A bark about messy beginnings

Here we are, my second bark. It took a bit longer than I initially wanted to, but I guess the good 'ol phrase "life happened" applies here as well. But this is a blog about an event that I've been wanting to attend for many years and this year it finally happened! I went to Steppenbrand!

This bark will most likely be split into multiple parts, as I have so much to share and talk about. Not just about the event itself, but also leading up to it and even a little trip down memory lane!

When I told people that I was going to Steppenbrand, the number 1 thing that I was asked was "what is Steppenbrand?". And it's a fair question to have. Honestly, before having been there, I wasn't really sure how to answer it myself. The website calls it an "outdoor gay fetish festival". And I guess it is a good way to describe it, yet at the same time, it doesn't really give you a whole lot to go on. For me there was one main attraction that made me want to make the long trip to the nothern part of Germany; a big mud pit.

See, one of my biggest kinks is WAM/gunge. It's probably also one of my earliest kinks (before I even know it was one). Throwback to a young Brook, sitting in front of the TV watching a Dutch show called 'de Droomshow' (which would translate as 'The Dreamshow'). It was a children's gameshow where kids would compete in a series of challenges. One of the rounds was a quiz round, where each wrong answer would lead to the 2 contestants on a team being showered with brightly colored slime. I remember seeing this as a kid and being fascinated by it. I wanted to be on the show, just for this round alone. The teams would always sit side by side and sometimes one of the 2 would be covered so much more. I remember always being "mad" at the other kid for not wanting to get covered in the slime and instead ducking away.

A video of the quiz element I just mentioned with the gunge shower

Well fast forward to my adulthood, where I can now enjoy things with my adult money, in my own adult apartment. So the gunge shower experience has been had many times already (and even without answering any quiz questions wrong!). While I love the sensation of warm gunge covering me, I've always been intrigued by mud and getting muddy, playing in it. Ok maybe let's rewind a little bit still, because even in my late teens I wanted to experience this. I remember going mountainbiking in the nearby woods and "accidentally" biking through the deep puddles, hoping they'd splash on my lycra gear (another one of my big kinks). Later I discovered obstacle races where mud was often an element, but never was I able to really get covered in it head to toe!

The anticipation of gunge; mixing it, watching it get thicker and knowing you're soon covered in it!

So getting dirty and messy in gear has always been a bit of fascination for me. From childhood, growing into adulthood. I'm not sure where the fascination or the fetish comes from. Weirdly enough, due to my neurospicyness, I can't stand getting my hands dirty. I'm pretty sensitive to them being moist or sweaty or greasy, so I wash them pretty regularly. As a kid my mom was always pretty over protective of me getting dirty. If I went over to play with my nephew she always gave me extra clothes "in case I would get dirty". So maybe a combination of this is what triggered the kink? I have no idea and I'm no psychologist, but I do know that I love the sensation.

And thus, my dream of going to Steppenbrand was born after having seen the very little pics and videos of the event on social media. Freely playing in thick creamy mud, without the fear of getting caught, for a full weekend sounded like heaven.

And let me tell you... it came pretty close! But that's something for the next bark!