Then and Now: Was it What I Imagined?

I hope this blog doesn’t offend anyone.

Now that it has been close to three years into latex, a proposition was thrown in my face by Gab. I will give kudos to those who have noticed my blog entries have always been heavily Gab related regardless if it is in reference, guidance, or in general. His idea was for me to voice my own personal thoughts and opinions on this entire journey. This brings me to question myself on whether any of what I initially pictured actually came true. This is starting to sound like a broken record, especially with my recent string of blog posts in the last couple of months. Always the same genre of topic, Gab and I are in a rut, we are drawing blanks, the “whys” we always ponder on. Is it becoming tiring? I hope not! As I mentioned before, this blog is not just for advice, but also serves as a place to journal for everything I feel for rubber and to reflect. The nervousness and anxiety that I usually felt before every photoshoot was screaming at me the day I typed out my first blog post for this journey, going in with no idea of what to expect. Flash forward to now, to my Rubber Chinguin persona three years later…was anything what I initially thought? All the hype and preparation that Gab gave me before this adventure started, was roaring inside me, filling me with fascination despite the fear. Both of us had different expectations for this rubbery fun when we started, and now we both are years older, changed, and weathered to a degree. The final question still stands: was this what we pictured?

The Community

Just a reminder that I am a natural born introvert, so no matter what type of gathering it is regardless for family, for friends, for coworkers, it takes me a minute to warm up. I am not sure exactly what we were expecting when we joined the latex community. Was it a network where everyone was super friendly and helpful or super competitive and unhelpful? All of those thoughts swarmed in my head back then. Looking back and comparing to what I know now, I would have to say that the people in the community are overall a very joyful bag of people. Every different social media site that we use for my latex journey comes with a very wide range of audience. The tones, the approach, the warmness, and the distancing all vary among everyone that we have come across. I would have to say no one has made Gab and I feel unwelcomed or too uncomfortable. However, I cannot deny or lie that there have been some really creepy instances where I had to step back from.

I cannot deny that there are a lot of experienced rubberists in the rubber world, and they all have different takes on the material themselves. Coming from all corners of life, their insight on certain things when we have asked have always been very knowledgeable for us. There have been times where I lost my way or ranted about certain things and been received with nothing less but support and sympathy. In my eyes, it does not matter what hobby we like or what part of the latex world we like to hang out in- certain views and opinions are shared throughout the community with a strong, mutual understanding. This was quite shocking as I thought no one would resonate with where I was coming from as a newbie to latex, but in the end we were all once newbies, now that I think about it. Gab and I went from being timid with the community to making some very decent friends and acquaintances so far. Do not think for a second that I did not run into some people with a certain attitude or clearly did not like what I did with rubber. I feel that we cannot win everyone over — not to say that that is our goal, but as a figure of speech. Win some, lose some, cannot win them all.

Three years agoo…..

The Experience/Hardships

Three years ago, I never knew what latex was or a world such as this existed. I honestly thought Gab was hallucinating, was conned, or this was some sort of crazy joke. Now, you have all heard me rant and rave about the material for years- what I enjoy and what I feel intimidated about. Did I ever think that latex would be such a piece of work to take care of, from styling, to growing accustomed to? Yes and no. As many of you know, my first piece of rubber was not your average base mask but it was a ballhood. Putting on the clothing has never been the main issue minus the initial struggles. The hardest parts were becoming used to the disappearing light and isolation. Believe me when I say that I had no idea how tight and restricting rubber was until I tried on my first piece. I am not a fan of tight clothes, always buying clothing that is a size bigger to allow more free movement, so imagine how I felt after I tried on my first catsuit and continued on the journey. My first thought was to rip the latex off and be free and mobile once again. It is a constant struggle, but it is truly a challenge for me every time though it is good practice.

Many of things that I have encountered with latex was hard for me to wrap my head around and still is to this day. Such as the idea of ballhoods and other masks in the beginning, until I started styling them more and growing more adapted with each time I wore them. The catsuits, the corsets, the gloves, the accessories, it all blew my mind that rubber had its own wardrobe just as normal clothing did. Why would anybody want to put their head in a beach ball or any ball? Hold on, I am not done with the list though. There are even latex socks and shoes! Let me not forget: latex earrings, purses, high heel boots, actual furniture, you name it and someone will rubberize it. Also, the fact that latex was not all about sexuality, sinfulness, evil, or debauchery. Come to think of it, where did I even get these thoughts from? Later on, I learned there were trade shows, boat trips, parties, entire venues rented out for rubberists, and conventions to collaborate and network. All of this to just celebrate and enjoy a material and the lifestyle that goes along with it was absolutely mind blowing to me. There is no way to make this stuff up and honestly I am impressed with the dedication these enthusiasts have for the hobby and lifestyle. I guess the answer would be, no, latex was not what I thought it would be in so many different ways, and I am still being baffled to this day.

Chinguin is ready for some action.

Thoughts on Networking

People always mentioned to Gab and I that we could always fly overseas to attend events and meet all these big name rubberists or people we befriend online. However, when the first blog post touched the ground, the thoughts in our heads of course were not meeting people overseas because the dream still seemed so far away. The first thought was to possibly meet someone or a small group of local rubberists and grow from there. Initially, I had no hopes of meeting anyone on the journey because we were nobodies. Why you may ask was I so pessimistic? Well, we do not live in what anyone would call a “hot spot” or go-to destination for rubberists and their vacations. Also, if you know anything about introverts, we all try to be brave and then kind of falter once a period of time comes by or if someone confronts us. Gab and I are not extroverted at all- to a degree yes but not enough. We did find local rubberists to meet but decided to hold off due to our own introverted traits. It was a mutual agreement to keep to ourselves and be a little more private instead of throwing ourselves completely out there. Just keep a nice, low profile and go from there. Was it as hard as I thought? Yes… We are meeting a lot of people and gaining traction, but at the same time — we hold ourselves back and put next to no effort to spread awareness of our “brand.” We take a different approach to the latex lifestyle, on a different level compared to where everyone else is. As Gab always says, we just keep on going on our way and ride the wave for as long as possible.

Oh no — what is going on right nowww!

Chinguin’s Contemplations 🐧

Was anything what it seemed to be? It is a mixed feeling and there is no correct answer to any one area or question. Latex has led Gab and I on one fun ride, and it has brought out the best, the worst, and the craziness in the both of us. If you asked either one of us if we ever pictured this journey happening, I would have said no for myself but Gab probably would have envisioned it. Just as with anything we go through in life, there are highs, lows, and stagnant moments and rubber is no different. I feel that we fit into the community just barely, more like we are on the outskirts of the entire group with our toes just dipping in. Do we regret joining the community? Definitely not. As mentioned in other blogs, latex helped me in many different ways and have been applied and proven useful to real life situations as well. It has helped me with being consistent in anything that I do, and become more brave in taking the leap on starting my small cookie business as well it being relatable to my life experiences.

There are times where Gab and I are still trying to wrap our heads around rubber as I said and there are some matters where we do not understand. It is all still a learning process and we are just continuing on this nice path with no too many complaints. You will not see any quitters right now so brace yourselves for more Chinguin! As always, thank you for your support and until next time, everyone! Stay tuned for the next blog.