Chinese Submarine Escape Suit

I picked up this suit several months ago thanks to a friend in China and its really an incredible suit. Made totally of unlined rubber the hood incorporates a mask and a mouthpiece for a rebreather which is held tightly into the wearer's mouth by a strap (LOL - the perfect gag). Entry into the suit is via a tunnel style opening in the front which is then sealed by tieing it off with a rubber cord.

On the right thigh there are two cannisters which allow the suit to be inflated for floatation

and warmth. Wearing it is a fantastic feeling as you are basically sealed into your own rubber world. The only problem I found is jaw

fatigue from the mouthpiece.

Submarine Escape Suit

On a recent trip to Winnipeg I had the pleasure of being able to try out a friends Submarine Escape suit (Used by Canada, US and England I believe). This is an incredible suit and, in my opinion, is a form of bondage in itself. When the suit is inflated your body is held solidly in one position. Any movement becomes a struggle and, to deflate it yourself would be extremely difficult as, not only would it entail moving your arms, which are held out to your sides, together but also working small valves. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that your face is covered by two layers of clear plastic which, not only distorts your vision, but also quickly fogs up. Throw in the fact that the face coverings create a dead air space (The only opening is at the bottom of the hood at the front - just above the black piece on the suit) and you are partially re breathing the entire time you are in the suit. I loved it. My only complaint (and the reason that finally forced me to get out of it) was that the inner neoprene hood is very tight and puts allot of pressure on the lower jaw which eventually becomes painful.

Mr Rubber Calgary

As the first thing that brought blogs to my attention this morning was the creation of the new Mr Rubber Calgary Blog, and the contest has been occupying my thoughts alot lately, I think this would be a good place to start my blog.

In late Feb of 2008 a friend in Calgary contacted me to say that there would actually be a Mr Rubber contest on Apr 5th. Would I be interested in running? That simple question caused an auful lot of soul searching over the next few days. I am a person that does not like to be in the spotlight. I prefer to work in the background. At the same time though, I really wanted this to go, as it seemed to me that this was the best way to actually promote rubber in Calgary. Since there is nothing else even remotely close to me its my best chance of meeting others with similar interests. Finally I just had to take a deep breath and agree to do it. Simple right? WRONG!!!!

That was the beginning of one of the most stressfull periods in recent memory. In the weeks that followed the format for the contest changed no less than 5 times. I was just about pulling out my hair in frustration trying to match costumes to the changing themes. My worst nightmare was to arrive in Calgary for the contest and find that they had changed things again and I didnt have anything with me to match the change. Thankfully that didn't happen.

The final decision was to have a Formal Round, Fetish Round and a Minimal Round. The first two were relatively easy, although the Fetish one required a bit of nail chewing as I waited to see if a shirt I ordered would arrive in time. It was the Minimal Round, however, that really upset me. I have never liked my body and NEVER wear shorts or go without a shirt. I'm not what I would consider well built and the fact that I have fair skin and tend not to tan doesn't help either. The idea of going on stage wearing little more than a rubber jock strap was daunting. The best advice I got during this time came from a very dear friend (Thanks Master B). Simply put. He said "Just have fun with it" which I resolved to do.

To make a long story short, thanks to the support of friends, I managed to get through the contest and actually did a bit better than I initially thought I would. By the end though I was definately feeling "I'm never putting myself through this again" That feeling was compounded by the fact that now, 7 months later, I still havn't been able to find out what I did right or wrong or even seen the video that was shot of the contest. I have talked to various prople involved numberous times and always get either directed to someone else or put off. Its very frustrating not really knowing what you did or didn't do.

Now the shocker. I woke up one morning a little over a month ago thinking "I know how to do this". I had a full plan of attack for the contest in my mind and was ready to go for it. I have no clue why my attitude changed or what might have even caused it but I was comfortable with it. As luck would have it I talked to the person in charge of the contest later that day and agreed to run in the 2009 contest. This was no problem till I was reminded that the sponsor also would like the winner to run in the Mr. International Rubber contest. I panicked at that point. That was something that I had not considered and, quite frankly, found terrifying. Its way out of my league and I know nothing about it.

As MIR was still a month away at that point I decided that, even though funds were short, if I could find someone to share a room with and use my airmiles for the flight I could at least go and see the contest and find out what I may be getting myself into. Unfortunately, due to very lengthy delays in people getting back to me, by the time I actually found a room it was impossible to get a flight so I couldn't go.

Now, after reading Calgaryrubbermans account of his time at MIR and seeing what happened with the scoring (Incidentally my heart goes out to both Stephane and Rocco. It would be heatbreaking to go through all that only to be denied your actual moment in the spotlight or, worse yet be given it then have it taken away from you) I find myself terrified of the thought of going through that. I've never been a partying person and, though I do enjoy the chance to interact with others with like kinks, I find the entire situation very uncomfortable. Doubly so since I really have very little idea of what the contest itself is.

At this point all I can do is concentrate on what I plan to do in Calgary Apr 4th and try to put MIR out of my mind. If I dont get through the Calgary competition MIR is a moot point anyway. If by some fluke I do win in Calgary though I really dont know what I'm going to do about MIR.

Introduction

I'm not quite certain why I'm even starting this. It just seems like everywhere I turned today another friend was doing a blog and, after reading what they had to say, I have to admit that it seemes to be a pretty good way of getting your thoughts in order so here I am.

I don't know if this will go anywhere or just end up dormant but I do like writing so I guess we'll see what happens.

Doug