The Fox Den

Make a Kinky Resolution

BLUF made a statement yesterday, and it's already been published on Leatherati's and Dan Savage's blogs. I think it's absolutely perfect. It's everything I've ever fought for as a kinkster through this blog. Read their whole statement here.

Their point is to get kinksters off their computers/smartphones, put their gear on, and get out to the leather bars in their communities. So many of our favorite, most cherished of places have been closing down in recent years. The Chicago Eagle, Detroit Eagle, and now the SF Eagle are the latest of the casualties. Please, consider making the 12x12 resolution. Visit your local leather bar 12 times in the 12 months of 2012. Without patrons, these bars will close. Let's stop this downward spiral. Let's remember that leather (or rubber or whatever your kink is) is something to be celebrated, embraced, and worn proudly; it's not just something you wear at home, alone, behind closed doors while you cruise Recon or Scruff.

In Minneapolis, we make the resolution pretty easy to meet. Gear/dresscode night is once a month, every month on the 2nd Saturday at The Minneapolis Eagle, and they're always a blast. But I would encourage the regulars at MPLS Gear Night to double down on this resolution. Keep going to gear night, but gear up, and go out at least one other time during the month that it's NOT a gear night. I try to wear leather or latex whenever I go to the Eagle, which is pretty frequently. If more guys bring back that energy to the bar, just imagine - maybe dresscode night wouldn't just be once a month? Maybe it would be every day?

If you live in one of the following cities, you still have an Eagle you can, and should, support:

• Denver
• Los Angeles
• San Diego
• Washington D.C.
• Atlanta
• Indianapolis
• Baltimore
• New Orleans
• Minneapolis
• New York
• Portland
• Providence
• Dallas
• Seattle
• Tulsa
• Toronto
• Calgary
• Vienna
• Stuttgart
• Madrid
• London
• Manchester

But the list doesn't stop there. There are many leather bars in the US and elsewhere that don't use the name "Eagle". I'm emphasizing these only because the name "Eagle" is an iconic name for a leather bar, and it's always heartbreaking to hear of another one closing (and also because my googleing skills aren't good enough to find every leather bar in the USA). Whatever the name of your leather bar in your city is, get out there and support them! These leather business owners deserve our support. It's not easy being an entrepreneur in this economy, and being a leather entrepreneur has its own set of drama to go with it. Without these brave individuals, there would be no leather bars in the first place. And personally, I think MY life has gotten better since I started going to the MPLS Eagle....

If you DON'T live in or near a city that has a leather or other similar alternative bar, don't be discouraged. Living in Rochester, MN, Kirksville, MO, Iowa City, IA, Marquette, MI, Springfield, MO, Jackson, MI, Appleton, WI, Buffalo, NY, and other smaller, remote places can be a real challenge for leather people. We don't always get to choose where we live, but no matter where you are, you're probably not alone. If you can safely, consider being the voice for the community in your hometown. Consider starting a leather group, organization, or even just speak to your local gay bar (or the most liberal of straight bars you can find) about having a leather night once a month. These events and clubs just don't come from nowhere. If you need help or advice on these smaller communities/areas, e-mail me. I can give you a little advice on those smaller communities.

If you can find the strength inside of you to lead a community in a small town, then you will have everything you will ever need to face the world.

Check out the Facebook Page for the 12x12 campaign here. Post their badge on your blog, your website, your tumblr or your twitter. Spread the word. We can stop the closing of our most sacred of places. We can revitalize this community, and remind ourselves that leather isn't just something you wear to get off. We were first a community, a brotherhood. We can still have that. And when we find it, we won't ever have to see another Eagle or other leather bar or shop shut down again.

Stand strong, kinksters!

What I want for Christmas

This post is way late in coming. I've been off the road now for about a month, sort of. I had my last NACA convention, NACA Mid-America, about a month ago. Ever since, I've been catching up on hours at work, sending follow up e-mails, and I made a five day trip to St. Louis to visit family for the holidays. So I was kind of excited for things to slow down just a tad by getting off the road for a month, but I guess it didn't really happen. It's really fine though, I like stayinig busy and chaotic.

It's hard to believe I'm done going to the NACA conventions for a while. What a ride it was. Mid-America was great in Cincinnati. Lots of schools, lots of connections, and lots of leads. The whole thing was great just because of the incredible enthusiasm all the students showed. Going to NACA overall helped me grow as a person to; I've been able to find my own voice as a speaker, a kinkster, and a blogger. But NACA Mid-America was extra special for one very cool reason. It led me to become introduced to the students at University of Missouri - St. Louis, and in the end, I have a booking with them!

If you're an UMSL student, be sure to come and see me on January 25th, 7pm, at the Pilot House in the Millenium Student Center. It'll be very exciting to get to perform at UMSL, being a St. Louis native. Check out the Facebook Event here.

A special shout out/thank you to Jmat for helping me out at NACA Mid-America, being my cheauffer, and letting me stay at his place in Cincinnati during the convention. Oh yeah, and for helping me avert disaster when I had a latexplosion.

So it's Thursday night, at NACA. We had set up our booth earlier in the day, I'd been wearing my Mr. S Rubber jeans most of the night. Had dinner with Bowling Green State U in my latex and then jetted off to the booth to put some finishing touches on it. Overhead, the Marketplace coordinator announces, "Attention Associates, the Marketplace will be opening in one minute." Thank you, one minute. I squatted down to grab a breathmint from a box that I had hidden under my table. I was squatting for a total of about 6 seconds when the back end of my pants SNAPPED and I felt air hit my bare ass crack!

I immediately stood up and turned my back to the aisle and backed up against the rear curtain/wall of my booth. Smiling, trying not to panic, I said to Jmat with a quiver in my voice, "Oooooh no! We have a problem! A big one!"

"What?" he says, stopping whatever he was doing. Then he sees me clutching my ass, and like a good producer, starts laughing at me and takes a picture before helping.

Next is the panic of what to do. What do we do what do we do what do we do! And then of course the announcer comes over the speakers, "Attention Associates, the marketplace is now OPEN!" Perfect timing. Random Associates applaud. I'm still smiling because it's hilarious that my ass is hanging out, but secretly envisioning being thrown out of NACA and banned forever for being indecent in the marketplace. Bear in mind, this was the only thing I wore/brought with me to the marketplace; I didn't really have any recourse!

Jmat, being the calm, cool, collected Producer that he is, came up with a solution. He took my grey bandanna, which I had been wearing on my left arm to flag, and stuffed it down the newly created crack in my jeans:

See the students walking by in the aisle? ARGH! This was the first marketplace of the weekend! There was no time to mourn the damage to the pants or express any anger. I had to keep that smile pasted on and try to pitch/sell myself to students as if nothing was wrong. That was a new challenge for me. I took a few pics with some random students who asked for them...all the time keeping my back to them.

Marketplace closes. It was pretty successful, and I don't think anyone noticed my ass hanging out. Thank god. Jmat drives me back to his place, where we promptly have a toast to the fallen rubber jeans.

*le sigh* Please keep in mind how tight those jeans fit on me (or rather, used to fit on me). As I stood there for over an hour, unable to change and no time to take them off, the tightness of the latex hugging my theighs made the rip worse, and worse, and worse. Here's a pic of how they look now, and I have to say, I think that they're beyond repair. The rip goes all the way from the beltloop down the ass just next to the seam and nearly completely splits through the seam in the crotch. I can't believe it almost broke through a double layered glued seam.

 

And there you have it. This could be the end of the Mr. S Rubber jeans. Kinda sucks, I only had them for a little over a year. Granted, they are/were one of my favorite pieces of latex and I wore them quite a bit in that year, but come on. I think they should have/could have lasted a little longer than just one year. 

Oh yeah, and I forgot the kicker of the story. That night we went out to The Serpent in Cincinnati, which is their leather/kink bar. While we were out there, my Mr. S shirt snapped! ARGH! Two pieces in one day!

It's just as well that it happened when it did; November to March is definitely the OFF season for latex in Minneapolis. Too damn cold. But it looks like I'm going to need a new pair of latex pants. Any suggestions on vendors? I love Mr. S, but after my catsuit exploding, these pants AND my shirt exploding, I'm probably a bit more hesitant to buy from them in the future. I support Mr. S and everything they do, and I love their bondage gear and their leathers a lot! But grrrrr. Three pieces gone now. 

So, suggestions on a new vendor? And don't say "EBay". I'm forever banned from using Paypal, hence EBay is pretty much not an option.

It's all I want for Christmas!

 

PS: It's Gear Night at the Minneapolis Eagle tonight! I'll be there for the first time in what seems like FOREVER. Get your gear on and see you there!

MIR Recap

OMG. It was fabulous.

I arrived on Thursday night and immediately met a flurry of activity. I stopped by the community center to speak to a friend of mine and saw the set up activities.  Those vendors and the Chicago rubbermen were working hard.

Friday was a fabulous kick off to the kink market. It was really very full! Lots of vendors around selling their rubber wear from around the world. I particularly enjoyed the display by Full Kit Gear of Boston, MA. Unfortunately they don't have a store website up yet, but I really enjoyed their color variations on blue, red, green...their latex was very unique! I'll definitely be keeping up with their website to see when they've posted a store.  RECON also debuted their new line of signature latex, which honestly, looked pretty hot! TLS and E7 were there as well showing their always fabulous wear.

One of my favorite parts of the kink market is the demo pit, including gear provided by KinkRubber. RubberKai was the demo pit coordinator this year, and he did a fabulous job of starting and maintaining scenes, encouraging people to try something new, and keep the energy levels high.  RubberKai is also a member of the Chicago Rubbermen, whom, by the way, I cannot say enough about! The members of that group pour a lot of their time and energy into producing an absolutely amazing event, and to dedicate the amount of time and energy they have deserves a gigantic rubber Thank You from all of us.

After wandering, shopping, meeting up with old friends, trying on a few pieces of gear, and having a beverage or two, I was off to the Greet the Meat cocktail party prior to the first half of the contest on Friday night.  It was a lot of fun to get to see some of the contestants that I competed with last year, like a little reunion.  After a few drinks, the contestants all drew their numbers to determine their order of competition on stage.

The Friday Night contest included the Rubber Image portion (also known as the runway walk) and the return of everyone's favorite, the Wet Rubber contest! I'm so glad they brought back wet rubber. I didn't get to do it as I competed last year, but it was so fun to see all those hot boys on stage, having their rubber fantasies read while they posed and looked delicious under a shower in the community center.

And speaking of contestants, I have to say, this year's pool was really great! Some very hot, well accomplished guys.  8 of them, all of them were titleholders.  There would have been 9 contestants, however, Roger mentioned to me that Mr. Rubber Netherlands couldn't get a visa to get out of the country, despite having a passport. Sounds like a major paperwork fail. :(

For more details about the contest or the individual performances, you should look at my live blogging on Leatherati Live.

After the contest this year, there was a "Strict Rubber Dresscode" party, aka play party, at a private 3,000 sq. ft. dungeon in an undisclosed location. THAT was definitely a blast. Lots to do, lots of people to meet and do. I really hope they do this again next year, because it was totally epic and something that I think a lot of guys missed.

After I stumbled out of bed on Saturday morning, I went up to the kink market to do a demo with PupSkoll. I mummified him for the crowd, and let Kai drag him all around the vendor market on a tour. :) Shortly after this got done with, there was the annual puppy rumpus, which is always a blast to watch. I think there were about 9 or 10 pups in the pit, with several different handlers around taking good care of their dogs.

I couldn't stay and watch that long because I participated in a panel discussion at 3pm with PupNitro of Atlanta and RubberCannuck of Vancouver, on the topic of "Building Communities".  Both of these other two panelists have a great amount of experience with bringing new and curious members in and making them feel welcome, and even though it was only scheduled thorugh 4pm, we continued to speak amongst ourselves as well as the attendees until around 4:45.  We had too many good ideas flowing, it was great to have that kind of energy!

I grabbed a quick bite and got a rubber massage by the masseur in the vendor market, and then I was off to the Leather Cocktails/Black Carpet affair before the contest on Saturday night.  Cocktails was uneventful, but still very relaxing. :)  The contest on Saturday was fantastic.  The contestants and Roger performed a parody of Lady Gaga's "Alejandro".  Anything I might write about it won't be doing it justice, so I'm just going to pass and allow you all to wait until the video comes out in the coming weeks.  It. Was. Epic.  

I live blogged the contest on Saturday night which went swimmingly. The two portions this night were the onstage question which all contestants had to answer, and they all did a spectacular job. The next portion included the "Mystery Bag".  Each contestant had to make up a kink scene on the spot, using everyday objects from a bag they had to choose at random. Can I just take a moment to say that I love the contest? It's so entertaining. I blogged my rubber fingers off so if you want more specific details, check out Leatherati Live.

I love our winner.  Si Hands is a great rubberman from the UK, our first ever winner from the UK.  He even came to my panel discussion earlier about building communities.  His passion for this rubber life shows through and through. And he's really hot too!

Afterward, I went to Jackhammer/the Hole for the RECON party. I really can't say enough about the staff/bouncers at Jackhammer. They were kicking out people in cotton to make more room for the rubberboys waiting once the line started to get long. The party was crowded, well attended, and there, my details will cease. A fox doesn't kiss and tell. ;)

Sunday, I again rolled out of bed and made my way back to the vendor market. I made it just in time for the Lube Wrestling contest and got to say some goodbyes to some dear friends. It's always so sad to say goodbye; the weekend goes by way too fast. Some of these rubber family I only see once a year and having to say goodbye to them makes me kinda sad, but we'll all be here to do it again next year.

And on that note, congratulations to MIR for being in their 15th anniversary! In the intermission of the contest on Friday night, they served complimentary champagne to toast this milestone birthday. Here's my toast: "Here's to 15 years of rubber contests, and here's to another 15 years, so I can STILL be coming here before I turn 45!"

The vendor market closed, I cried a little, and then I was off to SIdetrack for slushies, rubber showtunes, friends, goodbyes, gay music, and fun.  *le sigh* I always wish they would play a bit younger music there. I don't care if it makes me a bad gay, but I don't know most of the songs that they play. :(

I had a beautiful end to a beautiful weekend at a play party in the apartment with one of my good friends. I met him when he was 19 and he went to one of my workshops at MBLGTACC.  Just a few years later, he's been to IML, MIR, and hosting play parties. I couldn't be prouder.

To everyone who came and made the weekend a fantastic time, thank you. It just shows how many of us there are from all corners of the world! To everyone who couldn't make it, stand strong kinksters! Hope my recap was enough to convince you that attending would be a good idea for next year. :)  MIR was my first big event I ever went to 4 years ago, and I go back every year now. I'm so happy to be a part of a rubber family. 

With that, it was over, and I'm already missing it.  Is it November 2012 yet?

#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 !

 

NACA - The Journey so Far

Yeah, I'd say I was right in my previous post.  My life HAS changed forever.  

I thought I would just meet maybe one or two schools at each conference and see if I could get a little bit of interest, and talk to some people here or there...I wasn't really expecting anything major, and if anything, I was expecting to be somewhat outcast and not so wholly embraced.  Boy was I wrong.

Everyone, NACA, the schools, their advisers, the hotel, and everyone in between was truly and honestly interested.  People were friendly, I never heard one negative comment, and I got a ton of really great leads and contact information.

In the last week, I:

Was up by 8 and not in bed until after 1,
Wore latex for 16 hours per day for 6 days,
Met students or staff at over 40 schools,
Handed out 150 biographies and 200 business cards,
Shook about 170 hands,
Maintained my sanity, somehow.

Despite all the good things, I did watch a few unfortunate circumstances. A couple campus delegates had some arguments over whether or not bringing a kink-positive speaker to their campus was a good idea.  All I can say is, stand strong kinksters!  It may not be today or tomorrow or next month or next year, but one day at a time, we can change the world.  Your campus too will be able to accept who you are one day.

That hasn't gotten me down though. The leads I've gotten and the positive feedback has been so strong that despite my physical exhaustion, I'm pumped to move on to Tulsa for Central, and to Covington for Mid-America!  Even other vendors who'd been going to NACA for 30 years came up to me and mentioned how nice it was that I was bringing something truly different to the marketplace, and some even just told me "Thank you" for everything I was doing.  It was incredible.

So if I've learned anything from this experience so far, it's that there IS a market for this. People are curious, but scared. But on some level, my faith has been reaffirmed that people have an innate sense of integrity, which they can use to read your genuines. I went to NACA for the right reasons. It shined through, people listened to me, and slowly, I remembered that for others to believe what I'm saying, I must first believe in myself.

I work one shift at the hospital tonight (Tuesday) and then turn around and fly off to Tulsa on Thursday morning, early.  Here we go again.... 

NACA - The trip so far

NACA has been turning out to be a blast!  I'll admit, I was kinda nervous that they were going to boot me out after I set up my booth, for being too "controversial".  But I've been well recieved by both NACA and the schools!  So many people have come up to say hello, and I've gotten quite a few leads on potential gigs at schools all over the northeast.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

And now for a couple pictures of the shenanigans.

I got to spend yesterday relaxing at Myrtle Beach, as it was a day of no events.  But I'm putting the finishing touches on my booth now, and I can't wait to meet some more schools tonight at NACA South!

I also want to say a special thanks to my Producer, J-Mat.  Thanks for all of the errand running, note taking, encouragement, and getting me where I need to be on time and looking fabulous!

PupSkoll

....is amazing.

I know I'm currently on the road at NACA, but I just found this time to look at these pictures in my e-mail. Skoll's been working on rubbercraft, and a few weeks ago I let him take my measurements.  My weekend was busy as usual, so the first and only time we could find a place to meet up was at the MPLS Eagle, at Gear Night this past Saturday.

As you can see, I'm pretty pleased with the results.  Isn't his rubbercraft amazing?  And I love the color!  Thank you PupSkoll!

The rest of the Gear Night patrons enjoyed it as well.... 

Kink Pride

It isn't just about being proud once per year.

There was a time when it took a lot of courage to go out and march down the street yelling, "We're here, we're queer, get used to it!"  I'm sure in some parts of the country like the deep south, and possibly even in some remote areas of the Midwest, it's still tough to do that and feel safe.  I remember walking with the "parade" at a Pridefest in my college town one summer, Kirksville MO.  Kirksville only has a population of around 16,000.  The Pridefest was really only a handful of people, probably around 15 or 20.  The picnic we had started on the downtown square, where everyone had assembled.  It was a Sunday so the downtown area was completely deserted.  No one even noticed as we walked a lap around the square, but I think that's how everyone wanted it.  Kirksville was the kind of city where people have guns in their homes to keep others off their property.  They MIGHT be okay with gay people, but none of us were willing to find out firsthand.

In larger cities, the story is different.  You can march down the street and feel completely safe, and completely accepted.  JoeMyGod wrote an incredibly well worded blog about how the point of Pride is celebration.  Pride isn't to show off to other people anymore and make our presence known; our presence is already known.  Pride is a time for us.  It's a time to celebrate.

We still have walls to break down in our communities though.  Particularly, the leather/rubber/kink/fetish communities still have a reason to have a Pride parade.  We live in a world where it's still not okay to be "out" and kinky.  Most people don't feel comfortable with their friends, family, and co-workers knowing that someone likes to squeeze into some rubber or leather and get tied up or have casual sex on the weekends.  It's just too much of a taboo subject and most "family" oriented people can't handle it.  Even within our OWN gay community, people who are into kinks are often looked down on.

For kinky boys, being proud is still an act of revolution. Some say that they don't like going to Dore Alley or to the Folsom Street Fair because they feel like they become a circus attraction.  People want to say hi, take pictures, etc. etc, and it would seem that a lot of kinky people don't wholly embrace this and keeps them from attending these events.  Why?  Personally, I wear leather and latex when I go out in Minneapolis rather frequently.  Sometimes people say something to me; most of the time they don't.  Every time someone has mentioned anything, they absolutely love it and have questions. I never mind answering questions for the curious!  I'm proud that I'm being asked, and I'm proud of them for working up the courage to do so!

Just last night I was at The Saloon.  It's one of my favorite bars in the Twin Cities.  It's not really a kink bar, but rather just a regular gay boy/twink bar.  There's a HUGE dancefloor, and if you ever want to go dancing in Minneapolis, this is definitely the place to go.  The DJs are awesome.  I was wearing a set of full dress leathers (boots, skintight leather pants, shirt, tie, Sam Browne, arm band) when I walked in the door with my other friends.  I love going to the vanilla bars in gear.  Those who were courageous enough to speak to me had nothing but good things to say about everything I was wearing.  

And then came my favorite part.  I love Gear Nights at the Eagle, but there's something inherent about leathermen and rubbermen; we don't dance.  At least, not at the Eagle we don't.  I hopped up on stage in my full leathers and danced my heart out to all my favorite songs.  Eventually I took off the shirt and gave my tie to WillCo68 to wear around his neck.  Sweat was covering every inch of my body and those skintight leather jeans felt amazing. So did the bodies I was grinding against.  I felt whole there on stage, lost in the music of my life.  I'm proud to be myself, a leatherboy, on that stage dancing my heart out and singing Katy Perry and Rihanna songs at the top of my lungs (off key though I'm sure).  

And that's what Kink Pride is all about to me.  In the words of Ke$ha, "We are who we are."

Pridefest is this coming weekend in the Twin Cities!  General info is here.

Check out the MN Leather Pride events this week.  Info is here.  I'll definitely be around in Loring Park on Saturday and Sunday, most likely in some kind of latex or leather.  Also, if you're around, consider putting something kinky on and walking in the Gay Pride Parade on Sunday morning with the LeatherPride flag.  I did it last year, and it was an amazing experience I'll never forget!  We'll be lining up to walk at 10am at the corner of 3rd and Hennepin.  ANYONE is welcome to join us, you don't have to be a member of the groups.

Let's dance!!

Closets and Gardens

While I was unpacking from IML and cleaning up some gear, something happened which I didn't think was likely to occur for a number of years.  My closet filled up.

Seriously.  I have a small closet in my attic where I keep all my leather, rubber, and spandex pants, shirts, etc.  Not only did I run out of hangers, but I filled up the closet as I finished washing each piece of latex, polishing each piece of leather, and organizing each of them.  I can't believe it.  Being a poor midwesterner, I thought it would be many more years before I had a closet that was full since I have so many bills to pay.  Granted, it's a rather small closet, but I can't help but be thankful for everything I have.

There's one piece missing though.

I bought my latex catsuit when I was 21 years old.  I gave some careful thought to what I would do with my income tax refund that year; after making sure I didn't have any car repairs or debts to other people to pay off, I decided to buy some gear.  I had wanted something made of rubber for a while, and with great trepidation, I searched far and wide for the one piece that just felt right to me.  The Mr. S full body five-zip catsuit.  I didn't send them my measurements or anything; I just got lucky by ordering a "small".  It fit like a glove.

Over the next five years, I got a good amount of *ahem* mileage from that amazing piece of molded pseudoliquid sex.  Everytime I would slide it onto my body, something would happen with me.  It wouldn't matter what was going on at school or how many hours I had worked that week or what kind of fight I had just gotten into with my parents.  Every last bit of that would melt away into the rubber.  I was a fox.  I was Tynan.  I was me.

My first MIR came around; I got a chance to wear it in public.  And met some great new friends in the process.  I realized what it was like to wear the catsuit for 8 hours; and by the end of it, it feels like a second skin.  I wore it to the Eagle on my very first visit there a couple years ago.  I didn't know what else to wear to the Eagle.  Since it fit so tight and was just not something I'd wear out on the street (yet), I wore regular street clothes over it.  Even so, it was such a novelty.  I met a few people and made some small talk, and I realized how little the latex fetish was known to the old-guard leathermen.

MIR number two comes and goes.  That latex catsuit is what I wore to my very first gear night at the Eagle in January of 2010.  It was the outfit of choice for trying to convince other guys to come out to the bar and be a part of a community.  It worked; everyone who was there had to feel the smoothness of the latex at least one time, and I made a lot of good, new friends.  The next month, I wasn't the only rubberboy there.  A few months later, at the behest of my friends, I wore that catsuit onstage as I competed at MIR.  It turned out to be one of my favorite outfits to wear because not only did it look good, but because it tells a story of me through its scars and blemishes.

My catsuit isn't just a sexy piece of rubber that I put on to get off.  My catsuit is the very first piece of wearable gear that I've ever owned, and the piece of latex that gave me the strength and determination to drive myself forward, uninhibited into my own kinky desires.  My catsuit was the first piece of gear to make me feel whole and complete.  It was the first garment to hang in a closet now completely full of gear in a life that's now completely full of joy, vibrance, friends, and course, kinky sex.

At IML a couple weekends ago, International Mr. Leather Founder (yes, Founder!) and Executive Producer Chuck Renslow gave a very heartfelt speech at the contest on Sunday night, which included an amazing shout-out to me.  He had to shorten it due to time constraints, but in the whole thing was published afterward (click here to read it). I am ever humbled and grateful to receive such a compliment from such a great man.  I still can't believe he even knows who I am.  After the contest, I went back to my hotel, and slipped into the old girl for (what would become) her last time to play with an old friend of mine.

I've had my catsuit repaired three times already, but I liked the scars on it. They added character.  But alas, my catsuit exploded after my friend and I played, later that night at the bar. It may seem silly, but this is the ode to my catsuit.  Thank you, old girl, for being there for all those years and planting the kinky seed in my life.  You've served me well in many precarious situations and in many different *ahem* positions.  You gave me the calm and solace I needed to persevere; with your help, I found the strength to fill the closet in my dungeon as well as the void in my life. I could always slide in to you and melt away from it all, lost in the kinky life you gave me.

I'll never forget you.

Marc Jacobs is into Rubber

I'll admit, I don't know shit about fashion.  I'm 26 years old, I've been out of college for 3 years and I'm STILL dressing like a broke ass 21 year old who wears jeans and t-shirts EVERYWHERE.  And the gays know it too.  When it comes to professional fashion, I'm even worse.  I don't know the names of any of the big designers, I don't know crap about fashion history, etc. etc. etc.  Oh, and to top it all off, I never ever guess right as to which ones the judges will like or hate on Project Runway.

Although I do think I have generally a good eye for kinky fashion...but anyway....

From what I understand, this guy named Marc Jacobs is kind of important.  He's openly gay, he's amazingly sexy, he's currently the creative director of Louis Vuitton, and he's already a fashion icon in many ways, it would seem.

And he's into rubber.

Even if you hate fashion, please suffer through this 2.5 minute YouTube clip, and pay special attention to what he's wearing and what he's saying about a minute in.

Did we know this already? I mean, am I just so out of touch with fashion that I'm just catching up? Or did he just step half way out the door as a rubberman?

"Military, sports gear, rules, dresscodes..." - My my my, this all sounds so familiar....

This is not kinkphobia. *grin*

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

MIR - I get it now

I'm still at MIR.  I'm still sobering up from last night.  Sounds like the perfect time to write.  :)  

The competition was a very, very long, arduous process.  There was a lot of "hurry up and wait", and all told, I only really had two hours of free time on Saturday from Noon until midnight.  Anyone who goes for a sash needs to be ready for that kind of time commitment.

Since the title of this post isn't "thank you", you can infer reasonably, and correctly, that I lost.  I know I had told a lot of the guys in Minneapolis that my goal was to at least make the top three, but sadly, I didn't make it there.  I won't lie, I AM a little disappointed after all the work I did.  BUT, after meeting and getting to know my competitors over two days, I can say honestly that every one of us was potentially deserving of the title.  Competition was steep!  The winner, G-Man, was Mr. Southeast Rubber (he's from Atlanta).  After hanging out with him for the whole weekend, I can say truly that the judges made the right decision here; this man has all of the qualities that embody Mr. International Rubber.

Before I say anything more, I have to give a special shout-out to my rubber Martha Stewart, Puck8954.  My catsuit was starting to rip apart in the back (again) as I was getting ready backstage for the events last night.  I called him up, told him the details, and he showed up and put an emergency patch on it 10 minutes before showtime!  That boy is amazing.

"The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.”  - Don Williams, Jr. 

I've learned more now than I ever thought I would through this process.  I always said I thought competitions were cheap, bullshit excuses for kinky guys to convene, but I get it now.  I'm not going to say this to be egotistical at all.

Entering and going to this competition did so much more for Minneapolis and Minnesota's kinky communities than I ever thought it would.  The fact that so many of my friends rallied around me and helped to encourage one person to go for a very intimidating goal ignited a spirit of brotherhood among us that we had never felt before.  And yes, I'm talking to you, BlackLeatherChazz, GearKidMN, JDLeathermanMN, LeatherDehners, TrainerAndBoy, RedLeafStars, RedDragonfly, MNHockey, MPLSGuy, RubberDudeMPLS, NixJohn, PecAssO, Willco68, and Bicycler. And any other boy I may have missed.  Your support and encouragement for me has been more humbling than I can express in words, and in this process of working together with me, I think we've become stronger than we ever have together.

My most humble of thanks through this process have to go out to one very special pup.  He's been a continuous source of inspiration, motivation, determination, support, and friendship.  PupTrigger, words can't express how much you've meant to me in working on this the past few months; thank you for not only giving me the courage to go for the gold, but making me feel like I could actually grab it.  

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter that I lost.  I have tears in my eyes as I'm typing this, because I mean it so fervently.  The past year of brotherhood we've shared, culminating in the past few months with my sash-run have been an incredible time for us.  It doesn't matter that it was me running - I think it would have been the case if any of us had gone for it.  Maybe this is the true meaning of the competition?  To give us all a common goal and something or someone to rally around as brothers?

Boys, even though I lost last night, we won.

~Tynan

It Gets Better

Okay, so I'll admit it.  I know why I've been so quiet/haven't posted recently.

I've been beside myself in the past few weeks, watching video after video get uploaded to YouTube for the It Gets Better Project.  Some of you read in a blog posting from many months ago where I opened up a little more about my past.  Yes, I attempted suicide when I was a teenager.  It seemed like the only solution at the time.  I was hopeless.  I could very easily have been one of the teenagers that all these videos are being made for today.

My mother gave me a lot of bad habits in life.  One of them is the ability to suppress and ignore things that you're really not happy about.  And I did.  For years I've forgotten about it, I moved on, and I grew up.  In a lot of ways, I thought I was healed and had successfully moved on.  But watching a couple of these videos made me very emotional.  Maybe all I had on there was a band-aid.

These videos have made me think about a lot of things in my life.  Obviously, I'm happy I didn't succeed at my attempt.  Things are amazing now, because it DOES get better.  So what's the emotion coming from here?

Probably just that I would have given my left arm to have these videos and this support available to me when I was in high school.

It seems childish to obsess over all this, now ten years later in my life.  But still, reliving, growing, and enduring is important.  Even though those videos aren't meant for me, per se, I feel so much better having watched so many of them.  Time to close that chapter of my book, and move on.

Now, it's my turn.

 

~Tynan

Finished

P90X was over on Saturday.  Here's my results.

Needless to say, I'm pleased with the results.  :)  The new banner I put up was actually taken a couple weeks ago in the basement of Cockpit Minneapolis by an excellent friend of mine, MPLSGuy.  Now that I'm in a routine of working out so much, I think I'm going to keep it up.  I'm starting another round of 90 days with the routine, we'll see what happens to me in the end.  I find that working out so much, however, takes a lot of time away from writing.  Something that I'm really not too happy about.

I'm getting nervous at MIR.  Excited nervous, not nervous nervous.  I have an enormous amount of gratitude for all the encouragement my friends have provided me in the past few weeks/months.  I'll be carrying your strength with me to the stage.  

MIR aside, I'm helping a couple friends with an event at the Eagle for Gear Night on November 13th.  Leather Eye for the Preppy Guy.  We're going to strip the "prep" off a few hot guys from MPLS right on stage, and the audience decides who wins.  Event is from 10pm-11pm, with the standard Beer Bust, dancing, and screwing around afterward.  Dresscode is relaxed this night.  I'll be rubberizing at least one of the contestants - and I'm really looking forward to it.  Should prove to be a great night, and thanks so much to all of our sponsors!

~Tynan

Own It

It's awful. Some people consider it bullying.  When it happens in schools and to children, it's simply unacceptable.  When it happens to local gay businesses, it's equally unacceptable.  

On Sunday night, someone painted the word "FAG" on the window of the storefront of Cockpit Minneapolis.  

Read the whole story, and see the picture from TheColu.mn here.  Is this bullying?  Sort of.  I say sort of because I don't feel that Scott or any of the other patrons there really feel very bullied.  Is it bashing?  Absolutely.  It's hateful, shameful, and unfortunate.

So what do you do when grown ups get bashed?  Well, there are two options.  First, you can pick a fight, cry bloody murder, go to the police, feel sad, feel hurt, hate yourself, get scared, get worried, fear for your safety, go to the press, launch a campaign, fight the hate, have a candlelight vigil, and crucify the person who did it.

Or, you can OWN IT.

Cockpit has been working hard to get a line of latex on the shelves, and I can't wait until it arrives and they start selling.  Please take advantage of the wonderful sale they're offering - come out and get your picture taken with the "FAG" word and get 15% off your purchase!  See more details about the photos on their Facebook Page.

Four weeks to MIR.  Getting nervous, but still oh so excited.  

~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

Aire of Confidence

A friend of mine attended the last Gear Night at the Eagle.  He's totally vanilla, at least, for now, but probably kinky underneath.  At minimum, he's really curious about all this kinky stuff that PupTrigger and I keep talking about.  He wore the bare minimum required to get in the door (which is jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and boots).  In the end, I asked him what he thought, and he said it was amazing.  Put it another way, 

"Never before have I been around so many gay men and once and felt such an incredible aire of confidence."

I've always thought there was something special to us.  Despite all of our insecurities, there's still, in one big group of us, an aire of confidence which is unsurpassed by any other group of gay men.  And this boy's been to PLENTY of large groups of gay men, so it wasn't just that either.  But I think anyone who reads this blog who's been to one of the larger events (IML, MIR, MAL, etc.) can attest to this.

It's something about the leather, the rubber that does it to us.  I've always felt about 100 times more confident at the Saloon (a vanilla gay boy bar) if I'm wearing my chaps and a leather shirt than if I were trying to be Abercrombie and fit in.  The second the gear is pulled on, all the insecurities fly out the window.  I've got a secret.  I've got something special to me.  You think you're hot shit?  I could do things to you, vanilla boy, that would make your fucking HEAD SPIN.

And when you put us all in a hot, sweaty, underground of a bar together?  Curious, inexperienced boys are amazed, and they smell something big on the horizon.  They can feel that this is going to be huge for them, and they're dying to be a part of that confidence.

And when I see curious, inexperienced boys in the bar, I smell a paradigm shifting.

~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

Road to MIR

I've decided to go for it.  

Too many of my friends have told me they thought it would be a good idea.  In fact, MNHot1 told me that he would bite me if I didn't do it.  Looks like I'm locked in, so to speak.  

I'm excited.  I haven't had a really big project like this to obsess over for a while, so the big guns are being pulled out(I can get somewhat neurotic about these things; I don't like to do a half assed job). Planning will be everything.  The research phase has already begun, the workout and diet routines have already been decided upon.  Yes, I'm going through the nursing process for this.  The Assessment and Diagnosis phases have already been executed, the Planning phase is currently being carried out, and the Intervention phase will begin next week.

I'm going to try to speak with someone at the Eagle about sponsorship.  I don't know quite how that would work, but hey, it's worth a shot, right?

Anyone out there who can assist with rubber fashion (will need to get new outfits), presentation ideas, interview tips, etc. is very welcome to provide them.

Not that I'm disappointed at all with the rubber scene in MPLS.  As you can see, rubber makes quite an appearance at Gear Night...

 

~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?  

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

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

Gear Night!

Gear night is this Saturday, April 10th at The Minneapolis Eagle. Wear your leather, your rubber, your spandex, your sports gear and come out for drinks and a good time! I'll be in the underground sometime around 10pm.

The last few months have had an awesome turn out, and I've been inviting lots of guys and getting really good feedback - I think there will be a really good crowd this month! Since my friend Charlie never made it to the bar last week during his birthday shenanigans, I'll be wearing full leathers again this time so he can actually SEE them.

Please join us for a kinky, horny, hot time! Remember, dresscode is enforced! See you Saturday! If it's your first time or you've never been before, don't be afraid to step up and say hi to me. I don't bite! I promise!

~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

Gear Night

Was yet another success!  Thank you very much to all the people who came out.  There was an even greater turn out this time, I think the word has definitely gotten around.  There was a lot more sports gear this time - to include football and hockey players.  *drool*  Personally, I stuck with rubber.  Wore the catsuit and then layered my rubber Robin outfit over it.  It looked very 1995 (Chris O'Donnell) style of Robin.  I think it worked well - people said they liked it.  

The Best Daddy and Best Boy contest was kinda fun.  I did indeed drink enough beer to enter, and I lost to a hockey player.  I didn't cry though - I would have voted for him too.  

Special thanks to my friends GearKidMN and MNHot1 for helping to make it an awesome time, before, during, and after the Eagle.  

Still, there were others who wanted to show who didn't.  There's always a next month.  March is my friend Chazz's birthday, so I'll be wearing leather per his request, to try to make the day extra special ;)

And I'm already stoked about it!

~Tynan

Gear Night at the Minneapolis Eagle!

Saturday, Feb 13th, 2010

In response to last months great turn out and everyone's enthusiasm, this month at The Minneapolis Eagle is another gear night!  Last month all the guys that came had a great time and will be returning, and based on the invitations and guest list I've been collecting, this month's should be bigger and better yet! 

The Dress-code is ENFORCED to access "The Underground", so wear your leather, rubber, spandex, sports gear(hockey, football, etc), boots, or anything else kinky you can come up with.  This is REQUIRED for entry downstairs!  And wearing something kinky might just result in gropage, molestation, or other promiscuous activities.  Trading and trying on each other's gear is also highly encouraged.

The Eagle has been promoting two specials for the night as well:  $9 Beer Bust from 9pm-Close in the underground only, and also some kind of Best Daddy and Best Boy contest.  Don't really know what the latter entails, but if I drink enough, I'll enter ANY contest.  :)  Both of these things are only happening in the Underground so be sure you dress appropriately to get in! 

I'll be arriving likely somewhere between 9 and 10pm.  Planning on wearing something rubber, might even break out my rubber Robin outfit for you superhero fans.  If/when any of you see me there, feel free to say "hi", I promise, I don't bite!  (At least not publicly....)

~Tynan

Last night at the Eagle

OMG.  It. Rocked.

An enormous THANK YOU to all the guys who decided to gear up and brave the cold and snow to come out to the Eagle and party in style!  Even the bartender mentioned, "This is the biggest turn out we've had in quite a while!"

After I started inviting people on Recon and Gearfetish , I think the word got out.  I had other people messaging me who I did NOT necessarily send a message to asking me about the details about when people were getting there and what people were wearing.  Which is awesome!  There's so many profiles for guys who live up there and all over MN that I couldn't possibly send messages to everyone, I'm glad the word got around and people were interested.  

There were guys in leather, racing leathers, rubber, some spandex, and even (drools a bit) a hockey player.  It was an incredible time for everyone just to be able to talk and have drinks and relax in our gear.  The sentiment I kept hearing over and over again was, "It's awesome to finally get to meet all these people in person!"

And isn't it true?  In our information age and with it being so easy to chat with people via the internet, we've forgotten how nice it is to be able to have a conversation with someone face-to-face.  Seeing pictures of gear on the internet and seeing it in person are two completely different things.  And of course, the ability to feel each other up and try on one another's gear and discuss where the best places are to look and buy...

There were so many guys I invited who couldn't make it due to other commitments, but most said they were interested in another gear night.  Thankfully, the other sentiment I kept hearing over and over again was, "We have to do this again next month."  And I couldn't agree more!

~Tynan