Leatherati

The Leatherman's Protocol Handbook - Review by Guy Baldwin

Mortification of the Flesh - by Daddy Ryan

Southwest Leather Conference

Showcase - KinkLab Neon Wand® from Stockroom.com

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Hard Edge - Beyond the Realm

by Daddy Dan

Introduction

The Hard Edge is an annual weekend series of BDSM workshops for advanced players held in San Diego. Now in its second year, the event is growing in popularity due to its tendency to push (and transcend) limits. This subject matter is not for the novice or timid. No, Hard Edge explores provocative types of things leading to catharsis and personal growth. Fun, edgy, but life affirming stuff! If you're looking for an event to add to your calendar next year, the Hard Edge 2013 returns Jan 31th through Feb 3rd.  Confirmed presenters include Queen Cougar, Mark Fraiser, Ms. Cynthia, and Utah Rox. Of course, presenters of this quality means were in for a doozy of a time. Although the dates and some of the presenters are known, there is a strong possibility the Hard Edge will move to a more intimate venue to spike things up another level next year.  Get it on your calendar now!

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Shit or Get off the Pot - Tommy Starchild

 This workshop examined spiritual growth, and techniques leading towards finding one’s authentic self through liberation. One key point of note is that “personal enlightenment can be life shattering and can lead one to sever depression or worse.” My transition from boy dan to Daddy Dan was a bit rough, and vouches for the truth of this observation. The top acts as a spiritual guide who leads their bottom to a doorway, who may (or may not) decide to enter. And although play leading towards spiritual development demands rigorous aftercare, it consists of being present in the moment rather than closing down the experience.

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NW Sash Bash 2012

Join the Pacific Northwest Leather Tribe and the city of Portland for NW Sash Bash 2012, for a tradition celebrating and honoring the hardworking titleholders. Northwest hospitality to all Leather Family members will be in abundance as everyone says "thanks" to current titleholders giving them a "weekend off" to enjoy others doing for them. Blackout Leather Productions, Inc. has a fully-packed schedule with many events to taste and savor for all members of the Leather Tribe.

Things kick off on Friday, March 2nd with a Leather, Cigar, and Scotch Social!  Honored guests include:

• American Leatherwoman 2011 Trinity
• Northwest LeatherSIR 2011, Jim Drew
• Northwest Leatherboy 2011, boy Danny
• Northwest Community Bootblack 2011, Ruin

Also in attendance will be the current Oregon State titleholders:

• Mr. Oregon State Leather 2011, Tarsus
• Ms. Oregon State Leather 2011, Ms. Tracey
• Oregon State Bootblack 2011, Nick

Saturday stirs up the fun with two BDSM workshops presented by the brilliant and bubbly Karen Yew of San Diego! With "Bondage" being the theme, a rope session begins the afternoon followed by a session on duct tape mittens and hoods! Both workshops are hands-on. All attendees of the workshops receive a discount on the play party admission that evening. Along with the play party, Saturday night rounds out with a Uniform Party and a Black Party w/ Live Auction!

On Sunday, things wind down with a farewell potluck brunch hosted by Portland Leather Men.

Full details can be found at www.nwsashbash.org. 

Mr. Homoto Leather 2012

by Leland Carina

For the first time Homoto Motorcycle Club is sponsoring a candidate for the Mr. SF Leather contest that takes place as part of Leather Alliance Weekend in March.

I spoke with Jay Larson, who was up until recently the club’s President, since he is taking lead on this project. Jay said that Homoto is hoping to inject a new flavor into the contest by representing gear and non-traditional sport bike Leather.

When approaching the idea of sponsoring a candidate, Jay reached out to the membership to ask who might be interested in running; Stephen Charles stepped up. If there had been additional interested parties, Jay says that they would have had an inner-club contest/fundraiser. He adds that this is an idea for next year.

Stephen Charles Mr. Homoto Leather 2012 has been a member of Homoto for two years. He is currently Co-Captian of one of their Saturday Rides and also leads beginner rides for the club. Stephen is also Chair of Gear Up Weekend.

If you would like more information about Homoto, please visit their web site. Please note that in addition to San Francisco, there is also a new chapter in San Jose.

Leland Carina
LelandCarina.com

 

Ron Greenwood Fundraiser

When one of us suffers…

By: Olivier Pratt 

Eighteen years ago I was standing in a dark dingy hole in the wall bar called the Toolbox in Tulsa Oklahoma. I’d ventured out in my finest Wilson leathers hoping for some fresh meat to put on my sexual plate. I’d already been involved in what little Leather there was for several years in Hawai’i, playing where I could, learning what I could and trolling all the places I had any hope of finding what I needed so badly.

When I moved back to the mainland, I realized that there was a lot more Leather out there for me to explore, so I started doing just that. On that fateful night in the Tulsa Toolbox, a tall lumbering bull of a man came up to me, looked at me in the eye, poked me in the chest and said, “You need to be at our next club meeting.” He kept coming back after every few songs to re-hammer his point in. 

The fourth time he came back, he jabbed me even harder and said, “Are YOU gonna be at our meeting?” I finally built up the nerve to grab his hand and said, “Who the fuck are you and why would I come to your meeting.”  He replied, ” I’m Ron Greenwood, I’m the DJ here, and you’re a Leatherman who needs to come to our T.U.L.S.A. meeting.” 

I was scared out of mind; I just stared back at this very intimidating man and said, “OK, that sounds interesting, I’ll be there.” He replied “I thought you might, see you there.” When he walked away, I grabbed my piss soaked crotch and realized I was rock hard. My Leather journey had just taken a new direction. It was frightening and invigorating at the same time.  My head was spinning, my fears were rampant, but my cock knew otherwise. 

News to Abuse: Rubber: Gear and Kink - 2 More for KC - Power Exchange Summit

Leathermen's Discussion Group

Rick Holte and Seven Mitchell, the coordinators of Rubbermen of San Francisco, join us for a discussion and demonstration of rubber as gear and as kink:

• Kinds of rubber and how to buy it
• The care and feeding of rubber and how to store it
• Tears, repairs, and how do I get this on? 
• Playing with rubber 
• Rubber bondage!

This Leathermen's Discussion Group is on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at the Mr S. Playspace, 385A Eighth Street and starts promptly at 7:30 p.m.  Doors open at 7:00 and close at 8:00 pm.

Leather, gear or fetish wear, even nudity always encouraged, never required.  No admission charge.  Open to all adults.  Most LDG programs are video-recorded.  Ample seating is provided out of camera range.

2 more screenings for Kink Crusaders 

The London Premiere of KC will be at  at the Riverside Studios on Thursday, February 16th 9:20pm.  Director Mike Skiff, Editor Dorjan Williams and IML 2003 titleholder John Pendal are scheduled to attend.

The screening is part of the Deep Desires and Broken Dreams gay film celebration more info at http://www.sydneyleatherpride.org/cgi-bin/cart/newevents.cgi?display=78

Plus an afterparty at The Hoist!

The New Zealand premiere of Kink Crusaders for Bears On Screen - Bear New Zealand Week 2012 is set for Thursday, February 16th - doors open at 6pm, film starts at 6:30pm at the Rialto Cinemas Newmarket, Auckland  Check out the website for details - http://www.number8films.com/film-nights.htm

Bear New Zealand Week is New Zealand's premiere Bear week and runs from Feb 12th-19th

The Power eXchange Summit

This brand new event takes place June 1 - 3, 2012 in Columbus, OH.  The event is brought to us by the authors of the highly acclaimed Living M/s and sponsored by Adventures in Sexuality.  The weekend is targeting the quickly growing subculture of total power exchange relationships.

More info on how you can be a part of this first-ever event is available at www.powerexchangesummit.org

A Milkbone Divided?

By Olivier Pratt

The Leather community isn’t exempt from the trials and tribulations that plague the “normal” vanilla world. In fact, I think that because of our zest, passion and rebellious nature, our squabbles are often worse, more divisive and passionate. Even our playful Pups aren’t immune. 

A puppy brawl has ensued over the resurrection of the International Puppy name and contest.  Two different organizations claim rights to the name and two different events are in the works under that contest banner. Legalities and strife aside, let’s take a look at what we have on the table. In the end it’s the community who’ll have to decide which event will survive, if any, or perhaps both? 

Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” Change is the one of the universal truths and just as Leather has been struggling with this, so are our sub communities. 

Recently I interviewed Barry Fiddick aka pup Cosmo from of Dallas, Sir Joseph Mastrapasqua from Tampa Bay and Master Phil from North Carolina about their events of the same name.  I made it clear that our position here at Leatherati was not to pick a side or an event, but to present the information to the community for them to discern what they thought was best for them. 

It’s very easy to focus on what separates these men and their events, the disagreement of who has clear ownership of the name International Puppy.  Staying clear of the quagmire of legalities, what’s more important is what these men have in common. Just about every goal and intent is identical, but perhaps these ideals are clouded through the perspectives of passion and anger. 

Everything is STILL Bigger in Texas

by Olivier Pratt

It’s reassuring in times of change and upheaval that some things stay the same. Indeed, everything is STILL bigger in Texas, point in fact, the past Mr. Texas Leather event the weekend of January 27-28th. Leathermen and women from all over the region gathered for a fantastic weekend of Leather fun and a great contest with 7 contestants. That’s right, 7 hot, talented Leathermen competed for the coveted title. When’s the last time you saw 7 qualified men compete in a state contest? Producer Dan Perry and staff did an amazing job, ensuring that everyone had a wonderful time in the Lonestar State. 

The judges for the contest were; Head Judge – Jack Duke, Olivier Pratt, Brent Heinze, David Roy, Jimmie Tucker, Don Cook, Ted Black & Christopher Stinnett. The contestants who battled for the sash were:  Major Jimenez, Jason Kloss, Gabe Sims, John Grissom, Richard Cleaper and Raul Flores. An intimidating group for sure. 

News to Abuse: Northern CA LeatherSIR/boy - Leather Alliance Weekend - Mr Missouri Leather 2012

Northern California LeatherSIR/boy and Community Bootblack Contest is this weekend on February 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm.  The contest will be held at BeatBox (314 11^th St, San Francisco, CA).  Plus a Meet and greet on Feb 10th and a Beer Bust Celebration on Feb 12th.

Full weekend of SIRS/boy/bootblacks and gear!

Leather Alliance Weekend

San Francisco is gearing up-- Leather Alliance Weekend is just around the corner the first weekend of March! Facebook event page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/225872494142082/ 

The two major events of the weekend are the Community Awards Dinner on March 2nd and the Mr SF Leather Contest on March 3rd.

March 1st is the Contestant Meet and Greet at Mr. S Leather followed by Lenny Broberg's Roast/Tribute at the Arc of San Francisco. You can also check out two seminars, one by Patrick Mulcahey and the other by Race Bannon, both of which are part of Darren Bondy's title project Making the Connection. Finally, there is a Victory Brunch at the Beat Box to cap off the weekend. 

The full weekend package is only $80! Tickets are also available for individual events. For more info and links to purchase tickets, please check out the Facebook event page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/225872494142082/

More information is also available on the Leather Alliance Weekend web page: http://leatheralliance.org/events/law-2012/

Mr Missouri Leather 2012

Mr. Missouri Leather 2012 will be the weekend of March 2–4, with all events taking place at JJ's Clubhouse in St. Louis, Missouri. Sponsored by Gateway Motorcycle Club since 1983, this event is one of the longest running annual Leather contests in the country that is sponsored by a single club.

The weekend will kickoff with a “Meet and Greet”, Friday night at 10 PM., for the contestants, judges and bootblack. The annual MML silent auction presented by Gateway MC and a used leather sale presented by Blue Max will round out the evening.

The weekend will continue on Saturday at 10 PM. with the Mr. Missouri Leather 2011 competition, admission $10. The contestants will be judged on Cruise wear, Physique and Personality, Formal wear as well as deliver a short speech to the crowd. The silent auction and used leather sale will continue throughout the evening.

The newly sashed Mr. Missouri Leather 2012 will receive a sponsorship to IML 2012, $100, a title sash and much more. Second place will receive $100, with Third place receiving $50.

The weekend will conclude on Sunday morning with the Mr. Missouri Leather Victory Brunch from 11 AM to 2 PM presented by Blue Max, cost for the brunch is $10.

For more information or a contestant application check out gatewaymc.org or jjsclubhouse.com.

 

Leatherati Virtual Town Hall Meeting Recap

On Saturday, February 4th, Leatherati featured a first-ever virtual town hall meeting.  Editors Loren Berthelsen and Alex Lindsay welcomed panelists Patrick Mulcahey of the Leatherman's Discussion Group and Olivier Pratt of International LeatherSIR/boy.

The topic for the town hall meeting was Guy Baldwin's review of John Weal's The Leatherman's Protocol Handbook and the author's follow up response - both published in Leatherati Voices.  Over 50 people, including the book's author, joined in the discussion.  Comments and questions were flying pretty fast and furious with viewers questioning both the book's facts as well as whether or not it can or should be considered a handbook.

You can review the archive of the town hall meeting here and see all of the questions an comments for yourself.  Find Guy's original review here and John's response here.

You can look forward to future town hall meetings on a variety of topics here on Leatherati.com

Leatherati Virtual Town Hall Meeting - Old Guard Protocol

Be here for the first-ever Leatherati virtual town hall meeting today, Saturday, February 4 at 1 PM PST

It's happening right here