Leatherati

Tyler McCormick wins IML 2010!

Mr Rio Grande Leather Tyler McCormick (bottom left) made history in a big way on Sunday night.  Not only is he the 32nd man to hold the title of International Mr Leather, he will be the first man to do so from a wheelchair.

2nd Runner Up to IML is Mr Texas Leather Jack Andrew Duke (top left) and 1st Runner Up is Mr San Francisco Leather Lance Holman (top right)

Tim Starkey snagged the International Bootblack award for 2010. 

More info, pics and interviews with the contestants to follow shortly!

 

IML 2010 is underway

Check out the coverage on Leatherati Live and don't forget to cruise through the pics of the Opening Ceremonies and the Pecs and Personalities portion of the weekend.

IML's New Barebacking Policy

Whatever you call it, barebacking, ie fucking without a condom, is the highly charged 3rd rail of sex and the opinions are as strong as the stakes are high.

Is barebacking killing a new wave of us all over again?  Or is it just another risk aware behavior that we need to weigh as we negotiate sex and play.

But the most important question seems to be "what do we do about it?"

In this edition of Leatherati Issues we asked well-known members of the BDSM Kink community to address the decision last year by the International Mr Leather Executive Committee to ban bareback porn vendors and all bareback materials from IML.

Big surprise that their opinions vary widely.

Check em out and get involved in the discussion by either commenting on a specific article or by clicking on the Submit Content link to send us your own contribution or comment.

And most importantly, make sure you know the facts for yourself and make your own intelligent decision so that when things heat up you know whether you're going in without your glove or not.

Loren Berthelsen
Editor in Chief

Gear up for IML 2010

It's May and Kink Mecca is about to unleash on Chicago once again.  Yep, It's IML and Leatherati will be blogging live from the middle of all the leathery hotness.

There's so much to do at IML that we decided to break it in to a couple of tracks

The Leather Community Track (ie, you really like the contest stuff)

Friday, May 28

• Leather Market - 12 PM to 7 PM
• IML Opening Ceremonies - 8 PM to 11 PM - Grand Ballroom
• Leather Archives & Museum Silent Auction - 10 PM to 1 AM - Crystal Foyer (West Tower)
• San Francisco Party - 10 PM to 2 AM - Crystal Ballroom

Saturday, May 29

• Leather Market - 11 AM to 7 PM
• Mr Marcus, A Celebration of LIfe - 1 PM to 3 PM - Grand Ballroom
• Kink Crusaders - IML Documentary Screening - 3:30 PM - Grand Ballroom
• IML Pecs and Personality Contest - 8 PM to 11 PM - Grand Ballroom
• The Texas Party - 11 PM to 2 AM - Regency Ballroom A/B - Hosted by outgoing IML Jeffrey Payne

Sunday, May 30

• Leather Market - 11 AM to 5 PM
• International Mr Leather Contest - 5 PM to 9 PM - Congress Theater
• IML Victory Party - 9 PM to 4 AM - House of Blues

Kink Crusaders To Preview At IML

A trip through the inner world of the IML contest.

We were recently invited by Mike Skiff of Third Rail Media to preview their latest documentary production titled Kink Crusaders.  This is a pretty extraordinary piece of history.  The first part of the documentary delves in to the history of IML and the early efforts of Executive Producer Chuck Renslow to get the contest off the ground.  The history is fascinating and the footage from the early contest is awesome.  The film then moves to the present and goes in depth at the 2008 contest.  Following the contestants through their paces for the weekend really puts you in the picture and the interviews bring home the tension and the pressure of competing for an international title.  Additional interviews with heavy hitters in the community such as Guy Baldwin, IML 2007 Mike Gerle, and Queen Cougar do an excellent job of fleshing out the material.

It's powerful stuff and you have the chance to see it for yourself before it debuts at a yet to be announced film festival.  It's screening at IML on Saturday afternoon, May 29th at 3 PM in the Hyatt Grand Ballroom with a brief Q&A following.

MLT Announces Change To Judge Selection Process

Following the announcement of the judges for its 2011 titles, the board of directors of the Mr. Leatherman Toronto Competition Inc. (MLT) would like to provide further details about a policy change made last fall.
 
The judge selection committee will now ask outgoing MLT and Bootblack Toronto (BBT) titleholders to judge their respective contests the year after their step-down. For example, MLT 2010 David Ivey and BBT 2010 Aaron Bootboy Digger will be asked to judge the 2012 contests.
 

Interview With David Merrill Of CODE DC

Been to one of the CODE parties yet?  Co-Producer David Merrill talks about the upcoming IML CODE Party as well as future plans for the super hot dress code parties.

 

Fundraising Gone Wrong?

Can good deeds be bad deeds if they're done by good people for good reasons in a bad place with bad people but will help good people with bad problems?

Huh?

Are you familiar with Recon.com?  The mega-men's-crusing-kink-event site out of the UK?  We've had a number of submissions and emails from people who question Recon's recent high profile promotion of an effort to raise money for people afflicted with AIDS in Malawi where almost a million people are living with HIV/AIDS.  That's almost 12% of the population according to the latest figures available through a UCSF AIDS website.  Several team members from Recon are taking part in a 500 K ride across Malawi to raise funds and awareness.  Information on the program and donation links have been firmly ensconced on the Recon home page for some months now.  

Judges Announced for Mr Leatherman Toronto

The board of directors of the Mr. Leatherman Toronto Competition Inc. (MLT) is proud to announce the judging panels for Mr. Leatherman Toronto 2011 and Bootblack Toronto 2011. This year marks the 20th time an MLT will be named and the 10th anniversary of the bootblack title. To mark these significant milestones, the judge selection committee expanded the panels of both contests, looked worldwide, and also selected individuals who represented the titles in the past. 
 
There will be 10 judges for MLT 2011. Peter Kinchloe returns as chief judge and Cheryl Fulcher returns as tallymaster each for the 10th time. Under the MLT model, the tallymaster also acts as the alternate judge. They will be joined by:
 

When We Discriminate Against Our Own

You'd expect this from the Right, but from our own?

I'm guessing it must have been the name that made the undersexed nervous nellies squirm - "Man Sweat" does have a certain in your face sort of cachet.  Or aroma as the case may be.

But check it out...does this piece of art really deserve to be rejected in order to protect us because it's "too erotic"?  And by the way, the "us" in question is the attendees of the Twin Cities Pride Art Show.  Yes, Pride as in LGBTQ Pride.  

I can see more than that in your run of the mill A&F ad!  Yet, artist Marc De Bauch faced exactly that kind of mindless, Uncle Tom attitude when he presented his 2006 for inclusion in the Pride art show.  Horrors that we mind offend someone with a PG shot of a hot guy.  I guess stretching your imagination to what delicious forbidden fruit lies south of the equator is too much for some people.

Feel like sounding off about it?  Drop an email to Rob Anderson, the Grand Marshall's Reception and Pride Art Show Coordinator and share your thoughts about a Gay Pride festival censoring an image of a shirtless man.