OHBILLY: Hi-Vis - Standing out whilst blending in
from
Recon News
10 March 2021
By Team Recon's OhBilly
As I look in the mirror, I'm struck with the realisation that never in my life have I dressed so bulky for a fetish event. I am almost entirely without shape. Considering I usually favour Lycra or rubber gear, it's a novel take. I like what I see, though. I'm getting a feel for it. More to the point, I'm enjoying the feel of the thick nylon rubbing against my bare ass; a jock was the right choice.
I sit on the corner of the bed in my hotel room and pull on my work boots. Again, this is not footwear I'm accustomed to. They change the way I walk. I'm hardly light on my feet at the best of times, but the boots impose a stomping swagger. One last look in the mirror, sizing myself up, then I'm out the door.
This is my first time wearing hi-vis gear.
For Darklands 2020 I wanted some new gear. Sandy gave me the keys to the Recon gear box, and, unsurprisingly, the hi-vis stood out. Comfy looking, something new for me, and hardy enough to withstand a full day on the market. It didn't hurt that it had previously been worn by Rocco Hard for a photo shoot. Yes, I sniffed it; I'm only human.
Prior to this moment, I'd never really thought about hi-vis. I could see the appeal on a primal level, but it wasn't something I'd investigated. Wearing it in Antwerp, though, stirred something inside me.
As the world went into lockdown shortly after Darklands, I've not had chance to explore hi-vis, but it's stayed on my mind…and on your homefeed, seeing as I'm pictured wearing it in all promo material for the last 10 months. I now have a curiosity for hi-vis which I can't delve into in person, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to chat with guys who already have a passion for it.
Kinkbikerlad, InTrouble, DRIPS and DoggoKvasir are four guys who have known the pleasure of hi-vis for quite some time. When I asked them how they got into it, both DRIPS and Doggo said they'd had a thing for it since their youth. In regard to the appeal of hi-vis gear, there seemed to be a general consensus that it evokes masculinity, though there's much more to it than this.
When asked whether it's the look, the feel or something else that appeals about hi-vis, they all gave different answers. For Kinkbikerlad, it's the look, but also the feel. He says that with his larger build and its looser nature, he feels he can 'get away with a lot more in it'. DRIPS says that he wants to be objectified and stripped of control whilst wearing it. Whether being tied up, during watersports, roleplay or any number of other things, whilst wearing his hi-vis, it flips something in his brain. As he puts it, 'I want to be an object, I want aggression, I want sweat. And I want it with you, dearest reader' [There's a link to his profile down below 😉]. 'I feel a surreal horny freedom when I wear it. If I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror it's as if I've found my true calling; a dirty sex object.'.
DoggoKvasir, the guy out of the four with arguably the largest collection of hi-vis, loves the variety of gear that can be found around the world, with different countries favouring different looks and designs. He has an ever-expanding collection made up of gear from across Europe and the US. He also loves the materials used for the different pieces of gear; the different noises and rustling they can make as they pass over your body. 'I sometimes lay in bed in hi-vis waistcoats, which are soft, but the reflective strips have a different feel compared to the main fabric' he tells me. The tactile nature of the gear holds a huge appeal.
As for InTrouble, he says that the look is partly it, but it's also about where and when it's worn. 'There's something sexy about being in the gear, not just to go to a Recon party, but to just wear it, because you could be one of those guys just starting on a job, and you're in something that makes you horny. It can be quite powerful.'
This is something I relate to.
I go down in the hotel lift, seeing in the mirror that I'm holding myself differently. Shoulders back. Head tilted. Smirk on my face. As I step outside, I feel a charge. It's like I have a secret. As I walk the busy street, I think about how I might appear. I'm just a guy in his workwear, on his way to or from a job. I'm not walking like me, and, I imagine, if anyone had stopped to talk to me, I wouldn't have spoken like me either. There's something deeply horny about being out and about in gear, and no one knowing. My cock starts to twitch in my jock.
I ask the guys if they found appeal in this too, in their kink being camouflaged on the street. They agreed that there's something powerful about being able to wear your gear out in public, and the people around you not knowing it's your kink. As Doggo says, 'I find it really horny to be out in hi-vis gear - stuff I've played in - walking around town and the shops. Standing out and blending in at the same time.'
That seems to be a fairly unique aspect of hi-vis gear. By its very nature, it's a fabric that's designed to make you stand out, but by its everyday usage, it's something that can go unnoticed. It's all a matter of context. If you're out on the street, then no one would blink an eye, but in a fetish club, where it's less commonplace, you're going to get some attention. 'It's helped me develop my confidence, by actually making me feel more noticed' Doggo tells me, 'having people look at me where previously I would have tried to hide'.
As Darklands was on the cusp of a pandemic that we were yet to understand, I didn't want to take any additional chances, so after the market closed for the day, and my work was done, I went for dinner with my colleagues, then back to my hotel alone. As such, I never delved into the darkrooms, and I'm yet to have any fun in the hi-vis gear, so I wanted to find out from the guys what it was like.
I asked them whether they liked to play with other guys in hi-vis. The general consensus was that it wasn't a prerequisite for their play partners, but they'd enjoy it if it was available. Half the problem for an all hi-vis scenario at a party or an event is simply that there might not be that many other guys in hi-vis. This doesn't stop them from arranging meets with other hi-vis fans, though. DoggoKvasir even broadens the workwear category out for some roleplay scenarios, so as to have worker vs military or police.
InTrouble notes that many guys have 'played with their tool' watching builder porn at some point, so it's a fantasy that many guys can get into, regardless of whether they consider themselves into hi-vis or not. He notes that part of the fun of multiple guys playing in hi-vis, is that after a short amount of time, the gear shows signs of wear, making it all the more sleezy. And as he says, 'What's not hot about two or more guys together in big boots and hi-vis, playing around with each other, grabbing each other's dicks, or feeling them through the material'. Point taken!
DRIPS echoes the sentiment. As he sees it, the horniest scenario is two guys in full hi-vis and boots, they notice each other for the first time. Two sweaty men in gear. They don't know each other, but from a single glance, they know they want each other. Kissing in head-to-toe hi-vis, grabbing at each other's jackets and bulges. 'It's just fit'.
I ask the guys if there's any types of play that go hand-in-hand with the gear, overall, the answer seemed to be mud, piss and smoking. I can definitely envisage muddy scenarios in the gear. It seems a perfect match. As DRIPS puts it, 'As well as getting dirty, there's a striking visual contrast between the reflective material of hi-vis and mud. It feels great'. It definitely plays into what my fantasies might be. Smoking too. Scenes are forming in my head.
This gets me thinking. As a final question, I ask some of the guys if they've ever experienced play scenarios in a setting like a construction site. Kinkbikerlad and DoggoKvasir say they haven't, but for Doggo it would be an ultimate fantasy. Kinkbiker suggests a construction area at the next Recon party – as long as he can drive the digger. I take a moment to ponder the health and safety ramifications of this then ask InTrouble the same question. 'Yes, a few times', he tells me, 'It's fun to get on to the sites and to find somewhere to play. It makes it much hornier and more authentic'. He tells me about the last time he did it, in the construction site of a house renovation. He tells me it was warm, but it had been wet, making it perfect for some play. If you're into dirty work gear or grime and mud, it's a perfect play space. Though, he adds, always make sure it's safe and there aren't any cameras around, and if you decide to film your scenario, make sure not to give the location away, in case it could be used against you…I feel that now might be a good place to say that Recon does not endorse trespassing or any other illegal activities, but, on a personal (hypothetical) level, fuck that sounds hot!
Spending all day at Darklands in my gear, all wound up by the sights, sounds and smells, but too cautious to do anything with it; I'm now standing in the toilet of a chain restaurant with my hi-vis trousers around my ankles. Sadly, alone but taking ass pics in the mirror to send to a guy I've been chatting with. My jacket hitched up, straps on my jock adjusted. All I'm thinking about is, what if? What if another lad walked in right now, also decked out in hi-vis, catching me like this? All I'm thinking of is the rough fun we could be having, pressed up against the sink…
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