International LeatherSIR_® / Leatherboy_®

There's something special between a SIR and his boy!

LeatherSIR/Leatherboy invades the Lone Star state

Story by Brandon Matheson

Oct 8, Dallas - That old, familiar refrain of ‘Don’t Mess With Texas’ didn't deter contestants from the Southwest. The region swept the three titles at this year's International LeatherSIR/Leatherboy and International Community Bootblack.

Southwest LeatherSIR 2006 *********** and Southwest Leatherboy 2006 marshall are now International LeatherSIR 2006 and International Leatherboy 2006, respectively.

In the boot black competition, Southwest Bootblack 2006 Henry James first won both the inaugural Golden Brush award and was then announced as the winner of the title of International Community Bootblack 2006.

The event, held in Oct 5-8 in Dallas, marked the Texas debut of the favorite Columbus Day weekend contest; Canadian Thanksgiving weekend for leather folk in attendance from the north.

A total of 20 Regional contestants competed for the prestigious titles; 10 each for LeatherSIR and Leatherboy.

Had both Southwest contestants missed the titles, it might have been a different Regional sweep. First runner-up for International LeatherSIR was South Central LeatherSIR 2006 Randall Kinnear of Oklahoma City. Brian Wilson, South Central Leatherboy 2006, was first runner-up for International Leatherboy.

There was a unanimous vote among contestants to present Southern California Leatherboy 2006 Rick Yarborough of Palm Springs with this year's Golden Whip award, for the classmate who best epitomizes the spirit of leather brotherhood.

“The focus of the International LeatherSIR and Leatherboy contests is squarely on the contestants, who have competed in local and Regional contests all over the United States and Canada,” says Mike Zuhl, President of Leather Heritage Productions, LLC, which produces the ILSb contests. “Each contest year delivers an impressive roster of leathermen from across the continent.”

“They wear their sexuality on their sleeve. They embrace the culture and brotherhood of ‘players,’” says Zuhl. “But the LeatherSIR/Leatherboy family also embraces newcomers on their journey. And we always extend a welcoming hand to the curious and new arrivals to the scene, providing guidance, support and mentoring.”

One of the defining characteristics of ILSb from other contests is the up front philosophy that the titles are about sex; the representation of the sexual side of the male leatherman. Titleholders work to educate the community about leathermen and our erotic expression, traditions and history.

LeatherSIR and Leatherboy contestants were judged in four categories: interview; formal speech; physique; and, a leather-sex fantasy based on the region’s assigned theme for the year.

Judges for ILSb were: Bo Ladashevska, International Mr. Leather 2006; Dexter Edmond, International LeatherSIR 2005; Mike 'Stallion' Fry, International Leatherboy 2005; Pandora, Ms World Leather 2004; Tug Taylor, Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2004; Brandon Matheson, Eastern Canada LeatherSIR 2004; Don Leach, Great Lakes LeatherSIR 2002; Dale Breunig, International LeatherSIR 2002; and, Marcus Hernandez, leather journalist with the Bay Area Reporter.

Meanwhile, over at the bootblack chairs, an impressive roster of five bootblacks competed for the ICBB title. And alongside Henry James' two awards in the bootblack competition, boy alex dunlop, Bootblack Toronto 2006, won the 'People's Choice Award', collecting the most ballots from attendees.

The ICBB judging panel was comprised of: Shawn Patrick Finnerty, International Community Bootblack 2005; Arthur "Boo Boo" Funni, International Mr. Bootblack 2005; Karen "Ultra Domme" Crecelius; and, Elegant. Tally Master was Brian Kuerze; Judge's Boy was Darren Willard; and Archer was Den Master.

And the spirit of bootblack shone bright during the main contest event when ICBB contest coordinator Jesse "Uncle Spanky" Penley shaved his head to raise more than $1400 for the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund. Most fitting, Mama Sandy Reinhardt was on hand to wield the first cut with the electric clippers.

The celebration a leather spirit and community was evident throughout.

At the weekend's kick-off event, Zuhl paid tribute to Mark Frasier, co-owner of the Dallas Eagle and producer for the South Central region, for his work and support in bringing the contest to Dallas. Frasier was one of five special Awards of Merit presented by Zuhl to dedicated volunteers in the ILSb family. Awards of Merit were also presented to preeminent leather emcee Frank Nowicki, tally master Jim Raymond, webmaster Dan Falkenham, and longtime Den Daddy David Labriola.

During the contest Saturday night, Zuhl presented Awards of Merit to: Mary Elizabeth Boyd, who has retired from the ILSb board, for her decade of dedication to the Drummer and LeatherSIR/boy family; Tom Stice for his years of dedication and hard work supporting ILSb; Marcus Hernandez, reporter for the Bay Area Reporter (BAR), for his support of the Drummer/ILSb contest system from its conception; stage crew George Hester, Dean Ogren and Philip Redmond for their outstanding job for the past seven years; and, Ray Castro for supporting and being the official portrait artist of Drummer/ILSb for nearly seven years.

Last year, the ILSb contest weekend was held in Atlanta, Georgia, following a five-year run in St. Petersburg, Florida. Zuhl says the city change paves the way for future growth.

“The move to Dallas will greatly expand the opportunity for DCI to bring this long-running leather contest to a wider audience of leather men and women,” said Zuhl.

The host hotel for the weekend was the Crowne Plaza Dallas Market Center, a familiar gathering spot for events such as South Plains Leather Fest and the International Master/slave contest.

Of course, when a panel of judges gather to usher in new titleholders, that means there are also step-downs. The Dallas weekend celebrated marked the end of impressive title years for International LeatherSIR 2005 Dexter Edmond, International Leatherboy 2005 Mike "Stallion" Fry, and International Community Boot Black 2005 Shawn Patrick Finnerty.

"Teaching, learning and personal growth are only a few of the words that best describe the past year of my life, not only as an International Boot Black titleholder in the Leather Community, but as a representative for boot blacks in other communities as well," Shawn Patrick Finnerty told the crowd as he prepared to hand-over his ICBB title.

"The people I have met this year have done a wonderful job of showing me what family, friendship and community truly mean. For this I will be forever grateful," said Finnerty.

Dexter Edmond highlighted the range of experiences his title brought to him: "This year brought a full spectrum of emotions and experiences, which I will cherish for many years to come. What I will remember most is overcoming the challenges in a positive way that allowed me to grow and to strengthen bonds with those close to me, while adding to my extended leather family. I want to take this opportunity to express my thanks to … the numerous individuals and organizations who have helped make my time as International LeatherSIR such a great experience."

boy Stallion opened with a clear twinkle in his eye and mischievous grin: "Someone once said, You are a composite of all of your friends. If that were true, then I would be a tall Jewish black gay female that likes to beat leather and get off while looking at pictures of myself. In other words, a Leatherboy with a lot of problems!"

"I believe that as titleholders, we have been given the awesome responsibility to represent all of our community. Well, you have been a community of friends and mentors and I have been honored to share and represent our Leatherhood together," said Stallion. "For all of the boys and the Dallas boys of Leather, you have been the inspiration and my driving force. And we will take over the world, one Sir at a time, or at least have fun trying."