(I'm typing this with one thumb on my iPhone - my main Internet connection on the telephone pole got fried when a lightning-bolt blasted the palm tree across the street. Hopefully all will be fixed today)
FetishMenSanDiego has been in existence for a little over three months now, with many wonderful events accomplished, and a whole bunch planned for 2011 and beyond. I figure it's time to take stock, step back a bit, and focus on the long-term goals:
- FMSD's biggest asset is our credibility, and the credit for that belongs to the men who have stepped up to make a difference. For instance: FMSD wouldn't exist in the first place if it weren't for BootsSD Jeff, who got the ball rolling. Every event has featured local heroes who have stepped up to the plate, given their word, and KEPT their word. By living in integrity, these superb men have provided a series of safe spaces where anyone who arrives can feel welcomed. There are waaaay too many solid, dependable men to mention here, but you know who you are, and the benefit of your efforts is all around us at every event.
- Every event so far has been an experiment. There is always an element of risk, and that is just dandy. It's 2010, and we need to find out what works NOW. My personal goal is to create satisfying, long-term, dependable events that become locked-in traditions because they WORK really well... Annual events that attract out-of-towners who want to jam the halls and rooms of a host-hotel or two. Monthly events that fetishmen wouldn't miss for any reason. Special events that delight us with pleasant surprises and celebrate what makes us unique.
- I'm not that important. Yes, creating and publicizing events is about as hard as breathing for me. Big deal. The real, valuable and primary value inherent in our events comes from the good-hearted men who show up and take ownership of every event. THESE ARE NOT PAPA TONY'S PARTIES. They are everyone's, and nothing makes me happier. When there's a solid clump of ecstatically happy men at every event, it's not being caused by anything that I'm personally doing - Everyone is grabbing the brotherhood theme and going for it with happy hearts. Maybe I started the ball rolling, but everybody else has been snatching it up and running with it. Cool.
- In March, I will have had thirty-two years' experience in creating events (many of which have involved car clubs). Many have vanished with time, but many have become traditions, and are still cranking away, decades after I've moved on. In order to have plenty of dependable, rock-solid traditional events for our fetishmen community, it's crucial that we get the word out. I will be announcing a Membership Drive shortly. I will be cranking out an email that will be SIZZLING with irresistible invitations that will be intoxicatingly attractive to any fetishman who wants better days for all of us as a Tribe. Once I've done that, it will land with a thud unless you (yes, you, personally) take it up and spread the word. I CAN'T FIND PEOPLE effectively, all by myself. Nobody can. In the age of Manhunt, Bear411, Adam4Adam and so forth, we have become scattered and divided. There is no central source of information any more - we don't congregate at the bars any more, and we don't read the gay rags. So, the only way that FMSD can become a huge, internationally-respected icon of brotherhood is if we tell our brothers about it. I went to Folsom Street Fair, and talked a whole bunch (imagine that) with a bunch of strangers, every day. The majority of new faces I met were from San Diego, and none of them had any idea that our city's fetishmen community had woken up again, and been building momentum for the last three months. The only one who can fix that is YOU. So, please help me get the word out. If you've enjoyed the real, solid pleasures at our events, and want them to get better by several orders of magnitude, please forward my upcoming message, once it arrives, to as many fetishmen as you can find. Joy doesn't go thermonuclear if it's reserved for a few insiders - MASSIVE joy happens when we 100% of us are all together, as brothers. By passing along something that is real, honest and joyful, you're investing in much better days for all of us, and future generations.
Thanks in advance for your help. FMSD is growing at a steady rate. I'm greedy and impatient - I want a completely unreasonable explosion of brotherhood and joy... Otherwise known as Tribe. I'm willing to do what it takes for all of us to get there.
I'll see you all at 5PM this afternoon at Redwing. It's going to be a mob!
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