24 February 2006

RubberPal

I just wanted to post a quickie link to this site RubberPal. This is a really well done site and completely free.

I've had not much luck finding a site to discuss rubber fetish issues and meet other folks. Most sites are either re-badged personals ads sites (like www.alt.com) or porn pic exchange sites targeted mainly at the gay leather/rubber communities (ala www.rubberzone.com). Nothing wrong with either of those, of course, but there was sort of a gap left when the long-lived www.rubberist.net started to sort of fizzle out under the weight of its own overly-complex forum system and change of ownership.

RubberPal is a bit UK-centric, but has a nice forum, decent chat room, friendly folks, and totally free, just donations requested. It has a vibe similar to www.bondage.com, but less focused on up-selling paid subscriptions, and the community seems somewhat less jaded and insular.

Also, despite some occasional friction, it seems equally welcoming of gay, straight, bi, TG, TV, and all the other letter groups that tend to cross over with fetish play.

23 February 2006

Sports gear fetishism

Wow - been a long time since an update. Thanks to those who emailed to pester me about updating.

I realized that in all the entries so far I haven't even touched upon one of my favorite fetish areas - sports gear fetish! There are lots of flavors of this around the web; anything from sneakers, motorcycle leathers, full suits of armor, etc. My particular interest in sports gear however is closely tied to my fondness for rubber & lycra -- skin-tight body suits such as those worn for luge, speedskating, skiing, etc.

In some ways skin tight sports suits are even hotter than custom-made lycra outfits or rubber catsuits because its simultaneously incredibly kinky and socially acceptable. Granted, its only acceptable in that 1% of society who can attain the upper echelons of sports achievement and get into the Olympics or college sports. But the fact remains that in the right context, wearing sports gear in public is completely acceptable.

I think there's also an element of "superhero" fetish to this. The people you see in the winter Olympics wearing these skin-tight outfits who are incredibly fit, top athletes. So by wearing the same gear, you sort of put yourself into their shoes, and can have that same feeling of being "elite" or above the common folk. I don't think its much different than buying Air Jordan shoes to feel a little bit more like MJ, its just a bit more expensive and a bit more extreme.

So what specifically do I find hot in sports gear. Glad you asked.

#1 Luge Suits

This is my favorite probably because they are completely body-covering and tight, and also typically made of a rubberized-fabric. Similar (identical, practically) to the PVC-coated spandex suits I mentioned in previous entries, Luge suits are the most fetishy of sports apparel, but also the hardest to find (and hardest to wear in their proper context, since few of us have access to a nearby luge run). The first time I saw this type of suit it was actually in an Olympic speed-skiing event, and the overall effect of the rubberized suit and the crazy aerodynamic helmet was incredibly erotic.




Luge suits are somewhat hard to find even on the web, but there are several places that make them for around $200 or more. One of the better places to order from is RadicalSpeed in Canada, who make mostly rubberized bike gear (also hot!). They have two styles of winter sports suits. The suit itself is incredibly tight and shiny, just like I love it. It includes those cool thumb-loops to keep the arms properly in place, and extra-wide flaring at the ankle (which aren't particularly useful for the suits more fetishy uses, but you have to take the good with the bad).

Sports suits like this are also cool because they are frequently silk screened with letters or graphics for sponsors or the manufacturer. This to me adds to the kinkiness of the gear, making the sports-god fantasy more realistic, and making the gear stand out from the normal bespoke deviant-wear.

The bright color and shiny appearance really get my motor running. Most folks assume a suit like this is latex, but really the inside texture is exactly like any lycra garment, except a bit less stretchy, which means that an accurate fit is even more important. Because its designed to minimize wind drag, the zippers are usually also small and nicely hidden, giving an incredible smooth look to the suit and a nice tight feeling when worn.

More kinky sports gear in the next post!