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There's an advantage to living here in what is probably the most open atmosphere in the U.S. (maybe in the whole world, but that's another discussion). Even so, when an unknown individual enters my building for the first time, I do quite a bit of "clean-up". (I cover any of the piles of underwear that are inevitably lying around, and make sure that the photo-stock drawers are closed, and that nothing even remotely indicative of my occupation is visible.)
So, when the office machine guy came to fix an ailing piece of equipment a few years ago, I thought I had done everything necessary to protect myself from prying eyes, on the off-chance that I might encounter someone who would be less than open-minded. As he worked on the machine, he off-handedly asked what kind of business this was. I replied noncommittally, "Oh, we do a little video and some photography."
He must have spotted something I had missed, because he replied, "Are you that company in Emeryville that advertises in Leg Show magazine?"
I thought, "Oh, oh, I'm busted". Well not really, because what business would he have reading Leg Show if he weren't cool with erotica?
Anyhow, we started discussing the nature of my business, and he admitted to being very interested in my products. Before he left, he had bought a video!
Over the next few months, he called me on the 'phone several times to chat, and to tell me that he had a burning question he wanted to ask me but just couldn't quite get up the nerve to ask it. Needless to say I was quite curious, but I knew that if I pressured him he'd probably clam up and I'd never find out what was bothering him.
Well, after four or five calls like this, he finally managed to spit it out. The essence of his question was: do you do this just to make a living or do you have some kind of personal stake in it?
It was at this point that I spontaneously invented that mind-picture which some of you who have corresponded with me via e-mail have heard. I replied "You know those cartoons of bedraggled men dragging themselves across the desert moaning 'Water... water...'? Well if it was me, I'd be wailing 'Panties... panties...' " !
At that point, he became very open, and admitted to having been obsessed with panties for as long as he could remember. He said that he had lost several girlfriends over the issue, and that he thought that there was SOMETHING WRONG WITH HIM because of his fascination. He thought he was the ONLY ONE IN THE WHOLE WORLD who felt as strongly about panties as he did. He expressed great relief at learning that there were at least two of us!
Time passed, and the next time he came over to work on the machine, he had a different appearance altogether — he was more confident and outgoing and competent.
It was then that he said, "Bill, you CHANGED MY LIFE"! He used those words – "You CHANGED MY LIFE"!
To have discovered that he was NOT the only one in the world, and that he was NOT a pervert had helped him come out of his shell, and virtually changed his personality! I can't tell you what a rush it was to hear that! To know that merely by being what I am, I had changed someone's life, for the better! (This "coming out" now happens on an almost weekly basis here via e-mail, and I still get a rush!) (I'm gonna' start charging for therapy) :-)
A Personal Interest Passion (I'm trying to avoid the use of the word "fetish'" here, because of the connotations it has taken on in recent years. It seems that the dictionary and/or psychological definition of the word has been subverted by the concept of "bizarre", such as leather, chains, whips, latex, etc.) in panties is:
1) Probably the most common fetish that there is
2) Probably the most misunderstood fetish that there is, and because of that, is
3) Probably the most hidden fetish that there is.
Now, on to PantyCon.
When Woody and I first hatched the idea earlier this year, we noticed the existence of GlamourCon and had been musing on what a cool idea it would be if we could have something like that around panties. It was immediately obvious that organizing the logistics and infrastructure would be a daunting task for one individual. I was struck with a brainstorm — what if I bought a table at GlamourCon and had my own mini "PantyCon" right there in conjunction with their show!
So, I started moving uncharacteristically (for me) quickly to get it going. The preliminary announcements here on the site garnered quite a bit of interest, and more than a few expressed serious interest. The Panty Party had always been only a tentative part of the plan, because of the seriously high costs associated with booking a suite at the hotel, and because of the need to accommodate all the different persuasions which were likely to participate. As the time drew near, we didn't have enough committed interest to justify booking a suite, so I allowed that maybe there would be a spontaneous Party in someone's room, that would at least provide some of the open atmosphere we all so desperately want and need.
My intent had never been to go there with a business purpose in mind. I only wanted to foster the sense of community around the fetish, and as I said to Woody, "I'll be happy if me and one other guy show up!"
But from the e-mail there had been reason to expect around two dozen to show up expressly for PantyCon, at least to visit the table, chat, and show some of the best in their collections.
Well, me and one other guy showed up.
Seriously.
I don't know what the attendance figures were for the Show in general — the quote from previous ones were around 1200. So we had some curiosity from the general attendees, and around two dozen signed up for a free copy of the print brochure to be mailed later, but as for those who had come expressly for PantyCon, only one admitted to it. One other said he heard of GlamourCon through my web site, and that's why he came.
Among those who signed up for a brochure, I recognized the name of a customer who has been dealing with me for over ten years, and he didn't even take the opportunity to introduce himself!
You see where I'm going here? The hiding power of the Panty Fetish is so strong that even those who had said they were going to come, apparently got cold feet, and some of those who did come weren't able to declare their obsession openly! (I will admit to being somewhat less than totally organized around the whole idea, and may have fumbled the ball a bit toward the end, and that I might have priced the Panty Party unrealistically)
I'm not going to tell you what the whole affair cost me since I had no intention of making money from it in the first place, but I met one potential customer who had been buying my videos from a pirate, and since he is a videophile and wants his panty videos first quality, allowed that he'd probably have to replace the ten copy-of-a-copy-of-a-copy videos he now has.