of the Leatherman's Handbook and read it, even if just for historical purposes.  There's so much I feel I don't know which I should know if I'm going to continue to write all the time.

Anyone have any suggestions?

In other news....My catsuit ripped.  Again.  

But it was worth it.  I've had the pleasure of getting to know RankInSF better, and had the opportunity to dive into some more hardcore rubber play.  That's really not something that's easy to find, even on the coasts where the population may be more plush with rubberists.  But I found it, right here in Minneapolis.

After a couple drinks, we started to loosen up.  I was looking at some of his gear.  It was no secret that either one of us was horny - clearly, I was there with a purpose that night.  I can't remember if it was his suggestion or my own drunken horniness, but at one point, I lubed up and slipped into my catsuit.  What came next is somewhat of a blur.  And not because of the alcohol (completely).  I don't quite remember what order things went on in, but I do know over a slow course of the next hour or so I was gradually placed into progressively more bondage than I have been in in a long time.  The best part about it?  Nearly all my restraints were made of rubber.

I've never been encased like that before in my life.  It must have been about seven or eight layers without breaking a sweat.  The hoods, the boots, the gags, the strips of latex, the cuffs, the binders...and all of this while somehow suspended to the ceiling?  Seriously.  A blur.  

It hasn't been any secret to myself, or to others, that I love rubber.  I fell in love with it the moment I ever first laid eyes on pics of it on a website.  And to finally have all of this?  I entered a new kind of subspace I haven't been to yet.  It was a very "comfortable" place, to be sure.  I remember whimpering quite a bit as he abused me in various ways, but never really a whimper to stop.  Maybe out of.....gratuity?  It was certainly different from the time I described when I got flogged, but still, very, very submissive.

And somewhere along the line, my catsuit ripped.  Fortunately, RankinSF said he could fix it for me, for which I am ever thankful.  Still, it may be cheesy and symbolic, but I think the scar from this repair will be one which I am not likely to forget.

~Tynan

February

It's been nearly a month since I've made a blog post.  It's been about that long since I've even FELT like writing anything.

February was a rather dreary month.  The cold and the wind made me really unmotivated to do anything.  That, and my personal life has been rather dramatic lately.  Perhaps so much so that even writing has seemed like more of a chore than a release.  Anyone who knows me knows that I really don't like drama.  Work has been nuts, I've been working a lot of overtime.  My personal life has been nuts for various reasons.  The emotional roller-coaster I've been on has worn me completely out in my spare time.  It's all very exhausting, and I hate it.  I'm ready to get back to a more level, even state.

Things will clear up in time.

I did find time and energy to go to the Minneapolis Bondage Club meeting for the first time.  It's basically just a play party at this guy's house.  Lots of fun though.  Nice guys.  Lots of talent there.  Finally got a chance to meet BNDGMASTER.  Let's just say his skills live up to his profile name.  :)

Enough about crappy February.  The snow is melting in my back yard.  I can *almost* see all of my walk way out to my garage.  A new, warmer, drier month is on it's way in.  Onto the future.  

Gear Night is this Saturday, March 13th at the Eagle.  As I said earlier, I'll be there in Leather this time.  :)  I will likely NOT be competing in the hot boots contest.  The only pair of boots I have are really cheap.  I need to get some REAL ones yet.  

I hope to see you there!

~Tynan

Odds and Ends

As many of you know, I work night shifts.  My standard week is three nights, 7pm-7:30am.  I like it because I like the work on night shifts, but I also like having four days off every week without having to use any vacation time.

Unfortunately, I've become nocturnal.  Unless I have a reason to be awake during the day (like I did this weekend), I'm staying awake all night and asleep all day.  My "normal" sleep routine has now become 7:00am until 2 or 3pm.  I really don't know if I like this.  I don't really like being up all night when the rest of the world is asleep.  I want to be able to be awake and functioning during my days off when the light is out.

However, as I noted this weekend, it makes it a LOT easier to stay up all night and party if I usually just don't sleep at night.  ;)

I don't know, what do you guys think?  Should I switch back to days for a couple weeks and see what happens or should I just hang in there with what I'm doing? 

On a side note, I'm thinking of delving into some rubbercraft.  I say this simply because my Robin outfit needs some alterations and I want to try to do them myself.  I'm not typically all that handy, but I'm gonna give it a go.  Will keep you updated on THOSE outcomes. 

~Tynan

Overtime

I've been working a lot lately.  When I'm at work, my drive for kink shuts down.  Usually.

This past week I've worked 60 hours.  So I really haven't felt like doing anything but sleep in my time off.  It's amazing to me how separate I can keep these two very important areas of my life.  I'm somewhat of a work-a-holic, but I don't mind it because I really do love my work.  It seems to me though that sometimes I can't have both of these at a time.

A couple weekends ago I went to Chicago for a weekend of bondage and kink with two doms I'd never met before.  It was full of new experiences and was a lot of fun, because I was being slightly more submissive than I usually become in a scene.  But since it's a six hour drive to Chicago and I was only down there for two days, I found it difficult to relax.

Finding that balance in life between what you love and what you love shouldn't be so tough.  But I'm often reminded that I should be thankful that I've found something to do with my life that I love in the first place, because very few people ever are so lucky.  To balance two things I love? 

Maybe I'm a little bit too whiny.

On a side note, I found some friends to stay with at MIR this year.  Definately looking forward to it!  Hoping to see a lot of you readers there.

I haven't forgotten about this blog, just bear with me through my insanely busy life.  :)

~Tynan

Fabulous Weekend

I got to spend an amazing Labor Day weekend in Milwaukee with some friends.  It was a great time.  I never really go on many of these random weekend getaways so it was a refreshing change of pace.  These are relatively new friends of mine and I'm glad we went and had so much fun.

So that's why I didn't update all weekend.  lol.  I really plan on posting an update or post about once or twice a week, so I guess taking a few days off isn't bad. 

Still no sign of the catsuit.  Should be here by the end of the week though.  Will post repair photos upon arrival.

~Tynan

The First Post

Well, here it is.  My vision coming to realization.  It is my hope that this web home will become a great resource to all kinksters out there in the Midwest.  Bear with me as I get all the pages populated and up and running.  Things are a bit bare bones at the moment, but we'll get there.  Of course, all suggestions can be e-mailed to TynanFox@gmail.com :)

In other news...

Something devastating happened to me yesterday.  My rubber catsuit ripped.

It sounds somewhat superficial just typed on a page, but it's something so much more important than just what those words convey.  It was very, very expensive, and somehow, I managed to scrape up the funds to buy that thing while I was still in college.  I've never been able to afford much gear (still can't), so every little piece I've earned holds a special place in my heart.  I've treasured it and cherished it ever since, to the point where it's become another appendage.  It's been two years now since I've bought it,  worn it, lubed it, taken pictures in it, and now it's broken. 

Let me put it another way.  If Picasso's most favorite paintbrushes were suddenly snapped in half, would he not have been heartbroken? How about Shakespear's favorite quill? 

The good news is that it's probably not broken forever.  I had to mail it back to San Fransisco, but the kind staff at Mr. S Leather told me over the phone that it sounds very repairable.  Best case scenario: it returns to me with two brand new sexy scars on it from sexy times.  Worst case:  It gets lost in the mail between here and there. 

Will keep you updated as the drama unfolds :)

~Tynan