AirmaxUK

I guess it depends why you need the VPN as to which is best. I've been using NordVPN for a while. It has been useful when travelling - a lot of Hotel and Public WiFi is unencrypted open access, and the VPN adds some level of security and circumvents any family-filter type blocks.  Using it for accessing geographically limited services (like BBC iPlayer) is hit and miss as the streaming services get to know the VPN IPs and ban them. I am not sure I will renew my subscription, since I got a decent fibre connection at home, I set up a VPN server on the router, so I can VPN back home and access all my local storage as well as appear to be in the UK.   

Walking around the stands at BLF I stopped and chatted a while with Antoine, the events organiser from Recon.  I mentioned that it was nice to see that they were publishing the Recon Fetishweek London Guidebook with three different covers - each with a different guy on the cover - and one in particular stood out because it is an image we don't see often on the scene in advertising and promotion - a bearish guy with a belly. 

Antoine said that it was a conscious decision on their part, and the model took a lot of persuading to participate because he felt that nobody would ever want someone with his figure in publicity material, and he was afraid it would bring ridicule. 

I told Antoine that if the model feels that way - imagine what us ordinary joes must feel like participating in the fetish scene. If he is still in touch with the guy, I asked him to tell him that seeing someone identifiable in publicity material makes events like Fetish Week feel all the more friendly and inclusive. 

It's nice to see Recon trying to move the needle.  I wish that others businesses and organisations would also be forward thinking.

I'm no expert in advertising - but I'm thinking that actually its really actually a few of us fit the 'skinny Twink' or 'muscle Mary' moulds, but we're somehow conditioned by the culture to be attracted to those images and it becomes a cyclic circle that feeds itself.  

The second point I wanted to highlight is how the scene and feitsh stores play into this culture - again with images and advertising, but also with exclusion by only offering their products in small sizes and skinny cuts. And they're a bit like SuperDRY in the UK - an XXL there is like an L everywhere else. If you ask for larger sizes in these stores you get reactions from the staff like:

"The only thing we have in the store that will fit you is some socks. Maybe." (Gear Berlin)

"We have a made to measure tailoring service..." (Blackstyle)

"Perhaps you should spend your money on a gym membership first" (One of the leather shops)  

"The bakery is next door"  (Frontstyle)

The reasoning is always that the larger sizes are not volume sellers, but I'd challenge that: I think many don't bother looking anymore and as the community ages bit by bit and there are more of us who are built for comfort rather than speed and we settle for our Marks & Spencer casuals. But is there also some discrimination at work here? Maybe these brands don't want the likes of me wearing their names because it spoils some sort of image they want to project. That's when business needs overtakes community needs.   

There was an interesting article in Attitude recently on body dysmorphia and coming to terms with and learning to love your own body. 

I can't help thinking that is a really hard struggle many are having - and the culture we exist within really doesn't do anything to help. 

Again - thanks to Antoine at Recon for starting to push back. 

Andy

Another worry is what happened at the Vagevuur in Eindhoven. This was largely run as a not-for profit by volunteers. It was famous for having all kinds of events and an amazing basement play space. They received a small amount of money from the government to promote safer-sex practices in the venue (this was in the late 90's early 00's). One of the religious-right newspapers (Like the Daily Mail in the UK) sent someone in undercover and they published photos taken inside under headlines saying 'look at what your tax euros are being spent on'.  Needless to say this caused the venue to be closed pretty much immediately never to be reopened. 

As an aside, photography rules in Germany are quite strict compared to the UK. [think before following links] https://allaboutberlin.com/guides/photography-laws-germany

15 hours ago, LetsPOZBreed said:

Possibly, but Lab parties (and similar ones to it) have definitive start times by which you must arrive in order to be allowed in.  So, for the Lab naked nights during Folsom - arrival is between 9 and 11 pm; if you're posting that you're bored at 11:15, you've missed your boat and should just leave.  By that time, no one else will be allowed through the doors.

Indeed - Lab parties attract a lot of guys - 200+ and especially at Easter/Folsom can have upward of 1,000. 

There's really no need to use them for cruising. Anyone and everyone who's into whatever the party is is going to be there. The one or two local people in Friedrichshain who you might see online are not there are likely to not be there for a reason. (Eg financial, they're not into rubber) and you're unlikely to get the to come along if you're not there.  

If you're in that crowd and can't find any fun, then TBH, really the issue is with YOU not all the other guys. 

2 hours ago, LetsPOZBreed said:

You're being completely reasonable here.  I'm with you in that I wouldn't have done many of the things I've done in Lab through the years if it were filmed and could be plastered on whatever tube site is out there (or worse). 

Also, phones take away from being in the moment, which is the best part about these events.  I have a plethora of available men ready to rail me, so why on God's Green Earth would I waste time on a smartphone looking at anything other than the swinging dicks ambling about?

Present in the moment is quite the point.  Lab parties and similar are all about the guys who are there and the guys playing around you. If you have to live broadcast it on instagram or FaceTime your friends to validate the reality  then you’re completely missing the point. 

2 hours ago, RawPlug said:

I think you’re being entirely reasonable. I’d just find it so off putting. (And did you get the body builder’s number…?) 

I didn’t get his number but I did get something else from him. That’s a story for the back room forums. 

So, this evening I went to the Athletes party at Laboratory in Berlin. 

the format is that you get a numbered wrist band which you charge your drinks to and pay on exit. 

what’s new is they are allowing smartphones inside the venue. They put orange stickers over the camera lenses to stop Photography and video. The problem is this is easily defeated by peeling off the sticker.  While this isn’t a problem for most, a few visitors are having trouble and I found someone FaceTiming his boyfriend while getting railed in the sling. 

I think that’s unacceptable behaviour. A club like lab needs to remain very private. I would t do half the stuff I’ve done in there over the years if I thought there is a risk someone was recording or broadcasting it. 

lab says smartphones are allowed because of the need to pay for drinks … but the wristband negates that. 

I spoke to the staff about it but didn’t want want to be too much of a Karen about it and get on and enjoy myself. 

and yes, the hairy Yugoslavian body builder was awesome so this is not sour grapes

Am I being unreasonable ?
 

We have a few guys signed up - who else is going to join us?

Do let us know what response you get (if any)

See my post here: 

It seems a number of us are headed to Berlin for BLF. 

I'm guessing the focus will be the Biohazardmen party on Friday...

I think it'd be great to meet with other guys from Breeding Zone, so I am suggesting a meeting before Biohazardmen at The Bull at 8:30-10:00pm Friday 7th. 

Send me a DM and I'll add you to a WhatsApp group for BZ/BLF 2023

Would also recommend checking out Central Station's Underground Club. They hire the venue to promoters who run events there in the afternoons and nighttimes. Being run by individual promoters the parties are a bit more focused and the venue is set up differently with a different vibe for each event. 

[think before following links] https://undergroundclublondon.co.uk

For BB, I enjoy going to Pants on Friday or Saturday afternoons, and if you're into yellow, SOP on Sunday is one of the best clubs in London.  I love that it attracts all kinds of guys - shapes sizes and ages and everyone is up for it. You almost never see people cruising grindr on their phones there. There's no prissyness and no judgey queens. It's friendly as well as horny - you can hang out and chat as well as have fun. 

Although Bunker advertise lots of specialist themed events, I've been disappointed to find that it's generally the same crowd there and not into the theme or bothering with the suggested dress code. 

I'm hearing good things about The Lord Clyde.  Word is that it isn't mega busy (but is getting busier) but the quality of fun is good. Still on my to-do list.  

The Vault - I'll admit I've not been on naked parties (not confident enough) but Friday seems to have an afterwork crowd (watch out for undouched ass) followed by a bit of a lull and then a later nighttime crowd. It can be hit or miss. Sometimes everyone is wandering, pacing, and not much is going on and there's little engagement.  I've gotten bored and headed up to Central Station or even Hampstead Heath and had fun.  I dare say it's the demographics - if you're a youthful Twink you'll likely have a very different experience to a 40-something bearish guy. 

Not a smoker myself but I don't mind others if they smoke or not, but I have a line I've drawn which is when a guy has that really thick stale pungent smoker smell that seems deeply embedded in their clothes hair and skin. The kind where when they walk past you, you can clearly smell it from a few meters away and they're not even smoking. That's not a turn on. 

Fresh smoke can be a turn on, and I do actually enjoy the bars in Berlin for that reason. Smoke as a part of BDSM scenes are very interesting, especially as an element to BC. (any doms into this, DM me). 

To a point... yes. Pheromones are a big turn on, but to say anything more probably needs a post in the Fetish section to avoid ruffling the fluffies.   

I'll be there this year: I'm not a great fan of the big circuit parties so I'll probably be hanging around the fringes at the more hardcore fetish-oriented events. I'm also there the week before to enjoy the city before the masses of tourists arrive.  

I always take a shower douche attachment and a pair of pliers in case the hose is difficult to unscrew.  Booking rooms, I always scrutinise the pics of the bathroom and will go for hotels/rooms that have shower heads on a hose rather than a built-in. 

I always have a plan B and that might be one of: 

nozzle attachment for water bottle (and a water bottle I know that  it fits)

I bought some disposable douches from AliExpress - they are currently £0.14 each! 

[think before following links] https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001478677129.html

They are small volume, but good for injecting j-lube or similar. And you can throw them away after, too.

I note Aliexpress have the black rubber bulb type douche for < £5

Search for "douche" on aliexpress and you'll find plenty of alternatives. 

All over the UK - so far in the last year from west London to: Birmingham, Manchester,  Hull, Leeds, Portsmouth, Southampton, Newport. 

I always have a plan-B in case of a no-show. I need to have spoken to the person - not just text message - to travel far for a meet. The success rate then is better than average if you speak or facetime - although there are the usual last minute excuses. 

3 hours ago, ErosWired said:

I don’t rim and never have for this exact reason.

Not just rimming... sucking a cock that's been in someone's hole is also just as risky. 

7 minutes ago, RawPlug said:

That was very sensible. If you don’t keep your wits about you, valuables do have a habit of going walkabout at Trades. It was much worse years ago when they had an all-night licence and every guy in Blackpool piled in after all the other clubs and pubs closed their doors and any old scally could be prowling the corridors. But that also meant any old scally could come into your room and the corridors were teeming with horny guys of all ages looking for sex. So, swings and roundabouts and all that. After they lost their all night licence, it all quietened down. 

That’s a shame, really… as you well know I’m partial to a bit of rough scally…

On 2/2/2023 at 4:16 PM, AirmaxAndy said:

Looks like it's going to be a trip to Sheffield for CumUnion at the Boiler Room and an overnight stop nearby.

Anyone want to say hi in-person or meet, DM me.

 

Okay - it wasn’t worth the trip for CumUnion. It wasn’t very cumunion at all: the slings laid empty and there was a helluva lot of pacing and not much action. The sauna has a really warm jacuzzi when most of the others are turning the heat down because of energy costs. The staff were more interested in their phones than customers.

Fortunately it wasn’t a totally wasted trip… unusually Grindr came up trumps at my overnight hotel…

1 minute ago, RawPlug said:

Have you ever stayed at Trades? 

Kinda. Booked a room at trades but also booked a room at premier inn in parallel so I had somewhere nice to sleep and leave my valuables….

4 minutes ago, RawPlug said:

It’s best to get on their mailing list, so you get a heads up (as it were). 

I’m not a fan of PA Hotel. I’ve had trouble with them when Covid lockdowns meant travel to their events was impossible. If they were polite I would have taken the financial hit, but when I asked what was going to happen, without cause,  the guy was really hostile, and argumentative. So much so that I was moved to ask VISA to refund it, which they did. Normally my attitude is that we should support venues like these but not when they are nasty to customers.  There are plenty of alternatives. 

On 10/28/2022 at 2:08 PM, rawTOP said:

I've been considering dropping Google Analytics completely for a while now. Was definitely going to do it before next year when they're forcing people to migrate to GA4. Guess now is the time to turn it off.

Thanks for giving such a good bug report!

 

Update:

Google Analytics is now turned off.

api.js is part of reCAPTCHA v3 (also by Google). That I'm reluctant to turn it off because it's how I tell if site visits are by humans or not. Once you're logged in I don't mind turning it off (since that's another way to tell if you're human), but I'll need to do some research to figure out what my options are.

Update: Just got a new iPad Air and tried accessing BZ… Despite your fix, I still need to turn off the Apple Limit IP address tracking in the Wi-Fi settings or pages on here fail to load completely. Usually on forum pages the reply box at the bottom of the page never works, and on picture galleries the image never shows. You can also tell there’s a problem because the url bar shows the cross icon to stop loading the page rather than the circular arrow ‘reload’ icon. 

On 12/13/2022 at 11:26 PM, Turbocs37 said:

What if you just sit on the floor in between 2 urinals and hold your mouth open?

This - I’ve had success with that in sleazier bars, plus placing empty glasses in the trough or urinal ready to be filled. Funnel gag sends a strong message too. But these only work in sleazy places… if the clientele are a bit on the vanilla/fluffy side then it scares them off. That may be the case for a bathhouse/sauna. 

Looks like it's going to be a trip to Sheffield for CumUnion at the Boiler Room and an overnight stop nearby.

Anyone want to say hi in-person or meet, DM me.