Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

[frankfrank]

I never have. Any and all looners I've ever met, have been through the Internet.

You may have run into another looner through unsavory circumstances: imagine being "busted" by your college roommate coming home early from his trip to the library...and blabbing around about catching you playing with balloons. Word gets around, and somebody actually approaches you to tell you they have the same interest.

Or you go to a place like Party City, and another customer watched you buy 36 of those 24-inch balloons, and he catches up with you on your way to the car. He asks you if you're a "looner" and well, YES...!!!

Somebody at high school notices you have a raging boner after working out with the Swiss ball in gym, and he approaches you and tells you he's had the same feelings around that thing...

You're at a big party with a balloon drop and, while you're popping balloons, somebody similarly notices you have a huge boner, and he-or-she approaches you...

You hired a prostitute, and they told you the 23 various sex scenarios that they would happily indulge, and one of them was balloons.

There are other possible scenarios, but I am NOT including the possibility that you "recruit" somebody into looning, and they try it for the first time and they enjoy it. No, this has to be somebody who was already into this.

I've never heard of two looners meeting "in the wild" before, but I'm sure that it happened...somewhere.

[BusterBill]

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

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Yep, I have met looners "in the wild" on more than one occasion. It's actually rather easy to do if you have a keen eye and if you spend 80% to 90% of your professional life globetrotting for business, as I did before I retired.

My first accidental encounter with another looner was many years ago when I was in my late 20's. It was at a rural County Fair in Western Massachusetts that some friends dragged me to. There were all the standard competitions that go along with rural County Fairs such as pie eating contests, potato sack races, and in this particular case, a couple of balloon blowing competitions with one race for children (boys vs. girls) and another race for adults (men vs. women).

Whoever arranged the balloon events was really into big balloons -- these weren't your ordinary 9 or 10 inch party balloons that are so often used in standard balloon blowing races. There were 12 inch balloons for the childrens event and 14 inch balloons for the adults.

As I was watching the contests I couldn't help noticing that the MC / Organizer, who was dressed in a clown outfit, was barely able to hide his erection from me (I'm pretty sure others didn't notice it). He was wearing very baggy clown pants to conceal his excitement. When the event was over and he was sitting at a picnic table enjoying a beer, I approached him and commented on how much I had enjoyed the contests. I casually said "I am really into balloons in a big way. It's kind of a turn-on, actually. I don't mean to offend you but I noticed you seem to enjoy balloons just as much as I do." We proceeded to have a very awkward and brief discussion. I think we were both very, very embarrassed by the chat and I was surprised at myself for even having the balls to approach the poor guy.

That was my first, but by no means my last "in the wild" looner meet. My best "in the wild" meeting was in the Mayfair Hotel in London UK back in 1988! A story for another time.

For what it's worth, that Massachusetts dairy farmer and I still exchange occasional letters after all these years. When I started the Balloon Buddies snail mail group I invited him to join, but he was too shy. He has never participated in any online looner groups although I tell him all about them in my letters. He doesn't even use a computer, although his son, who is very computer literate, has tried to teach him.

Now that I don't travel as much as I used to, the opportunities to discover other looners by chance are few and far between.
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[spkrlf]

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

I would love to hear more of your stories, Bill! Thanks for sharing.

[globos&bears]

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

"That was my first, but by no means my last "in the wild" looner meet. My best "in the wild" meeting was in the Mayfair Hotel in London UK back in 1988! A story for another time."

Thanks for sharing Bill! I am intrigued to hear that other story.

[frankfrank]

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

Me too, I'd love to read your story. The whole idea of meeting looners in the wild is fascinating to me.

The closest that I've come was talking to somebody in a movie queue in Ann Arbor in March 1994, and we've become good friends. Furthermore, we both like to cuddle platonically, so I can at least claim to have met a "cuddle buddy" in-the-wild.

At this point, as my looning trails off...I might do twice a week max, and a good balloon can endure three or four of my rather rough sessions...I think future chances of an in-the-wild meeting are scant.

[Common Loon]

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

What's interesting is that we probably *all* have stories of meeting people who just plain "act differently" around balloons. Since our senses are heightened as looners, it's easy to pick up on subtle cues and start to wonder...

Like the friends who always comment with wonder about the balloon decor at parties, or the ones who always stay afterward to help clean up and are first in line to join in the balloon destruction.

It's funny how balloons just change the energy level of a room and heighten people's arousal... in a non-sexual sense of the word, usually! But maybe...

[desertdude]

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

I thought my childhood crush was into balloons since he was always acted funny around them and had a phobia of them popping, which made me like him even more. When we started dating later I brought balloons into celebratory situations to see if he'd react but I found out that NOPE he did not have a thing for balloons at all. You can probably imagine my disappointment.

Also met a cute girl in college who very very much liked balloons and always had them around, you could say she was "weird" around them. Didn't ever get to know her enough to find out if she liked them sexually. I always wonder though.

I guess that looners generally are weird around balloons, but not all of those who are weird around balloons are looners... something like that?

[Common Loon]

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

I guess that looners generally are weird around balloons, but not all of those who are weird around balloons are looners... something like that?

Yeah. It makes me wonder (again) about the mechanism that turns phobia into fetish for so many of us, and why it doesn't for others. Is it just a moment of pubertal serendipity that sends phobics down the fetish path? Or is it something about our phobia that made it different from other people's?

[SusieDK]

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

Yeah. It makes me wonder (again) about the mechanism that turns phobia into fetish for so many of us, and why it doesn't for others. Is it just a moment of pubertal serendipity that sends phobics down the fetish path? Or is it something about our phobia that made it different from other people's?

Hi,

Exactly this issue has occupied my mind for a very long time. Why is it that I (and other 'balloon people') ended up with sexual feelings about balloons instead of 'just' developing and extraordinary fondness of them?
To me the sexual aspect came totally unexpected and actually right out of the blue - seemingly just like that. One moment it wasn't there, and the next it was sort of fully developed. This happened even without me really understanding what was going on, and I certainly had no indications at all that trying to overcome my fear of balloons could turn in that direction.
The issue is HIGHLY interesting to me - and as it also seems quite essential to developing into a looner I think it might be for quite many in this group.

Maybe it deserves its own thread - or maybe it already has and I haven't found it yet.

I better reply to the main issue of this thread about meeting another looner as well now I am at it:
I have only once in my life met another person who shared my feelings about balloons, - a Swedish woman I stumbled across in a forum having nothing to do with balloon fetish. I have however sometimes wondered about others who seemed to like balloons somewhat out of the ordinary. I never gathered the courage to bring it up further than making a few 'playful' hints like 'it is sooo amazing how big balloons get', 'it is such a rush when they pop' and alike.

My Swedish friend disappeared all of sudden quite many years ago btw, but it was great as long as it lasted. However it was also a very powerful and highly emotional experience that confused my feelings quite some, and I am not sure it will be wise to repeat it.

Thank you for reading my posting.

Sincerely
Susie

[bfinch2000]

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

i've never knowingly met another looner in real life, but i'm also one of those people who wonders about some people.

my best friend is definitely weird around balloons. i'm not sure exactly why but i'm almost certain he has either a phobia or a fetish or both. he's also aware of the fetish, which is rare in non-looners, and actually any time there is just general talk of fetishes among friends he ALWAYS mentions it. there was even once when there was an advert on tv that happened to have balloons in, and he just randomly said "do you know what i don't get? balloon fetish" prompted by nothing at all. naturally all that makes me a bit nervous....what if he's doing it because he knows about me and is teasing me? but i have to reassure myself and think that as my best friend he wouldn't do that to me, and also the first time he ever brought it up was definitely before he could have known about me.

there are other friends too. another friend is openly phobic, but his girlfriend is a little weird with them too, which makes me wonder if his phobia is also a fetish that she would know about. then there's a guy i haven't seen for years, but he was always willing to blow up balloons (even a 36 inch one i brought to a party once!) and always blew them much tighter than your typical non-looner, even bigger ones like 16 or 17 inch. and a third guy took a photo of me when i was blowing up a small balloon while drunk at his house, and now has it as his picture for me on his phone, which he mentions like ALL the time, so that again makes me nervous that he and everyone around me knows about it

there are maybe a couple of other friends i've wondered about at one time or another, either from their behaviour or just a particular look on their face when the word "balloon" gets said in conversation. i guess they can't ALL be looners, otherwise this site would be way bigger! but it's hard to accept that it's my own heightened awareness that many times.

[Regular Guy]

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

It was only one time I met someone that could have been a looner or better I suspected he could be a looner.

It was back in school, I must have been 16 years old and knowing about my fetish.
My classmate I suspect could be a looner or just likes balloons was a year older.

At the end of a school year there was always a school festival.
Our class had to organize a tombola. So we were looking for prizes and for consolation prize a group of classmates asked local stores and banks for promotional balloons.

The day before the school festival we brought everything together, the tombola prizes and this plastic bag full of balloons.

I don't know exactly anymore or maybe I missed the next scene but someone blow up one of the balloons. I cant remember the color, maybe it was yellow, and it was blown up until it had the shape of a drop meaning some blows before the neck came out.

The balloon laid on the gound for some time seeming not really be noticed by most classmates before this on particular classmate put it up.

He threw it in the air and as it floated towards the floor he kicked it up with his right next time with his left foot. Nothing special so far but I noticed something that made me suspect him having at least a kink for balloons:
He was looking at the balloon all the time and had a "special" expression on his face.
He was smiling all the time and his expression made him look happy, relaxed and satisfied while balancing the balloon.
I bet no one else noticed but for me his expression in this situation was a bit special.
I knew him quite well, we were good friends, but this expression was a bit different as usually.

First my thoughts revolved about this situation and what it could have been but after a few minutes I made myself believe that it probably wasn't anything special and quite sure only a phantasm because of my fetish and because I had a bit of a crush on this pretty young man/boy (he looked a bit younger as he actually was).

But there was a second situation just a short time later:

We ware advised to bring the prizes to where the tombola should take place put the numbers on the different items.
So everybody grabbed something, my "balloon classmate" grabbed the bag full of balloons.
He hugged the bag with both arms and said (!) smiling, with his particular expression again "I want to have them" and I noticed the he'd really, really loved to call them his own.

Until today I don't know what to think about this situation.
Back then I was to perplex to ask what he wanted to do with the balloons or even just if he liked balloons.

As I mentioned I had a bit of a crush on him and I'd loved to get into a "balloon-situation" with him or having a talk about balloons at a suitable opportunity.

Unfortunately it never happened this situation was the one and only I saw him with balloons.
I couldn't even bring him into a situation with balloons, the school festival was at the end of the schoolyear, after that I left this school...

[Bazzer]

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

YES - I was on a Gay Pride march in London back in the 1980's and saw this Leather guy with loads of black balloons. I got myself walking behind him and we soon started chatting and BINGO, he admitted that he had a Balloon Fetish. We subsequently met on several occasions and had some great fun with many Balloons. HAPPY DAYS!

[Bucardo]

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

Hi,

Exactly this issue has occupied my mind for a very long time. Why is it that I (and other 'balloon people') ended up with sexual feelings about balloons instead of 'just' developing and extraordinary fondness of them?
To me the sexual aspect came totally unexpected and actually right out of the blue - seemingly just like that. One moment it wasn't there, and the next it was sort of fully developed. This happened even without me really understanding what was going on, and I certainly had no indications at all that trying to overcome my fear of balloons could turn in that direction.
The issue is HIGHLY interesting to me - and as it also seems quite essential to developing into a looner I think it might be for quite many in this group.

Maybe it deserves its own thread - or maybe it already has and I haven't found it yet.

I better reply to the main issue of this thread about meeting another looner as well now I am at it:
I have only once in my life met another person who shared my feelings about balloons, - a Swedish woman I stumbled across in a forum having nothing to do with balloon fetish. I have however sometimes wondered about others who seemed to like balloons somewhat out of the ordinary. I never gathered the courage to bring it up further than making a few 'playful' hints like 'it is sooo amazing how big balloons get', 'it is such a rush when they pop' and alike.

My Swedish friend disappeared all of sudden quite many years ago btw, but it was great as long as it lasted. However it was also a very powerful and highly emotional experience that confused my feelings quite some, and I am not sure it will be wise to repeat it.

Thank you for reading my posting.

Sincerely
Susie

I have never met any other looner in public situations.

I am, nevertheless, very interested by what Common Loon and SusieDK have pointed out. Is there some thread regarding how trying to overcome our phobia we turned into looners? I think a thread of its own may help us pinpoint some common traits in those that have lived and developed our fetish in that precise way...

PS: I too would really like to read your other stories, BusterBill

[BusterBill]

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

PS: I too would really like to read your other stories, BusterBill

.
I will try to write up an account of one or two of my unexpected encounters with other looners to share with y'all.

I was blessed with 30 years of extensive business travel throughout North America and Western Europe. I spent about 3 weeks out of every month away from home. I lived for a year in the UK for one project, as well as half a year in Ireland for another. I also worked for nearly half a year in western Canada (Victoria and Vancouver).

After I moved on from my business, I lived in Argentina for several months and also spent two winters, totaling about six months altogether, in Southeast Asia, mostly in Thailand with side trips to Cambodia and Vietnam.

I am told that being on the road so much would be an intolerable existence for many people, but I am a natural nomad. I totally love the opportunity to experience different cultures, learn a little bit of a few languages, meet a lot of truly awesome people, and just have fun.

Stories to come when I can get my mind out of its present malaise of COVID stress and recall how to construct an intelligible sentence.

Happy blowing to all,

Buster Bill

[tebe2hu]

Re: Have you ever run into another looner "IN THE WILD"?

Why is it that I (and other 'balloon people') ended up with sexual feelings about balloons instead of 'just' developing and extraordinary fondness of them?

In my case, I can tell exactly the reason. The sexual favor comes from the discovery that blowing up balloons how beautifully makes the breasts move :-) I love beautiful women and this was projected to the balloons that emphesized this.

To answer the original question, there were several such cases, let me share three. The first two are ridiculusly similar but contraversal.

It happened to me that I invited a friend - a nice lady - to my apartment and when I put the key into the lock, I remembered about the balloon display I left in the guest room that I had prepared for the photo session the following day... She got delighted when she saw the balloons and from her attitude, her body talk it was obvious we belong the same group of people.

The other, case, I had a business with a cute colleague in another town and asked if I could change my uniform to civilian clothes. She offered to do it in her apartment nearby. I saw the hesitation in her eyes when she took out her keys and from the look as she looked at me I felt something would happen. In the sitting room there was a huuuge pile of tight party and advertising balloons. I smiloed and took one, made it squeek and put back. She also found out that she didn't need to feel embarrassed for me, I have similar feelings.

Finally, that happened this January, ended in bed, as I already wrote. I helped out a lady whose car broke down but needed to get quickly to Budapest. As soon as she sat in my car, immediately noticed the punchballs I left in front of the windscreen. Started to play with them, blowing them up (the first one she blew to shreds) and teasing me as only one looner can tease the other We are friends now and since that, we had some common ballooon fun.