Month: December 2016

New Project – Guys in Gear Drinking Coffee

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As I think about 2017 I have made a few decisions. One of them is I am not going to travel as much for these fetish weekends around. They take up a lot of vacation time and I really feel like I may have over did it over the last year. However, I don’t want to stop meeting people. Often I find the time before and after the event to be more socially rewarding to me than the actual event.

I just wanted to be latex clad this morning

One of the projects I have been kicking around is Guys in Gear Drinking Coffee. I am going to start it in 2017. A lot of my travel over the next year is going to be focused on my photography and trying to get reconnected to nature again. But this should not stop me from meeting like minded guys who are into gear.

The goal of this project is to get pictures of guys decked out in full gear enjoying themselves over coffee/tea/etc in public. The location doesn’t have to be a cafe – out at the beach, in nature, or even a more industrial setting is fine. Once I have travel plans confirmed, I will post them up. For now, I am going to start locally in the Bay Area.

Over the next week, I am going to create a page that has full details on this. My goal is not to make money, but rather travel and enjoy the company of gear heads.

My contact info is all up on the contact page (click here).

Watching over the neighborhood on a rainy day

Passages that echo

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Keeping a written journal has been one of the best outlets for my mind since I started it. The act of writing down my deep thoughts onto paper via a fountain pen has really allowed me to reflect on events in my life and the world. Many of them never make it up to social media or my site, and that is how it should be. But sometimes, there is something I write that just hits it home.

Days ago I wrote down the following lines into my Journal. Each day, it echoed in my head. Little did I know just writing these words would refocus my outlook for 2017:

I am vulnerable; I have exposed myself to the world.
Fear will not hold me in a cage no longer.

I think next year is going to be an interesting year.

New Gear

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You are supposed to read books for the leather book club while in gear, right?

Thanks to Recognition Points at work, I now have an entire new gear outfit for 2017. It is funny how having a gear fetish leads to the next steps. I now have getting my motorcycle license and a dual sport beater bike on my short term life goals for 2017. More pictures of this gear will filter up at some point 🙂

Retail Therapy: Hyperflex Playa Neoprene Hoodie

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Retail Therapy Level: Neoprene

I often don’t write about gear I get, but I did tonight.

A few years ago, I got a sleeveless Mr. S red and black neoprene hoodie on sale for a good price. It works out well in the normal world as casual wear and doesn’t draw peoples attention. The problem with it is that it is not very useful outside of the mild weather that we have for 2/3rds of the year. But this started a trend of me having a certain amount of stealth gear that I can wear about town and not draw attention.

About nine months ago, I googled for neoprene hoodies and found the Hyperflex Playa hoodie. Given that it was over 100 bucks, it broke the threshold for an impulse purchase and ended up staying in my wish list on Amazon. At Sidetrack in Chicago, during MIR this year, I saw someone with one. I noticed it while we were chatting and asked to touch it. All that I needed was to touch it and to know that I had to buy one once rainy season kicked into high gear in SF.

Well, it is now rainy season, and I have finally ordered one. Why did I wait so long? Seriously, why did I wait!

Seriously, why did I wait to buy this hoodie?

The fit is a bit oversized, and the manufacturer even states that. But I don’t think I could have safely gone down to a medium. Since it is designed to wear over a wetsuit, the Large is the right fit for me. And after taking some selfies I could see doing just that – I was getting real nice and toasty taking these quick selfies. Given that our winter seems to be on track for being cold and wet, this is exactly what I wanted.

Close up of the texture

But for me, the win is the feel of the neoprene. It is a sharkskin style outer and is just so soft, slick, and tactile. After I opened the box up, I put it on and I could not stop touching myself. In a way, it feels like my sense of touch feels confused. The inside is lined with a fuzzy red lining. I don’t think I ever had a hoodie that pushed all of the right buttons for me.

You’ll probably see more pictures of me with this on throughout rainy season.  Here are some more selfies from that quick shoot I did for now:

Haven’t been writing much.

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Over the summer, I got in the habit of spending about thirty minutes every day writing down my thoughts. Over the last few months, I got out of the habit due to lack of time. I really need to get back into it since it was a meditative activity that was keeping me grounded. While I am not writing down using a physical pen and paper, this still helps.

At the moment, I am sitting down in one of the neighborhood Irish pubs waiting for a burger to come out of the kitchen while sipping a Drakes 1500. Not sure why any of those details matter, but it is in my train of thought right now. It’s been a cold wet day, work is frustrating me.

I just need to unwind…