“Fur”st Impressions

Meetup groups are a great resource for finding communities in a new place, and I made a number of friends through an unusual segment of the population – the furry fandom.
​
Given the negative stereotypes about furries in the media, I initially wasn’t sure it was a good idea to join a meetup. But the local group, the "MelbFurs," appeared to be a social bunch with regular barmeets and events. I took a peek at the group dynamics on Telegram, the messaging app, and it seemed like fun.
​
The barmeets happened every Tuesday night at a bar in the CBD, a spacious and homey venue with cozy décor and a playlist of classic rock songs. The back corner was allocated for the meetup, a symbiotic relationship between the venue and the group, a regular source of business on an otherwise-quiet night. The back corner was stuffy on this warm evening. I imagine that also contributed to the drink sales.

The first barmeet that I joined was a mixed experience. There were several friendly and fantastic people that I instantly connected with. There were also some antisocial folks that were hard to talk to. But the good ones who welcomed me into the group happened to set into motion the events of the next few weeks, including getting me a ticket to an event called the Melbourne Fur Con (MFC).
​
First, a general description of the furry fandom. Only a small portion (~20%) have a fursuit, the mascot-like costumes that are the most visible segment of the fandom. A much more common way to participate is through the creation (and appreciation of) digital artwork. It’s also common for furries to create an original character called a “fursona” that serves as an online avatar. For simplicity, and perhaps anonymity, most people at the barmeet introduced themselves by their character’s name. Many people had cartoon stickers of their characters they would hand out as a token of friendship, a small tradition that I really appreciated. I accumulated a small collection!

By coincidence, one of the first people I met, Reggie, became my closest friend in the group. Reggie was well-spoken, down to earth, extremely knowledgeable about Melbourne and Australia, a scout leader, a photographer, and a community-oriented person with lots of connections. Their fursona was a peacock, inspired by one of those “what animal are you” personality tests. They also happened to be a board member of the Melbourne Fur Con (MFC). The event tickets had officially sold out months ago, but a spot had recently opened up. When Reggie heard I was visiting from abroad and had never attended a con, they pulled some strings to redirect the spot my way. It was a kind gesture, and yet another example of Melburnians making an effort to positively represent their city.

I also chatted with other folks. March and Walter were easygoing and friendly; XXS offered me a welcome drink, but otherwise didn’t seem very welcoming; Hexa was commissioning a fursuit from a well-known Australian maker; Orithan was on the autism spectrum and struggled in conversation. The evening was a marked illustration of the overlap between the furry fandom and the queer community, neurodivergent community, and video gamers. The average person the room was in their late 20s or early 30s, a software engineer, and gay. In some ways it reminded me of the theater community, in terms of the creativity and diversity, but with more STEM and less social skills. As a minor point, I was slightly disappointed that more people didn’t have Australian animals as their fursona species.
​
Over the weekend, I convinced Reggie to hang out with me at the St. Kilda festival. We walked along the coast and chatted while the Melbourne skyline reflected the setting sun. I learned that Reggie had overcome many challenges in their life, which they openly spoke about with astonishing transparency. From childhood bullying for being Asian-American, being homeless as a young person, navigating life with an invisible disability, and grappling with their identity as a non-binary person, there were so many complicated layers to their story that you would never guess based on their low-key and friendly demeanor. Of course, there were lighthearted topics too, like an augmented reality game called Ingress and where to find cheap food in Melbourne (hint: Domino’s). I appreciated the chance to have a meaningful conversation on so many topics.

The second barmeet was a few days before the convention, so I went in hopes of meeting more people that I might encounter at the event. I had better luck with finding engaging people this time, including a personable programmer named Bramble and the barmeet’s de facto leader, Saba. I heard about the Australian tax loophole of using company cars as personal perks and learned a new drink order – “lemon lime with bitters,” a non-alcoholic soda with aromatic bitters. Volpes, the one who explained the drink, seemed a little dejected so I ordered us a round, and he seemed to liven up a bit.
​
In preparation for the MFC event, I thought it would be fun to create a fursona of my own. For the species, a gray fox was the obvious choice: the personal connection from seeing them frolicking in the backyard, and the associated traits of cleverness and playfulness. The name was harder to pick. I chose Silvius, meaning “of the forest” in Latin: an expression of my connection to nature and the outdoors, and coincidentally a Shakespeare character that I’ve portrayed. I made a digital drawing of Silvius using Paint.NET, a free program I’ve been using for years, and Reggie printed a copy for my con badge.

​The Melbourne Fur Con was hosted at the Novotel Hotel in the suburb of Preston, easily accessible on the 86 tram. It was organized as a family-friendly con, meaning that language was kept in check, alcohol was restricted to private room parties, and the dealer’s den (where artists sell their original work) was kept free from explicit content. ​There were around 500 attendees from all over Australia, and about half with a fursuit. The year’s theme, Cyberchase, was reflected in the goodie bag contents including custom stickers, a water bottle, and a t-shirt.

​Friday included an opening ceremony and the first topic-centered panels, like the hilariously named “Help, My Child is a Furry?” geared towards parents. There were indeed some parents attending the con with their young children, which was super wholesome to see. Another panel offered advice for first-time attendees, like the 6-2-1 rule: at least 6 hours of sleep, 2 proper meals, and 1 shower per day.

It was also the first opportunity to browse through the dealer’s den. Surgical masks were required, and fursuits were banned, as it was in closer quarters. There were around 40 tables where independent artists were selling custom prints, badges, pins, fursuit accessories, and even taking commissions for custom drawings to be completed within the weekend. For many, it was the highlight of the con. I picked up a few stickers, enamel pins of Australian animals, a fox beanie, and a print from an artist called Silvixen.

​I had a fun time hanging out in the lobby, striking up small conversations with other attendees, and watching fursuiters meander through the hotel. Quite the contrast between their silly, cartoonish appearance and the polished, professional atmosphere of the hotel! Many unsuspecting businesspeople and airline crews found themselves side-by-side with enormous wolves and dragons in the elevator. Hanging out in the breezeway, I met a duo from Sydney, Flippsy and Justin, who had nice suit designs and were also really nice people.

Pretzel, the mouse. Say cheese!

​For dinner, I went out with Reggie and his volunteer friend Daniel for noodle soup and dumplings at a nearby spot called Tina's. The food was excellent, though the soup was hot and we were impatiently hungry.

​Friday night also included a dance, with a mix of DJ sets and a live performance from the metal guitarist When Snakes Sing. I talked with Snakes later in the con and it sounded like his performance at MFC was a breakthrough moment. A few years back, he “came out” as a furry and started tailoring his original songs towards a furry audience. A talented guitarist and singer, he’s now gotten his foot into the convention circuit in Australia, which includes other annual furry events in Sydney, Gold Coast, and Perth. Back to the dance floor, it was surreal to be surrounded with dancing fursuiters, with paws in the air and tails shaking. Given how overheated they were probably getting, it was also an impressive feat of endurance.

​Saturday’s highlight was the fursuit parade. Everyone gathered in a hotel courtyard, and then marched to a nearby park for a group photo. To stay hydrated, the fursuiters drank water bottles through their foam heads, giving the hilarious appearance of eating them. Cooling vests and portable fans were also a common sight. One of the convention norms was never taking pictures of suiters who had to remove their heads to stay cool. There was even a dedicated space for this, called the “headless lounge.”

​While in the park, I met a cute Dutch Angel Dragon, a fictional species inspired by horses. The guy inside was suiting for the first time as "Patch" and loving it. One of my other favorite character designs from the event was Rio, another Dutch Angel Dragon. Rio actually hosted a workshop explaining some of the mythology around the species, with art supplies for people to draw their own designs.

​After the park outing, there was a fashion-show style catwalk event. Each suiter struck a few poses while the photographers clicked away. Someone in a Shrek outfit made an appearance and did a hilarious bodybuilder routine.

​Next up was the Fursuit Games, including a beanbag toss, red light green light, and musical statues (i.e. players have to stop dancing when the music stops). I thought the last game was a clever choice, as it’s much easier for the suiters to hear in costume – whereas vision is really limited.

​The Saturday night schedule was intentionally open, so that people could congregate in smaller groups. For example, there was a meetup for “grey muzzles” (the tongue-in-cheek term for older furries) at the hotel bar. I ended up linking up with Bramble, who I met a few days earlier at the barmeet, and who had been around the con in a realistic red panda fursuit. I joined him for dinner, along with his orbit of out-of-town guests, Neon and Taco.

Neon’s fursona was a protogen, a fictional cyborg species with an LED emoting helmet. He worked on a berry farm in a remote part of Queensland, south of Brisbane. Taco’s fursona was a Pegasus pony, of the My Little Pony variety. He was from a smaller town in Victoria and worked at a car dealership. Both were really solid guys, and it was honestly a huge relief to have a social group within the larger event.
​
Bramble had a specific ramen place in mind and drove us there in his car. It was actually quite far away, in Carnegie, which gave plenty of time for lively conversation, like debating the differences between bogans and eshays (two Aussie stereotypes, a bit like rednecks). There was a long wait at the restaurant, so we had a drink in the bar next door. Bramble invited two other friends along, who were also furries but with more emphasis on tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons. The ramen itself was fast, cheap, and really flavorful. But the good company is what I’ll remember most.

​We made our way back to the hotel, and hung out in Bramble’s room. He offered to let me try on the red panda suit. In the heavily air-conditioned room, the thick suit was actually comfortable. Apart from the lack of visibility, which was pitiful. The guys draped a lanyard over my head and I could barely tell! One cool feature (literally) was a small electric fan built into the mask, pointed directly at the wearer’s face. The jaw also opened slightly when I opened mine. Aesthetically, the realistic style fursuits aren’t my favorite (I prefer the “toony” style) but it was still a memorable experience.

​Sunday was a more laid-back day. I was pretty drained from all the socialization but still went to a few panels, the most interesting a tutorial on creating a “duct tape dummy.” In order to commission a fursuit, the future owner has to create a fabric shell of their entire body shape and send it to the maker. This is accomplished by putting on a disposable painter’s suit, having your friends smother it in duct tape, and then carefully cutting it off like a cocoon. The panelists demonstrated this onstage over the course of an hour, some wearing fursuit heads while applying tape. After the panel, I hung out at the hotel bar with Bramble et al.

​The last event was a charity auction. Artists and participants donated merchandise to the staff, and each item was sold in the classic auction style (the auctioneer did a brilliant job!) The charity of choice was a wildlife sanctuary in Victoria called Odonata Mt Rothwell, home to endangered species of wallabies and quolls. In total, $6,700 was raised – not bad for a relatively small con, with wallets already hurting from 3 days of the dealers’ den.

Even if Aussie animals weren’t a common choice for fursonas, there were still a few really good ones, including a Tasmanian devil, a thylacine, and an echidna. Though not wearing it at the time, the echnidna fursuiter told me he had a detachable long tongue like a real echidna!

Attending MFC was a unique experience! There were so many delightful character designs to marvel at, and silly interactions to laugh along with. Hanging out with Taco, Neon, and Bramble was an awesome part of the experience, as the convention was large enough (and long enough) to be a tad overwhelming.

​Even though attending a furry convention was a bit bizarre and a little outside my comfort zone, bonding with Aussies over a niche interest was exactly the kind of travel experience I was hoping for.
​
Melbourne truly has every kind of event imaginable!