Leather Life: Looking Back, Looking Ahead
Before 2016 recedes too far in the rearview mirror, here are a few noteworthy leather happenings from the last months of last year.
At the conclusion of the Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2017 contest, left to right: L. Russell Waisanen (Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2016), Teddy Covey, Eric “Pup Omega” Stafford (Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2017), Dick Salami, and Mike Sletten. Photo by Andrew Bertke.
Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2017: Eric “Pup Omega” Stafford gained the Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2017 title on Saturday evening, Nov. 12, 2016. The contest was held at (where else?) the eagleBOLT bar. The place was packed, with many former Mr. Minneapolis Eagles on hand to welcome the newest member of their brotherhood.
Many other local and out-of-town current and former leather titleholders also were there for the contest, so many that they wouldn’t all fit on the stage at once.
Also competing for the Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2017 title were Mike Sletten, Dick Salami, and Teddy Covey, all of whom can be very proud of how they handled themselves as contestants.
Stafford, the new Mr. Minneapolis Eagle, will compete in the International Mr. Leather contest May 25–29, 2017 (Memorial Day weekend) in Chicago.
At Kinky Squares, the afternoon’s second set of leather celebrities. Front row: Sue Olson, Pup Bruizer, and Ryan Brown; middle row: Derek Harley, Steven Patton, and PJ Knight; back row: Mikalya Stanek, Sam Carlisle, and Marc DeBauch. Photo by Andrew Bertke.
Kinky Squares: Minnesota Leather Pride presented Kinky Squares, an afternoon of fun and fundraising for charity, on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 19, 2016, at The Saloon. After the past two years of “Leather Families Feuding for Charity,” this year the event’s organizers chose another well-known game show to kink-ify.
Three sets of nine (or, in one instance, ten) leather celebrities populated a three-by-three tic-tac-toe matrix on the stage, and six teams (Minnesota Leathersex Project, Knights of Leather, North Star Kennel Club, DS Minnesota, Twin Cities Leather, and Atons) played for their designated charities in a tournament-style elimination.
Your humble columnist was the afternoon’s master of ceremonies, which meant I got to ask questions such as “What fictional species has to have sex every seven years?” (answer: Vulcan) and “In Australia, if you’ve got a stubbie, what might you be holding?” (answer: a 750ml bottle of beer).
The winning team for the afternoon was Twin Cities Leather (playing for YouthLink, “helping young people move from homeless to hopeful”), but that team graciously split their winnings equally with the second-place team, North Star Kennel Club (playing for Secondhand Hounds, an animal rescue organization based in Eden Prairie).
At The Nightmare of Christmas, members of the Atons of Minneapolis surround Kinky Santa. Photo by Andrew Bertke.
The Nightmare of Christmas: The Atons of Minneapolis presented The Nightmare of Christmas, this year’s version of their annual holiday fundraiser, on Saturday evening, Dec. 10, 2016, at The Saloon. The evening, co-chaired by Steven Patton and Karri Plowman (two Atons associate members), was a lighthearted look at the twisted side of the holidays. Plowman told me that he and Patton tried to create a social atmosphere that encouraged mingling and chatting.
There were, of course, photos with Kinky Santa, but in addition, Mrs. Claus presented a bondage demo and Krampus was on hand to do some flogging. There was a (human) puppy petting zoo, raffles for prizes, and festive kinky games. Event attendees were encouraged to bring supplies for St. Stephen’s Street Outreach Program and half the evening’s proceeds benefited YouthLink.
Now, a look ahead: The Mr. Twin Cities Leather contest, including Kink U, is coming up Feb. 17–19 (Presidents’ Day weekend). Visit www.twincitiesleather.com/tcl-weekend-2017 for details.
