IML XXX, The Leather Experience, Article 3 Summer 2008

I was fortunate enough to spend the better part of a week at an event held once a year in Chicago called International Mr. Leather. It happens on Memorial Day weekend and this year is the 30th anniversary of what was, in the beginning, a bodybuilding contest for butch, muscular gay leather men. Winners were chosen primarily based on looks, physique, and how they looked in their leathers. It was important that they weren’t too “queeny” or effeminate; they were supposed to represent the masculine side of homosexuality as well as the burgeoning leather community. Chuck Renslow and Dom Orejudos, creators of IML, involved the community in their project and in doing so essentially created the Chicago leather community. Not only did I attend this amazing event, I’m proud to say I was a contestant, one of 1,500 over the contest’s 30 year history and I will share an experience about which few outside of the leather community even know exists.

Being that this was going to be not only my first time attending IML, but also my first time ever in Chicago. The weekend before I left, I was interviewed by a documentary crew who told me the footage would be made into a documentary and submitted to the various film festivals around the country and world to raise awareness of this unusual event. I felt like a celebrity being interviewed by a camera crew in my living room with them asking me about my reasons for running for a leather title, history, background, sexual orientation, fears, and expectations. It also made me feel like I was on a tightrope for the first time and I’d now inched my way out onto it where it was now too far to go back, so moving forward is the only option. They were fascinated; I was in the initial phase of full-blown anxiety.

The contest is held over a four-day period. Thursday, we, the contestants, check in, get our paperwork in order, meet the judges, meet the handlers (the people who get us from place to place), meet the Den Daddy (the one responsible for ensuring we have everything we need), get acquainted with each other, get an appointment for our photo session, and get our first pep talk. If that weren’t enough for us, we’re then rushed off to the main ballroom where we rehearsed for opening ceremonies. We dressed in our best leathers and marched through the audience and up onto the stage to the cheers of the crowd, it felt like the Olympics. We then went back on stage one by one to pull our number from a drum, introduce ourselves to the audience and judges, tell them our name, where we’re from and who sponsored us. That was our first roller coaster ride. Friday and Saturday were reserved for prejudging interviews as well as the professional photo shoots. Friday was a free day for me to relax and do a little shopping in the Leather market downstairs as well as do my photo shoot. Saturday was far and away the most nerve-wracking day. I was one of a group of 9 guys interviewed by the nine judges who pulled their questions from our contestant applications. They asked me about my leather involvement, why I was there, what would I bring to the table as International Mr. Leather, and if I won, what would I do with my title. It was an 8-minute grilling, and I was well done when they were finished. Now, getting interviewed can really send one off into an adrenaline overload, as it is, but Saturday night, the “Pecs and Personality” portion of the contest really turns the heat up and crashing and burning is not uncommon during this event.

They trotted us on stage nearly naked and we were asked a humorous (read: silly) question to see how we handled ourselves and to see how well we could think on our feet. By the time Saturday was over, I felt like I could go home because that was far and away my biggest challenge: to not be in shape, not tanned, and not to much more than naked in front of an audience. So I showed my ass and no, I did not burst into flames, and more importantly, neither did anyone else in the audience. I handled the silly question well and got lots of laughs from the audience and the handlers, especially the Den Daddy since the question was about him, but I didn’t come up with the best answer until after I got off stage. LOL c’est la vie.

Sunday was the day the judges chose the top 20 contestants who would then go on to get judged on their physiques (same as pecs and personality without the silly question) again. They would then give a 90 second speech on whatever they want, presumably something which tells the judges more about them and what they bring to the table as leather men. Then the second runner up, first runner up, and the winner of the contest are announced. There is much applause, many photos taken, the crowd thins to attend the victory parties, the stage lights dim, and then it is all over. I was very happy for the top 20, especially the winners, all the more so because I wasn’t among them and didn’t have to go through all of that again. I was quite content to watch and cheer from the crowd.

It is said that music is not just the notes on the page; it is the spaces between the notes. I won’t lie, Pecs and Personality was a huge challenge for me. All my worst fears would float to the surface: all my body issues laid bare, as it were. As a kid, I used to have nightmares of being in front of people in nothing but my underwear. Seriously, just the thought of it would paralyze me with embarrassment yet there I was on stage mostly naked. After going through that, I feel like there is nothing that can embarrass me now and there is very little I cannot accomplish. However, that is not the most valuable thing I brought home with me from participating in the contest. It would have to be the sense of brotherhood, family, that was created by 51 men going through the exact same thing together. Guy Baldwin gives the speech to the contestants Sunday afternoon before rehearsals for the final evening of the contest. He tells us that for reasons unknown, men are not considered leaders unless there is a trial by combat or fire. He reminded us that we are all winners, men who represent their home communities well enough to have been sent to Chicago to compete. He went on to inform us that we are now permanently part of the leather tribe and no one will really understand why we were there, but it’s ok, no one has to understand it but us. I felt as if he was telling us we had been woven into the fabric of a vast leather quilt. Rather than being the individual squares, we constituted the stitching fastening them together and bridging the gaps between the larger pieces; our own tribes and communities. I even experienced the magic of ritual as we received our contestant’s medallions. Not a word was spoken as we were they were passed out, each of us knew the gravity and the value of this ritual and most of us shed tears as they attached the medallion to a plain leather lanyard and hung it around our necks. These things happened backstage and fortified us while we were on stage. Nevertheless, these will be the things I will remember most.

So, the question I was asked repeatedly with regard to my IML journey was, and still is, why? Why would a straight guy submerge himself deeply into gay leather culture and tradition, allow himself to be judged amongst the best in the country, and the world and take the stage wearing little more than a leather jock? My answer has been the same since winning Mr. Long Beach Leather: To bridge gaps. The quick answer to those questions can be, “when in Rome, do as the Romans.” Many of my brothers against whom I competed were completely surprised when I told them I was straight (I was told to use the term het or hetero, hate that term). That flattered me, because it meant I managed to fit in. I suppose if one is going to bridge gaps they need to be approachable and able to interact seamlessly in other cultures. The other reason I did this was to learn and to experience leather tradition and rituals that are missing from the straight/het/pan leather community. I achieved all my goals, engaged in fellowship with some of the finest leather men in the world, and walked away with a fuller understanding of my role in my community and a renewed sense of pride in my identification as a leather man.

Our community grows by interaction and solidarity among the different communities of which it is made. But it’s no easy thing to step outside one’s home community to spend time with, and learn from, other communities as a means of engendering tolerance and acceptance. The only way our leather/bdsm/fetish tribes can survive, and then flourish is to create and maintain strong bonds. Bridges must be built and then maintained on all sides. Do what I did, step out of your comfort zone and spend time in another community, if they’ll have you. Reach out, build bridges, and take some risks. I can’t guarantee you’ll walk away from the experience with a leather title, but you will go a long way toward strengthening all our communities but just reaching out your hand…and occasionally baring your ass.

Don Sir
Mr. Long Beach Leather 2007
IML Contestant Class of 2008