Merb get together

[urquell]

Your logic on the economics of these parties and how they worked is off. Too much analysis of this from the Indy point of view. The Iggy parties of past years were dominated by agencies and MP ladies. The ladies didn't make the call on whether to attend- the agency owner did. They got publicity and free advertising on MERB. I would suggest you go back and read some of the party threads. Let's please stop the revisionist histories and economic analyses.

Due to the success and size of the parties, some indies, who had been invited, started attending. From what I saw they picked their spots. I can remember one lady (hate to say this but I forgot her name, but she was great- 5'11" black lady from the Caribbean, I saw her maybe 3-4 times- someone remind me of her name). She wasn't really into parties but came to a couple of the Iggy parties. She didn't stay for the whole of the party. At one of them I persuaded her to come and told her I would be there. I bought her a number of drinks and she ended up getting drunk. This was one of the Lord Berri parties. Anyway my sidekick who came to the party excoriated me for not getting her a taxi or Uber after she left the party on her own. And Iggy was not happy with me either. I didn't actually see her leave (or maybe I did), but because I had gotten her drunk I did feel responsible. I texted her and apologized and the next day we texted and she made it home fine. I think she took the Metro. The other party she came to she didn't stay long, just long enough to be seen. She wasn't comfortable and felt it was a meat parade, which in truth is kind of what it is. But she understood it was good for business to bite the bullet and be seen. The party where I got her drunk she stayed longer because she was mostly sitting with me at the bar. But after she got drunk she actually gave some other guy a grinding lap dance right at the bar. This was kind of out of place with her personality and one reason I got my ass chewed out for not getting her a taxi or uber.

If you are buying drinks and getting someone drunk please keep this in mind.

It's not revisionist history. It's evolution to the present day and not a grip on the nostalgia of how things used to happen. I've been to a couple of hundred of these things. It's just not the same world now that it was back in the day, and priorites are not the same. What was sufficient then is not sufficient now to bring the girls out . Times have changed and they simply don't look at things the same way anymore. That's reflected in the current SP offerings in general now too. I think that's in large part why the get togethers don't happen often these days. Where the offer of presence and free drinks and fun and likely a client at the end of the night still exists is internationally, but that's just not the mindset here anymore.

 

[EagerBeaver]

It's not revisionist history. It's evolution to the present day and not a grip on the nostalgia of how things used to happen. I've been to a couple of hundred of these things. It's just not the same world now that it was back in the day, and priorites are not the same. What was sufficient then is not sufficient now to bring the girls out . Times have changed and they simply don't look at things the same way anymore. That's reflected in the current SP offerings in general now too. I think that's in large part why the get togethers don't happen often these days. Where the offer of presence and free drinks and fun and likely a client at the end of the night still exists is internationally, but that's just not the mindset here anymore.

Maybe, but it was not all that long ago when the Iggy parties peaked- 2014 and 2015 if my memory is correct. Have things changed that much in 10 years?

 

[Flyingby]

Maybe, but it was not all that long ago when the Iggy parties peaked- 2014 and 2015 if my memory is correct. Have things changed that much in 10 years?

Is that sarcasm?

 

[Anong]

Fun fact, the spvm once paid a visit at one of those gts, but they didn't stay long.

They did not like the girls?

 

[urquell]

Maybe, but it was not all that long ago when the Iggy parties peaked- 2014 and 2015 if my memory is correct. Have things changed that much in 10 years?

Yes, very unfortunately, but they have.

 

[UncleBob]

Some here might remember why the GTs era from 2013-2017 organized by the Epic Party Planner (EPP= Iggy) ended abrubtly...

One of the reason was because of personal info leak. (The leak happened because of a mistake from the EPP...)
A psycho got his hands on these personal infos and threatened some organizers (The psycho was (is) also a known SP stalker... might still be around who knows)...

Luna mentionned "Negativity in the Air". It was a lot worst by that period...
Different opinions about different subjects here (Sports, Politics etc) divided people.
And among these people, there was some psychos that were taking things way too seriously.
There was at that time also another dying board called MERC where some members on this other board were very mean and some like infamous Tony trolling on merb...
They were threatening to send police, or film people entering GT venues etc...

But despite all this animosity (Animosity against the organizers too), All the GTs were mostly a success and quite safe with lots of attendees (Guys and Gals).
I've heard that VIP#5 GT was visited by morality police but that's the only event of that sort I recall. (I was not there).
I would bet a toony that it was a stunt from the infamous Carol Cash et BookerL that were on a vendetta by that time against EPP, MERB, The World lol...

I went to many GTs. I started with the GoodGirls (GG) GTs (FREE).
Most GTs were free except maybe when GG# GT's turned into "VIP#" GTs (I think I stopped going after VIP#4).
I recall some Private GTs were not free like 100$, like the XO party.
However I also recall the Mojo Party who I believe was free but not sure. GG (GoodGirls) party were free.
VIP's GT were organized by the EPP, not agencies.

There was door prize draw for ladies like Gift certificates etc...

Nobody took over the GT organization job after EPP left .
GT Organisation needs a truly dedicated person or team.
VIP10 has been canceled because of a psycho's threat but VIP 10 strike 2 has been organized by MUH agency about a year after, in july 2018, but not with the same dedication.
Result, it was considered a flop. Not much ladies, not much attendees... So Party Planning is NOT that Easy.

The difficulty for the EPP was to attract agencies that were often in competition.
Indies were usually coming with no hassle...
Not only because it was a good place to get known and maybe make new clients but also because it was a great festive moment.

I personnaly went to the GT for lurking and meet other buddies...
It's a good therapy. No judgmental eyes there...

Immediate banned if you were surprised filming or taking pictures.

I met some very good friends. I met my very best friend Pat98 at GTs.
I met some Indies who became great friends too at GTs. Never booked them though
Pat98 was also making private BBQ gt's by that time where some Merbist and indy friends were invited.
But this is another side story...

So in conclusion, GTs are great but there may be a dark side if you're not careful enough...

 

[pat98]

Thank you, Uncle Bob, for this detailed résumé of that GT era!

Nowadays not sure this could happen again as things had really changed since the whole COVID mess.

I just want to highlight two points from Ubob’s post:

1. Those GTs were a safe space for us Johns to talk freely, without any stupid social judgment. That in itself was kind of addictive. At least there were real people behind those escort forum handles, instead of the stereotype that every John is just some married guy stuck in a sexless relationship with his wife or girlfriend (which, to be fair, is sometimes true, lol). I also met a lot of great people there—and of course, my best friend, Ubob.

2. The whole thing actually worked really well, but it took a ton of organization and dedication! Iggy was on another level—way beyond just throwing an improvised GT somewhere.

Here’s a picture of the Girls List for VIP4, which took place in November 2014. Not every girl on the list showed up, but about two-thirds did for sure. And believe me, getting that many girls to come was definitely a challenge!

 

[LeDodo]

It's a good therapy. No judgmental eyes there...

1. Those GTs were a safe space for us Johns to talk freely, without any stupid social judgment. That in itself was kind of addictive. At least there were real people behind those escort forum handles, instead of the stereotype that every John is just some married guy stuck in a sexless relationship with his wife or girlfriend (which, to be fair, is sometimes true, lol). I also met a lot of great people there—and of course, my best friend, Ubob.

That's a very encouraging reason to have those GT

GT Organisation needs a truly dedicated person or team.

2. The whole thing actually worked really well, but it took a ton of organization and dedication! Iggy was on another level—way beyond just throwing an improvised GT somewhere.

Having helping organize events for hundreds and at some point thousands, I agree you need a dedicated team for the preparation but also during the event. There's always something happening and you need to handle matters directly.

If something has to happen for sure it will need few gents or ladies (I would recommend, to make sure we have a POV in the logistic, security and incentive) to be involved in the organization.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Iggy was on another level—way beyond just throwing an improvised GT somewhere.

I think this point cannot be understated. I attended MERB GTs before Iggy became the party organizer and he took things to another level, from the early GG parties which eventually evolved into the VIP parties. To me it was obvious that he had a talent/personality/enthusiasm level for party planning that others did not possess. He was a huge reason for the success of these parties. Back in those days, Iggy emailed me a lot and bounced ideas off me before the parties happened. He was definitely very invested and thinking about issues like venues, guest mix, etc. I think he put a lot of time and thought into it.

 

[wolfie7]

I met some very good friends. I met my very best friend Pat98 at GTs.

Nice story. And a fun stroll down memory lane.

It was nice to put actual people to handles. Meeting guys like cloudy and sharky, whose styles were very different from my own, but whose enthusiasm (unknown to mankind) was inspirational lol, was pretty cool. I always wanted to grow up and be like sharky - trim, fit, alert and a horn dog with limitless libido. Still do. Hahaha. I also got a great Portuguese seafood (of course!) restaurant rec from him, to boot.

And OG’s like cloudsurf and Cruiser, who were in their 60’s, maybe 70’s back then - yeah, still want to have their carnal appetite when I get to that age.

Like Ubob, I also met one of my best friends in the hobby during one of these GT’s. Unfortunate we lost touch, and one of the few regrets I have as to why…

 

[wolfie7]

Here’s a picture of the Girls List for VIP4, which took place in November 2014. Not every girl on the list showed up, but about two-thirds did for sure. And believe me, getting that many girls to come was definitely a challenge!

That was an epic guest list. Three of my ATF’s were there that night… 2014 was an awesome year of hobbying…

And I’ve been trying to remember Heidi Euphoria’s name for a while! Lol.

Back then, James had just started Euphoria, and the publicity was good (for the folks discussing economic justification). Euphoria would never need to do this kind of thing today.

The first two girls at Euphoria were Chloe and Heidi, and only them for a few months. And, to be honest, they were already well known and legendary from their GG tenures. I think Heidi was a fav of sharky’s. And I remember stories of her epic oral skills. I was hooked on Chloe at the time, and she forbade me from seeing Heidi, and I was such a simp, I actually acquiesced… Lol. But I was always jealous of friends who did see her. SMH.

I don’t think it was this party, maybe another one later, in the summer of 2015… But 10 years on, I still want to know who the bald-headed idiot at that GT that stole my quarter-smoked cigar was. I went inside to the bar to get a drink, and when I came back outside, dumb dumb had put the cigar I was chewing and smoking in his own mouth!! … Haha. Pretty sure that was my last GT! Hahaha.

 

[VStampede]

Got invited on some occasions but I only went once to one that was downtown. Saw an SP I was a regular with, got to meet others I had no idea of and I can say that some of them certainly got me curious, so the potential is definitely there. Aside the indies, I recall most of the girls were only there for a couple of hours at most and left to work the rest of their night. Never had any issue with meeting the other members, for all I know I've never come across any of them in another sphere of my life, and even if I did I'm terrible at remembering people. I'd certainly be up to go once again, see how things have changed since those days.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Adriana Chambres

This lady was one of the most impressive indies I met at that particular VIP party. She was from the Toronto area, as I recall, and toured in Montreal. I was extremely impressed with her, both physically, and personality wise. She was around 5'8", black, lean, with large natural breasts. Very pretty face. She ran an incall in the Gay Village. I ended up seeing her there. After that her touring schedule and my visits never coincided.

She was one of two extremely impressive black indies I met at the parties. The other one was the aforementioned 5'11" Caribbean lady, whose name I finally remembered: Crystal. She was native to Montreal.

 

[FunLuver]

We could also have a fun GT at a known Strip Club downtown… all ladies would be welcomed and security (and strippers) already on site.

If a more private setting is needed, access to a Speakeasy can be had in the Village or Quartier Latin.

Ps: at a Merb GT on Crescent … very cool venue and vibe… (until the cops arrived just for friendly greeting … had to bail out fast lol)

 

[Doc Holliday]

Thank you, Uncle Bob, for this detailed résumé of that GT era!

Nowadays not sure this could happen again as things had really changed since the whole COVID mess.

I just want to highlight two points from Ubob’s post:

1. Those GTs were a safe space for us Johns to talk freely, without any stupid social judgment. That in itself was kind of addictive. At least there were real people behind those escort forum handles, instead of the stereotype that every John is just some married guy stuck in a sexless relationship with his wife or girlfriend (which, to be fair, is sometimes true, lol). I also met a lot of great people there—and of course, my best friend, Ubob.

2. The whole thing actually worked really well, but it took a ton of organization and dedication! Iggy was on another level—way beyond just throwing an improvised GT somewhere.

Here’s a picture of the Girls List for VIP4, which took place in November 2014. Not every girl on the list showed up, but about two-thirds did for sure. And believe me, getting that many girls to come was definitely a challenge!

Great memories! I believe this party was held in that now-vacant building at the corner of DeMaisonneuve & Crescent, across the street from where Newtown used to be. This was probably my favorite GT of the whole bunch & i had tons of fun & met some great girls at that party! The next day i was hungover but so damn horny that i ended up seeing two ladies that i had spoken with at that party! I recall Pat having one of his get-togethers the following night however although i really wanted to go & an sp even offered to drive me there i had to miss it because after seeing these two ladies (one of them ended up going to Pat’s party after) within a few hours of one another i was totally drained out! Plus the fact i had to be up early the following day to catch my flight was another reason i wasn’t able to attend.

Great times! Great list of ladies! Great memories!