SUPPORTERS
@ tamedbyjane
Melbourne Rubber could not exist without the community support it has received throughout the years. We are blessed to have received so much help from organisations around Australia and beyond since we began in 2016.
Here we would like the opportunity to say thank you to our supporters who have contributed towards and facilitated our events throughout our history.
Click on the logos provided to be sent to their websites for more information!
2016 - 2019
2020 -
The Laird Hotel in Melbourne is one of Australia’s longest running gay-owned and operated venues. The Laird Hotel is now well recognised throughout the gay community, and remains a staple of the local fetish scene for a variety of sub-groups.
Formerly known as "Melbourne's only bear and leather bar", The Laird has progressed over the years since the 1980s to become a haven, meeting place and party space for same-sex attracted cisgender and transgender males from around the world. The Laird Hotel also opens its doors throughout the year during specific events and festivals for cisgender and transgender women.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, The Laird opened it's doors to use to continue to create online content for our members and were supportive in our inclusive change. To say thank you for their unwavering support we held a successful fundraiser that had exceeded in an amount of over $10,000 to support the Laird Hotel during this difficult time.
Melbourne Rubber are eternally grateful to The Laird Hotel and to Marc and Brett for being both a primary supporter for our events held on-site and to the development of our organisation. It is to you that we always raise our glasses to wherever we may be.
Eagle Leather is an iconic Melbourne fetish store now in its 25th year. The present owners Sado BJ and Shane took over the company in 2010 and began a process of modernisation, re-invigoration and renewal of this much loved brand, concreting their position as the benchmark BDSM fetish company in Australia.
They are highly regarded for their expansive leather clothing label, which is produced in-house in their leather workshop. They have also built a name for ourselves in the realm of rubber, by sourcing the best quality latex from suppliers both locally and around the globe. With the largest range of latex clothing in Melbourne, their dimly lit Rubber Room is dedicated to lovers of latex and provides the ultimate rubbery shopping experience!
Eagle Leather are more than just a fetish gear shop – they are integral to our community’s ethos and have been our biggest cheerleaders and supporters. They have helped countless members of our community purchase their first rubber and have been with Melbourne Rubber every step of the way.
Eagle Leather has been a primary supporter of our major events since 2016 and rare responsible for the donation of several prizes every year during our events and annual titleholder competition. They are also founding members of Melbourne Rubber and Slick, and crucial to our existence.
Dean Arcuri is one of the hardest working homosexuals in Melbourne. Host, Photographer, Singer, Comedian, Journalist, Producer and Entertainer. If it's homosexual and Melbourne – Dean Arcuri will be in on the action.
Dean Arcuri has assisted us by hosting our 2016 and 2017 Melbourne Rubbermen competitions whilst also providing the photography documenting our events. In 2018, Dean Arcuri provided his photographic skills to document our events and provided a unique photoshoot experience with our previous Melbourne Rubbermen titleholders.
In 2019, Dean made a return to hosting some of our events during Slick 2019 and gave us his valuable time as scene photographer as well as contributing to our major prize.
Down an' Dirty is an informative campaign coordinated by the Sexually Adventurous Men (SAM) Project, a program of Thorne Harbour Health to provide information on kinkier approaches to pleasure and how to minimize risks in different sexual practices.
They also provides useful information regarding drug use for sex and it also offers the opportunity to ask questions to health professionals and sex experts. It is a great way to get the necessary resources for your next sex party.
They have provided gift bags for every Melbourne Rubberman contestant since 2016, providing branded products and information on their services to patrons at our events to increase understanding on sexual approaches in our fetish community, as well as maintaining the cloak room and shine station facilities.
We are eternally grateful to the members of Down an' Dirty for assisting us with our events!
"You're with the Sexperts!"
Hide & Seek on JOY 94.9 are your weekly show about sex on each Wednesday night at 9pm AEST. Hide & Seek first went to air in July 2009 and have since become one of Australia's most popular community radio programs. The show features an exclusive "adults only" exploration of how sex and sexuality shapes our lives, informs our culture and influences our future. Hosted by Tim, Michael and Owen, you're in for the time of your life! Make sure to listen out for any podcasts where some of your fellow rubber community members join in on the action to talk about all things sexy.
Hide & Seek was a sponsor of Slick 2016 and 2017 and provided our contest winners entry into the JOY 94.9 Radio Training Program.
Grab them via podcast at joy.org.au/hideandseek
Shine and protect your latex with these locally made polishes. L U X Shine and Spray are specially formulated polishes for achieving a perfect shine on your latex garments.
To Shine, simply add 15ml of Lux Shine to 5 litres of water in a small tub or washing basket. Place your already washed garment in the mixture and swirl it around for a minute or two to allow the silicone particles to attach to your latex. Remove from the water and hang to dry in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. After the outside is dry, turn inside out and leave hanging again to fully dry. Your latex will be shined and ready to wear or ready to be stored.
To Spray, simply spray onto your rubber, leave for a few minutes to soak in, then wipe off using a circular motion with a lint free cloth.
L U X also sell polishes for your leather products!
Made proudly in Melbourne. L U X polishes are available for purchase at https://www.eagleleather.com.au/
Kink Projects focus on designing and making high-quality and exceptional fetish fashion garments for men and women. They offer attractive and outstanding latex clothing for demanding customers with a sophisticated and extensive range of different styles ranging from catsuits, casual outfits, uniforms and fantasy wear, latex bras and lingerie, hoods, corsets, dresses, stockings, tops, pants and shorts!
With care and devotion, they make latex clothing step by step, with an astute eye for detail, so that you will enjoy your favourite items for years to come.
Martin Cedes is a creative art director, graphic designer and photographer with a love for rubber based in Melbourne, Victoria.
Martin was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. During his twenties he developed a rapidly growing career in advertising and graphic design. Working for international brands in two of the most important local agencies, he focused in BTL advertising, social media, print design, branding and fashion campaigns. After 7 years he took some time to travel and started a journey that landed him in Melbourne. This trip was filled with adventures but certainly was a journey of personal growth.
Arriving in Melbourne presented him with a challenge, to sneak into this massive and thriving creative industry that this city incubates and make it his new home. Since he arrived he grew fond of all things latex and eventually became part of the Melbourne Rubber committee and community. In the past four years he worked as a senior graphic designer at a great design studio for huge local companies like AFL, NRL & Australia Post. He has also been in charge of creating Slick photoshoots and graphic campaigns for the 2019 and 2020 editions as well as graphic design for Melbourne Rubber since 2018. This community has been a great support for him during hard times and incredibly fun to be part of. He is eternally grateful.
Although 2020 proved to be exceptionally challenging for all of us, he decided to see it as an opportunity and launched my freelance career landing some good projects from various industries.
He believes that good design and good relationships come from collaboration.
Let’s create something great together!
Demasque are an independent magazine designed for and dedicated to the BDSM, fetish and kink communities. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Demasque is created by lifestyle kinksters who want to show off their local scene as well as feature exciting pieces from around the globe.
Their content is inspiring, thought-provoking and connective, providing a wellbeing, entertainment and cultural resource for those already in the know or who are curious about the alternative lifestyle. Demasque is all about awareness, acceptance and supporting creativity in the kink community, presenting it to the world in the best light possible.
Demasque embrace multiculturalism and does not discriminate against age, disability, socioeconomic status, gender identity or sexual orientation, physicality, political ideation, etc.
Demasque are fundamental in providing assistance to organising and providing for our events. We are incredibly grateful to have them on-board with us and we look forward to many more exciting events that we can conduct together with Demasque!
Oz Kink Fest is an annual festival for the alternative and kink community of Australia based in Melbourne or Hellbourne as we like to call it. This event spans over 10 days and offers a variety of opportunities for like minded people to be a part of, there is something for everyone! The aim of the festival is to support the community we are all part of through events that raise a sense of community spirit and help to support the many businesses and community organisations we have.
Oz Kink Fest creates a unique trading and socialising environment for the Australian alternative lifestyle and fetish communities. We have put together an event that people enjoy coming to at a price that offers great value for money and in doing so we have created a safe and welcoming environment for both guests and stall-holders alike.
Our aim with Oz Kink Fest is to provide an event that grows with its communities and evolves to remain fresh and exciting.
Nourish Collingwood is the place for those with a passion for healthy food!
Serving you coffee, sushi, juice, and superfood, they are worth a visit should you end up in Collingwood. Located at 118 Smith Street, Nourish provide a queer-friendly environment and the tastiest health foods you have ever eaten in Melbourne. You'll be craving for your next visit before you've even left the restaurant!
Nourish Collingwood have been generous enough to sponsor and support Slick 2021 and our Melbourne Rubberman 2021 competition. we cannot thank them enough for their contribution to the festivities, and all of us here at Melbourne Rubber will be frequent diners at their amazing establishment.
San Francisco Bay Area Rubber are a US based non-for-profit charity for people who seek body-positive self-esteem through the rubber/latex culture located throughout the multi-fetish / kinkster community. Their influence expands all over the State of California, The United States of America and beyond!
In 2019, SFBAR became a major sponsor of our Slick titleholder competition and generously provided our titleholder Matthew Shepherd (Melbourne Rubberman 2018) with a travel fund to compete across the world for the title of the 23rd Mr. International Rubber held in Chicago, Illinois in November 2019.
The culture and initiative created by the San Francisco Bay Area Rubber community for an inclusive rubber environment has encouraged Melbourne Rubber to embrace a wider diversity of genders and sexual identities within our own local rubber community, and we cannot thank them enough.
"Life is too short to wear boring shoes."
Then look no further then at Exotic Footwear, Australia's Premier Exotic Shoes & Alternative Footwear website! Exotic Footwear was established in July 2004 and has become Australia's Premier Authorised Pleaser USA seller.
They don't just carry lines they think are popular, they carry the entire range. So your choices are never limited.
Exotic Footwear offer free shipping, a loyalty program and 24/7 contact (SMS). Terms and conditions apply.
RubberBRO is the creation of an independent rubber artisan based in Petrozavodsk, Russia. Dmitry, a former Mr Rubber Russia is the man behind the brand and loves to create shiny works of latex art in his designs. He specialising in high quality, unique and custom designs at affordable prices.
RubberBRO has generously donated gear gift vouchers for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Slick titleholder competitions. We at Melbourne Rubber greatly appreciate and value the ongoing artistic talents of Dmitry and RubberBRO.
Based in Manchester, United Kingdom, RubberPigs is a labour of love for Paul and Bart – a couple of gear heads who make everything out of their home workshop.
With Paul and Bart, you're not just a customer, you're a member of the RubberPigs family and they're more than happy to help you create a custom design and have a chat about your gear needs, regardless of experience, wherever you are in the world!
RubberPigs have generously donated gear vouchers contributing towards the winner's prize at the 2018 and 2019 Slick titleholder competitions.
The Naked Barber (Richard Savvy) is a qualified hairdresser possessing over 30 years experience in men's grooming and barbering operates a unique men’s grooming service based in his fully equipped private studio located on Oxford Street, Sydney.
From haircuts to head shaving, body clipping to waxing, Richard can satisfy all your grooming needs. The Naked Barber can tailor a grooming package for you which could include your wildest fantasy! These extend to private parties, events and role play - Richard caters to those who identify as straight, bisexual, transgender, gay and even couples of any kind are all welcome.
This is an unforgettable experience for anyone who has a fetish for grooming or would like to explore.
The Naked Barber was generous enough to donate a grooming package as an audience prize during our first Slick titleholder competition in 2016.
My Gear Fetish celebrates those who create for the fetish community and shines a spotlight on smaller makers from around the world. It also gives those who need more gear (and let’s face it – enough is never enough) greater variety and access to creators they had never heard of before, from around the globe – whatever their fetish.
By selling with us you are helping bring to life our vision of a fetish world where everyone can find something that they like that gives them the confidence to be their true geared self. And if you are looking for new gear, we bring the largest variety of everything you are interested in from around the world, complete with buyer protection.
My Gear Fetish is a proud supporter of Slick 2021.
Dark Room Projects is created and operated by Damien Hinds, who has photographed many queer man throughout Australia. Damien has been responsible for photographing and curating the Company Of Men Exhibition.
Dark Room Projects is a proud supporter of Slick 2021.
Stick It Grill is a healthy, fast food restaurant taking eating back to basics. Sticks (skewers) and fire. We specialise in serving up delicious, chargrilled sticks salads, and smiles, inspired by our Mediterranean heritage.
Our values are sustainability (we want to do our part to preserve our precious earth. Everyone has a responsibility to make a difference), quality (what you give is what you get. We believe in quality of produce and quality of service), healthy (good food is the key to good health), and generosity (generosity is giving more than you can).
Stick It Grill is a proud supporter of Slick 2021.
Latex42 is a bespoke latex fashion and accessories maker. Based in Melbourne, Australia, our goal is to work with you to create a unique outfit that is designed just for you.
We believe everyone should find their life's meaning. You should be unapologetically you and live YOUR life. For us at Latex 42 working with our hands is what we love. Designing things is something we are passionate about and we enjoy nothing more then seeing someone being their true self in one of our unique designs.
Latex42 is a proud supporter of Slick 2021.
Henry Lee Barbershop was established in 2016 with the intent of creating a space for all people to get their haircut in a friendly and welcoming environment.
Henry Lee provides classic barbering services, with a focus on precision haircuts, beard trims and hot towel shaves. We welcome everyone, and charge according to hair length and work done rather than basing our price structure on gender.
"Support the Small Businesses that Support the Community"
Henry Lee Barbershop is a proud supporter of Slick 2021.