The 4th edition of the Fetish convention that introduced me to many new models and friends and started to give me a name and voice in the industry takes on a new name in a new location. Tampa was an interesting location to me for many reasons. One was family. While I never had been to Florida before, my parents made many trips there before divorcing and my father moved down to the area. I had not seen him at this point in nearly 15 years. Within the next year I found out my cousin was building a winter home south of the city. As if the con moving to Tampa did not make me look forward to the trip, reuniting with my dad made me look forward to the trip even more. As mentioned in the last video post, I was also tagging along with Sgt Major, sharing a booth with him on the convention floor, and being a part of the Sunday night Fetish Ball production with Sarge, Lew Rubens, and Maria Shadoes. In the last video I also made a memory mistake in researching and going through my old records. This convention was not in August. It was in September, and towards the end of the most active year of hurricanes that struck Florida in years before or since actually. While the move to Florida did bring up the possibilities of not having the con because of a storm, I personally did not think much of it and made my plans to fly down. My dad said he lived in ‘god’s country’ and hurricanes did not hit Tampa. As the day of my flight approached there was indeed another hurricane out there. Hurricane Jeanne was far out east of the Bahamas and was not going to affect the flight down and even with three other storms hitting Florida, Tampa was generally missed (as Dad predicted) and Fetishcon was on. I packed my cameras, lights, and toys and boarded a plane Tuesday September 21, flew to Tampa and rented a car to spend a couple days with my dad before checking in to the convention early on Thursday to set up the table and get ready for the Meet and Greet.
That year I was a smoker. The only reason I mention it is that the smoking area was (and still is) one of the key spots to network. Before that, it was mostly the bar for me. The bar still was my most popular spot and I was there. a lot. But the smoking area is where I met, most notably, Paige Turner. It actually took a day or so before we figured out that KC and her and her husband, Jerry, was chatting it up often on AOL and I had seen many scanned Polaroids or her tied up. Jerry wanted to start his own site and Paige thought she might give modeling a try. Judging from the making out I saw with Gina Rae Michaels at the bar I thought she would make a great model. Turns out not only she was a great model for me, but her and Jerry, who becomes the ‘Badman’ of Badman Bondage, becomes my photography crew when we all eventually move to Tampa in 2006.
At the booth, Sarge has hired a new model to be the eye candy and demo model for our booth. He may have found her through kink.com or through Lew, but it turns out that the young lady he hires is none other than future bondage and porn legend Dana DeArmond.
Did I shoot her? Nope. One of the many missed opportunities I have had. I would unfortunately pass on models that I did not have the desire or the money to shoot that would eventually end up at kink.com and became icons in the business. By the time they either were not interested in working with me or their price got too rich. The one that I did shoot at this con, however, was a young athletic model that came to the booth wearing the tiniest white bikini and boots. Sarge knew her because she had worked at Insex. She was incredibly toned, tanned, with small natural breasts with huge nipples and I had to have her on the site. I asked if we could shoot and she fortunately said yes. The only time we both had to shoot was at the end of the con on Sunday right before my call time for the Sunday night Ball. My time with Wenona was booked.
In the meantime, Saturday afternoon saw the start of the storm. Hurricane Jeanne landed on the east coast and the outer bands started pelting us early that afternoon. We kept on with business. I have some flashes of memories that my old brain can recall. I met friends of friends that will eventually model for me. Gina Rae hung with me some and introduced me to Taylor Brady (DMV 063). I spent time with Lydia McLane, who I met in Vegas when Sarge shot her. I tried to booked a shoot with her but it didn’t pan out. The rest of the con is flashes of images. The first floor getting flooded. Watching the swimming pool become a wave pool. Before the storm were the all night hot tub parties. Meeting early bondage legend Eve Ellis at my booth (and not recognizing her). Watching Sarge and Lew across the floor in his booth tying up girl after girl. A quick photo with Christina Carter, who was then, as now, so in demand that I almost never see her at these things. All a wonderful blur.
The storm raged on through Sunday as we got ready for the ball and Wenona came up to my room. The first thing I did after tying her in her bikini and boots with electric tape? Tie her nipples to the bed posts of course. Over the many years and shooting more scenes with her than any other model, those nipples will get a hell of a lot of my attention. Add a pocket rocket vibrator under her bikini panties and Wenona squirms pulling on her nipples.
The second scene has her suspended, legs stretched out in cheerleader splits between the two beds, arms hanging from the bed posts with a Hitachi secured to a camera tripod between her legs. Wenona has multiple orgasms during the scene as I fumble and stumble repositioning her and the wand and just as I and mearing the end of the scene… the power goes out. The storm finally raged long enough to knock out the power to the area. Fortunately I had plenty of content and Wenona had her fill of orgasms so I fashioned an ending to the scene. I untied her and finished up business in the dark and went downstairs to meet up with Lew and Sarge. It turns out that the ball and our performance was cancelled. The hotel had planned for this event and had generators for a little light and a bar set up in the ballroom along with some large fans so there was a party. Wenona and her partner Louie invited me to go out with them restaurant hunting but I politely declined, choosing to stay at the ballroom and enjoy the party. A couple things I remember from that night was dancing with Lydia McLane and late that night getting tied up by Juliet Heart back in my room.
The power had still not come back on as night turned into morning for me but the storm had passed and it was Florida again. Sunny. Hot. Humid as hell. I am hungover and spent. I pack my things to head back to my dads. As I pack my phone is rings. The hotel is moving people to other hotels and I had a rental car so I spend the day moving friends to another hotel that had power. I got back to my dad’s around 5 that evening and immediately crashed, waking up just in time to get to the airport Tuesday morning for my flight back to Cleveland.
It was a hell of a week. Lots of blurred memories that will pop into my head long after I am done writing this blog but this con introduced me to some long time friends and models and started the wheels turning that eventually led to my move to Florida.
Oh I nearly forgot, Crimson’s second filler scene in this video. She brought a sexy Santa outfit and wanted me to tie her in it. It is the only holiday theme scene I have shot in all my 20 plus years of shooting.
Enjoy the first of literally dozens of scenes with one of the all time legends of bondage.