Winners, Mr. International Rubber 2011

Roger from the Netherlands was named first runner up. Johnny Switch, a Chicago native, was named second runner up. All told, nine men representing France, Germany, Italy and regions of the United States and Canada competed for the title.

The two-night Mr. International Rubber (MIR) competition takes place among a weekend of events that bring hundreds of rubber fetish enthusiasts together for fun and revelry in the windy city. Now in its second year at the Center on Halsted, Chicago’s LGBT community center in the Lakeview “Boystown” neighborhood, the contest and the associated vendor market events attracted close to 1,000 attendees.

“MIR shows you how great it is to come together and share an interest that, otherwise, can often make you feel like a little bit of an outsider,” G-Man said. “In my time as Mister International Rubber, I want to focus on helping communities develop their own local events, both here and internationally.”

The contestants not only competed for the title of Mr. International Rubber 2011, but also for a prize package worth over $10,000, which was donated by companies in support of the event. While the top three finishers walked away with the majority of the prize package, each of the competing contestants received a portion as well.

Contestants were not the only ones to walk away with prizes. One lucky individual who purchased his weekend tickets in early registration received a custom latex cat suit valued at $1,000 from Rubbellion.

Additionally, over the two nights of the contest, audience members were invited to participate in four brief “game show” segments where they could win prizes donated by weekend sponsors: RECON, Mr. S Leather and Miller Lite.

“I think the most striking thing about MIR is just the element of fun,” said International Mister Leather, Tyler McCormick, who was in attendance. “There’s a sense of humor and friendliness in pretty much everything that goes on here.” Indeed, fun is a key component of the Mr. International Rubber weekend.

This year’s events marked the second year of new ownership and the 14th annual competition for the title of Mr. International Rubber. Planning is already underway for the 15th anniversary edition of the event to be held November 4-6, 2011.

To arrange for an interview with Mr. International Rubber 2011, press quality photos, or to inquire about an appearance at your upcoming fetish event anywhere in the world, please visit the MIR website http://www.mirubber.com for further details.

Post content courtesy © MIR Contest, LLC. Image courtesy Rubberzone.com(TM)

Syren/Stockroom Gear Fetish Fashion Show

Kicking things off was the new VIP Meat and Greet and Gear Show. The event took over the industrial space next to Syren/Stockroom, who were Platinum sponsors for the rubber weekend. The weekend VIPs nibbled on noshies, enjoyed an open bar and perused kinky artwork from Antebellum Gallery and graphic artist Axel.

The centerpiece of the evening was the Gear Show, presented by Syren/Stockroom. Over 10 sexy models were engaged to present the gear. The theme for round 1 was all about play and included wrestlers, bunnies, straightjackets and pony with handler.

Round 2 dove deep in to uniforms with all of the models clad in various types of rubber uniforms. They stormed the stage and event space with a trooper mentality and moments later surrounded a mysterious neoprene-encased object that they hoisted to the main stage. When the reveal came, the new Mr West Coast Rubber for 2010 performed his own titleholder chrysalis and emerged to the cheering throng.

Mr WCR 2010 is RJ Dalgleish from Vancouver BC who will represent WCR throughout his year and will go on to compete at Mr International Rubber in Chicago in November 2010. First runner up was Chris McFaul, Eagle LA Mr Rubber 2009.

The gear fun continued the next day with a Slime Pit at the Eagle LA. A slime pit, for the uninitiated, is a giant rubber tarp laid over foam pads. Apply a judicial amount of Gun Oil silicone lube plus some water and you have instant slipperiness perfect for some sexy wrestling. One warning though….it will wear your butt out!

After a clean up and some dinner it was time to head off to the Gear Up dungeon party sponsored by M-S-Leathers and Square Peg Dildos. The event, held in a private dungeon space, is the kinky play heart of the weekend. The main room of the dungeon is converted to a dark and sexy bar space with videos and demos featuring Mr-S-Leather and Square Peg products. Hot! The back area was all about dark room action and the boyz kept the place rocking all night.

Sunday was spent chilling under a hot sun at the Rubber Perv Pool Party at a private estate high in the hills overlooking LA. Things got pretty frisky and everyone left happy and full of BBQ burgers and dogs…or some kind of dogs anyway. Later that night the crew met up for the Full Rubber dinner at Casita del Campo restaurant in Silver Lake.

Monday was wrap up day with a nice low key beer bust at the Bullet Bar in North Hollywood and a few goodbyes to the unlucky ones who had to travel for work on Monday.

2010 was another successful West Coast Rubber! Next up is the Winter Warm Up in February 2011 in Palm Springs. Keep checking www.westcoastrubber.com for updates to the event schedule plus some exciting changes to the WCR event format in 2011!

(excerpts of this entry attributed to L8xdad, co-owner of West Coast Rubber as written on www.leatherati.com site)

Friday afternoon was initial registration at Pumpjack Pub. Earlier in the week volunteers had worked hard to hang lubed-up balloons and inner tubes from the ceiling, drop the banners on the walls and prep the backroom for the Friday night party. The volunteers donned their Invincible shirts and Rubbout briefs for lots of photos and to accept arrivals for the weekend to pick up their packages and have a couple of pints.

After a brief break for food(!) we all ended up at Numbers for the Vancouver Men in Leather Rubbout Social. It was one of the best-attended VML parties on record and everyone had a good time. There were a couple of vac-rack demos, rubbershine boys, and a Best Rubber contest. Afterwards everyone headed back to Pumpjack for a Blackout Party and Brendan’s Fireplay Demo which was enjoyed by all!

Saturday morning came early and we headed back to Pumpjack for the Rubbout Gear Swap and Demos. The amount of gear that showed up was overwhelming and approximately $8000 in gear exchanged kinky hands, raising proceeds to cover expenses for the Rubbout committee. Both Inrubber.com and Wares and Wears had new gear and clothing to sell, and the turnout of buyers was impressive. The vac-cube and straightjacket demos were a highlight of the event.

The focus of the evening was the Private Mens Condo Party at Mitch’s. A sexy doorman greeted us as we arrived at the complex, there was a photo studio set up on the first floor for rubbermen to get pictures taken with Fenn, Mr. International Rubber 2010 and Brendan, International Mr. Leather 2009 runner-up. The second floor had a bar and social area and the rooftop patio had a bar and enclosed area complete with stockade and disco ball! I heard that there were some interesting shaving scenes done up there while I was working the bar on the main floor….

Afterwards most of the group headed to M2M for the Rubbout sex party although some attendees went to the Thickset Bear Dance at ANZA Club which I was also told was a great time. The sex party was exactly that…a sexy party! Everyone enjoyed the goings-on in the slime pit – dildo wrestling and such…and the Rubbout hospitality room was a very popular spot for most of the guys over the course of the evening.

Sunday morning we all reassembled at Pumpjack for the Rubbout Brunch and prize giveaways. After a good meal and shower of prizes from the raffle ticket sales (up 60% from last year), some of us headed back to Mitch’s to help with the tear down from the previous evenings event and then headed back to Pumpjack for the weekly Sunday Beer Bust.

It was deemed by all a great time and one of the best Rubbout parties in the event’s history. I am so glad to have been a part of it, and we’re all already thinking forward to next year’s event which will be a big one since the 20th anniversary is such a milestone. Once again, thanks to all the attendees for coming, all the sponsors for assisting us to pull off such a great weekend, Xtra West, Pumpjack, Numbers and Priape for their shameless promotion and the volunteers and organizing committee for your tireless enthusiasm. I’m looking forward to 2011 already!

The 2010 event was bigger and better than ever. The contest had a change of ownership and location this year, and it was obvious from the start that this was going to allow the weekend event to grow in the future into something even bigger and better. There were some initial hesitations about moving the event from the local Chicago bars to the GLBT Center on Halsted, but all that was quickly forgotten once it was obvious the venue would provide more space to compete, socialize, and perv out in gear for everyone.

Even though we were late arriving at the Center for the Friday night Meet and Greet due to our late landing in Chicago, we did make it in time to watch the end of the portion of the competition called Rubber Image which was an introduction of all seven contestants to the judges and the rubbermen in the audience.

After the competition everyone headed to the CellBlock across the street for some post-event drinks. We hung out there until the wee hours of the morning. After that, many guys headed to Steamworks for the first of several unofficial MIR parties.

Saturday afternoon we checked out the MIR Vendors Market. The Market was held in the Center’s gymnasium all weekend. I’m sure the vendors were appreciative that this year they didn’t have to build up and tear down their displays on a daily basis since there was dedicated space for all of them. The market was a great place to visit with a lot of friends, check out a lot of new gear and rubber clothing, buy a few things from some of the vendors and check out all the great deals in the gear swap sponsored by the Chicago Rubbermen. Kudos go out to all the guys that organized such a great market and the vendors that travelled from all over North America to Chicago!

The highlight of the vendor market was definitely the demo space in the center of the room being managed by Kinkrubber. The setup was quite complex with piping all around the perimeter of the space allowing for multiple vacuum and bondage items to be blown up or sucked out simultaneously. There were up to six sexy demos taking place on at any one time….marvellous scenes of rubber bondage with lots of hot guys!

Saturday evening was the contest finale, with the contestant questions and the infamous Grab Bag round. We actually made it to the Center in time to watch the entire contest, partake in the hospitality room during the intermissions and check out the hijinks going on in the Center bathrooms on the third floor…

The judges selected Chicago’s own Junya, Mr. Midwest Rubber 2009 as the 2nd Runner Up, and Skin Rubber Boy from Puerto Rico as the 1st Runner Up. It was finally revealed that Fenn, Mr. Toronto Rubber 2009 is the new Mr International Rubber for 2010. Triple play for the Canucks – 2008, 2009, and 2010! Whoot!

Immediately after the contest, everyone headed to the Victory Party at Jackhammer/The Hole and Touche. The fantastic shuttle bus basically ran all weekend nights, moving the rubbermen from location to location and to and from the host hotel. This was a definite plus to getting around on the weekend.

Sunday brought another beautiful day to take in some of the sights of the Windy City. Our crew went downtown, took in some of the architectural marvels of Chicago in addition to Millennium Park and other downtown attractions. We never made it to the Vendor Market on Sunday although Smashbox was lamenting we never got to check out any of the Carrera chastity equipment that he had his eyes on!

After a bit of a rest and dinner, we headed to the unofficial Official MIR weekend wrapup night at Sidetrack. This year’s event was more muted than last year, mostly due to the fact official events finished the night before and many people had already left for the weekend, however we still had a lot of fun and got to visit with a lot of people (particularly the Chicago Rubbermen guys who were so busy on the weekend who now had some time to unwind and relax).

Overall, an excellent weekend, a superbly organized event, and a positive experience that can only get better now that management of the MIR event has given it a push to incubate into something bigger and more exciting in the years to come. Congratulations Rubberwilli and Kinkrubber on an event well rubberized!

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In an innovative music marketing move, heavy metal queen Lita Ford will release a single from “Wicked Wonderland,” her first album in 15 years, on Stockroom.com, the world’s leading fetish site, starting Monday, September 28th. The album will be released and available for purchase at Amazon and at stores across the North America on October 6th.

Photo courtesy Stockroom.com

Wicked Wonderland’s erotic song “Bed,” which explores themes of bondage, kink and power exchange in a strong and highly artistic style, will be available exclusively on Stockroom.com prior to the album’s release.

“My husband Jim Gillette and I have carved out our own path to develop a wonderful and close family life,” said Lita. “Though we’re a long-married couple, we both have very active imaginations, including being kinky with each other, and that’s what this album is about. It’s sort of a sexual autobiography. We’ve partnered up with Stockroom.com because it’s our favorite outfitter for kink products.”

While previewing “Bed,” fans of Lita and Stockroom will also be able to view and order from “Lita’s Collection” (stockroom.com/litaford/) special selection of some of the fetish gear that Lita and Jim have enjoyed, along with her personal choice of Syren Latex fashion styles.

Saturday afternoon we headed to the Syren/Stockroom WCR Reception at their store on Sunset Blvd. We got to peruse through the store, tour the manufacturing facilities and warehouse, and enjoyed beverages and food in their reception room while watching vac-bed demos. Our hosts were very gracious; they seemed happy to have us for the early afternoon.

After that we all immediately moved over to the Eagle again for the Slime Pit and BBQ. Fun was had by all, with another great turnout of guys. I was able to do shameless promotion for the Rubbout 19 Event taking place in Vancouver in April 2010…the devil ducks and beachballs were a big hit!

Our crew headed back to Culver City to prepare for the Play Party which started at 9pm at a dungeon space in Burbank. Once rubberized, we set off to an aupicious address somewhere deep in North Hollywood. As soon as we checked in and walked into the playspace, we knew this was going to be a great event; lots of sexy rubbermen, sexy electronic dungeon music and lots of great energy!
The night just seemed to fly by; there were lots of hard-core activities going on in the theme rooms, a complimentary bar and social space, and lots of hot guys cruising each other! More antics ensued, and all too soon it was time to wrap things up and head home.

Sunday morning, we only had a few hours to prep as the Mr. West Coast Rubber competition started at Oilcan Harry’s at noon. The event proceeded with a nice pace, lots of light humour and quick competition rounds, a great fantasy round performed by the competitors, and a very savvy and experienced judging panel comprising of three previous Mr. WCRs, Mr. International Rubber, and Mr. American Leather. L8xdad did a fantastic job as Master of Ceremonies.

As stated on the West Coast Rubber website, props go out to Rubberboi and Rubrluvr, the 2nd and 1st runners up. These guys were awesome in their gear! Congratulations to Jeffrey Moline, the judges pick for Mr West Coast Rubber 2009 and the gear guy who will go on to represent the West Coast at MIR in November.

After the competition we headed to the Victory Dinner at a restaurant near the LA Eagle on Santa Monica Blvd. It was a great way to end the day as we had the entire courtyard part of the restaurant to ourselves where we could all relax and have some great food and conversation.

On Monday, remnants of the tribe descended upon a theater in Silverlake to watch the eerily-appropriate Inglorious Basterds in gear. In the evening, there was a Labour Day Get Your Gear On BBQ and Bust at the Bullet Bar.

A huge shout-out must go out to L8xDad and L8xBoy for putting on another amazing event. You know from talking to these two amazing guys that this is a labour of love for them. From what I heard from all the vets, this was the best-run and best-attended WCR weekend event since its inception, so we’re riding the crest of a Pacific wave to an even better time next year!

Rubbered-up DJ spins for the crowd

Taken at MAL2009. Kudos to this DJ for doing his thing with a gasmask and industrial gloves on! Now that’s talent!

This brings up another favorite topic – music. The choices to get you in the mood while being rubberized, immobilized, transformed, etc. are endless, even the MALEBOT cyber-fetishists have stuff particularly produced for their play parties.

What type of music to you play in your dungeon? I’ve been comparing notes with DJ Jon Delano from London who plays some of the gay fetish parties there; at the parties it seems more and more that Electro is being played (how appropriate since it is one of the most popular electronic dance music forms out there right now). I personally like to find Electro remix albums and play the dub versions. Without the words, sometimes you can’t even tell what song is being played since the dub versions are so different from the originals.

Nothing like a hard, thumping, incessant 4/4 beat with lots of electronically generated bass and tweaks gets me into the mood for dungeon action. It feels like electronica was created for dungeons and play sessions.

If you’re into isolation with music, depending on what your intent is will determine what music you play. Are you a rubberslave stuck in the vac-rack for a few relaxing hours? Maybe some classical chamber music would help you attain nirvana. Are you a pup scolded, caged, and put in bondage for the night? Maybe some thrash metal will teach you some new tricks.

The featured DJs that play at fetish parties will typically get into the spirit of things and dress up for the occasion, but I don’t think there are many that wear latex, leather or lycra on a regular basis while doing their sets. DJ Blade (featured here in February) is one among them. There used to be a young Dutch DJ named DJ Latex that always used to wear latex during his sets. His website is gone; does anyone have any idea where he went?

What do you like to play when you’re playing?

Being the geek that I am, I love this idea…

Toronto-based Ego Assassin did the graphics for Kink Engineering‘s silver vacbed, and voila! A rubber circuit board!

Kink Engineering can make customized beds in a variety of colors and sizes along with choices of graphic design additions completed by Ego Assassin. From their sites, they have links to their blogs and YouTube channels where you can see more of their products.

What could be better than wearing latex outdoors in a desert resort on a beautiful weekend?

Once I got to the hotel on Friday evening after taking the train from San Diego, Aqualaboy - my roommate for the weekend – immediately went to work repairing my white Libidex suit which had incurred damage a few days earlier. He had it completely fixed by the time I was rush-lubed into my catsuit. After quick adjustments to our latex, 12 of us were off to Hamburger Mary’s for dinner.  I got to meet everyone I hadn’t met at previous events.  This weekend brought out rubbermen from L.A., San Diego, Phoenix, Houston, and Calgary.

Immediately after dinner we headed to the Barracks, Palm Springs’ leather bar, where L8xdad and L8xboy set up their West Coast Rubber ticket table and started getting set up for demos.  As usual, many rubber and non-rubber men were interested in watching the vac-rack and liquid latex body-painting demos.  Pallet wrap sheeting was used for the vac rack since it is easy to apply and easy to replace.  Unfortunately, L8xboy only got spot painted!  We were there until 1:30 or so; most guys had already headed back to the resort.  Back at the resort, the stragglers hit the hot tub.  Everyone was tired and went to bed knowing full well that Saturday was going to be a long, energy-intensive day.

In the morning Aqualaboy was the first to don fresh rubber. I jumped into some lycra and we met a few others for brunch poolside. Soon afterwards as several of us hit the pool, Rubberfiend was into his latest latex outfit and doing some fantastic condom breathplay and the rest of the gang showed up from the nearby resorts where they were staying.  Afternoon events included socializing on the pool deck in the nice weather, taking lots of photos and videos, changing into as many latex and rubber outfits as possible, trying out the vac-cube, giving and receiving massages and polishing, wrestling in the slime pit, and running off to the play room when necessary. The pups had a great time playing with the owners’ dogs; the canines were quite confused with what they were witnessing.  Yipe! Men that looked like dogs!

(Photo courtesy of Rubberfiend)

At the end of the great afternoon we all went and cleaned up for the ‘formal’ rubber dinner. There were 16 of us rubbered up at Boscoso.  We had a few people coming up to the table and complimenting us on our gear in addition to the standard gawkers.  Restaurant drama followed;  after cooler heads prevailed and everyone was satiated, we all headed back to the resort for the play party.

L8xdad and L8xboy started up some electro demos in the play area. I became the second ’victim’ to try both CB and anal electrostimulation. It’s hard to describe the sensations.  I yelped and laughed a lot and I came out of the session intrigued by electrostim. It is something I would like to try again – different environments will produce different results.

We played around in the slingroom for awhile then went across the courtyard to our room where we convinced Aqualaboy to get out the hogsack so we could put one of the pups into it. This fun went on for awhile and pretty much wrapped up the evening for us.

In the morning we got up and dressed up again. Instead of wearing the white catsuit on Saturday night I put it on this morning, ate brunch and got geared up in Aqualaboy’s red straightjacket. This got attention from the guys as they were showing up to say their goodbyes. Some had to leave early - a few had to make the trip home, others had to make it into L.A. in time for their Oscar parties. Those of us remaining spent the morning and afternoon playing around poolside and in the pool, putting Aqualaboy in the hogsack, then finally getting packed and departing for our respective destinations.

Personal newbie observations…try as many new things as you can since you have the opportunity to experience gear you don’t see everyday.  Always have lots of black latex on hand for play parties.  Always black.  The learning experiences never stop!  I’m grateful there are so many great mentors in the community.

Thank you West Coast Rubbermen; thank you Palm Springs for the great weekend! Check out L8xdad’s report on the weekend here.

Next up: Easter weekend in Vancouver, Canada for Rubbout 18…