Go Offline. Get Real.

Again a bit of a break from the blog. No excuses this time, I’ve just been too busy to write.

I did want to post something about Expansion, seeing as how its two weeks away and those of you on the fence about going will need to make up your minds soon.

I had written a sort of FAQ for Expansion a little while back (you may have seen it on the Expansion beefyfrat profile). I figured posting it here might help some of you to better understand what Expansion is all about, why it’s so awesome and how it’s most definitely NOT a sex party (somehow that rumor seems to persist!)

What is Expansion?

Expansion is a once-yearly weekend when guys who are into gaining, encouraging and all things belly come

together to forge new friendships, hang out, have fun and get their grub on. It’s a safe space where you can truly be you, without fear of what other people will think.

Think of it as gainer/encourager summer camp. In October.

Who comes to Expansion?

Anyone who wants to come. Attendees come from around the world and across the U.S. and include guys as young as 18 and old enough to qualify for Medicare. Expansionistas are skinny, muscular, chubby, fat, ridiculously fat and really-ridiculously fat… we’re a diverse bunch, you get the picture.

How many guys usually attend?

Last year we had over 80.

So what exactly do you do at Expansion?

Expansion is pretty unstructured, which means, you get to do whatever you want to do—that might be socializing poolside, grabbing food at nearby restaurants or hitting up the local gay bars. You can also take part in some of the organized events throughout the weekend, such as game nights, city tours, bar visits, group discussions and a big end-of-weekend buffet meal.

Ultimately, Expansion is what you make of it.

So are you saying it’s not a big orgy?

Right. Attendees are free to engage in whatever they want in the privacy of their rooms—and some do. But Expansion is first and foremost about camaraderie and community. If there are hookups, they happen behind closed doors and play by the pool is kept to PG-rated belly rubbin.

Again, Expansion can be whatever you want it to be. Whether you want to make new friends or find someone for something more, you’ll find good company at Expansion.

Isn’t it a little weird to have all these big guys at the hotel?

Not really. We tend to take over whichever hotel is hosting us, which means that the pool area tends to be ours. It becomes a sort of safe space throughout the weekend, where guys can chat freely about growing, bellies or whatever the hell else they wanna talk about. Over the past three years, we’ve never encountered any problems with other hotel guests.

But what If I don’t know anyone before hand?

Each year, plenty of guys come to Expansion without knowing anyone else there—ask any of them and they’ll tell you that, while a little scary, the risk paid off. We create structured ways for new attendees to meet people, including ice-breaker activities and group outings.

To take some of the pressure off meeting for the first time, you can also connect with people online before the event on sites like beefyfrat, bellybuilders and growingguys.

But even if you don’t do some pre-networking, you’ll find the Expansion crowd to be welcoming, friendly and easy-going. It takes all kinds.

If I go, am I gonna see a bunch of pictures of me at the event online afterward?

Nope. The Expansion team respects the privacy and discretion of our attendees. We allow all attendees to opt-out of picture taking—meaning that we won’t take photos with that person in them or let any photos of them be posted online by other attendees.

If you have problems with someone taking your picture at the event, just notify an Expansioneer for help.

You really call Expansion staff “Expansioneers”?

We just started using it, but we like the sound of the sound of it. We’ll see if it catches on.

My boyfriend isn’t into gaining/encouraging. Should I bring him?

In the past, several attendees have come with their “civilian” (our term for non-gainer/encourager types) boyfriends, in order to help them understand this kink and community better. All of them have left with a greater understanding of their partner’s desires.

As long as your boyfriend/partner is respectful toward other attendees, we welcome you to bring them along, and help them see more of what’s going on in your head.

So how much does it all cost?

This depends on a few variables. The cost for registration is around $66. A room at the host hotel is $80-120 per night, or $240-360 for all three nights. If you need to save money, find a friend to room with and cut those costs in half.

Transportation is case-specific. If you’re within driving distance of Ft. Lauderdale, then the costs are negligible. Airfare from anywhere in the Southeastern U.S. should set you back about $100 roundtrip. From anywhere else in the U.S. or Canada, expect to pay around $150-$300 roundtrip. From abroad, roundtrip airfare could be anywhere from $500 (from, say, the U.K.) to $1,500 (from Australia, for example).

Even two weeks out, there are affordable tickets to be found (thanks to this being off-season for Fort Lauderdale). If you’re having trouble finding cheap airfare, we recommend www.kayak.com which searches a bunch of different sites and gives you options all in one place.

Food is also case-specific. It depends how much you eat and where you choose to eat. But to give you an idea, last year, the average attendee spent about $60 a day on food.

So if you’re on a tight budget and you register early, share a room, fly in from somewhere in the continental U.S. and eat at moderately priced restaurants, you could expect Expansion to set you back about $600 for the entire weekend.

So do I have any reason not to go?

Honestly, you don’t! Expansion is a great time for guys of any age, size or relationship status. It’s a fun weekend that doesn’t cost very much. And you can come out of it with new friends and memories that will last a lifetime.

For a lot of guys, making the jump from online to real life is scary. All we can promise is that our team and the other attendees do a stellar job of making it a lot less scary and lot more fun. If you doubt that, just ask any of the folks who attended last year.