Whips, chains, clothes pegs and birdcages - organisers of the NZ Fetish Ball have seen it all. Held annually in Auckland and Christchurch, the event is run by two men. One is Hamilton gynaecologist Dr Naylin Appanna. The other is a DJ, Glen Rossiter, who plans every aspect of the annual Christchurch fetish event from his home located in rural bliss in Canterbury's Little River.
Rossiter founded the event in Christchurch 18 years ago. There are rules - no costume, no entry and no photographs. The unwritten rule, Rossiter says, is "don't be sleazy". How sleazy would you have to be to get kicked out of a fetish ball? Rossiter says regular attendees are competitive about their costumes. He recalls one Christchurch event where a man arrived at the venue door wearing "normal clothes" but was struggling to carry a giant birdcage.
He came out of the changing room naked and inside the big birdcage. He parked up near the bar in this birdcage and he was the star of the show. People were poking him through the cage all night. It wasn't sleazy, it was just funny.
Another year, a woman wanted to lie naked on a hospital bed. It's all fun. Rossiter casually rattles off 17 years' worth of fetish ball antics, from latex fashion fetish shows to international performers and bondage experts from Japan.
I don't like pain myself, but I do like being the person who can hold an event where people can be themselves in a consensual environment. For "one reason or another", fetish balls haven't really worked in Wellington, he says, but people from around New Zealand will attend the Christchurch and Auckland balls.
