Retro pinup latex and loving it.
Growing up in the suburbs was easy for some kids. They played sports, partied, drank, drove expensive cars, had lots of material items and even more sex - basically did all the meaningless crap that I couldn't stand. Was I better than them - eh, I don't like to be one to judge. Maybe it was just a matter of personality. I was a loner and preferred to keep it that way
Life was a struggle for me - trying to figure out my way, my path, something to give my life meaning - a way to give back to society and not leach off of my parents, community, etc. As so often happens, I found my way on a boring Saturday afternoon, or perhaps the way found me.
Rain misted and covered the sky with a gray haze of melancholy - school was out for summer, and not much going on. My friend Steven, had recently decided to experiment with photography, and he had come over with a used camera he had bought online. He wanted to experiment and I had begrudgingly agreed to be his guinea pig.
Steven slammed down a large black duffle bag filled with all sorts of gear - batteries, film, flashes, a fold up tripod, black tape, and in the side compartment something I had never seen before. Red and rubbery, with a unique smell and sound - he threw a bottle at me and it slipped from my grasp.
I picked it up. "What's this?", I asked. "It's lube. You use it to help the latex capri pants slide over your skin. Then you apply the latex lube to the outside to give the rubber a real good shine. This stuff makes for awesome photography - will completely blow your mind!"
The latex was rubbery in feel and kind of cold to the touch. I worked it up each leg, and almost immediately upon contact with my skin it warmed to my temperature. It stretched and squeezed against my hips. In the mirror I saw a striking image - the glare of the lights in the room reflected off the latex and created such a stunning image that I couldn't take my eyes off myself.
Steven started snapping pictures of me checking myself out in the mirror - a mini-biography of my first experience with latex. We must have shot 200 to 300 pictures that afternoon. I had found my art. Modeling, creating distinctive, striking images was all I wanted to do from now on. I could entertain, influence, make my presence on the world felt just a little bit. It felt good to create, innovate, maybe give back a little.
