My first Folsom EU

Let's keep going on that even review train with my experience at Folsom EU in Berlin in 2025. A mix of good and bad that left me a bit puzzled about both the event and me

In 2025 I've attended Folsom Berlin and shared a airBNB with puppy friends. First time in Berlin, but didn't plan ahead enough to truly enjoy the time in the city.

But as I write these words, I can't help but not be fully happy with my time there. It is probably a combination of things that I'm trying to get to the bottom of.

Berlin is a fantastic city for gay culture, with clubs galore, and shops all around that will let you be who and whatever you want to be.

One of my problem with Folsom might stem from a very crucial difference in how I express myself sexually and humanely and might be a strong representation of the side of male gay culture I despise.

It is my opinion, and I don't think it made me fully regret coming or will stop me from attending another time, but Folsom has a lot of the toxic masculinity presentation that I don't like.

I don't feel Ike attendees care about each other that much, and the amount of time I had to physically push my way through, wearing full latex and a gas mask leading my partner at the end of a leash, and asking many times for people to kindly shift away to make a tiny bit of room, only to be met with pillars who would look at me judgingly and not move is unacceptable. And on the opposite, being shoved around carelessly, with no apology (that is the important part) is mad. The amount of time I wanted to punch people because of their lack of civil etiquette is awful, and when I'm hoping to join a community that should be strong and care about their members, I just ended up realizing that, for the most part, this event is a dick length contest.

At Folsom, you're showing off not much out of pride, but out of list and fame. You're trying to catch attention to get the best dick around, and unless you are perfectly marching the gay category social norms, then basically you can just piss off in a corner.

I may be writing these words in a bad mind space, but I was expecting a queer fulfilling event, where expression leads to pride and could lead to action, and maybe it's just bad luck and that I should have planned my event better.

And speaking of parties, I am extremely disappointed by AnimalZ Folsom. It felt like an event that didn't really knew what it wanted to offer, and while I salute the effort, it was terribly set up. I've only been once to Animalz in Manchester, and the event size is not comparable,

In the end, a lot about this event left me feeling inadequate for the community, and maybe triggering a lot of my insecurities, and brought up again that I'm not gay, im queer. I barely fit in any specific label at the fringe of society and have to make my own and spend extra time defining it.

I'm a soft dom, I enjoy latex because of latex, I enjoy droning because it allows me to stop behaving like a human for a moment, and sex is entirely optional, a cherry on top, and where gender is entirely irrelevant, and vibes and an understanding behavior is key.

I didn't feel at home at Folsom this year. Maybe I will in the future. I'm not crossing it off yet.