Hi, I’m Franck, but you might know me as Barka Xetal.
If you’re reading these lines, it’s because you’re interested in Puppy Play, its history in France, or perhaps simply in my journey. And I’m happy to share it with you.
For ten years, from 2015 to 2025, I lived an incredible adventure. With wonderful friends – Henry Falco, Dolko, Sony, Vega, Mythra, and then Oréo – we created Gaydogtraining, then Puppy Play “France”. We organized the first meetups, the first walks, the first Mister Puppy France elections. We put together cabarets, built connections with Europe’s biggest fetish events, created a family – the Xetal family – and built a community I’m immensely proud of.
The name Xetal is the reverse of “Latex.” At first, it was just a Facebook username. Then it became the emblem of my pack, then my family. A symbol of play, freedom, and belonging.
Today, I live in Maspalomas, in the Canary Islands. I’ve stopped organizing events, but I remain present in the community, in my own way. I make some appearances during Maspalomas Fetish Pride, I support the Checkpoint association, and I continue to meet pups from around the world who come to say hello.
What follows is my story. Not that of a hero, just that of a pup who wanted to create spaces for meeting, visibility, and pride. And who was lucky enough to do it surrounded by extraordinary people.
Enjoy reading, and don’t hesitate to contact me if you pass through Maspalomas. The door is always open. 🐾
— Barka Xetal
Franck Deloux is recognized as one of the pioneers of Puppy Play in France. Starting in 2015, he fully committed himself to making this playful fetish practice known and structured within the French-speaking gay and fetish community.
In 2015, with photographer Henry Falco, Pup Dolko, Pup Sony, and Pup Vega, he co-founded the Gaydogtraining group. Together, they organized the first gatherings dedicated to pups and their handlers, creating a welcoming and inclusive space for this emerging community.
June 17, 2015 marks a historic date for the French Puppy community: Franck coordinated the first Gaydogtraining meetup at the bar La Mine in Paris. This event brought together puppies for the first time around a friendly, open, and welcoming moment, laying the foundations for what would become a true community scene.
At the time of Gaydogtraining’s creation, Franck Deloux designed the first version of the French Puppy Play Flag. This initiative was part of an effort to structure and provide visibility for the emerging French-speaking Puppy community.
Inspired by the original Dog Pride Flag created by Scott Stevenson in 2001, Franck wanted to propose a modern and inclusive symbol that could unite the French community. This first version of the Gaydogtraining flag laid the groundwork for a strong visual identity for the Puppy movement in France.
In 2017, Franck revisited his flag and created a second version of the Puppy Play Flag, more refined and symbolic. This aesthetic evolution reflected the movement’s maturity and its international openness. The French flag then became one of the first to modernize the original Dog Pride Flag concept at the European level.
True to the spirit of openness and sharing that characterizes the Puppy community, Franck placed both versions of the flag in the public domain, allowing free and universal use. This generous decision enabled the French-speaking community to appropriate this symbol and bring it to life according to their own values.
Today, the French Puppy Play Flag created by Franck Deloux is one of the first initiatives to modernize Puppy Play symbols. It testifies to the early desire to visually structure the community and offer it strong identity markers, well before the creation of events and the association.
In 2015, Franck participated in organizing the first Walking Pup at the Paris Pride March, offering unprecedented visibility to Puppy Play within the Pride framework. This bold initiative brought the practice out of the shadows and inscribed it in the LGBTQ+ Pride landscape.
Also in 2015, he contributed to the first Walking Pup at Berlin Folsom, in partnership with the BLF (Berlin Leder und Fetisch) association. This international collaboration inscribed French-speaking Puppy Play in the European fetish scene and opened the way for numerous cross-border exchanges.
From 2015 to 2016, the group was organized by Franck (Pup Barka Xetal), Henry Falco, Pup Dolko, Pup Sony, and Pup Vega. This founding team multiplied initiatives to structure the nascent community and create regular events.
From 2016 to 2018, the organization continued with a core team composed of Franck, Henry Falco, and Pup Dolko. This period consolidated achievements and developed new event formats.
In 2016, alongside Paris Fetish, Franck launched the first Dogfetish Week: a complete program including a picnic by the Seine, a meetup, and a big Puppy party. This themed week allowed people to experience Puppy Play over several days in a structured setting, creating a truly immersive experience for participants.
The same year, Franck also participated in the first Puppy Walk during Fribourg Pride, contributing to pup visibility in public spaces in Switzerland. This initiative demonstrated the French community’s ability to spread beyond national borders.
Over time, Gaydogtraining’s identity evolved and transformed to become Puppy Play, with the ambition to reach a broader and more international audience. This name change reflected the project’s maturity and its opening toward a European dimension.
It was in this dynamic that Franck created Puppy-Play.com, a reference site dedicated to Puppy Play. This platform offers advice, articles, interviews, photos, videos, and health and consent prevention content, quickly becoming an essential resource for the French-speaking community.
In 2017, Franck created the first Mister Puppy France election, offering the community a national representation title. This initiative highlighted committed figures and further structured the French Puppy scene.
Franck organized this election from 2017 to 2023, bringing forth several notable personalities. The winners, in chronological order, are:
2017: Mister Puppy France – Pup Matt
2018: Mister Puppy France – Pup Wax
2019: Mister Puppy France – Oréo Xetal
2022: Puppy France – Mythra Xetal
2023: Puppy France – Pup Bailey
These titles helped bring forth visible and committed figures capable of representing the Puppy community in France and internationally, while carrying values of kindness, inclusion, and pride.
Starting in 2018, a new configuration took shape: from 2018 to 2021, Franck organized the group with Henry Falco, Oréo Xetal, and Mythra Xetal. This period was marked by strong visual and media development, particularly through work around photography and fetish staging.
The name Xetal – which is the reverse of Latex – progressively became the emblem of his original pack with Henry and Dolko. This playful and symbolic nickname embodies the fetish universe, identity play, and belonging to a community that recognizes itself through strong visual and material codes. What began as a pack name would later become that of a true family.
In October 2018, Franck met Oréo, an encounter that would profoundly mark his personal and community journey. This meeting gave birth to the Xetal family, which would become very well-known and respected in the Pup community in France and Europe.
The name Xetal, already carried by Franck and his initial pack, then became the unifying identity of this new family. With it, Franck developed numerous friendly relationships and collaborations for events and parties, notably with the Carbone drag family, creating bridges between the Pup, drag, and fetish universes.
To this day, the Xetal family still exists, but it is no longer at the forefront of the scene, having chosen to live this identity in a more discreet and intimate way. This evolution reflects a desire to preserve the authenticity of family bonds while remaining present in the community.
From 2021 to 2024, Franck organized the group with Oréo Xetal, who was Mister Puppy France from 2019 to 2021. Together, they continued developing the French Puppy scene, multiplied events, and strengthened ties with European fetish scenes.
In 2021, Franck (Barka Xetal) took a new step by creating the Puppy Play France association. He became president, with Oréo Xetal as treasurer. The association aimed to provide an official framework for community activities, facilitate event organization, and promote responsible, inclusive Puppy Play that respects consent.
The same year, with Oréo Xetal and with the support of the Puppy Play France association, Franck co-organized a first major fetish cabaret. This ambitious event brought together artists from the drag scene and queer performance on stage.
Among the artists present were drag queens Kitty Space, Myeve Marchen, and Ghost Elektra, as well as performers such as Damien Durand, Mère Dragon, and Sacha Kills. This cabaret marked a strong encounter between the Puppy universe, drag culture, and the fetish scene, further inscribing Puppy Play in a queer, creative, and spectacular cultural landscape.
In 2022, Franck was involved in the first Puppy Walk at Darklands in Antwerp, one of Europe’s major fetish events. This participation confirmed the international anchoring of the French Puppy community and recognition of its pioneering work.
With Gaydogtraining then Puppy Play France, Franck created over the years numerous connections with some of the biggest partners of the fetish scene in Europe, including:
Recon: international fetish dating platform
Darklands: major fetish festival in Antwerp
Folsom: iconic fetish events in Berlin and elsewhere
Easter Berlin: spring fetish gathering
Fetnight: regular fetish parties
Hell O’Kinky: alternative fetish events
Maspalomas Fetish Pride: fetish pride in the Canaries
Italian Puppy Games: pup competitions and gatherings in Italy
And many others…
These regular collaborations with events, associations, online platforms, and fetish organizers strengthened the European anchoring of the French Puppy community and fostered exchanges between packs, countries, and different fetish scenes. They also enabled French pups to actively participate in major European events and forge lasting connections with their international counterparts.
The Puppy Play France association remained active until 2024, the year it ended. This closure marked the end of an important chapter in the history of organized Puppy Play in France, while leaving a solid legacy for future generations.
In 2025, after ten years of continuous commitment to organizing events, walks, parties, elections, cabarets, and gatherings, Franck – Barka Xetal – decided to stop organizing Puppy events.
This carefully considered decision allows passing the torch to new energies while preserving the authenticity of his commitment. His role as a pioneer, however, remains inscribed in the history of Puppy Play in France.
Through Puppy-Play.com, the groups he co-founded, the Mister Puppy France titles he created, the French Puppy Play flags, the cabarets, and the numerous “firsts” he initiated, Franck has durably marked the structuring, visibility, and culture of French-speaking Puppy Play.
His work transformed a confidential practice into a structured, visible, and proud community, recognized on the European fetish scene.
Today, Barka remains present in the community, but he has retired to his favorite island, Maspalomas, in the Canary Islands. This life choice reflects a desire for serenity while remaining connected to the international fetish scene.
There, he makes some appearances, notably during fetish events like Maspalomas Fetish Pride, or alongside the Checkpoint association, which he supports. Checkpoint is a sexual health prevention association particularly active in the gay and fetish community.
Far from the Parisian hustle, Franck continues to live his passion for Puppy Play in a more serene way, while remaining a respected and accessible figure for those who wish to exchange, share, or simply cross paths with a pioneer.
His door remains open to pups from around the world who pass through Maspalomas, perpetuating the spirit of conviviality and sharing that has always characterized his commitment.
The journey of Franck Deloux, aka Barka Xetal, perfectly illustrates how an individual passion can transform into a community movement. From 2015 to 2025, he devoted more than ten years of his life to building, structuring, and making Puppy Play shine in France.
His legacy is measured in the symbols he created (the French Puppy Play Flag), the events he organized, the titles he instituted, the collaborations he forged, and above all in the living and proud community he helped bring forth. Today retired but still present, Barka Xetal remains an emblematic figure of the French-speaking Puppy scene, a pioneer whose work continues to inspire new generations of pups.
