Fetish Anniversary | Our Kinky Family Turns 3!

Happy B' day everyone, today our kinky family turns three! Since our launch in 2017 on 'Anti-Valentine's Day', this dark, dingy corner of the web has blossomed into what many of us call our kinky home. As we move into our fourth year together, this birthday we celebrate our 'family' values and what we represent to each other.  

This is a safe space, thanks to you and everyone's effort, so a huge 'thank you' to all kinksters for being part of this unique kinky community. We all care deeply about what we've created together, and that's exemplified spectacularly by the thousands of forum threads between us exchanging help, pro tips, newbie advice and encouragement. We salute you!
 

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First off, I got to say I love this site! It’s really friendly and well made so a huge thanks to everyone who has made it happen! - Kent_runner

But who would have thought that there are nearly 780k registered kinksters on the site in such little time? Impressive huh?! However, don't be fooled that we're business-obsessed with numbers or growth. The truth is we reinvest the money we make to try to reach kinksters and the kink-curious around the globe. Sustainable growth is the keyword, take a look at our values.  Moreover, we're obsessed with kink - period. Since opening up this playspace, gaining a deeper understanding of what does and doesn't work is where we're at right now. 

We are family - and always have been

Given our domain name, you would be forgiven in assuming that we're a massive operation, but this couldn't be farther from the truth. While the name 'Fetish.com' might seem fancy, it forms part of a family-owned business led by a band of three adventurous German brothers - David, Robby, and Julius. Between them, they started developing niche online communities 16 years ago in a run-down apartment in Shanghai. 

Building on their first online successes in Germany, the brothers bought domains like Fetisch.de and Fetish.com in the early days, following their not-so-secret interests and entrepreneurial instinct. 

It wasn't until a fresh new team took over the controls that we worked to build Fetish.com from the ground-up, and a lot of that early success came down to kinksters like us by sharing the word. Starting as a tandem that rapidly grew into a threesome, the team expanded and is now a core family of five. Of which have included members like Serenaa, Leocadio, MikeMidnight, KittyClydesdale, Moni, JacobDarkly, JordiStar, Annalou, LinaMaison, Katiefox, VictoriaBlisse and Bobbygin.


Fetish Community Team at the Passion Fair in Hamburg, from left: Jordistar, Linamaison, Annalou, Leocadio, BobbyGin & MikeMidnight
 

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There are a number of absolute Gems when it comes to members (eyemblacksheep, LilMonster, DanteReign, BigPolly) - SirPhileasFlogg

Our vision then - as is now - is to be the world's most trusted Fetish and BDSM community, and our 'family' vibe comes from the community directly. A month ago we all had the chance to share what Fetish.com means to us in a survey, and the vast majority chose 'Your Kinky Family' as the answer that best described this kinky feeling of belonging.

Like any family, sometimes we get things right, other times not, but that doesn't mean our community isn't at the heart of what we do. Being part of the BDSM and fetish community is about being who you are and surrounding yourself with safe, fun and trustworthy kinksters - like you. Despite our limited resources, as a 'family' we want to continue educating people, breaking down taboos about our beautiful world while pushing our SSC values. 

FET app bursts out of its cage - let's tame it together!

Late 2019 saw another addition to our family - FET, our native app. Already a hit in the US, we knew that the app was what we wanted, given that it kept ranking high in the priority list by members via the regular surveys. But, while it's good to grow, we prefer to grow sustainably and not at any cost. We want to be opening the most doors to those who are kinky and want to find a safe home. 

However, since the end of November, we've also faced challenges that came with the launch of FET, namely the influx of new users. While we're open and welcoming to everyone, we're determined to uphold our community values, and some of you are already stepping up by becoming FETmods to help do just that. 

We’re so thankful to our team of dedicated FETmods, there are no words to express the level of our gratitude for the work they do. Keeping our space free of fakes and scammers isn't easy, but with you on our side as the 'feelers' of our dedicated support team, we can change this. Wanna join us?


 

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I work in mental health and just wanted to praise your moderator for their forum comment earlier. I couldn't have written a better response! It's really nice to see such a community-minded comment and I couldn't hope for better from a moderator! - Kavagh

Unmasking ourselves and spreading our values

As a lifestyle brand, although our focus is providing a safe home for kinksters, along the way, we become aware of the impact of what we do and how it impacts the lives of our users. One of the tangible ways we've seen this is by getting out there and meeting you!

From meeting up at Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar, whoring out the brand at London's sex blogger conference, Eroticon, to connecting with European players on the kink scene at Passion BDSM and Fetish Fair. Talking to kinksters from all walks of life is crucial in us staying grounded and spreading our values.
 

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Thanks for the warm welcome this year at Passion. You’re such a great team… With people like you, our community can only keep growing. There’s no other way.” - Mod Mario - Volunteering FETmod.

Other ways we spread what we stand for is by using the platform to open doors and interact with you on a different level. Whether this is via photo challenges or by using online gamification with real prizes through sponsored Treasure Hunts - all of this helps bond us.

 Although not everything we do works. Like when we - the team behind the scenes - uncovered our faces and came out the kinky closet in an initiative to fight Instagram censorship.
 

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What I have found on both hunts, is the amazing community spirit. People I have never met helping me out and making sure I don’t fall behind. I know I’m not the only person that has experienced that. - Wambam

Taking on social responsibility

Talking of values, this birthday, we're sharing our Social Responsibility program. In it, you'll discover more about the issues we're passionate about, and which affects our users the most:

• Breaking Taboos #KinkAcademy - a focus on how we support and encourage users to learn from each other.
• Safety First Always #SSC - how we develop close relationships with law enforcement authorities to keep our community safe.
• Fighting Climate Change #ProjectGreen - how we've established sustainability as part of our working culture and green initiatives to help us be sustainable and offset our carbon footprint.
• Supporting Charity #SharingIsCaring - how we aim to expand our charitable giving initiatives and collaborate with other non-profits in giving back to causes that the community cares about.

What are our next challenges? Lead the way 

Through the understanding of each other's values, we arrive at mutual respect and support. Not only that, fostering a sense of family brings us back to our values and helps make the right decisions. Now it's over to you... tell us in your own words what you think our next challenges going forward will be?

Your Kinky Family,
The Fetish Team

Cover photo: Arrideo Photography via Flickr Creative Commons (CC BY-ND 2.0) License.