On Saturday, August 18, my slave and I traveled to Long Beach to attend Mr. SoCal Leather 2012 Shad Cruz's first annual Flog Fest. That's him in the poster:
The Tenth-Degree Black Belt-level Flogging Tops
gather before the event begins, with some early, eager bottoms in the mix!
Here is what Shad said beforehand:
Mr. SoCal Leather 2012, Shad Cruz, is proud to host FLOG FEST 2012 to benefit Ashram West at Piston's Bar in Long beach on August 18, 2012 from 9pm - 1am. This event will focus on impact play, specifically flogging, one of Shad's passions.
Conceived to have the feel of a play party, the event will fill the Piston's patio with flogging stations. There will also be flog producers, and vendors, flog trivia giveaways and a "Flog Swap" where attendees are invited to trade or consign their un-used flogs.
Staff, including Daddy Zeus from Palm Springs, Papa Tony from San Diego and Steve Ganzell from Los Angeles, will be on hand to introduce newcomers to the wonders of flogging, and to take the experienced to the next level. Participation is encouraged. From curious to expert come prepared to play along.
A suggested donation of $5 at the door will benefit Ashram West, Silver Lake's Gay Tantric organization. Ashram West was founded in 1997 by Brother William Schindler, a member of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Order.
The teachings of Ashram West are based on traditional Hindu Tantra which encourages the integration of all aspects of life with spirituality, including sexuality. More information can be found at www.gaytantra.org.
I arrived to find a large number of men who clearly knew which end of a flogger to use! I met up with my peers from all over Southern California. I was pleased to see that some of the members of the
LA Band of Brothers had shown up to show support for Shad's first such event. I was pleased to meet the folks from the
Stockroom, which is celebrating twenty years as a large-scale vendor of every conceivable kinky form of gear and toys. I've been very impressed with them as a successful business for a long time.
It was an extremely congenial evening, and it wasn't very long before every bottom in the building was sailing along on the endorphins of sheer bliss. I liked everyone that I met, and have started developing long-term friendships with many new brothers. I loved watching Shad be the Party Host - he never took a break, and he was always vigilant to make sure that everyone present felt welcome and included. That's a perfect recipe for building a constituency that will follow him to any event he hosts.
I've invited Shad to bring Flog Fest to San Diego, where these magnificent, experienced and hot Tops will get to meet a whole new fan club!
