Rocky Mountain Rebellion

Two weeks ago, I attended my first ever leather conference held right here in my hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah. Formerly named Rocky Mountain Olympus Leather since it's inception in 2010, it is now renamed the Rocky Mountain Rebellion. It involves 3 days of classes and workshops from a variety of presenters, vendor fairs, play parties, and a leather title contest. Oh and of course lots of kinky people! In the cons column, it does not include much time to sleep. Lol.

I haven't attended the event in past years so didn't really know what to expect. I wasn't originally planning on going but got to thinking about it and figured if I wanted to see what a leather event of this scale was like it was most logical (and cost effective) to try out the one in my own city first. And certain people were so excited about it that it was a bit contagious. I also ended up volunteering. Yeah, she was that good.

Things started off early Friday when I arrived to do a security shift at the host hotel. Vendors were setting up, classes would be starting in a few hours. If you checked in that day, I was the one sitting there in the horrific greenish neon shirt making sure you had your badge on. It was a tough job but someone had to do it. This is actually the first event of it's kind in Utah to be held at a hotel. Being kinky in Utah comes with it's own hardships and requires being careful with local laws and venue limitations. I think things at the hotel turned out fantastic. The hotel staff was always nice and helpful and the RMR staff and volunteers kept things running smoothly.

I didn't make it to any of the classes on that day by the time I was done with security and then pulled in to a quest to find a Starbucks. I went back home to have dinner and get ready to go to the party that night with S. I kept hearing someone's voice in my head repeating how it's very beneficial to stay at the hotel so you didn't miss out on things. Yeah, they were right. The constant driving back and forth got annoying fast. S picked me up and we went to that night's party. Many of the people I normally play with were busy themselves running around volunteering and setting things up. There was a cigar social going on outside for all those who enjoy cigars and socializing. I was trying to keep from getting more mosquito bites. More on that later.

S and I found a place to play and got set up on one of the spanking benches. I wore an army green button down dress and was a redhead for the night. I don't have any pictures though because I'm a good girl and followed the rules of no phones/cameras for the privacy of all attendees. So no post spanking pics from this event. :-( S had some new toys he got shortly before this event that I mentioned in my birthday spankings post. He had a mini sjambok that stings like hell that he used for a bit. Several other things from his bag got some use including a long, thin strap and a delrin cane. The result of that on my bottom wasn't quite the hue of the hair but I was left with a nice afterglow.

Saturday morning I was back at the hotel for another security shift. I learned from the previous day so made sure to have my coffee and McMuffin on the way there. I was able to make it to the afternoon classes. I went to "Blaise Wrap: Cling Play/Polyvinyl Suspensions" taught by Simon Blaise. He taught about bondage and suspensions using cling wrap as a safer alternative to rope. The demo was really cool to watch and the end result being all wrapped up in blue was pretty, too. I also went to "Magical Tops, Fighter Pilot Bottoms" taught by Master Konraad and slave jazz. I enjoyed watching their dynamic together and they were funny too. This class got into sub space, slight of mind, and some psychological "tricks" to get your partner into the headspace you want for your scene.

There was a break for dinner and then at 7 was the contest. I've never attended one before and it was very interesting. This year was special in that they were introducing a completely new format of the titleholder contest. Previously there would be a competition for Mr. RMOL and a Ms. RMOL. This year was the first Rocky Mountain Person of Leather contest. From their website- "Each year, a single Rocky Mountain Person of Leather will be selected not based on race, gender-identity, sexual-orientation, physical appearance, age, or disability, but rather on their ability to articulate their views, passions, and dedications and to make an impact in their communities. We will expect these People of Leather to act as mentors, educators, role models and spokespeople throughout their title year."

As the event's producer Andrew Love would say, it's kind of a big deal. It is the first contest of it's kind to have an open to everyone format with one winner. The contest was fun to watch. If you have no idea what a leather titleholder contest is like, imagine Miss America minus the swimsuit portion and misogyny. There was a panel of judges and two contestants this year- John G. and Simon/Alexandria Blaise. Each had a portion where they had to answer questions, one sillier and one serious. They both had to auction off items for travel funds that are used throughout the titleholder year. Each gave a speech. And the last category is the fantasy scene portion. Both were very entertaining to watch but I won't give away all the secrets here. If you want to know what it's like, come next year. :-) At the end of the contest, Simon/Alexandria Blaise was announced the winner and the first ever Rocky Mountain Person of Leather. Sin in the City is a leather event in Las Vegas coming up at the end of February and will host the International Person of Leather contest.

After the contest concluded I headed over to the party. S and I found a spot to play at the beginning of the night. He brought his new flogger this time and tried that out. It's a bit whippier than other floggers he has so produced a lot of sting. But that's not a complaint. And it's red and pretty. I waited far too long to write this post so the order of toys used is alluding me. But there were many mostly stingy things. One thing I'd been hoping for in that past 2 days was a nap scene. Unfortunately for me, most of the furniture was outside from the cigar social. I did nab a spot on the couch and managed to take a nap. And I got eaten alive by fucking mosquitoes. I had one other scene with someone whose name also starts with S but not the S I previously mentioned. I'll have to think of an anonymous nickname for him later. A variety of toys was also used in that scene including some stingy wooden things and a metal lollipop paddle. By the time I got home around 4 am, I still had a nicely roasted bottom.

Due to the lateness of the previous night, I didn't make it to the last few classes on Sunday morning. There was one presenter I really wanted to see too. Maybe next time. I helped set up the final after party for Sunday afternoon and hung around there for a while at their BBQ. I was pretty fucking tired at that point. I can only imagine how the people who ran the event were feeling. I said my goodbyes and drove home for the final time that weekend. I was really hoping someone would show up at my door with a Slurpee but nobody did. Woh woh. It was a hot weekend. Oh and this picture on the right is just ONE mosquito bite. This is why I don't go outside. I ended up with 8 of those on my arms, legs, and feet. Stupid flip flops. And that is my recap for the event! It was an overall good experience. Thank you to all the organizers and staff and people who made it happen! It takes so much time and energy to put on something like this and it really shows their love for the community. If you'd like to know more about this and related events, check out these links.

Rocky Mountain Rebellion website
Rocky Mountain Rebellion Fetlife group 
International Person of Leather
Sin in the City
Beyond Vanilla- hosting the Heartland Person of Leather contest