The Irish October Bank Holiday this year marked the first Dublin Rubber Weekend organised by the Rubbermen of Ireland. The event took place between the 22nd and 24th of October and featured a number of events, including Ireland’s first Mr Rubber Ireland competition in over 5 years.
Rubbermen of Ireland founder and chairman Gazmask, and secretary Pup Astra planned out a full weekend of events to coincide with the Irish government’s lifting of Covid restrictions on late bars and clubs, and after 18 months of the fetish community being put on hold it was great to be back.
The climax of the weekend was the official Mr Rubber Ireland Competition held at Viva, emcee’d by Mr Leather Ireland 2019 and IML 41 second runner-up Fionn Scott, with performances by Pup Astra as Ireland’s WorldFetish Show Contest 2021 entry. Three contestants took to the stage, all hoping to become the next Mr Rubber Ireland: Nick Bell, Cory Coleman, and Dan Roche all displayed themselves as worthy recipients of the title, but only one could walk away victorious.
To decide who should become the next Mr Rubber Ireland was a jury which consisted of MIR 23 and Mr Rubber NL 2019 Adalberto, Mr Rubber Ireland 2016 Ronan Kinkster, and Rubbermen of Ireland Chairman Gazmask. Once the Jury had made their decisions, a final vote by the audience was overseen by Tally-Master John O’Brien.
After a suspenseful final count, Dan aka Pup Rolo was declared Mr Rubber Ireland 2021. In his speech, Dan expressed his appreciation to the jury and attendees for his nomination, thanked event organisers who had kept the community connected during the pandemic, and declared his wish to help in the rebuilding of the fetish community coming out of lockdown. Alongside the main event the Dublin Rubber Weekend held a range of events targeting rubber and fetish visibility including outings to The George Bar, Street 66, and a guided tour through the National Gallery of Ireland.
The Rubbermen of Ireland want to thank everyone that supported the Dublin Rubber Weekend and hope to see more individuals at their events throughout the coming year. Slainte!
What attendees say
Pup Hero: “Game Nights , Movie Nights, Quiz Nights, all these things helped keep the fetish community together for the last 20 months, but absolutely nothing can compare getting into gear with other people.
Dublin Rubber Weekend was our first chance to see each other in person in nearly 2yrs, to see familiar faces and hoods but also a lot of new faces, it turns out that the Rubber an Pup community did not stagnate in lockdown, we grew.
It was legit amazing to walk into a room of people and be delighted to see every familiar face, there was some proper big time rubbery hugs given and some heart felt conversation had, and I for one needed that.”
Mikey aka Rubnsx: As a kinkster that just recently settled down in Dublin a few months ago, I can say this:
I absolutely loved it. The medium scale of the event is perfect for socializing, making new friends (with and without benefits, of course) and discovering yourself a bit more. I was left curious for more and will definitely attend future events! Recommend 11/10!
Talk with the organizers
Hi Gazmask and Pup Astra. You’re a kink couple and the organizers of the Dublin Rubber Weekend and Mr. Rubber Ireland. How was it to organize such an event after this long pandemic break?
Gazmask: We’ve been preparing for nearly two years to do it, so as soon as the Irish government restrictions were lifted we were finally able to put everything in place to do a slimmed down event. It was quite stressful as we didn’t know if we would go back into lockdown again or if indeed everything would open back up. So we just kept working away on setting everything up, hoping all would go ahead as planned.
Astra: Once we got word that the Irish government would be lifting restrictions on the 22nd of October, we made the decision then and there to do the weekend. While we had been planning on holding the event since October 2019 we only gave ourselves the space of 2 months to get everything finalised. There was definitely moments when we doubted ourselves and the government’s promises to reopen, and the threat of Covid was ever present throughout those 2 months, but thankfully all the work we put in paid off and the weekend went even better than we had hoped.
I can imagine that this uncertainty has made it a little stressful. To organise good events needs a of work, time and of course also money. But after such a break, did your participants and guest still know how partying goes?
A lot of people were a little hesitant before the event, but we had our Covid measures in place to reassure them on how serious we are about everyone’s safety, and they were so happy to finally be back at a fetish event, even at 60% capacity. Being on zoom calls and so on for the last 18 months is sooo not the same thing as actual human contact. It was great to be back and dance and kiss and hug people again.
It is definitely not the same and the kinkster species is a social one. We need the interaction with others. Looking back, how happy are you with the event?
Over the moon! Gaz definitely has more experience when it comes to running events than I do, but looking back now at both of our hard work fills me with a lot of pride. I surprised myself with how much I was able to contribute, and the best pay off of all was seeing how excited all of our attendees were to be back out in their latex.
I’m still on a high from the weekend. So proud to be a part of our community and to be in a position to help it grow and nurture it. With over 150 attendees over the weekend all giving us positive vibes, I’m so happy to have organised it. Also, so proud of the entrants to our competition as they all truly showed their dedication and passion for rubber and our community too.
So how happy are you with the winner, and what will be his job as ambassador of the Irish rubber community?
Personally, I am thrilled for Dan/Rolo. We both started out in the Irish fetish scene around the same time, and especially during the pandemic, we’ve become really close friends. The competition at this year’s Mr Rubber Ireland contest was fierce, and for Dan to be chosen as the winner proves he is the right Rubberman for the job.
Dan’s main role as Mr Rubber Ireland will be to lead the Irish rubber and fetish communities towards recovery after the pandemic, as well as to help promote our communities to the best of his ability. Dan has always prioritised building bridges and nurturing diversity, which I know he will carry into his title year both at home and abroad.
After this pandemic his help to reanimate the kink life is quite a big job, but I’m sure he will do it greatly. So Gaz, after the event is before the event. What are your ideas and plans for the 2022 editon?
The Irish October holiday weekend in 2022 will be the next Dublin Rubber Weekend. We are already planning ahead for a bigger and better event. In the meantime there will be our regular SLEEK Rubber Socials and many occasions to rubber up and meet as well as travelling abroad to represent our Irish community
