Photos by West Smith

My grandpa, who was a bit on the uptight side, took my mom to see the musical Hair when she was a kid. At the end of the first act, the performers came out onto the stage naked. My mom remembers his face was “mortified.” My grandfather said he wanted to leave immediately, missing the second half and the show's crescendo “Let The Sunshine In.”

If he wasn’t already dead, I think my grandpa would have died the moment he walked into the 2nd annual Seattle Fetish Ball this weekend at the SoDo Showbox.

The Fetish Ball was the main event of the weekend-long list of fetish-forward activities, which included a Fetish Cruise that embarked on Lake Union on Friday and concluded with a Decompression Brunch at The Unicorn on the Hill on Sunday. Vancouver, BC, has had a world famous Fetish Weekend for decades now, and with Seattle’s fetish scene growing and feeling bigger than ever, the time is right for an event like this to really take off.

When I arrived at the venue I was greeted by Style Industry's best-selling machine, The Penalty box SUPER Hellcat FLAGSHIP EDITION. Retailing for 1,939.00€ (not including shipping from Germany) these aren’t usually something I see in the wild, and I was disappointed to see that not one person interacted with it throughout the entire evening.

I imagine having one of these in your house would be like owning a pinball machine. You play with it a bunch when you first get it, but after a while it becomes more like a large piece of derivative furniture that you only touch when guests come over.

When it comes to kink and fetish play, consent is always the most important thing. For this event I was assisted by my friend Alex Gooseman who, with clipboard in hand, was tasked with gathering signed photography consent waivers from every single person photographed. 

 

Easier said than done when a hearty portion of the event’s participants are wearing horse hooves and unable to hold a pen. (Don’t worry though, we still got written consent from everyone in these photos.)

“I should do more yoga,” the person wrapped in the shibari ropes told me after their ambient show in the VIP lounge of the Fetish Ball. “Me too,” I said knowing that however much that person did do yoga, I did 100 percent less. They also assured me that for even the least limber person, there are ways to be tied in shibari that are “comfortable-ish.”

Unlike the pair of black skinny jeans that I’ve been wearing since 2014, Latex clothing needs to be polished and shined in order for it to maintain its unique look. The Fetish Ball had a booth that would shine your latex for you while at the event, conveniently located next to the Naughty Corner.

Throughout the night, multiple latex fashion shows took place, using the SoDo Showbox stage as a runway. Inner Sanctum was the first brand to walk and, like most cool sex things apparently, was brought to America by way of Germany.

Someone once said to me, “For everyone that likes to get pissed on, there is someone who likes to piss on people.” And I think that is beautiful.

No matter what people in Seattle tell you, I think the Seattle Freeze is real. And if it’s hard to meet friends in this city, then it must be that much harder to meet people that match your freak. I’m glad the Seattle Fetish Ball exists and I hope it becomes a staple of the world Fetish Scene.

P.S. - I didn’t see anyone getting pissed on, but also I was not invited to the after party.