Category Archives: leather lifestyle

Leather Weekend in DC

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MALlogoYep, the annual gathering of the “great leather clan” and the “leather curious” in Washington, DC — otherwise known as “Mid-Atlantic Leather” (MAL) begins on Friday, January 11, 2013, through Sunday, January 13. (More info here.) It is being held a week earlier than usual this year because next weekend, DC will be focused on the U.S. Presidential Inauguration and it will be murder trying to find a place to stay or get around the city with all the crowds.

So yeah, I have the boots, the leather, and I’m gay ==> most prerequisites to fit the demographic of those who register for and attend MAL. Will my fiance and I attend?
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Wearing Leather and Boots on Airplanes

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I was at a conference earlier this week, and traveled home as planned on October 31. Yeah, that also happens to be Halloween.

Earlier in the day, I appeared in my dress leather jeans, pink shirt, and black Lucchese goatskin dress cowboy boots when I gave a presentation before a large plenary meeting. I explained that I am a “breast cancer aware biker” and (most) members of the audience laughed politely.

I had to return the pink shirt to a friend from whom I borrowed it, so while I was changing, I thought perhaps I should change into a pair of regular denim jeans and boots that are easier to take off when going through security before I headed out for the airport right after the conference ended. But then… I had second thoughts.
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Folsom

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This one word, “Folsom,” is well-known. It refers to a week’s events and activities in San Francisco, California. The largest activity that culminates this week of events is a street festival held on Sunday, September 23. There will be plenty of entertainment, parties, after-parties, demonstrations, dances, smokin’ and drinkin’, and lots and lots of boots and leather. While it is predominantly attended by gay men into leather, there are a lot of people (both gay and straight) who go. It is the largest such outdoor “fetish” event in the world.

Ahhhh… back in the day…
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What Do You Do With All That Leather?

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Someone sent me an email recently asking what I thought was a legitimate and good question in this context, “since you have said on your blog that you don’t go out to leather events like IML or MAL, what do you do with all that leather gear you own? Since you’ve got the gear, why don’t you attend these events? I’d like to hang out with you.”

Thanks for the questions. I like to meet new people, too, and based on our email “conversations,” you sound like a guy who I would enjoy meeting and speaking with. You respect that I am in a closed monogamous relationship, and I respect that you like to hang out with guys in leather.

Well, first question first.
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Going Retro in Leather and Boots

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Even 28 years ago when I had my second bike, I wore boots and leather LOL!

In this photo, I am wearing my first pair of tall engineer boots made by Chippewa with the Sears label. I am seated on a Kawasaki 750, which was my second motorcycle after my first, a Kawasaki 440, crapped out after only three years.

The leather you see?

I am wearing a pair of leather jeans that I purchased via a mail order catalog from a company called “Deerskin.” Man, those were very comfortable jeans!

Also shown is the first leather shirt that I struck up the courage to purchase from a store located within the DC Eagle. Visiting that store scared the beejeebers out of me. The first two times that I tried to go to the store, I never made it because my fears got the best of me. Man, all those guys in full leather and boots — what were they going to do to me?

Turns out, as I learned from experience, these guys were friendly and non-threatening. They pretty much kept to themselves, within their own groups (clubs, cliques), and left me alone. But the first visit or two, I was afraid that I was going to be attacked. Never happened. The only attention that I received was smiles and winks.

I receive the occasional email message from younger guys who are exploring their interest in leather. Man, they have it so much easier these days with leather fetish and motorcycle leather vendors so easily accessible on the internet. (See the links page on my website for recommendations.) Back when this photo was taken, the internet was restricted to military applications and us regular dudes didn’t even know what it was.

Well, anyway, thank you for traveling down memory lane with me. Yeah, it is easier to get leathers and tall boots these days — and you can, and should, wear them even if you do not ride or own a motorcycle.

Life is short: wear leather!

Observations from First Timer at MAL

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Note from BHD: The following guest blog post was written by my friend Kevin who has written guest blog pieces before and comments frequently on this blog. He was invited by a friend who lives in Washington, DC, to visit and drop by to see what Mid-Atlantic Leather (MAL) weekend was all about. Here are his observations. (Sorry, no photos, but I learned a few years ago that there are some closet cases who get very upset if their image of them at MAL appears anywhere, so for respect of those who don’t want to be seen there, I have no photos to post with this message).

My weekend trip to DC was fantastic and I was quite pleased and pleasantly surprised to discover that my friend planned for me to visit this past weekend because MAL was happening and he knew that I wouldn’t venture there by myself. My preconceived ideas would have gotten the better of me and I would have missed out on a truly important growth experience. I am indeed fortunate that I can be myself with them and they love me unconditionally. As a result, I’m learning to strip away the barriers I’ve built over a lifetime. I’m thankful to have supportive and loving friends who allow me to do so.

My friend, a couple he knew, and I ventured out on Saturday afternoon to attend the leather mart. I chose to wear jeans and a pair of wingtip cowboy boots and my friend donned a rubber shirt. Unknown to me, my friend has been to several MAL events over the years and his interest leans toward rubber wear.

We made our way to the registration area and paid the $10 fee to enter the leather mart. I believe the proceeds go to charity. Heading down the escalator I spied my first view of a man wearing a**less chaps. [BHD note: all chaps are a**less, but I digress…] I anticipated encountering this sight at some point during the day and I thought it was good to see that at the very beginning. We made our way through the various rooms of leather and rubber wear and a few demonstrations of how to use some gear were going on as well. The couple we were with tried on and purchased a pair of matching harnesses from a wonderful dealer from Miami. The salesperson couldn’t entice me to try one on, however. I was far too anxious for that!

Next we ventured into the ballroom where the puppy pen was taking place. Now that’s something I really didn’t expect to see. My friend could see that my anxiety level was growing, although I thought I was hiding it pretty well, and suggested that I have a cocktail. I had a couple of beers and calmed down considerably.

The couple we were with had to leave. My friend and I spent some time in the main lobby people watching. It was fascinating. It was at that moment that it began to feel comfortable and somewhat at home. I saw all shapes and sizes of men in a variety of gear and boots and began to see how comfortable they were just being themselves. We pointed out to each other those men who wore their gear very attractively. I also began to realize that for many, their leather/rubber/police/football gear was a form of drag. A few seemed to be more serious sporting various colors of shoestrings, handkerchiefs, and the like signaling their interests in various fetish activities.

We ventured downstairs again for a short while before it was time for us to leave. I suggested that we return to the leather mart on Sunday afternoon and I purchased a couple of items myself.

The lesson I learned from my experience at MAL was that we’re all multi-faceted. I can find a man equally attractive if one day he’s wearing harness boots, a harness and a**less chaps or dressed in a suit another day. The drag doesn’t define the man. Although it may serve to characterize a particular interest that enhances how attractive he feels, it’s only clothing and what the man chooses to wear at that moment. And the same can be said about me. And if that clothing choice enhances my feelings of sexual attractiveness — all the better. I’m learning to appreciate and not fear the part of myself that is a sexual being — if that makes sense. From watching the puppies and their handlers, I also learned that there’s nothing wrong with role-play between two consenting adults. It can provide a healthy and very satisfying outlet.

So, I’ve marked it on my calendar for next year’s MAL and am strongly considering attending IML in Chicago at the end of May. LOL…I might just buy myself a harness at next year’s event.

So, my friend, there you have it…my first and hopefully not last experience at MAL. The only disappointing aspect was the lack of cowboy boot wearers. I only saw one couple dressed in matching boots, hats, vests and jeans. But the abundance of harness boot wearers more than made up for it!

Leather Weekend in the ‘Burbs

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Welcome to leather weekend in the ‘burbs. That is, the suburbs of Washington DC where Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend — aka “the leather weekend” — is being held. Been there, done that, got the boots shined, smoked the cigar, ate the greasy chow….

So what is “Leather Weekend” like for an old-guard (alt. “old fart”) leather dude who is not going to MAL and hanging out in the ‘burbs?
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Travelling To MAL in Washington, DC?

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Well, it’s just about here — as I call it — the “second-largest gathering of the Leather Clan in the USA” (largest gathering still being International Mr. Leather in Chicago on the last weekend of May). I have had a few guys contact me to ask if I am going to MAL, but as I said in a previous post, I am not. There are other things going on in my life that make MAL a no-go for me this year.

For those of you who ARE traveling to DC to attend MAL, especially those traveling by air, let me share some quick tips, based on my “Air Travel with Leather Gear” tutorial.
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Mid-Atlantic Leather

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Yep, it’s that time of year again for the second-largest gathering of the leather clan in the United States — an event called Mid-Atlantic Leather. It begins on Friday, January 13, and runs through Sunday night/Monday morning with a dance.

Leather, boots, hormone-driven gay men… all in one place in Washington, DC.

Okay, I’ve got the boots, leather gear, and last I checked, my hormones are still working. Will I be attending?

Nope… and regular readers know why. My partner is not well, and even if he were, this event is better suited for the younger single guys rather than us old farts who live out in the suburbs and think it’s late when the clock strikes 21:00 (9pm.) LOL! Plus, at $180 for the cost of registration, not to mention the cost of a hotel room — sorry, I can think of many other things on which I would rather spend my money.

Yeah, I speak for myself when I say, “old fart.” There are many guys of all ages who attend “MAL”. I admire the guys my age and older who can put up with the noise, lack of sleep, and who seem to thrive on an active nightlife that goes late into the night into the wee hours of the morning. Not for me, not for my partner, and not for us as a couple since we don’t play around with other men. Sorry, not interested.

Sure, I’d like to catch up with some guys I know who will be attending, and watch guys strutting in their leather finest. Perhaps attend the BLUF gathering on Saturday afternoon… though I can’t stand the surly bartenders at the Green Lantern bar, that’s where this event will be held (while official “MAL Events” are all at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill). Chit-chat with guys from the HotBoots site… perhaps in the hotel lobby or around the MAL event itself. Tempting… but not this year.

That kind of thing is not my life these days, and won’t be. I have grown beyond it. Don’t take this wrong — I am not implying immaturity or anything wrong with the guys who enjoy this highly social event. Staying up late, drinking alcoholic beverages, smoking cigars, and swapping stories with other guys dressed in leather is not something I want to do any more.

If you go, enjoy seeing old friends, making new friends, and taking it all in — the one time each year that you will see guys in boots and leather on the streets of DC, in bars and restaurants, and visiting monuments. Otherwise, DC is rather staid and “suit-y” in dark, drab clothing and ugly dress shoes.

Also, remember to play safe. Seriously — AIDS is still easily transmissible among those who let their guard down, especially if they’re drunk or high or both. And it is such a tragedy that this disease is still so prevalent when its spread can be prevented by taking some simple precautions. (You know what they are!)

Life is short: realize when interests change.