A couple of weeks ago we got a call with a seductive offer: Tenga, a Japanese brand specialized on male and female masturbation toys, asked us if we would make a photoshoot with their products, specifically the pride edition of their bestseller, right at the Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin. The task: the models of this shoot should be the visitors of the parade.
We thought about it and finally decided that having a “good excuse” to talk to cute strangers about masturbation on the Pride parade is not such bad job. Slurp!
So last Saturday we met at Ku’damm with Laetitia from Curated by Girls who helped us and participated in the photoshoot. In retrospective, it was the most intense and also extreme task we ever took on. Because after a while of dancing and having fun storm clouds broke over the parade and it rained in biblical proportion. Did God get pissed about the new marriage equality law in Germany and wanted to throw some shade and thunder? Hell no! If God exists he has better things to do, and even if some queens might have lost some of their glamorous costumes or their mascara to the storm, most of the visitors could not care less about the weather and danced even wilder jumping in the puddles (that grew into rivers).
It felt like a big challenge to keep going at some point, like many people we thought about seeking shelter somewhere. But as the parade kept rolling and so many people had an unbroken spirit we felt like the only choice for us was to continue. In the end gay parades went through much more difficult circumstances than a little bit of rain, so that wouldn’t stop us!
Our favorite moment was when the sun finally came back and the rain drops rolled off the hunky sweaty bodies of the dancing guests. #itsrainingmen
The Pride parade is one of the happiest and most diverse events Berlin has to offer where diversity, community, and freedom of sexual expression is celebrated on a gigantic scale showing all conservatives and stuck-up haters a big middle finger. Taking part in the parade, dancing in the rain and speaking with complete strangers about something as private as masturbation was not only liberating but also a lot of fun.
Thanks to Tenga for this opportunity to spread some joy and make new friends. And thanks to our fabulous team Laetitia, Philippe and Umut that supported us no matter what. In good and in bad, in cheesy and in fetish, in sun and in storm.
Thanks for the sponsorship by Tenga.
