Fursonas (2016) Movie Script
Most of these, I don't think
are drawings, back in here.
I don't know how many I got.
More drawings.
But there are a few.
See? And this is what
they wouldn't like,
because you see all this stuff.
Why somebody who is supposed to
be thinking about driving cars
and what they're gonna
do in their life
mes-sing around,
putting-pasting pictures
of random dogs into a notebook?
So, that's why things
are better these days,
because now you can point
anybody to of
on the net,
and they'll say, "hey."
You know, even if your
teacher doesn't know about it,
you can say, "well, I'm a furry."
I like animals
'cause I'm a furry.
I'm in... you know,
I draw this stuff.
It's not because
I'm totally weird.
I just draw this stuff
'cause I'm,
you know, into this group
"and into
this kind of scene."
A lot of double takes,
downtown Pittsburgh,
this weekend, Janelle.
Yeah, there are a lot
of business suits,
and people going to work,
and then, you see
folks like this.
Yes, the of have arrived.
Folks who have never
seen them before,
don't be scared if you see
a six-foot tall raccoon
walking by your window. No, you're
not going crazy, it's just us.
A lot of people might ask,
why is it so popular?
Why is...
what's the draw here?
Everybody loves animals.
Everybody loves costumes.
We are all about creativity.
We are all about imagination.
We are all about dreaming.
This weekend is our chance
to say to the people
of Pittsburgh,
we want to share
our dreams with you.
If somebody comes up and wants
to know what it's about,
tell 'em what it's about.
Cartoon animals, costumes.
Drawing, art, performance.
Creativity, dreaming.
Every single one of you
in here is a creative.
Every one of you is an artist.
We are all dreamers here.
This is a remarkable family,
a unique community.
There is so much
it has to offer,
so many beautiful things.
Don't describe us
by what we are not.
Use positive imagery.
Don't act like
you have something to hide,
('cause quite frankly, I don't
think we have anything Tc) Hide.
This is a magnificent we,
and to me, there is nothing
at all to be ashamed of.
Do you cover
just what furries do
that's furry
that people don't see
in the background?
Or what if they're into,
like, sports cars,
or you know,
fast cars or whatever...
what other activities...
like, anything?
Or are you trying to keep it mainly
to the fur scene, do you think?
We're trying to go beyond
the scene as well,
because it's
portraits of people,
ultimately,
it's more about even people
than it is about furries,
'cause we're all just people,
just from different backgrounds,
into different stuff, so-
definitely, any tangents
that goes on is where we go.
I have called myself a furry,
but I never really understood it
until I was about 17 years old.
I went to work as a mascot
for a single-a baseball team,
surprisingly, as a raccoon.
And the first time I got in
that suit and that mascot
was just completely surreal.
I mean, Will was gone.
I mean, he was gone.
I didn't know
who he was anymore,
and I was performing
in this character,
and I just felt nobody could
see me, nobody knew who I was,
so I could be
as energetic, as happy,
as crazy as I could be,
and people loved it.
And after that
first time I did it,
I really felt,
it's like-
this is what it feels like.
This one, as you can see,
is totally different.
And it's different because it's
made by a different suit-maker.
Any suit-maker has
their own different style,
this was specifically
was made by Cody.
He kind of has more of a cartoony
kind of look, more energetic look,
and that's what
I wanted to go for
and why I commissioned him
to make Diezel 2.0.
I try to be
as creative as I can,
and a lot of people come up to
me every time and say to me,
"man, there's not
many raccoons in the fandom.
Your suit is, like,
the best one I've ever seen."
And of course, I'm just like,
"stop, come on.
You're making me blush."
Of course, I am blushing
inside when they say that.
But, you know,
and I try to add-
you know, like,
I squeak-talk a lot,
and that's one thing
a lot of people view me for.
It's all of...
it's kind of like a brand,
really, is what it is.
Everybody tries to find
their own unique style
on what they do.
They try to bring it to life,
and that's what people
can get to know you for.
You know, they'll hear me
squeak-talking,
but they'll be out of view,
and they're like,
"oh, my god, I hear Diezel. Is
he here?"
And sure enough, it's me.
Everybody has a unique story.
The more and more
you get involved,
you'll see that it is so easy
to get to meet people,
who they are specifically,
and how...
who's behind that character.
I mean, who's behind
that fursona
or that pursuit,
if they have one.
All right.
DOM, if you will...
This little part ends up being on
the inside when you flip it over.
When I first started,
very few people had a suit.
Only if you had tons of money
did you have one,
and only if you were really
hardcore furry did you have one.
It's almost a rite of passage,
if you will,
for people to get a suit,
'cause it really lets them
put on their persona,
live it, and do what
they wanna do,
and see themselves
how they wanna be seen.
Because I wanted to be able
to hear some stuff,
that's why the other one
is not floppy,
but it means a lot to me
to be able to even do this,
and to be able to walk around
and be something different,
and something that
I wanted to do.
So, it's important that I'm
even able to do this for you,
and show you
my floppy ear of cuteness.
Have you ever
come out here in these woods,
like, with your pursuit before?
This is a first.
I've been in the woods,
but not these woods.
This Will be interesting.
They said that
there was hunters around,
to be honest, I've gotta say,
they're probably not gonna
shoot a six-foot tall fox,
but you never know.
It may be a short season.
Maybe they need a trophy.
And, come on, this is a trophy.
Oh, my back.
I would say that I'm very rare.
I'm not the norm.
Yeah, you do see a lot of guys,
and a lot of times,
when I say I'm a mother,
people are like,
"whoa, really?',"
like it's taboo or something
to be a mother,
and I don't think
that's the case at all.
I think it's really
awesome to have kids.
I think it's really awesome
to have kids exposed
to furry fandom.
It's just a great experience
for them, too.
All right, there you go.
You guys
have a lot of fun, okay?
I don't think it'll
be confusing for her at all,
I actually think
it's something that she might
actually be interested in
when she's older.
I've already seen her...
she likes animals a lot.
She likes to wear Halloween
costumes that are animals.
And that's just so cool
to have that experience
with her, too,
and see her grow up like that.
My fursona is basically
to memorialize my dog.
He was bouncy and fun
and loving.
And I guess whenever
I'm wearing bandit,
I'm a little him.
I could say
it's opposite my life,
because I'm a pretty
laid back guy out of suit.
And I get in suit
and I get party-fun,
if that's a word.
This guy down here
cutting a tree down.
You said your neighbors...
what were you saying
about your neighbors,
that they knew about your suit?
Oh, my next door neighbors,
they knew about the suit,
and their grandchildren
were over one day.
I put bandit on
and I walked over,
and they just loved it.
What's the color that's
underneath there on the arms?
- What?
- You have the color on the arms.
Oh, that's the rainbow flag.
If I turn my arms up...
It's in the correct order.
Red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, purple.
It angers me when I
find people that say,
"oh, all you do
is dress up in those suits,"
and party and carry on
and have sex in them suits,"
and all that.
If you've ever
had vigorous sex naked,
you know how much you sweat.
Can you imagine doing that
in a full pursuit?
You would die.
It can quickly get over
100 degrees inside the head.
So, no, that's...
that's a false statement
to even think
that that's all it does.
Yes, there's sex
that happens in the fandom.
I remember
when I was in my twenties-
okay.
But, uh, sex...
the fursona fandom thing
is, um...
I think it's about
helping other people
to put a smile on people's face,
and let them,
even for a few minutes,
forget about the real world
and all the troubles.
J we don't even have to try I
it's always a good time
Whoa, oh, oh,
oh, oh, oh
Whoa, oh, oh,
it's always a good time I
A lot of furry conventions
have dance competitions
'cause there's
a big dancer community
in the furry fandom.
It's different than I would say,
like, a normal competition.
Because here
no one cares who wins.
Everyone supports everyone
and it's just a big family,
which is what I love.
And a lot of times,
I know that I've gone
to meet people at a convention
and then we'll all just
go to lunch together
after meeting each other
for 10 minutes,
and that's how you make friends.
J do our thing, do our thing I
J and the wonder girls
are back
Watching
J 'cause you've got me
patiently waiting j
j I think you're amazing,
baby I
it's okay,
you're worth the wait I
but I just can't no more
J dreaming of you every night,
and I'm praying
Will you hold me tight
J and just wrap those arms
around me, boy?
J I really wanna feel
you in my soul j
I never really
told anyone about it,
it was just kind of
something I did.
But then my friend
discovered it by himself,
and then, he, like...
he kept saying all these things,
mentioning fursuits
and anthrocon and stuff.
His name is Jake,
and I was like,
"Jake, are you a furry?"
And he was like,
"I don't think so."
And I was like, "you talk about
fur suits and blah, blah, blah."
And he was like,
"well, maybe I am."
And I was like,
"I am, too!"
So, that was kind of cool.
Boomer the dog
out in the middle
of the woods right now.
And he can hear
the wind in the trees
on a nice fall day,
the day before Halloween.
And I just got back yesterday
from the final sections
of the appeal,
getting it into the court.
So, hopefully,
we're gonna do well,
and the judges are gonna
have to get back to me
on whether I can get the name
"boomer the dog" or not.
So, we'll see.
I mean, it is my name.
It's always been my name,
for many years.
And I believe in the spirit
of what "here's boomer"
was all about-
you know, the TV show.
I mean, I love that show.
See, I didn't see every
episode of "here's boomer,"
but the show went off the air,
and then after that,
I kind of was-I was sad,
because I really liked the dog
and I liked the show.
And I thought, well...
What am I gonna do?
How do I keep this spirit alive?
Because it's so good to me,
just at this right time
in my life.
How do I keep this going?
Okay, and here's...
this is how I do it.
And I always have a shirt on.
And a lot of furries-
a lot of costumers will
work with a shirt on
'cause it absorbs sweat,
so it doesn't actually go
into their costume.
I mean, there are a lot
of manufacturing methods.
I just have the benefit of
clothes, and that's it.
So, I just use this
as a covering,
and sometimes
you'll have fine satin
or mesh under a lot of costumes.
But I just did it cheap,
like, seven dollars
to make the whole thing,
and all of that was for paper,
'cause I just used
old clothes that I had.
So, there's my paw shoes.
I mean, I think
for a lot of furs,
it's a weekend
release sort of thing,
and then others,
it's a lifestyle
where you have it
around you all the time,
and kind of think in that mode.
'Cause I like to
think like I'm a dog,
and I'm looking out at the world
with canine-type eyes
and seeing things that way.
I could change my name,
but it's pretty wild
to change my name to "boomer,"
or "boomer the dog."
How could I go
through this process?
I went down to the courthouse,
got the paperwork,
filled it out,
and got-
they had to do fingerprints
and get those taken.
And then I submitted,
and I went to court,
and I lost my case.
And then also he said,
"even though the petitioner"
may wish it were otherwise,
"the petitioner
is not a dog."
That was the final words
in that document.
My friend actually
told me about the people,
you know, that there were
furry people on the computer.
(And they said they're into
the kind of drawings you DC)
And stuff like that.
And he says, "but I think
they're mostly foxes."
But they weren't actually,
you know?
And I was like,
"wow, I have to get
the Internet right away."
So, then I found them,
and I was like,
"wow, there's other people
like me- others like me."
You shouldn't
be asking who we are.
You should ask who we were.
We... we...
we were the fat kid.
We were the brainy kid.
We were the bookish kid,
we were the kid with
the big thick glasses.
We were the kid concerned
about his sexual identity.
We were the kid who
couldn't throw a baseball.
We were the kid,
who for whatever reason,
all the other kids said,
"you don't belong with us."
Now, human beings as social
animals, crave companionship.
And denied companionship
by our peers,
we sought it out the next
best place we could find it.
Some of us look to the stars,
others to the far past
of human history.
We looked to the happy, smiling,
accepting faces that we saw
on Saturday morning cartoons.
Now, to answer your question,
"who are we?"
We are adults who never
forgot our old friends.
Hello, everybody.
I am Diezel raccoon,
here at McDonald's
across the street
from one of the best
ever conventions-
furry connection north.
Uh, I'm partially drunk, I know.
I don't know about the public
intoxication laws here,
whatever the fuck
you wanna call it.
I can say that
furry connection north 2013
Will be my last convention
for a little while.
(I had Tc) Make some life
changes with my career.
I'm going to a different
shift, different job.
It was for the best.
My life comes first.
Furry does come second.
So, I mean, I won't
be doing a con every month.
I'll be doing one
every so often.
I'm gonna try as hard as I can
to attend as many as I can,
because all of you out there
are my friends...
the people
that see these videos,
uh, my friends
that watch the videos,
just everybody.
You all are big family to me,
and that's why I go
to conventions.
How can I
move back in with those people?
Please, tell me.
They're insane.
You know that.
[Jerry Seinfeld on I TV hey, my parents
are just as crazy as your parents.
This is what I think
people perceive it as.
They perceive it as...
some folks may perceive it as,
"this is how they live it
day to day,"
yeah, I come in my house,
I put my fursuit head on,
and I literally live
this way all my life.
I go over here and make dinner
on my 400-degree stove,
I mop the floors,
I clean the refrigerator...
all with this on.
My ass.
Remember how mommy
wears this sometimes?
You like when mommy
wears her, huh?
'Cause you can play with her?
Um, is mommy going to wear this?
Yep.
It's a lot of fun, huh?
Do you wanna wear it again?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Here.
It's hard, isn't it?
- Can you see?
- Mm-hmm.
Okay. It's tough to see
through that, isn't it?
Ah!
Hey!
Hey!
You know,
I've been married before.
My ex-husband
was not a furry,
and that kind of made things
really hard sometimes
because he just didn't
get the fandom at all
and I was really into it.
And, you know,
he just-
I think that's
part of the reason
why we ended up
separating-
part of the big reason why.
Um, and, you know,
I think that
I would still love Ryan
if he weren't a furry,
but because he is, it
just makes the experience
so much better for both of us.
I saw her for the first time,
and she was this, tiny,
little, unimposing,
cute, you know...
she almost looked like
the human form
of a plushy or something.
I just wanted to hug her,
you know?
And she came up to me
and she did hug me,
and it was just...
she was so forward
and so natural,
and it really did
just feel right.
- Porcupine.
- Porcupine.
Porcupines sleeping
Porcupines sleeping.
I love how she makes
the little noises
like we do with the animals.
Here.
Here. Don't...
don't let them jump on you.
Part of my family is native,
and in our culture,
there are spirit animals...
having phantom ears,
phantom tail, you know?
Having dreams about being feral,
having dreams about, you know,
just romping through the
woods, kind of thing,
and I've definitely
always felt that way.
Even when I was a young
child, I felt that way.
I mean, we have a friend who,
um, you know,
he wants to be an elf.
Like, literally,
that's his life,
and he wears elf ears
all the time.
He wore prosthetic ears to a session
of congress, I think it was?
Yeah, I mean, that's just,
and we're all like,
more power to you.
- It's great.
- If you want to do that-
he's one of
the greatest guys we know.
He's just, you know, wonderful,
and he really thinks
he should be an elf.
Yeah, and it's good,
because people like that
often are so nice,
because they're
they're true to themselves.
- You have to be true to yourself.
- Yeah, absolutely.
It's hard, the way we're primed
to interact with society,
and, like I said,
filter yourself
it's beaten into you
from almost the time
you're aware
of your surroundings.
It looks like
a house in Greentree.
But it's actually
a radio station.
And you might confuse this for
some kite string caught in a tree,
but it's really an antenna
leading from the house
specially elevated
for signal strength.
Did you climb that tree in order
to get it all the way up there?
Nope, just took a bow and
arrow and shot it up.
And this gentleman,
he's 22-year-old
Gary Mathews,
vice president
and general manager
of radio station WKND,
a small pirate station
Gary put on the air himself.
N
Funkadelic...
Right here at 1620 WKND.
You know,
I'm just a radio freak...
a radio animal.
That's what my name
says right there.
N
yeah, I'm not gonna
start barking yet,
but since it's close.
All right, let me see
the listeners are doing.
Check my stats.
There's six people
already listening.
Testing 1, 2, 3
This is just a loop.
And it goes...
repeats over and over,
and it kinda builds tension
or suspense maybe.
Testing 1, 2, 3
This is
the Barenaked ladies-
beginning of the song,
I think it's
"testing 1, 2, 3."
Testing 1, 2, 3
And it just repeats.
Other stations don't do
stuff like this,
so we do it.
I just played music
and I barked on the air,
and I was a dog.
And this was at a time
when I was having trouble
with a lot of people
in my life about being a dog,
because it was like-it was
interfering with things supposedly,
and getting a career.
That was a really strong
push at that time
by everybody around me,
so, I felt since
they were saying,
"you can't.
You just can't be a dog."
They would tell me all the time
"dogs don't go to jobs,"
or "you're hardcore
unemployable like this."
I was trying to do it,
and I was, you know,
being pushed back,
and one of the places
I could actually go
and be a dog and let it out
was on the radio.
My mom signed it with
a "G" name back then-
And then we go way back
to me as a young pup.
And I don't know what I have
that I'm holding and showing,
but that's me as a young pup
in 1968, November.
I was about three years
old right there.
This one...
this has where my mom
signed the back of the picture
on her own free will...
she signed it "boomer."
That's 1998 there.
I did have my family here,
and I lived with my family
till I was almost 40 years old.
A family is like giving...
or having a mate is like giving
yourself to one person,
more or less.
That part of you
is wrapped up
in your love for your mate.
And I feel like I'd like
to give the friendship
out to a wider group,
people who'll-
make them happy by being a dog,
showing them that you can have
a different lifestyle,
and a different outlook,
and things like that.
So, I'm kind of in a role
of maybe putting that out there,
teaching that it's possible.
I kind of think
that's my role in life,
rather than just
making one person happy
or a small group.
I'd like to spread it around.
I made the mistake
of talking about it
in my old facility I came from.
It started off by...
Kind of introducing it
to my managers.
They would always ask,
"where do you go every month?
What do you do?"
And I had a good
relationship with them
and they didn't harass me
or gang up on me in any way.
They actually were kind of
intrigued by it a little bit.
They kind of tossed
jokes around.
They say jokes like,
"why don't you become
a porcupine or something?"
I don't want to.
A raccoon is like-
"well, a porcupine
would be funny.
You'd be the first one"
I'm like, no.
So, then I thought to myself,
maybe I'll share it with a
couple (lo-workers that I trust.
But understand that
in the work environment,
don't place too much
trust in people,
even the people that you think
you can trust the most,
because eventually
people do talk.
Something you don't want
to be let out or told?
Don't say anything at all.
Well, I did,
and it got out to some
of the wrong folks.
They started looking
at things online,
searching the name,
finding stuff, finding artwork,
um, finding journals.
Um, eventually got
to the point where
comments would be said.
I kinda rolled it off.
Things would be written about me
on the bathroom stalls
and in these freight elevators
on the walls there
in permanent marker.
Um, so, it wasn't
a fun experience.
So the simple answer of how I keep
it separate from my work life
is I don't talk about it.
I think it goes to show
that people really
aren't ready for that stuff.
The fandom, as you can see,
if very accepting.
People in general,
they accept what they think
is the norm.
What is the norm?
I don't know what it is.
Not really my place to say.
What feels normal to me
may not be normal to you.
We're just
trying to get together
and let our hair down and have
some fun for the weekend.
We're not doing it to be
entertainment fodder for you.
That's not what we're here for.
These people don't want
to have to hide in their rooms
because you're going
to destroy their lives.
See, and that's
the kind of thing,
not everybody gets
to break the barrier either.
Maybe it's their approach
or something.
I mean, you guys seem
to understand what it's about
and why furries would want
to be private and public.
And I'm glad you did this study
because sometimes producers
come on strong, I think,
to the community,
and they've, like,
alienated people.
And maybe it's
the wrong kind of media
or something like that,
but you guys
have the understanding
of what, you know,
the furry scene is like more.
So, I think you can connect
a little better,
and that's good.
Yeah, I just feel like
other things about it,
they're trying to give
you an answer for it
and trying to make it
really simple and cut and dry
so that way, you don't
have to think about it anymore.
But for me it's like,
the more people you meet
the more interesting it is
'cause there's
no one answer and stuff.
Yeah, that's- wow.
It's great.
I'm really happy
about "fursonas."
I hope I see...
I get to see it,
you know, in its full glory
and all that.
Take one.
This is a picture
of me and my friends.
That's me and my boyfriend,
obviously.
Someone would have
to be really accepting
if they weren't a furry
for me to date them.
And it's definitely
a lot more fun
to date someone, I think,
who is a furry,
because then you can go
to conventions together
and do things like that.
I don't understand
where the correlation is
between, like, making an
animal character for yourself
and liking men.
I don't...
I don't understand
where that comes from.
People have told me that
Tc create an animal
character for yourself,
you have to
appreciate cuteness more
than, I don't...
maybe, I don't know,
more than like a blatantly
straight man would be like.
"I'm gonna make a
little puppy character of myself."
I don't think that would happen.
But, I mean, I don't know.
I think about that often.
I don't understand
where that comes into play.
I feel like 80%
of furries are males,
and then 80%
of those males are gay,
and I don't know why.
And then the other ones are bi.
Like, no one...
I don't know.
Oh, you.
N
you want to know my theory
on why there was
an uprising of furries
through the late '90s,
early 2000s?
Yes.
Okay, so, you were saying
there was a lot of furries
that joined the community
around the 20005...
late '90s, early 2000s,
and the reason for that
possibly stems from the fact-
uh, two reasons.
One is that
a Disney movie came out.
"The lion king" came out
in 1995, I believe?
I want to say 1993.
- 1994.
- It came out-1994.
- Split the difference. -"The
lion king" came out in 1994.
Ha! Pinned ya.
And that proved to be
an extremely popular film.
Especially in the furry world,
that became a very popular film.
At the turn of the millennium,
basically you had
all these people
who grew up knowing
these very iconic
Disney anthropomorphic movies
as well as getting
very involved in the Internet.
Yeah, and I think
world communication
allowed the globalization
of furry.
N
all right, if they
wanna get-
they wanna get a fox on film
smoking some...
smoking some ganja.
Yeah!
It's people in action,
if you think about it.
Because we're part
of this fandom
that is so accepting.
And we accept
transsexuals and gays
and people that
can't talk to anybody else,
and all these crazy things.
But if you show furries
what I'm about to do,
more than 70%
of them would be like...
However, the ones that
we have met that do smoke
tend to be the most accepting
out of all of 'em
and the coolest and easiest
to get along with.
They kind of can see things
a little bit more
for the reality
rather than the spectacle.
Whoo!
Shit.
I don't know
who that border collie is.
That's a bad suit.
Santa baby
Light blue
I'll wait up
for you, dear I
Santa baby
Right there.
This is Garador.
I don't know who the otter is.
J think of all
the fun I've missed
- This is Brody. -.L think
of all the fellas j
that I haven't kissed
His name on F.A.
Is "Wooley."
W-o-o-l-e-y.
If you check off
my Christmas list j
Is there anybody
that you think
we should talk to?
Other suiters or furries?
I would say uncle Kage.
Ladies and gentlemen,
my name is Sam Conway.
I'm known in this fandom
as uncle Kage.
I'm the chairman
of this organization.
I want to thank
each and every one of you
for being here tonight.
I've got
a professional reputation
that I have to maintain.
I am a well-known
public figure
in my hometown
of Malvern, Pennsylvania.
I am a borough official,
I am a scientist,
I am...
I am somebody that is
what some people would call
a pillar of the community.
He loves the fandom.
He loves all of us.
He portrays us very well,
he's just very good
with his words,
uses the right words,
is very cautious about
what he says, who he says it to,
to what media outlet
may be trying to get in
and try to film us
or film anthrocon.
He's very protective of it,
which I highly respect.
We have had a few black eyes
given to us by the media.
We've had some very,
very good reporting,
and we've had some reporting
that, shall we say,
focused on aspects of the fandom
that we really try to minimize.
"We understand that furries
have been treated unfairly
by the media, but we..."
Uh-huh. Yeah.
I have probably
600 emails in my archive
that all have
that phrase in 'em,
and they're all lying.
When we were
at anthrocon, as you know,
we got into some trouble
because we're the media.
Can you tell me about
the relationship
of furries to the media?
Um, it's not very good
for two reasons.
One, the media oftentimes
over-exaggerates things,
and I guess you could
say in a way
they maybe make some stuff up
and dig into things that
really shouldn't be dug into.
They care more so about
their ratings
than the truth.
You have people
who are, you know,
they've heard the stereotypes
or they're apprehensive
about people in fur suits,
and, you know,
a lot of people thinking
it's a sexual thing
when it's not.
Furries are just
into sexual acts.
They do it inside of
their fursuits.
They're a bunch of perverts.
The list goes on,
and it's absolutely not true.
How much of a part of the fandom
is sexual for you?
Well, that I...
that I probably
really won't say,
because I feel
that that's something
that's personal to myself
and to whomever it may be.
If your back is to the wall
and you got no better answer,
play dumb.
That's always worked for me,
and I'm real good at it.
What is this all about?
Nothing.
That's a lie.
They know that.
What are you hiding?
What don't you want us to see?
What is going on here?
What's really going on here?
I mean, okay,
there are some people
in the fandom
that they're just known
for their sexual aspects,
their porn of their character
and things like that,
and I don't want
to be anywhere near that.
I want people to know me for me
and not what my character
looks like naked.
You can't talk about
the furry community
without talking
about sexual things.
I mean, the two go
basically hand in hand.
It's not so overt,
not everybody's into it,
but it's certainly a very large
presence in the community,
and to say that there is not
that presence would be remiss.
I mean, it's obviously there
and it's obviously a big part.
I don't really look
at erotic art.
I see it online
and I know that
is a big part of the fandom,
but it's not something
I actually look at.
And on furry affinity,
I have the kid filter on.
I never specified age.
I don't even see
the adult stuff on it.
Where's the best place
to look at,
- you or the camera? Okay.
- At me.
So, my name's Varka.
My real name's Jan.
I am a cocksmith by trade.
I work for Bad dragon,
and Bad dragon makes
fantasy-themed toys.
The human condition
of where we're at
in terms of accepting
adult things in our lives
is kind of depressing.
I hate to say it,
but particularly in America,
this was stuff that was
the foundation of religion.
It was stuff to do with
what is the socially-accepted
norm, right?
What are things that are,
you know,
that are considered good or bad?
And I don't think masturbation
should ever be an acceptable
dinner table conversation ever
because everybody
should have standards.
And I think that's something
very important to emphasize,
is any community
needs standards,
and there needs to be certain
topics that are not on the table.
But at the same time,
I feel that people should be
comfortable enough with themselves
and with their close-knit
group of friends
to be able to be honest
with themselves
about what they really want.
What we've got is...
it's called a come tube.
And so what you do
is you have this stuff
which looks like come,
and you put it in a syringe,
and you run it, and you
squirt it down the tube,
and it comes out the end.
Just a tube down the middle.
This is one we found
in fantasy-themed fan-fiction
and furry porn and stuff,
the jizz always looks
like this stuff does.
It's always everywhere, right?
And we were like, "oh, if
we're doing fantasy toys",
let's make fantasy lube
to go with it,
'cause lube is expensive.
If you go and buy it
from the pharmacy.
It's six bucks
for a tube, right?
And it doesn't work
very well with toys
because it goes away a lot.
It's designed for sex,
it's not designed for,
you know, your own use.
And so we made this stuff
which we called come lube
because it's
your idealized fantasy...
Fantasy come.
And it's all stringy,
and it's white tinted,
and it makes a huge mess.
But it's...
I think it's hot.
In the right context,
I think this stuff's amazing.
I have worked very,
very, very hard
to foster good relationships
with the local media
and with the city of Pittsburgh.
The city of Pittsburgh loves us.
The media likes us.
I want to keep it that way.
A Pittsburgh man,
we're gonna start with him.
He believes his spirit
is more dog than human.
Take a look at this guy.
That's why he wanted
to legally change his name
to boomer the dog.
But a judge won't
let him change his name.
These are my puppy ears
right here.
And I have a dog tag.
Do you consider
yourself what's called a furry?
I do.
I feel that
I'm a dog by default,
but furry is the scene
that I'm in.
I found it after I
discovered that I was a dog.
Oh, well, I love the media.
I'm in the media in my own way
with my little radio station
and podcasts
and stuff like that.
I really do like cameras.
I like to be on the other
side of the camera,
the lens side of the camera,
and to just do productions
of any kind.
I really like media,
just all in general.
I've been holding it in
for a long time,
you know, being canine.
It was something
I was put down for
back in my early days.
When I first started out,
people didn't get it.
So, I like to do media,
and I kind of feel like
it's an answer,
some of this,
to what people said,
or they didn't want me
to do this stuff,
or thought it wouldn't
amount to anything.
And it's kind oe like,
I'd like the people
in my school to see this,
and my teachers and everything,
to see the media and,
yes, I'm still out there.
Oh, god.
He made his suit
out of shredded paper.
- Mm-hmm.
- And he was on "Dr. Phil."
Oh, god.
What a bad representation
of the furry community.
So are a lot of
furries upset about that?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, when it first aired,
oh, my god.
F.A. Just blew up.
It was unbelievable.
Anyone who's outside
the fandom looking in,
and they see
a person like boomer
and they say, "oh,
what the heck is he doing?"
And a group of furs,
who naturally should be
accepting people to begin with,
are like, "oh, boomer."
And I just don't think that
should be the way that it is.
I think, you know,
like, look at yourself.
I mean, you're the one...
you're dressing up in a suit.
You're running around town
and barking.
How are you any different
than boomer is?
You're always gonna have
a small portion of folks
that stand out
in a negative way,
especially to the media.
I just personally felt that
that was possibly one individual
that didn't really represent
the true meaning of the fandom.
I mean, what makes his opinion
more valuable than boomer's?
Sure, and there are things
that Diezel likes
that other people
consider to be,
you know, taboo,
or not a good representation
of the community.
So, we each have our own things
that we like and don't like.
However, it's all part
of one community
and you should talk to everybody
to get the extremes of it.
I do think that boomer
is one extreme,
and I think that we are another.
You know,
we are much unlike boomer,
and even Diezel...
but two sides of the same coin.
Boomer is a little,
I mean,
I don't want to say that.
That sounds so bad,
but he-
yeah, I mean, his fursuit's
made out of paper
and it's a little sketchy,
and he tried to change his name.
And I am not about that life.
All my love
See, there it is.
Listen to my monitor.
From the A.M., there's delay.
There's a lot of delay in this.
What am I supposed to do
What am I supposed to do
What am I supposed to do
What am I supposed to do
Isn't that weird?
That's through A.M.
It's going... 'cause there's
delay through everything.
It's streaming down there and...
what can I do for you
What can I do for you
A lot of the times
on TV shows-
like, it's been on "Tyra banks"
and it's been on...
Lots of shows,
and they bring in
that type of...
Bad, like, typical furry.
Or they might just
tell 'em to ham it up.
I don't know what happens.
But they always end up
saying not good things
and making everyone else
look bad.
Okay.
Tell me about what a furry does.
Well, we are furries.
Furries are people
who have an inner animal
that they like to celebrate.
- Okay.
- And we celebrate it
through drawing ourselves
and wearing costumes.
Do you have sex
when you have the costume on?
Yes.
And I've heard that that person,
I don't know who it is,
but, like, people don't
talk to her anymore
and she feels bad or something,
but I don't know how it went.
I haven't looked up
on it, so-
oh!
Did you really?
Oh, my goodness. Okay.
Shit.
This bitch
so crunchy right here.
Oh, wait a minute.
Hey, how's it going?
- I know, right?
- I just realized.
- Takes a while.
- I was like, "cl-l, wait a minute."
I've got, like, my little
missiles targeting it.
Fuck it!
You caught me!
Jesus.
"I don't know really
what to say about chew fox"
that hasn't already been said.
Suffice to say, she...
she sold out the fandom
for her own personal gain.
She got her 15 minutes
on national TV
by showing herself
to be the very kind of person
"we all like to pretend
doesn't exist."
And that's that point
you were talking about.
Everyone likes to pretend
that it doesn't exist at all.
Like, no, it doesn't
happen at all.
And that's just
a wretched way to think.
"She did it by
taking a collective shit"
on the rest of us
for a few dollars-
Which I didn't make...
"and her moment
in the limelight."
I was less embarrassed
over the Alan panda
pedophilia issue
"than I am this shit."
Isn't that, like...
I am more insulting
than a pedophile.
I'm more insulting than someone
who was found sexually
assaulting children.
I am more offensive than that.
See? "Great.
Just what we need."
We were almost forgotten."
So, what?
This is something that
we have to feel ashamed
about, apparently.
There will be people
who will hate you
for this documentary.
There will be people
who will dislike me,
and you, and anyone
involved in this project.
One of the best pieces of
artwork I saw in my honor
was a picture
of someone holding me
by the scruff of my shirt,
and all it said was,
"You told."
That says it.
That's all
that needs to be said.
It's not what we say,
it's that we said it at all.
You guys might wanna get
a picture of this one.
More interesting sex
partners when we come back.
We'll be right back.
We'll keep guessing.
Oh. "Uncle Kage's furries
in the media" next.
- Look at that.
- Don't.
Suggested?
Suggested to play
immediately afterwards.
Let me guess,
it's probably about me.
So, reporters would come to me and
they would say, "Will you talk to us?"
I'd say,
"I'd rather not. No."
So, they would go and find
someone who would.
Well, we can go on and on
with many examples.
I'm not going to name names...
Like chew fox.
I'm not gonna name that name...
Little fucking bitch.
He just uses diversion tactics.
He knows... he knows
how to manipulate
a conversation in his favor.
And that is a very
valuable skill,
and that's probably a skill
I don't necessarily have.
Maybe a little.
I don't know.
But I don't like that approach.
I'm gonna be up front with you,
I think fursuits
can be very attractive.
I would still have sex
with someone in a fursuit.
I prefer to have sex
with someone in a fursuit
than to be in suit...
it's very hot.
Um, you know, really hot.
When we went on the show,
they kind of lied to us
to get in there,
but that's what
a lot of them do.
They said hype up the story
and make it real.
So, they said,
"hey, you're gonna be paired"
with these two other peopl...
these two other couples,
and you guys are gonna be the people
who have sex in their fursuits.
And we're like,
"we don't do that."
"No, but we want you
to say you do that."
- Mm-hmm.
- But I don't do that.
- Well, the thing...
- no, we haven't.
- We did a little bit.
- No, we didn't.
- Little bit.
- No.
Anyways, um, so...
At that time, we just said,
"you know what?
Forget it."
Let's just go on there
"and try to portray it
the best way we can."
And it totally backfired.
And looking back at it,
we shouldn't have done it,
but hindsight is 20/20.
What's done is done.
As I've told him,
I don't regret it.
I don't.
I don't think we personally
did anything that wrong.
And what I had
told them yesterday
is that anything
that I said-
the first question
was directed at the fandom.
"What is the furry fandom?"
And I answered that.
But any question
that was asked after that
was purely about
what goes on between us.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, really.
I think furries tend
to become very defensive
if they feel attacked,
regardless of the situation.
It's very common for one person
to say something,
and then a group...
a mob Will just form
and attack that person.
Which isn't good, but...
N
There's a really
interesting dichotomy,
I think, in the furry community,
because on one hand,
you have a lot of people
who... they're comfortable
with themselves,
they're comfortable
with their interests, right?
And to each other,
it's accepted and understood-
well understood.
And then whenever
media gets involved,
everyone's terrified.
Everyone is terrified.
And I think
it's a mistake for furries
to try and hide behind,
"oh, I don't want anything
to do with the media
because they might expose me
to be a pervert."
Everybody's a pervert
in some way.
The real question is
what is the intent of the person
that's looking to do
the expose, right?
You need to be sensible.
But also along
the lines of, you know,
what does it say about you
if you're afraid
to stand up for what
you believe in, right?
And I think it's...
that's part of the reason
why I'm doing this interview,
is because I think that, um,
the furry fandom
has a long way to go
in terms of accepting itself.
Do you know who Varka is?
He's the CEO of Bad dragon.
Oh, okay. Yeah, okay.
So you've heard of Bad dragon?
Unfortunately, Bad dragon
has been taken away
from anthrocon.
It used to be an actual store.
They had things covered
so that minors couldn't view.
However, they were taken away
because uncle Kage wanted
nothing to do with that.
So, that was
uncle Kage's decision
to boot Varka and Bad dragon.
Okay, you can mute it.
He's right.
- What was that?
- I said he's right.
It does take years
to build a reputation
and ten seconds to destroy it.
People would not be
totally accepting
of the full truth.
It's like a white lie.
You're telling them
part of the truth,
so that they'll understand it,
but they don't need
to know everything.
If something really bad happened
and it was exploited
by the media to the public,
do you think that families
would bring their children
to the Westin hotel lobby
to get hugs from furries?
No.
Right now,
my daughters too young
to understand any
of the porn side of it.
Obviously, we don't show
her that kind of stuff.
And when she's old enough
to make her own decision,
she can decide
whether she thinks
that it's okay or not okay.
But we're going to raise her
as this is perfectly acceptable
and that everyone
is their own person
and you should accept people
for who they are.
Did I say that out loud?
I'm terribly sorry.
I'm very, very...
I apologize.
It is the wine,
I blame the wine.
They put something in it...
alcohol.
That's all.
I really didn't
know I was doing this panel,
- hon est.
- Wow.
I feel like
even politicians, though,
- that's what bothers me.
- I never heard a politician
call someone a fucking bitch.
I mean, okay,
maybe in the privacy
of their own home,
but I've never blatantly heard
someone on camera say that.
If you have
a reputation to preserve,
don't call people
"fucking bitches."
That's really sad.
I don't know, I mean,
that you have to be that
insecure about yourself
to call someone out like that.
- Kato, get over here.
- What's up'?
Okay, so any of that-
do you feel like that's
surprising to you in any way?
You're free to judge me,
but I agreed with 85% of it.
And with the maybe 15% left,
content-wise,
only 5 of it.
Most of it's just in the way
you say something.
A politician should never
get caught saying his mind.
But, I mean, aside from that,
I don't really disagree
with what he's got to say.
I think it's a difficult...
I don't know, it's...
do you-
fuck, dude, really?
Really?
You don't like
that there are people
who are gonna agree with it.
But, I mean, I don't know,
it just doesn't seem
that hyperbolic to me.
The way in which
he says it, sure,
but I do think most people
are too inept
to articulate
their own standpoints,
let alone someone else's,
or a group's identity.
So, yeah, I think
that the guy who is
most able to do so
probably should.
But, you guys, you know,
I've been working on this
for three years.
You guys have been
communicating with me.
You guys are people who
know how to speak English.
Right, and I guess that's
what I would caution.
I mean, not to sound
condescending,
'cause I'm not here to tell
you how to do your job.
But, I guess, make sure
that you spend more time
bringing to light those voices
who can articulate themselves,
rather than bringing down someone
who attempts to do it for them
even if, perhaps, not in a
way that you approve of.
I don't know, maybe a lot
of furries are stupid.
Maybe we're the only smart ones.
I don't know.
I don't-
it's not that
they're stupid, I think.
I just think that
they're just not
held to a high enough
standard of behavior.
They don't think about their
conduct in a larger sense,
and I think that's what Kage's
trying to impose on people.
Whether or not he's going
to be successful at that,
whether or not he can be
successful at that,
that's up for debate.
But I think that people
do need to think about
how they are perceived
by other people.
It's an important part
of personal responsibility.
And I think as soon
as someone like Kage gets up
and says, "be this, be this",
not this, and do this,"
it takes anything valid in
the fandom that we've done
and just flushes it
right down the toilet.
Because if we are
all about acceptance,
if we all are
about individuality,
who's to say that
he can say that to anybody
and that people should
listen to him?
I think it's common knowledge
over people who have
the Internet and cable-
everyone's like,
"oh, yeah, furries."
They dress up as animals
and have sex with each other,
"or they go in the woods
and have sex with animals,"
or things like that,
and then they move on.
But then the furries are like,
"no, we cannot
let this happen!"
It already happened.
You can't change it back.
Like, so...
Do you worry that
if you say the wrong thing
that you're gonna get
in trouble with furries?
Do I worry a little bit?
Sure.
But I've made
the conscious decision
to step in front
of this camera right here
and speak my mind on it.
Could there be
some repercussions of it?
Sure.
At the end of the day,
I've still got my friends
and that's all
that matters to me.
I'm not out here
to defame anybody.
I'm not out here to throw
the fandom under the bus.
I'm not out to change the world.
I'm not out
to change the fandom.
I'm just out there to be me.
Once again, I'm going to
reiterate this point
because it is very important.
You're not representing you,
you're representing all of us.
I think what he's getting at
is when you decide to get
in front of a camera,
you're not representing
just you at that time.
You're representing the fandom.
And I think, again,
a lot of people try to do that,
but they don't say it
in the right way.
Is that tough for when
you feel like
your only responsibility
should just be to be you, right,
instead of somebody who
just got into an interview?
Yeah, I mean, it kind of makes
sense to what he's saying
at this point in time right now.
I'm not just representing me,
I'm representing the fandom.
The people that like him,
do they actually like him?
Because now I'm a little...
sort of the way
your interview went,
it was, like, not that
you were supporting him,
but at first
you didn't necessarily
want to speak too ill of him.
So, I almost wonder
if it's maybe because
they feel like
they have to support him,
or at least not be detractors,
or if they genuinely like him.
Basically, he's got
connections to the other...
the other higher...
if you would even
call them higher up furs,
as in dragoneer
who runs fur affinity
and some of the other web sites.
And I think
there's a general fear
that his cronies
or his followers
are going to
beat the shit out of you
because you spoke ill of Kage,
when I think the reality is
he thinks he speaks
for the masses,
and I just think
he speaks for some.
And I think a lot of people
won't talk ill of that
because they don't
want to be shown
as someone who's
against the fandom,
and some people think
if you don't agree with Kage,
you're against the fandom.
I feel you're a little biased
in your interviewing.
Just a little bit.
Poquito.
Well, I mean, it's like...
where's the other...
where's Kage's side?
Fucking, I would love it.
I would love that side.
You can't get Kage's side
without Kage's approval
on Kage's edit.
Didn't he deny doing this?
Yeah, he said...
sure, yeah.
A lot of other communities
don't really have
the same problems
that the furry community does.
But I feel that a lot
of the problems
that the furry community has
are brought on
by themselves-
mainly trying to spin
themselves in a good light
when it not necessarily is.
I'm not saying that things
are bad or wrong
with the furry community,
but they are certainly not
portrayed real.
It's just what
they want you to see,
and that comes off...
people take that
and spin that even.
- So...
- It's an unnecessary cover-up.
If you just let things be,
it might be a Niger place.
People might actually accept
furries for who they are.
And here's the thing, too,
let me add to that,
and why he...
I believe he tries
to help the fandom
and here's one reason why.
What is the age majority
in the fandom?
It's very young.
It's a very young fandom.
As I get older, the fandom
continues to stay young
and get younger.
A lot of young people
in this generation,
they don't always
know what to say.
They're very stubborn.
They have a lot of pride.
They don't think about
the repercussions of things,
and you have to be careful
with people like that.
So, uncle Kage's
doing a "winestream,"
which is a livestream.
If you're unfamiliar
with what that is,
it's just him
at his computer at his house
taking questions for hours
and getting drunk.
Is this controlling these?
You don't hear an echo?
I don't care.
I have an idea.
For those of you
who say you hear an echo,
fuck you! Okay, now!
We're getting going because
I've not been able to drink
while Jack has been screwing
around with the damn server!
Now it's my turn.
- So!
- Shit.
I'd like to welcome you all
to the winestream.
I apologize.
We had a very,
very lovely intro set up,
but, oh, well.
Maybe next time.
I apologize,
I don't like
north Carolina wines.
It's a lovely state, and I'm
sure they make lovely wines,
but they're not to my taste,
I prefer Columbia valley,
Washington state,
or Mosel valley of Germany.
Um, Dominic.
"Do we really need
the anthrocon media policy
to be so strict?"
Fuck, yes!
Um, okay, cook away.
"The elevators will hold up.
What about the escalators?"
- One thing at a time.
- One, two, now.
Somebody asked me a
question, it went away.
I'm gonna start at the bottom.
"Do you ever feel you're going
too far calling furries out
that screw up in the media, like
boomer the dog and chew fox?"
No! No, they're a bunch
of fucking asswipes.
I don't feel I'm going too far.
I want them Tc shut the hell up.
They're not representing me!
Mmm.
Cool.
I think what you said
is probably absolutely true.
I think he probably indulges
in some of the same shit
that he sees other people...
and that he doesn't want to be
identified with the same thing,
he wants his own image saved.
Um, and it's purely
for his own...
I think. It's...
it's for him.
The people that are enjoying
the fandom the most,
the people that get
fandom the most
and get the most out of it
are the ones that basically say,
"I don't give a fuck."
I don't give a fuck
what dragoneer says.
I don't give a fuck
what uncle kage says.
"I don't give a fuck
about any of that shit."
N
like magic he appears
A hero to save the day
he's here for good
That's when he goes away
'Cause he's boomer
Boomer
Boomer
So, this is all about-
and you can see
it's still in German.
The titles are still in German
and stuff like that.
See, and when I would hear him,
I would tape record
these barks-
the pieces,
the parts of the show
where he was barking
and stuff like that.
And then I'd play it back
and I would try
to learn his bark.
And that's how I got
the "here's boomer" bark for me.
I'd just listen over and over
and then try to bark like that.
That's the
only way to shut him up.
You figured it out for yourself.
Good for you, boomer.
The thing ls,
ls why did that hit me
when it could've been
just as much the human world?
Because I was
in the human world.
So, why would the dog, like,
step out, you know,
and get me so much
when it could've been
any number of factors
or anything else?
But somehow I was different,
and then somehow
the dog was there,
and then somehow I kept on
being canine all this time,
whatever it's been now.
I don't know how long,
like, 40 years
or something ridiculous?
I don't know.
I just go right across here.
You don't mind?
Okay.
There's kind of a way
of doing things
in the furry scene now
that I think allows
less expression
than it did when
I first came on the scene.
You didn't have
that kind of-
there wasn't a social pressure
to conformity as much.
Which is weird
to be even saying,
because furry is this different
thing to begin with.
So I kind of don't understand...
I don't understand some
of the modern philosophy.
But I kinda do,
because, like, I bark.
People come into the scene
and that's all they know,
so they expect other people
to be similar.
I love furries so much.
I want to see all kinds
of people have it
and enjoy it if they'd like to.
And I'd like them to see
all the sides of furry,
you know,
good and bad, whatever it is.
I don't think
there's much bad to it.
It's people trying to discover
themselves in different ways.
Right away when I did this,
I was told,
"why don't you just keep your
regular name like the rest of us?"
And I was like...
I almost, like-
I was angry, but I was
laughing at the same time
because I was like,
"that's not what
it's about for me."
N
are drawings, back in here.
I don't know how many I got.
More drawings.
But there are a few.
See? And this is what
they wouldn't like,
because you see all this stuff.
Why somebody who is supposed to
be thinking about driving cars
and what they're gonna
do in their life
mes-sing around,
putting-pasting pictures
of random dogs into a notebook?
So, that's why things
are better these days,
because now you can point
anybody to of
on the net,
and they'll say, "hey."
You know, even if your
teacher doesn't know about it,
you can say, "well, I'm a furry."
I like animals
'cause I'm a furry.
I'm in... you know,
I draw this stuff.
It's not because
I'm totally weird.
I just draw this stuff
'cause I'm,
you know, into this group
"and into
this kind of scene."
A lot of double takes,
downtown Pittsburgh,
this weekend, Janelle.
Yeah, there are a lot
of business suits,
and people going to work,
and then, you see
folks like this.
Yes, the of have arrived.
Folks who have never
seen them before,
don't be scared if you see
a six-foot tall raccoon
walking by your window. No, you're
not going crazy, it's just us.
A lot of people might ask,
why is it so popular?
Why is...
what's the draw here?
Everybody loves animals.
Everybody loves costumes.
We are all about creativity.
We are all about imagination.
We are all about dreaming.
This weekend is our chance
to say to the people
of Pittsburgh,
we want to share
our dreams with you.
If somebody comes up and wants
to know what it's about,
tell 'em what it's about.
Cartoon animals, costumes.
Drawing, art, performance.
Creativity, dreaming.
Every single one of you
in here is a creative.
Every one of you is an artist.
We are all dreamers here.
This is a remarkable family,
a unique community.
There is so much
it has to offer,
so many beautiful things.
Don't describe us
by what we are not.
Use positive imagery.
Don't act like
you have something to hide,
('cause quite frankly, I don't
think we have anything Tc) Hide.
This is a magnificent we,
and to me, there is nothing
at all to be ashamed of.
Do you cover
just what furries do
that's furry
that people don't see
in the background?
Or what if they're into,
like, sports cars,
or you know,
fast cars or whatever...
what other activities...
like, anything?
Or are you trying to keep it mainly
to the fur scene, do you think?
We're trying to go beyond
the scene as well,
because it's
portraits of people,
ultimately,
it's more about even people
than it is about furries,
'cause we're all just people,
just from different backgrounds,
into different stuff, so-
definitely, any tangents
that goes on is where we go.
I have called myself a furry,
but I never really understood it
until I was about 17 years old.
I went to work as a mascot
for a single-a baseball team,
surprisingly, as a raccoon.
And the first time I got in
that suit and that mascot
was just completely surreal.
I mean, Will was gone.
I mean, he was gone.
I didn't know
who he was anymore,
and I was performing
in this character,
and I just felt nobody could
see me, nobody knew who I was,
so I could be
as energetic, as happy,
as crazy as I could be,
and people loved it.
And after that
first time I did it,
I really felt,
it's like-
this is what it feels like.
This one, as you can see,
is totally different.
And it's different because it's
made by a different suit-maker.
Any suit-maker has
their own different style,
this was specifically
was made by Cody.
He kind of has more of a cartoony
kind of look, more energetic look,
and that's what
I wanted to go for
and why I commissioned him
to make Diezel 2.0.
I try to be
as creative as I can,
and a lot of people come up to
me every time and say to me,
"man, there's not
many raccoons in the fandom.
Your suit is, like,
the best one I've ever seen."
And of course, I'm just like,
"stop, come on.
You're making me blush."
Of course, I am blushing
inside when they say that.
But, you know,
and I try to add-
you know, like,
I squeak-talk a lot,
and that's one thing
a lot of people view me for.
It's all of...
it's kind of like a brand,
really, is what it is.
Everybody tries to find
their own unique style
on what they do.
They try to bring it to life,
and that's what people
can get to know you for.
You know, they'll hear me
squeak-talking,
but they'll be out of view,
and they're like,
"oh, my god, I hear Diezel. Is
he here?"
And sure enough, it's me.
Everybody has a unique story.
The more and more
you get involved,
you'll see that it is so easy
to get to meet people,
who they are specifically,
and how...
who's behind that character.
I mean, who's behind
that fursona
or that pursuit,
if they have one.
All right.
DOM, if you will...
This little part ends up being on
the inside when you flip it over.
When I first started,
very few people had a suit.
Only if you had tons of money
did you have one,
and only if you were really
hardcore furry did you have one.
It's almost a rite of passage,
if you will,
for people to get a suit,
'cause it really lets them
put on their persona,
live it, and do what
they wanna do,
and see themselves
how they wanna be seen.
Because I wanted to be able
to hear some stuff,
that's why the other one
is not floppy,
but it means a lot to me
to be able to even do this,
and to be able to walk around
and be something different,
and something that
I wanted to do.
So, it's important that I'm
even able to do this for you,
and show you
my floppy ear of cuteness.
Have you ever
come out here in these woods,
like, with your pursuit before?
This is a first.
I've been in the woods,
but not these woods.
This Will be interesting.
They said that
there was hunters around,
to be honest, I've gotta say,
they're probably not gonna
shoot a six-foot tall fox,
but you never know.
It may be a short season.
Maybe they need a trophy.
And, come on, this is a trophy.
Oh, my back.
I would say that I'm very rare.
I'm not the norm.
Yeah, you do see a lot of guys,
and a lot of times,
when I say I'm a mother,
people are like,
"whoa, really?',"
like it's taboo or something
to be a mother,
and I don't think
that's the case at all.
I think it's really
awesome to have kids.
I think it's really awesome
to have kids exposed
to furry fandom.
It's just a great experience
for them, too.
All right, there you go.
You guys
have a lot of fun, okay?
I don't think it'll
be confusing for her at all,
I actually think
it's something that she might
actually be interested in
when she's older.
I've already seen her...
she likes animals a lot.
She likes to wear Halloween
costumes that are animals.
And that's just so cool
to have that experience
with her, too,
and see her grow up like that.
My fursona is basically
to memorialize my dog.
He was bouncy and fun
and loving.
And I guess whenever
I'm wearing bandit,
I'm a little him.
I could say
it's opposite my life,
because I'm a pretty
laid back guy out of suit.
And I get in suit
and I get party-fun,
if that's a word.
This guy down here
cutting a tree down.
You said your neighbors...
what were you saying
about your neighbors,
that they knew about your suit?
Oh, my next door neighbors,
they knew about the suit,
and their grandchildren
were over one day.
I put bandit on
and I walked over,
and they just loved it.
What's the color that's
underneath there on the arms?
- What?
- You have the color on the arms.
Oh, that's the rainbow flag.
If I turn my arms up...
It's in the correct order.
Red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, purple.
It angers me when I
find people that say,
"oh, all you do
is dress up in those suits,"
and party and carry on
and have sex in them suits,"
and all that.
If you've ever
had vigorous sex naked,
you know how much you sweat.
Can you imagine doing that
in a full pursuit?
You would die.
It can quickly get over
100 degrees inside the head.
So, no, that's...
that's a false statement
to even think
that that's all it does.
Yes, there's sex
that happens in the fandom.
I remember
when I was in my twenties-
okay.
But, uh, sex...
the fursona fandom thing
is, um...
I think it's about
helping other people
to put a smile on people's face,
and let them,
even for a few minutes,
forget about the real world
and all the troubles.
J we don't even have to try I
it's always a good time
Whoa, oh, oh,
oh, oh, oh
Whoa, oh, oh,
it's always a good time I
A lot of furry conventions
have dance competitions
'cause there's
a big dancer community
in the furry fandom.
It's different than I would say,
like, a normal competition.
Because here
no one cares who wins.
Everyone supports everyone
and it's just a big family,
which is what I love.
And a lot of times,
I know that I've gone
to meet people at a convention
and then we'll all just
go to lunch together
after meeting each other
for 10 minutes,
and that's how you make friends.
J do our thing, do our thing I
J and the wonder girls
are back
Watching
J 'cause you've got me
patiently waiting j
j I think you're amazing,
baby I
it's okay,
you're worth the wait I
but I just can't no more
J dreaming of you every night,
and I'm praying
Will you hold me tight
J and just wrap those arms
around me, boy?
J I really wanna feel
you in my soul j
I never really
told anyone about it,
it was just kind of
something I did.
But then my friend
discovered it by himself,
and then, he, like...
he kept saying all these things,
mentioning fursuits
and anthrocon and stuff.
His name is Jake,
and I was like,
"Jake, are you a furry?"
And he was like,
"I don't think so."
And I was like, "you talk about
fur suits and blah, blah, blah."
And he was like,
"well, maybe I am."
And I was like,
"I am, too!"
So, that was kind of cool.
Boomer the dog
out in the middle
of the woods right now.
And he can hear
the wind in the trees
on a nice fall day,
the day before Halloween.
And I just got back yesterday
from the final sections
of the appeal,
getting it into the court.
So, hopefully,
we're gonna do well,
and the judges are gonna
have to get back to me
on whether I can get the name
"boomer the dog" or not.
So, we'll see.
I mean, it is my name.
It's always been my name,
for many years.
And I believe in the spirit
of what "here's boomer"
was all about-
you know, the TV show.
I mean, I love that show.
See, I didn't see every
episode of "here's boomer,"
but the show went off the air,
and then after that,
I kind of was-I was sad,
because I really liked the dog
and I liked the show.
And I thought, well...
What am I gonna do?
How do I keep this spirit alive?
Because it's so good to me,
just at this right time
in my life.
How do I keep this going?
Okay, and here's...
this is how I do it.
And I always have a shirt on.
And a lot of furries-
a lot of costumers will
work with a shirt on
'cause it absorbs sweat,
so it doesn't actually go
into their costume.
I mean, there are a lot
of manufacturing methods.
I just have the benefit of
clothes, and that's it.
So, I just use this
as a covering,
and sometimes
you'll have fine satin
or mesh under a lot of costumes.
But I just did it cheap,
like, seven dollars
to make the whole thing,
and all of that was for paper,
'cause I just used
old clothes that I had.
So, there's my paw shoes.
I mean, I think
for a lot of furs,
it's a weekend
release sort of thing,
and then others,
it's a lifestyle
where you have it
around you all the time,
and kind of think in that mode.
'Cause I like to
think like I'm a dog,
and I'm looking out at the world
with canine-type eyes
and seeing things that way.
I could change my name,
but it's pretty wild
to change my name to "boomer,"
or "boomer the dog."
How could I go
through this process?
I went down to the courthouse,
got the paperwork,
filled it out,
and got-
they had to do fingerprints
and get those taken.
And then I submitted,
and I went to court,
and I lost my case.
And then also he said,
"even though the petitioner"
may wish it were otherwise,
"the petitioner
is not a dog."
That was the final words
in that document.
My friend actually
told me about the people,
you know, that there were
furry people on the computer.
(And they said they're into
the kind of drawings you DC)
And stuff like that.
And he says, "but I think
they're mostly foxes."
But they weren't actually,
you know?
And I was like,
"wow, I have to get
the Internet right away."
So, then I found them,
and I was like,
"wow, there's other people
like me- others like me."
You shouldn't
be asking who we are.
You should ask who we were.
We... we...
we were the fat kid.
We were the brainy kid.
We were the bookish kid,
we were the kid with
the big thick glasses.
We were the kid concerned
about his sexual identity.
We were the kid who
couldn't throw a baseball.
We were the kid,
who for whatever reason,
all the other kids said,
"you don't belong with us."
Now, human beings as social
animals, crave companionship.
And denied companionship
by our peers,
we sought it out the next
best place we could find it.
Some of us look to the stars,
others to the far past
of human history.
We looked to the happy, smiling,
accepting faces that we saw
on Saturday morning cartoons.
Now, to answer your question,
"who are we?"
We are adults who never
forgot our old friends.
Hello, everybody.
I am Diezel raccoon,
here at McDonald's
across the street
from one of the best
ever conventions-
furry connection north.
Uh, I'm partially drunk, I know.
I don't know about the public
intoxication laws here,
whatever the fuck
you wanna call it.
I can say that
furry connection north 2013
Will be my last convention
for a little while.
(I had Tc) Make some life
changes with my career.
I'm going to a different
shift, different job.
It was for the best.
My life comes first.
Furry does come second.
So, I mean, I won't
be doing a con every month.
I'll be doing one
every so often.
I'm gonna try as hard as I can
to attend as many as I can,
because all of you out there
are my friends...
the people
that see these videos,
uh, my friends
that watch the videos,
just everybody.
You all are big family to me,
and that's why I go
to conventions.
How can I
move back in with those people?
Please, tell me.
They're insane.
You know that.
[Jerry Seinfeld on I TV hey, my parents
are just as crazy as your parents.
This is what I think
people perceive it as.
They perceive it as...
some folks may perceive it as,
"this is how they live it
day to day,"
yeah, I come in my house,
I put my fursuit head on,
and I literally live
this way all my life.
I go over here and make dinner
on my 400-degree stove,
I mop the floors,
I clean the refrigerator...
all with this on.
My ass.
Remember how mommy
wears this sometimes?
You like when mommy
wears her, huh?
'Cause you can play with her?
Um, is mommy going to wear this?
Yep.
It's a lot of fun, huh?
Do you wanna wear it again?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Here.
It's hard, isn't it?
- Can you see?
- Mm-hmm.
Okay. It's tough to see
through that, isn't it?
Ah!
Hey!
Hey!
You know,
I've been married before.
My ex-husband
was not a furry,
and that kind of made things
really hard sometimes
because he just didn't
get the fandom at all
and I was really into it.
And, you know,
he just-
I think that's
part of the reason
why we ended up
separating-
part of the big reason why.
Um, and, you know,
I think that
I would still love Ryan
if he weren't a furry,
but because he is, it
just makes the experience
so much better for both of us.
I saw her for the first time,
and she was this, tiny,
little, unimposing,
cute, you know...
she almost looked like
the human form
of a plushy or something.
I just wanted to hug her,
you know?
And she came up to me
and she did hug me,
and it was just...
she was so forward
and so natural,
and it really did
just feel right.
- Porcupine.
- Porcupine.
Porcupines sleeping
Porcupines sleeping.
I love how she makes
the little noises
like we do with the animals.
Here.
Here. Don't...
don't let them jump on you.
Part of my family is native,
and in our culture,
there are spirit animals...
having phantom ears,
phantom tail, you know?
Having dreams about being feral,
having dreams about, you know,
just romping through the
woods, kind of thing,
and I've definitely
always felt that way.
Even when I was a young
child, I felt that way.
I mean, we have a friend who,
um, you know,
he wants to be an elf.
Like, literally,
that's his life,
and he wears elf ears
all the time.
He wore prosthetic ears to a session
of congress, I think it was?
Yeah, I mean, that's just,
and we're all like,
more power to you.
- It's great.
- If you want to do that-
he's one of
the greatest guys we know.
He's just, you know, wonderful,
and he really thinks
he should be an elf.
Yeah, and it's good,
because people like that
often are so nice,
because they're
they're true to themselves.
- You have to be true to yourself.
- Yeah, absolutely.
It's hard, the way we're primed
to interact with society,
and, like I said,
filter yourself
it's beaten into you
from almost the time
you're aware
of your surroundings.
It looks like
a house in Greentree.
But it's actually
a radio station.
And you might confuse this for
some kite string caught in a tree,
but it's really an antenna
leading from the house
specially elevated
for signal strength.
Did you climb that tree in order
to get it all the way up there?
Nope, just took a bow and
arrow and shot it up.
And this gentleman,
he's 22-year-old
Gary Mathews,
vice president
and general manager
of radio station WKND,
a small pirate station
Gary put on the air himself.
N
Funkadelic...
Right here at 1620 WKND.
You know,
I'm just a radio freak...
a radio animal.
That's what my name
says right there.
N
yeah, I'm not gonna
start barking yet,
but since it's close.
All right, let me see
the listeners are doing.
Check my stats.
There's six people
already listening.
Testing 1, 2, 3
This is just a loop.
And it goes...
repeats over and over,
and it kinda builds tension
or suspense maybe.
Testing 1, 2, 3
This is
the Barenaked ladies-
beginning of the song,
I think it's
"testing 1, 2, 3."
Testing 1, 2, 3
And it just repeats.
Other stations don't do
stuff like this,
so we do it.
I just played music
and I barked on the air,
and I was a dog.
And this was at a time
when I was having trouble
with a lot of people
in my life about being a dog,
because it was like-it was
interfering with things supposedly,
and getting a career.
That was a really strong
push at that time
by everybody around me,
so, I felt since
they were saying,
"you can't.
You just can't be a dog."
They would tell me all the time
"dogs don't go to jobs,"
or "you're hardcore
unemployable like this."
I was trying to do it,
and I was, you know,
being pushed back,
and one of the places
I could actually go
and be a dog and let it out
was on the radio.
My mom signed it with
a "G" name back then-
And then we go way back
to me as a young pup.
And I don't know what I have
that I'm holding and showing,
but that's me as a young pup
in 1968, November.
I was about three years
old right there.
This one...
this has where my mom
signed the back of the picture
on her own free will...
she signed it "boomer."
That's 1998 there.
I did have my family here,
and I lived with my family
till I was almost 40 years old.
A family is like giving...
or having a mate is like giving
yourself to one person,
more or less.
That part of you
is wrapped up
in your love for your mate.
And I feel like I'd like
to give the friendship
out to a wider group,
people who'll-
make them happy by being a dog,
showing them that you can have
a different lifestyle,
and a different outlook,
and things like that.
So, I'm kind of in a role
of maybe putting that out there,
teaching that it's possible.
I kind of think
that's my role in life,
rather than just
making one person happy
or a small group.
I'd like to spread it around.
I made the mistake
of talking about it
in my old facility I came from.
It started off by...
Kind of introducing it
to my managers.
They would always ask,
"where do you go every month?
What do you do?"
And I had a good
relationship with them
and they didn't harass me
or gang up on me in any way.
They actually were kind of
intrigued by it a little bit.
They kind of tossed
jokes around.
They say jokes like,
"why don't you become
a porcupine or something?"
I don't want to.
A raccoon is like-
"well, a porcupine
would be funny.
You'd be the first one"
I'm like, no.
So, then I thought to myself,
maybe I'll share it with a
couple (lo-workers that I trust.
But understand that
in the work environment,
don't place too much
trust in people,
even the people that you think
you can trust the most,
because eventually
people do talk.
Something you don't want
to be let out or told?
Don't say anything at all.
Well, I did,
and it got out to some
of the wrong folks.
They started looking
at things online,
searching the name,
finding stuff, finding artwork,
um, finding journals.
Um, eventually got
to the point where
comments would be said.
I kinda rolled it off.
Things would be written about me
on the bathroom stalls
and in these freight elevators
on the walls there
in permanent marker.
Um, so, it wasn't
a fun experience.
So the simple answer of how I keep
it separate from my work life
is I don't talk about it.
I think it goes to show
that people really
aren't ready for that stuff.
The fandom, as you can see,
if very accepting.
People in general,
they accept what they think
is the norm.
What is the norm?
I don't know what it is.
Not really my place to say.
What feels normal to me
may not be normal to you.
We're just
trying to get together
and let our hair down and have
some fun for the weekend.
We're not doing it to be
entertainment fodder for you.
That's not what we're here for.
These people don't want
to have to hide in their rooms
because you're going
to destroy their lives.
See, and that's
the kind of thing,
not everybody gets
to break the barrier either.
Maybe it's their approach
or something.
I mean, you guys seem
to understand what it's about
and why furries would want
to be private and public.
And I'm glad you did this study
because sometimes producers
come on strong, I think,
to the community,
and they've, like,
alienated people.
And maybe it's
the wrong kind of media
or something like that,
but you guys
have the understanding
of what, you know,
the furry scene is like more.
So, I think you can connect
a little better,
and that's good.
Yeah, I just feel like
other things about it,
they're trying to give
you an answer for it
and trying to make it
really simple and cut and dry
so that way, you don't
have to think about it anymore.
But for me it's like,
the more people you meet
the more interesting it is
'cause there's
no one answer and stuff.
Yeah, that's- wow.
It's great.
I'm really happy
about "fursonas."
I hope I see...
I get to see it,
you know, in its full glory
and all that.
Take one.
This is a picture
of me and my friends.
That's me and my boyfriend,
obviously.
Someone would have
to be really accepting
if they weren't a furry
for me to date them.
And it's definitely
a lot more fun
to date someone, I think,
who is a furry,
because then you can go
to conventions together
and do things like that.
I don't understand
where the correlation is
between, like, making an
animal character for yourself
and liking men.
I don't...
I don't understand
where that comes from.
People have told me that
Tc create an animal
character for yourself,
you have to
appreciate cuteness more
than, I don't...
maybe, I don't know,
more than like a blatantly
straight man would be like.
"I'm gonna make a
little puppy character of myself."
I don't think that would happen.
But, I mean, I don't know.
I think about that often.
I don't understand
where that comes into play.
I feel like 80%
of furries are males,
and then 80%
of those males are gay,
and I don't know why.
And then the other ones are bi.
Like, no one...
I don't know.
Oh, you.
N
you want to know my theory
on why there was
an uprising of furries
through the late '90s,
early 2000s?
Yes.
Okay, so, you were saying
there was a lot of furries
that joined the community
around the 20005...
late '90s, early 2000s,
and the reason for that
possibly stems from the fact-
uh, two reasons.
One is that
a Disney movie came out.
"The lion king" came out
in 1995, I believe?
I want to say 1993.
- 1994.
- It came out-1994.
- Split the difference. -"The
lion king" came out in 1994.
Ha! Pinned ya.
And that proved to be
an extremely popular film.
Especially in the furry world,
that became a very popular film.
At the turn of the millennium,
basically you had
all these people
who grew up knowing
these very iconic
Disney anthropomorphic movies
as well as getting
very involved in the Internet.
Yeah, and I think
world communication
allowed the globalization
of furry.
N
all right, if they
wanna get-
they wanna get a fox on film
smoking some...
smoking some ganja.
Yeah!
It's people in action,
if you think about it.
Because we're part
of this fandom
that is so accepting.
And we accept
transsexuals and gays
and people that
can't talk to anybody else,
and all these crazy things.
But if you show furries
what I'm about to do,
more than 70%
of them would be like...
However, the ones that
we have met that do smoke
tend to be the most accepting
out of all of 'em
and the coolest and easiest
to get along with.
They kind of can see things
a little bit more
for the reality
rather than the spectacle.
Whoo!
Shit.
I don't know
who that border collie is.
That's a bad suit.
Santa baby
Light blue
I'll wait up
for you, dear I
Santa baby
Right there.
This is Garador.
I don't know who the otter is.
J think of all
the fun I've missed
- This is Brody. -.L think
of all the fellas j
that I haven't kissed
His name on F.A.
Is "Wooley."
W-o-o-l-e-y.
If you check off
my Christmas list j
Is there anybody
that you think
we should talk to?
Other suiters or furries?
I would say uncle Kage.
Ladies and gentlemen,
my name is Sam Conway.
I'm known in this fandom
as uncle Kage.
I'm the chairman
of this organization.
I want to thank
each and every one of you
for being here tonight.
I've got
a professional reputation
that I have to maintain.
I am a well-known
public figure
in my hometown
of Malvern, Pennsylvania.
I am a borough official,
I am a scientist,
I am...
I am somebody that is
what some people would call
a pillar of the community.
He loves the fandom.
He loves all of us.
He portrays us very well,
he's just very good
with his words,
uses the right words,
is very cautious about
what he says, who he says it to,
to what media outlet
may be trying to get in
and try to film us
or film anthrocon.
He's very protective of it,
which I highly respect.
We have had a few black eyes
given to us by the media.
We've had some very,
very good reporting,
and we've had some reporting
that, shall we say,
focused on aspects of the fandom
that we really try to minimize.
"We understand that furries
have been treated unfairly
by the media, but we..."
Uh-huh. Yeah.
I have probably
600 emails in my archive
that all have
that phrase in 'em,
and they're all lying.
When we were
at anthrocon, as you know,
we got into some trouble
because we're the media.
Can you tell me about
the relationship
of furries to the media?
Um, it's not very good
for two reasons.
One, the media oftentimes
over-exaggerates things,
and I guess you could
say in a way
they maybe make some stuff up
and dig into things that
really shouldn't be dug into.
They care more so about
their ratings
than the truth.
You have people
who are, you know,
they've heard the stereotypes
or they're apprehensive
about people in fur suits,
and, you know,
a lot of people thinking
it's a sexual thing
when it's not.
Furries are just
into sexual acts.
They do it inside of
their fursuits.
They're a bunch of perverts.
The list goes on,
and it's absolutely not true.
How much of a part of the fandom
is sexual for you?
Well, that I...
that I probably
really won't say,
because I feel
that that's something
that's personal to myself
and to whomever it may be.
If your back is to the wall
and you got no better answer,
play dumb.
That's always worked for me,
and I'm real good at it.
What is this all about?
Nothing.
That's a lie.
They know that.
What are you hiding?
What don't you want us to see?
What is going on here?
What's really going on here?
I mean, okay,
there are some people
in the fandom
that they're just known
for their sexual aspects,
their porn of their character
and things like that,
and I don't want
to be anywhere near that.
I want people to know me for me
and not what my character
looks like naked.
You can't talk about
the furry community
without talking
about sexual things.
I mean, the two go
basically hand in hand.
It's not so overt,
not everybody's into it,
but it's certainly a very large
presence in the community,
and to say that there is not
that presence would be remiss.
I mean, it's obviously there
and it's obviously a big part.
I don't really look
at erotic art.
I see it online
and I know that
is a big part of the fandom,
but it's not something
I actually look at.
And on furry affinity,
I have the kid filter on.
I never specified age.
I don't even see
the adult stuff on it.
Where's the best place
to look at,
- you or the camera? Okay.
- At me.
So, my name's Varka.
My real name's Jan.
I am a cocksmith by trade.
I work for Bad dragon,
and Bad dragon makes
fantasy-themed toys.
The human condition
of where we're at
in terms of accepting
adult things in our lives
is kind of depressing.
I hate to say it,
but particularly in America,
this was stuff that was
the foundation of religion.
It was stuff to do with
what is the socially-accepted
norm, right?
What are things that are,
you know,
that are considered good or bad?
And I don't think masturbation
should ever be an acceptable
dinner table conversation ever
because everybody
should have standards.
And I think that's something
very important to emphasize,
is any community
needs standards,
and there needs to be certain
topics that are not on the table.
But at the same time,
I feel that people should be
comfortable enough with themselves
and with their close-knit
group of friends
to be able to be honest
with themselves
about what they really want.
What we've got is...
it's called a come tube.
And so what you do
is you have this stuff
which looks like come,
and you put it in a syringe,
and you run it, and you
squirt it down the tube,
and it comes out the end.
Just a tube down the middle.
This is one we found
in fantasy-themed fan-fiction
and furry porn and stuff,
the jizz always looks
like this stuff does.
It's always everywhere, right?
And we were like, "oh, if
we're doing fantasy toys",
let's make fantasy lube
to go with it,
'cause lube is expensive.
If you go and buy it
from the pharmacy.
It's six bucks
for a tube, right?
And it doesn't work
very well with toys
because it goes away a lot.
It's designed for sex,
it's not designed for,
you know, your own use.
And so we made this stuff
which we called come lube
because it's
your idealized fantasy...
Fantasy come.
And it's all stringy,
and it's white tinted,
and it makes a huge mess.
But it's...
I think it's hot.
In the right context,
I think this stuff's amazing.
I have worked very,
very, very hard
to foster good relationships
with the local media
and with the city of Pittsburgh.
The city of Pittsburgh loves us.
The media likes us.
I want to keep it that way.
A Pittsburgh man,
we're gonna start with him.
He believes his spirit
is more dog than human.
Take a look at this guy.
That's why he wanted
to legally change his name
to boomer the dog.
But a judge won't
let him change his name.
These are my puppy ears
right here.
And I have a dog tag.
Do you consider
yourself what's called a furry?
I do.
I feel that
I'm a dog by default,
but furry is the scene
that I'm in.
I found it after I
discovered that I was a dog.
Oh, well, I love the media.
I'm in the media in my own way
with my little radio station
and podcasts
and stuff like that.
I really do like cameras.
I like to be on the other
side of the camera,
the lens side of the camera,
and to just do productions
of any kind.
I really like media,
just all in general.
I've been holding it in
for a long time,
you know, being canine.
It was something
I was put down for
back in my early days.
When I first started out,
people didn't get it.
So, I like to do media,
and I kind of feel like
it's an answer,
some of this,
to what people said,
or they didn't want me
to do this stuff,
or thought it wouldn't
amount to anything.
And it's kind oe like,
I'd like the people
in my school to see this,
and my teachers and everything,
to see the media and,
yes, I'm still out there.
Oh, god.
He made his suit
out of shredded paper.
- Mm-hmm.
- And he was on "Dr. Phil."
Oh, god.
What a bad representation
of the furry community.
So are a lot of
furries upset about that?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, when it first aired,
oh, my god.
F.A. Just blew up.
It was unbelievable.
Anyone who's outside
the fandom looking in,
and they see
a person like boomer
and they say, "oh,
what the heck is he doing?"
And a group of furs,
who naturally should be
accepting people to begin with,
are like, "oh, boomer."
And I just don't think that
should be the way that it is.
I think, you know,
like, look at yourself.
I mean, you're the one...
you're dressing up in a suit.
You're running around town
and barking.
How are you any different
than boomer is?
You're always gonna have
a small portion of folks
that stand out
in a negative way,
especially to the media.
I just personally felt that
that was possibly one individual
that didn't really represent
the true meaning of the fandom.
I mean, what makes his opinion
more valuable than boomer's?
Sure, and there are things
that Diezel likes
that other people
consider to be,
you know, taboo,
or not a good representation
of the community.
So, we each have our own things
that we like and don't like.
However, it's all part
of one community
and you should talk to everybody
to get the extremes of it.
I do think that boomer
is one extreme,
and I think that we are another.
You know,
we are much unlike boomer,
and even Diezel...
but two sides of the same coin.
Boomer is a little,
I mean,
I don't want to say that.
That sounds so bad,
but he-
yeah, I mean, his fursuit's
made out of paper
and it's a little sketchy,
and he tried to change his name.
And I am not about that life.
All my love
See, there it is.
Listen to my monitor.
From the A.M., there's delay.
There's a lot of delay in this.
What am I supposed to do
What am I supposed to do
What am I supposed to do
What am I supposed to do
Isn't that weird?
That's through A.M.
It's going... 'cause there's
delay through everything.
It's streaming down there and...
what can I do for you
What can I do for you
A lot of the times
on TV shows-
like, it's been on "Tyra banks"
and it's been on...
Lots of shows,
and they bring in
that type of...
Bad, like, typical furry.
Or they might just
tell 'em to ham it up.
I don't know what happens.
But they always end up
saying not good things
and making everyone else
look bad.
Okay.
Tell me about what a furry does.
Well, we are furries.
Furries are people
who have an inner animal
that they like to celebrate.
- Okay.
- And we celebrate it
through drawing ourselves
and wearing costumes.
Do you have sex
when you have the costume on?
Yes.
And I've heard that that person,
I don't know who it is,
but, like, people don't
talk to her anymore
and she feels bad or something,
but I don't know how it went.
I haven't looked up
on it, so-
oh!
Did you really?
Oh, my goodness. Okay.
Shit.
This bitch
so crunchy right here.
Oh, wait a minute.
Hey, how's it going?
- I know, right?
- I just realized.
- Takes a while.
- I was like, "cl-l, wait a minute."
I've got, like, my little
missiles targeting it.
Fuck it!
You caught me!
Jesus.
"I don't know really
what to say about chew fox"
that hasn't already been said.
Suffice to say, she...
she sold out the fandom
for her own personal gain.
She got her 15 minutes
on national TV
by showing herself
to be the very kind of person
"we all like to pretend
doesn't exist."
And that's that point
you were talking about.
Everyone likes to pretend
that it doesn't exist at all.
Like, no, it doesn't
happen at all.
And that's just
a wretched way to think.
"She did it by
taking a collective shit"
on the rest of us
for a few dollars-
Which I didn't make...
"and her moment
in the limelight."
I was less embarrassed
over the Alan panda
pedophilia issue
"than I am this shit."
Isn't that, like...
I am more insulting
than a pedophile.
I'm more insulting than someone
who was found sexually
assaulting children.
I am more offensive than that.
See? "Great.
Just what we need."
We were almost forgotten."
So, what?
This is something that
we have to feel ashamed
about, apparently.
There will be people
who will hate you
for this documentary.
There will be people
who will dislike me,
and you, and anyone
involved in this project.
One of the best pieces of
artwork I saw in my honor
was a picture
of someone holding me
by the scruff of my shirt,
and all it said was,
"You told."
That says it.
That's all
that needs to be said.
It's not what we say,
it's that we said it at all.
You guys might wanna get
a picture of this one.
More interesting sex
partners when we come back.
We'll be right back.
We'll keep guessing.
Oh. "Uncle Kage's furries
in the media" next.
- Look at that.
- Don't.
Suggested?
Suggested to play
immediately afterwards.
Let me guess,
it's probably about me.
So, reporters would come to me and
they would say, "Will you talk to us?"
I'd say,
"I'd rather not. No."
So, they would go and find
someone who would.
Well, we can go on and on
with many examples.
I'm not going to name names...
Like chew fox.
I'm not gonna name that name...
Little fucking bitch.
He just uses diversion tactics.
He knows... he knows
how to manipulate
a conversation in his favor.
And that is a very
valuable skill,
and that's probably a skill
I don't necessarily have.
Maybe a little.
I don't know.
But I don't like that approach.
I'm gonna be up front with you,
I think fursuits
can be very attractive.
I would still have sex
with someone in a fursuit.
I prefer to have sex
with someone in a fursuit
than to be in suit...
it's very hot.
Um, you know, really hot.
When we went on the show,
they kind of lied to us
to get in there,
but that's what
a lot of them do.
They said hype up the story
and make it real.
So, they said,
"hey, you're gonna be paired"
with these two other peopl...
these two other couples,
and you guys are gonna be the people
who have sex in their fursuits.
And we're like,
"we don't do that."
"No, but we want you
to say you do that."
- Mm-hmm.
- But I don't do that.
- Well, the thing...
- no, we haven't.
- We did a little bit.
- No, we didn't.
- Little bit.
- No.
Anyways, um, so...
At that time, we just said,
"you know what?
Forget it."
Let's just go on there
"and try to portray it
the best way we can."
And it totally backfired.
And looking back at it,
we shouldn't have done it,
but hindsight is 20/20.
What's done is done.
As I've told him,
I don't regret it.
I don't.
I don't think we personally
did anything that wrong.
And what I had
told them yesterday
is that anything
that I said-
the first question
was directed at the fandom.
"What is the furry fandom?"
And I answered that.
But any question
that was asked after that
was purely about
what goes on between us.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, really.
I think furries tend
to become very defensive
if they feel attacked,
regardless of the situation.
It's very common for one person
to say something,
and then a group...
a mob Will just form
and attack that person.
Which isn't good, but...
N
There's a really
interesting dichotomy,
I think, in the furry community,
because on one hand,
you have a lot of people
who... they're comfortable
with themselves,
they're comfortable
with their interests, right?
And to each other,
it's accepted and understood-
well understood.
And then whenever
media gets involved,
everyone's terrified.
Everyone is terrified.
And I think
it's a mistake for furries
to try and hide behind,
"oh, I don't want anything
to do with the media
because they might expose me
to be a pervert."
Everybody's a pervert
in some way.
The real question is
what is the intent of the person
that's looking to do
the expose, right?
You need to be sensible.
But also along
the lines of, you know,
what does it say about you
if you're afraid
to stand up for what
you believe in, right?
And I think it's...
that's part of the reason
why I'm doing this interview,
is because I think that, um,
the furry fandom
has a long way to go
in terms of accepting itself.
Do you know who Varka is?
He's the CEO of Bad dragon.
Oh, okay. Yeah, okay.
So you've heard of Bad dragon?
Unfortunately, Bad dragon
has been taken away
from anthrocon.
It used to be an actual store.
They had things covered
so that minors couldn't view.
However, they were taken away
because uncle Kage wanted
nothing to do with that.
So, that was
uncle Kage's decision
to boot Varka and Bad dragon.
Okay, you can mute it.
He's right.
- What was that?
- I said he's right.
It does take years
to build a reputation
and ten seconds to destroy it.
People would not be
totally accepting
of the full truth.
It's like a white lie.
You're telling them
part of the truth,
so that they'll understand it,
but they don't need
to know everything.
If something really bad happened
and it was exploited
by the media to the public,
do you think that families
would bring their children
to the Westin hotel lobby
to get hugs from furries?
No.
Right now,
my daughters too young
to understand any
of the porn side of it.
Obviously, we don't show
her that kind of stuff.
And when she's old enough
to make her own decision,
she can decide
whether she thinks
that it's okay or not okay.
But we're going to raise her
as this is perfectly acceptable
and that everyone
is their own person
and you should accept people
for who they are.
Did I say that out loud?
I'm terribly sorry.
I'm very, very...
I apologize.
It is the wine,
I blame the wine.
They put something in it...
alcohol.
That's all.
I really didn't
know I was doing this panel,
- hon est.
- Wow.
I feel like
even politicians, though,
- that's what bothers me.
- I never heard a politician
call someone a fucking bitch.
I mean, okay,
maybe in the privacy
of their own home,
but I've never blatantly heard
someone on camera say that.
If you have
a reputation to preserve,
don't call people
"fucking bitches."
That's really sad.
I don't know, I mean,
that you have to be that
insecure about yourself
to call someone out like that.
- Kato, get over here.
- What's up'?
Okay, so any of that-
do you feel like that's
surprising to you in any way?
You're free to judge me,
but I agreed with 85% of it.
And with the maybe 15% left,
content-wise,
only 5 of it.
Most of it's just in the way
you say something.
A politician should never
get caught saying his mind.
But, I mean, aside from that,
I don't really disagree
with what he's got to say.
I think it's a difficult...
I don't know, it's...
do you-
fuck, dude, really?
Really?
You don't like
that there are people
who are gonna agree with it.
But, I mean, I don't know,
it just doesn't seem
that hyperbolic to me.
The way in which
he says it, sure,
but I do think most people
are too inept
to articulate
their own standpoints,
let alone someone else's,
or a group's identity.
So, yeah, I think
that the guy who is
most able to do so
probably should.
But, you guys, you know,
I've been working on this
for three years.
You guys have been
communicating with me.
You guys are people who
know how to speak English.
Right, and I guess that's
what I would caution.
I mean, not to sound
condescending,
'cause I'm not here to tell
you how to do your job.
But, I guess, make sure
that you spend more time
bringing to light those voices
who can articulate themselves,
rather than bringing down someone
who attempts to do it for them
even if, perhaps, not in a
way that you approve of.
I don't know, maybe a lot
of furries are stupid.
Maybe we're the only smart ones.
I don't know.
I don't-
it's not that
they're stupid, I think.
I just think that
they're just not
held to a high enough
standard of behavior.
They don't think about their
conduct in a larger sense,
and I think that's what Kage's
trying to impose on people.
Whether or not he's going
to be successful at that,
whether or not he can be
successful at that,
that's up for debate.
But I think that people
do need to think about
how they are perceived
by other people.
It's an important part
of personal responsibility.
And I think as soon
as someone like Kage gets up
and says, "be this, be this",
not this, and do this,"
it takes anything valid in
the fandom that we've done
and just flushes it
right down the toilet.
Because if we are
all about acceptance,
if we all are
about individuality,
who's to say that
he can say that to anybody
and that people should
listen to him?
I think it's common knowledge
over people who have
the Internet and cable-
everyone's like,
"oh, yeah, furries."
They dress up as animals
and have sex with each other,
"or they go in the woods
and have sex with animals,"
or things like that,
and then they move on.
But then the furries are like,
"no, we cannot
let this happen!"
It already happened.
You can't change it back.
Like, so...
Do you worry that
if you say the wrong thing
that you're gonna get
in trouble with furries?
Do I worry a little bit?
Sure.
But I've made
the conscious decision
to step in front
of this camera right here
and speak my mind on it.
Could there be
some repercussions of it?
Sure.
At the end of the day,
I've still got my friends
and that's all
that matters to me.
I'm not out here
to defame anybody.
I'm not out here to throw
the fandom under the bus.
I'm not out to change the world.
I'm not out
to change the fandom.
I'm just out there to be me.
Once again, I'm going to
reiterate this point
because it is very important.
You're not representing you,
you're representing all of us.
I think what he's getting at
is when you decide to get
in front of a camera,
you're not representing
just you at that time.
You're representing the fandom.
And I think, again,
a lot of people try to do that,
but they don't say it
in the right way.
Is that tough for when
you feel like
your only responsibility
should just be to be you, right,
instead of somebody who
just got into an interview?
Yeah, I mean, it kind of makes
sense to what he's saying
at this point in time right now.
I'm not just representing me,
I'm representing the fandom.
The people that like him,
do they actually like him?
Because now I'm a little...
sort of the way
your interview went,
it was, like, not that
you were supporting him,
but at first
you didn't necessarily
want to speak too ill of him.
So, I almost wonder
if it's maybe because
they feel like
they have to support him,
or at least not be detractors,
or if they genuinely like him.
Basically, he's got
connections to the other...
the other higher...
if you would even
call them higher up furs,
as in dragoneer
who runs fur affinity
and some of the other web sites.
And I think
there's a general fear
that his cronies
or his followers
are going to
beat the shit out of you
because you spoke ill of Kage,
when I think the reality is
he thinks he speaks
for the masses,
and I just think
he speaks for some.
And I think a lot of people
won't talk ill of that
because they don't
want to be shown
as someone who's
against the fandom,
and some people think
if you don't agree with Kage,
you're against the fandom.
I feel you're a little biased
in your interviewing.
Just a little bit.
Poquito.
Well, I mean, it's like...
where's the other...
where's Kage's side?
Fucking, I would love it.
I would love that side.
You can't get Kage's side
without Kage's approval
on Kage's edit.
Didn't he deny doing this?
Yeah, he said...
sure, yeah.
A lot of other communities
don't really have
the same problems
that the furry community does.
But I feel that a lot
of the problems
that the furry community has
are brought on
by themselves-
mainly trying to spin
themselves in a good light
when it not necessarily is.
I'm not saying that things
are bad or wrong
with the furry community,
but they are certainly not
portrayed real.
It's just what
they want you to see,
and that comes off...
people take that
and spin that even.
- So...
- It's an unnecessary cover-up.
If you just let things be,
it might be a Niger place.
People might actually accept
furries for who they are.
And here's the thing, too,
let me add to that,
and why he...
I believe he tries
to help the fandom
and here's one reason why.
What is the age majority
in the fandom?
It's very young.
It's a very young fandom.
As I get older, the fandom
continues to stay young
and get younger.
A lot of young people
in this generation,
they don't always
know what to say.
They're very stubborn.
They have a lot of pride.
They don't think about
the repercussions of things,
and you have to be careful
with people like that.
So, uncle Kage's
doing a "winestream,"
which is a livestream.
If you're unfamiliar
with what that is,
it's just him
at his computer at his house
taking questions for hours
and getting drunk.
Is this controlling these?
You don't hear an echo?
I don't care.
I have an idea.
For those of you
who say you hear an echo,
fuck you! Okay, now!
We're getting going because
I've not been able to drink
while Jack has been screwing
around with the damn server!
Now it's my turn.
- So!
- Shit.
I'd like to welcome you all
to the winestream.
I apologize.
We had a very,
very lovely intro set up,
but, oh, well.
Maybe next time.
I apologize,
I don't like
north Carolina wines.
It's a lovely state, and I'm
sure they make lovely wines,
but they're not to my taste,
I prefer Columbia valley,
Washington state,
or Mosel valley of Germany.
Um, Dominic.
"Do we really need
the anthrocon media policy
to be so strict?"
Fuck, yes!
Um, okay, cook away.
"The elevators will hold up.
What about the escalators?"
- One thing at a time.
- One, two, now.
Somebody asked me a
question, it went away.
I'm gonna start at the bottom.
"Do you ever feel you're going
too far calling furries out
that screw up in the media, like
boomer the dog and chew fox?"
No! No, they're a bunch
of fucking asswipes.
I don't feel I'm going too far.
I want them Tc shut the hell up.
They're not representing me!
Mmm.
Cool.
I think what you said
is probably absolutely true.
I think he probably indulges
in some of the same shit
that he sees other people...
and that he doesn't want to be
identified with the same thing,
he wants his own image saved.
Um, and it's purely
for his own...
I think. It's...
it's for him.
The people that are enjoying
the fandom the most,
the people that get
fandom the most
and get the most out of it
are the ones that basically say,
"I don't give a fuck."
I don't give a fuck
what dragoneer says.
I don't give a fuck
what uncle kage says.
"I don't give a fuck
about any of that shit."
N
like magic he appears
A hero to save the day
he's here for good
That's when he goes away
'Cause he's boomer
Boomer
Boomer
So, this is all about-
and you can see
it's still in German.
The titles are still in German
and stuff like that.
See, and when I would hear him,
I would tape record
these barks-
the pieces,
the parts of the show
where he was barking
and stuff like that.
And then I'd play it back
and I would try
to learn his bark.
And that's how I got
the "here's boomer" bark for me.
I'd just listen over and over
and then try to bark like that.
That's the
only way to shut him up.
You figured it out for yourself.
Good for you, boomer.
The thing ls,
ls why did that hit me
when it could've been
just as much the human world?
Because I was
in the human world.
So, why would the dog, like,
step out, you know,
and get me so much
when it could've been
any number of factors
or anything else?
But somehow I was different,
and then somehow
the dog was there,
and then somehow I kept on
being canine all this time,
whatever it's been now.
I don't know how long,
like, 40 years
or something ridiculous?
I don't know.
I just go right across here.
You don't mind?
Okay.
There's kind of a way
of doing things
in the furry scene now
that I think allows
less expression
than it did when
I first came on the scene.
You didn't have
that kind of-
there wasn't a social pressure
to conformity as much.
Which is weird
to be even saying,
because furry is this different
thing to begin with.
So I kind of don't understand...
I don't understand some
of the modern philosophy.
But I kinda do,
because, like, I bark.
People come into the scene
and that's all they know,
so they expect other people
to be similar.
I love furries so much.
I want to see all kinds
of people have it
and enjoy it if they'd like to.
And I'd like them to see
all the sides of furry,
you know,
good and bad, whatever it is.
I don't think
there's much bad to it.
It's people trying to discover
themselves in different ways.
Right away when I did this,
I was told,
"why don't you just keep your
regular name like the rest of us?"
And I was like...
I almost, like-
I was angry, but I was
laughing at the same time
because I was like,
"that's not what
it's about for me."
N