The guys over at New England Rubber Men asked that this be posted to Metalbond:

A fetish community turns out as RubberJason takes the title of Mr. New England Rubber

BOSTON (April 12, 2012) – The world of rubbermen contests began in Boston with the Mr. Vulcan competition two decades ago. Now, New England is reclaiming its place as a hub of the rubber-kink community. More than 100 kinksters turned out as 37-year-old Jason Lynch, (aka, RubberJason) donned the sash of the 2nd annual Mr. New England Rubber.

In the eyes of many, the event marked a sea change for the region’s rubber fetish community. Rubber and latex fetish have long been a minor component of kink culture, especially in the leather-dominated Northeast. However, the last year has witnessed a growing number of rubber enthusiasts at organized fetish events—and has spawned the new organization, the New England Rubber Men, which has more than 50 members despite having formed a mere five months ago.

“I can’t say how proud I am of the enormous response we’ve seen in such a short amount of time,” said Lynch, who is one of the founding members of the New England Rubber Men. “I think there are a lot of guys in this area who have been a little intimidated to show their rubber-kink side. Now, they’re finding out that this area’s fetish community is a big and welcoming place…and they’re more than happy to show up.”

And, they’ll have plenty of new opportunities to do just that. Along with first-runner-up GloveBoy, second-runner-up Clark Longhammer, and last year’s winner Nochmal, Lynch and the New England Rubber Men will host several rubber events around New England including various demos and social get-togethers.

“I think we’re at the start of something big in New England—something that will open the kink community to a much bigger group, “ said Justin Eddy (SirJustin), owner of the MNER contest and International Mr. Deaf Leather 2011.

Lynch will now have an opportunity to represent the New England rubber community on an international stage by donning the MNER sash (which was designed by latex fashion icon, The Baroness) at the 16th annual Mister International Rubber Contest in November in Chicago. He has big waders to fill, however. Mr. New England Rubber 2011, Nochmal, took first-runner-up at the competition.

Supports have little doubt that the self-proclaimed “cub” will be a favorite at the competition. He was selected by a panel of judges comprised of well-known personalities within the rubber community: G-man, Mr. International Rubber 2011; Richard Nordin (Nochmal), Mr. New England Rubber 2011; Bob Roberts, Mr. American Rubber 2012; Miss Corvette, Ms. FLAG 2011; along with Brian Conway and Patrick Pierson (Pleep), two popular contestants from the Mister International Rubber 2011 contest.