Photos courtesy of Erotique Digitale

Like a dysfunctional family brimming with equal parts love and hate, the fetish scene is both a tight-knit, supportive community and a carnival of catty egos. Most of us who follow the work of our favorite fetish photographers, models and designers were familiar with the warm-fuzzy side: the story of underdogs transformed, creativity discovered, and alternative personalities in bloom. We knew a group of latex-loving ladies and gents in a circuit of friendly faces, with only an inkling of the dark drama underneath... until the blog FetishGossip arrived.

In his original entry, the aliased Joe Blow made what turned out to be a highly appropriate disclaimer, stating, "We do our very best to gather a reasonable amount of truth before publishing our articles. We will, however, not be held responsible for your hurt little feelings because someone pointed out something you never wanted to know about yourself." Let the games begin!

We had a chance to sit down with the fetish scene's whistle-blower to find out why he decided to air all the dirty, dirty laundry and how the egos of fetish have handled the sting.

Eros Zine: Was your site born out of sincere frustration with the scene or a bitter desire for revenge?

Joe Blow: Bitter desire for revenge? Nah. That implies I was somehow rejected from the community, when in fact, I was greeted with open arms. I actually started the site at the height of my popularity. Every "A" list (if there is such a thing) fetish model was beating down my door. The more models I shot, the more frustrating the simple task of taking a decent photograph became. There was so much drama and so much history that I decided to give the industry a much needed wake up call. Thus, FetishGossip.com was born.

EZ: When you have it out for a certain model or photographer, you are ruthless! Some of these models have literally begged you to stop, which seems to feed the frenzy. What's it take to get on your shitlist? Is there ever a way off of it once you're there?

JB: For those who only know my online persona, this will sound absurd, but, I was raised to be "the nice guy." Honesty, loyalty, morality, manners, kindness, and respect are of paramount importance to me.

Over the years I've given up expecting the same from others with only one exception: I will not be disrespected. When someone crosses that line with me, they are fuct for life. I will do whatever is in my power to make their lives miserable and unfulfilling. Luckily, there's little effort involved, as those folks seem to welcome trouble at every turn.

It's easy to be removed from my shitlist; all I require is a sincere apology. If ya don't believe me, ask Julie Simone. I was always nothing but nice to Julie until she turned a disagreement about working together into a personal feud. I believe it was roughly a year later that I received an apology from her. The apology was accepted, as it sounded very sincere. We shot within a few weeks of her contacting me, and I believe they're some of the best images either one of us has created.

I'm not an unreasonable man, I believe in justice. If you're wrong, be man enough to apologize, and all is forgiven.

EZ: Why the pseudonym, Mr. Blow?

JB: Joe Blow is the every man. I think a lot of us in the fetish community don't realize what the average folks out there think of what we do. They spend every waking moment absorbing the culture by shooting exclusively with fetish-driven photographers, they snort coke with only fetish-driven models, and they have shitty vanilla sex with fellow fetish folks who think they know what kink is. They have surrounded themselves with this lifestyle and all other forms of reality fade fast.

I introduced Joe Blow as the voice of the every man. He can be the devil's advocate at times, the right wing Republican, or your long-since abandoned family members. You may not agree with what he's saying all the time, but deep down, just like your mother telling you not to eat so much candy or it'll make you sick, you know he's right.

EZ: About a year ago, FG was taken down for a couple months and replaced with a single page that included a close up photo of a slit wrist (am I remembering correctly?) and what almost sounded like a sincere apology to all the people who'd been hurt/offended. What the hell was that?

JB: A hoax. It was a big dirty trick I played on the community. Website deadlines and photo shoots occupied the bulk of my time back then, and I knew I wouldn't have time to maintain FG while I was working on so many other projects. I felt that if the site remained untouched for a long period of time, it might die. Leaving a strange pseudo-suicide note behind kept everyone talking long enough for me to get my work done and return in full force without skipping a beat.

The part I didn't account for was the all the phone calls. To the community's credit, it did seem as though folks actually were concerned for my well being. On the flipside, I became increasingly disillusioned with the fact that none of my peers knew me well enough to know I was kidding.

EZ: Do you think you've destroyed any careers? Driven anyone to drinking, drugs or suicide?

JB: I think we've done just the opposite. Models have lost significant amounts of weight. Photographers have stepped up their production quality. Although the gossip still lingers, it's not as omnipresent as it once was.

I'm immensely proud of the changes FG has made to the community. We've made a real impact on the way folks behave. Honesty has been forced upon them, and for the most part, they've taken to it quite well. There will always be exceptions to the rule, but overall I believe FG in the community has done nothing but positive things for us as a whole. Folks need to be kept in check; it's good for them. Considering the BDSM and fetish crowd are practically joined at the hip, you'd think people would understand the importance of discipline.

EZ: Do you ever feel guilty enough to edit or remove an entry after letting the dust settle for a little? Or are you always completely unapologetic?

JB: Guilt? Nah. That's one of the perks of being a sociopath; I don't feel the pain of others. I removed one story written about the divorce of one of the most popular fetish models to date. She contacted me personally one night via IM and requested that I take it down. The ironic thing is that she was the one that requested I write the story to begin with and had offered to provide us with copies of her emails and answering machine tapes in which her ex-husband allegedly went a little psycho.

I took the article down with one stipulation; I didn't want anything to do with her in the future. She threw away what was a 4 year friendship and working relationship just so she could save face among her fans. People show their true colors during their most desperate times.

No skin off my nose. I'm not about to knowingly support a woman who had an affair with a C class rock star behind her husband's back. Hell, I'd get a little psycho too if I knew my wife was halfway across the country fucking some guy who was a paying member of her porn site. On the other hand, I don't feel that sorry for him. If he's stupid enough to date a chick with a porn site, he sorta had it coming.

EZ: One of the results of writing such blunt, merciless updates is that people attack the hell out of you in your guestbook and comments. You occasionally respond, though usually you're pretty quiet about it. Any internalizing on your side of things? You used the word "karma" once in one of your entries….

JB: I've willingly put myself in a position of martyrdom, for the greater good of the community. A few derogatory words written against my person is a small price to pay if the ultimate result is the betterment of an entire community. I want to see us all reach our potential. I know that's only possible if we get real with ourselves. A little truth can do wonders.

FG encourages and supports good behavior within the community by discouraging and serving consequences to those who commit bad behavior. Like a crying baby who doesn't want to eat their greens, FG serves broccoli 24/7, cause it's good for you damnit.

As far as karma goes, yeah, I believe in it. Will I get what's coming to me on a personal level? Yup. I already have. I live with my gorgeous girlfriend and my cool dog in a house I own. I make a living taking beautiful photos of nude women. Let me tell ya, life is rough. Karma has, like, totally kicked my ass.

EZ: Do you have super secret spy operatives tipping you off?

JB: Although I keep their identities a secret, my operatives are just about everyone in the scene. Suffice it to say that EVERYONE in this scene is responsible for this site, in more ways than one. It's almost always the supposed best friend of the target that notifies me of their inappropriate behavior. I only publish about 25% of the material I'm handed, that's how much information I'm being fed each day. Just cause your name hasn't been featured in an article doesn't mean I don't know all your secrets.

EZ: Um, haha? [gulp] In August, you wrote a candid elegy to the State of Fetish, decrying the bullshit, double-lives of models, drugs, amateurs and negativity. What was the catalyst that caused you to write this entry?

JB: It's something I felt I had to do to clarify the purpose behind the site. It was a call to action. The site is very powerful and I felt I needed to use it in an overtly positive way. I think the community has matured enough that they deserve a little gold star.

I'm incapable of putting together an idea without thinking through all the different possibilities. I have carefully planned the growth of FG. We're currently in our infancy; we have much more ground to cover. The site will one day be the center of the scene, both good and bad. As the scene starts producing more quality work, FG will reflect that by featuring articles on folks who have done positive things to further us. If you think FG is big now, you'll be shocked to see how influential the site is in 5 years.

EZ: You seem to be posting less hardcore, ass-kicking gossip than you used to. Are you softening up on us?

JB: Not at all. I've maintained from the beginning that the site is merely a reflection of the community. I vow I will always keep my pimp hand strong, but discipline must also be tempered with kindness. If I don't show those who have made an effort to improve their behavior that we appreciate it, their good deeds go unrewarded. I don't plan to neglect the good for the sake of punishing the bad.

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Get all the hot gossip at FetishGossip.com. You can also view the work of Joe Blow's suspected alter-ego, photographer Kelly Lind, at ErotiqueDigitale.com.

FetishGossip.com - by Sez G.

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