International LeatherSIR 2009 Contestants

“there’s something special between a SIR and His boy!”

Picture this: It’s October 28th, and we’re (Mid-Atlantic Community Bootblack – Brandon Riley, Northeast LeatherSIR 2009 – Sir Marco Rosato, Northeast Leatherboy 2009 – boy Jim Gardner, Northeast Community Bootblack 2009 – Kyle Applegate, Mr. Maryland Leather 2009 – Rik “Sir Hooker” Newton-Treadway, Momma Connie Cox - Mr. Saliva 2004, Xani, and me) on a Southwest Airlines (www.southwest.com) flight to San Francisco. (Technically, we’re landing in Oakland, but I digress). Southwest planes are 3 seats on each side with a center aisle. We’ve got Sir Hooker, Xani, and Brandon on one side; and Mama Connie, a total stranger, and me (aisle seat) on the other side. A game of slapsies breaks out between Sir Hooker, Xani, and Brandon, which invariably flows over to me across the aisle. (Hey, what else are kinky people supposed to do on a cross country flight?) The complete stranger next to me just looks on, wide-eyed and smiling the whole way. And this is how we got started on our way to International LeatherSIR / Leatherboy / Community Bootblack 2009 (ILSb/ICBB – www.leathersir.com)!! 

This year’s ILSb/ICBB was Homecoming for me and David “Pug” Spellman – Mid-Atlantic Community Bootblack 2008 in a way. Last year David, my Title boy – Stephen “boyshark” McGinley (then Mercer) – Mid-Atlantic Leatherboy 2008, and I went to ILSb/ICBB to represent our region. This year, it was our turn to go and enjoy ourselves unabashedly… well, not quite. Don’t get me wrong, I had an awesome time, and you can be sure I will be back there next year! But, this year was about our home region Mid-Atlantic Titleholders, including Mid-Atlantic LeatherSIR 2009 – Sir Ky Eaton and Mid-Atlantic Leatherboy 2009 – boy Eddie Ortiz and of course, Brandon. With Sir Hooker as Producer and Xani and me as part of the Support Team, our first priority was making sure they were good to go. We were thrilled to play “surrogate” to the Northeast Titleholders as well, so at a maximum, we had six Contestants to make sure that they were okay. Now this may prompt you to ask, “Wait, aren’t they competitors?” And the answer is, no. In any Leather Contest, the Contestants compete against the score sheet. If you get the most points (without delving into Olympic versus straight scoring), you win! It’s that simple. As the Class of 2009, we’d much rather see all of the Contestants bond as a whole, enjoy the experience and get to know each other, and do the best they can, without delving into silly pettiness. Besides, as Leatherfolk, isn’t it our duty to help when our Brethren are in need?

So we land in Oakland, take the bus to the BART and take the BART (www.bart.gov) to the Hotel Whitcomb (www.hotelwhitcomb.com) where all the festivities will take place. Having arrived a day early, everyone was able to relax, get acclimated to the locale and be fresh for the first Official Event on Thursday—the Contestant/Producers Meeting. Contestant numbers were drawn and the Mid-Atlantic team is now #6 and the Northeast team #11. On to the Kickoff Party at Mr. S and Madame S Leather (www.mr-s-leather.com or www.madame-s.com)!! What a wonderful opportunity for everyone (Judges, Contestants, Guests, Speakers, Press, everyone!) to meet and mix and mingle in what is a veritable nirvana of Leather, Latex, Toys, Racks, Restraints, Lube, Porn, Boots… sigh. If you haven’t been, you must go the next time you are in SF. After that, it was back to the hotel for the 2008 Titleholders’ Roast where everyone had a good time browsing the Silent Auction items, hearing fond words from Sir Raul Mendez - International LeatherSIR 2008, boy Bill Hoeppner – International Leatherboy 2008, and Black Jack Pearce - International Community Bootblack 2008; and getting a good look as a whole at the Class of 2009 Contestants. 

Friday during the day saw Interviews for all the Contestants while the rest of us had Workshops ranging from Leather Craft to Protocols to Rough Body Impact Play to attend or having our boots done by the Bootblack Contestants during “Open Shine” or just people watching outside the hotel before the first portion of the Contest at 7PM! And the fun begins!! All of the Contestants were formally introduced, and they were, vying for International LeatherSIR 2009 – California LeatherSIR 2009 – Sir Ray Busby, Central Plains LeatherSIR 2009 – Sir Samuel Sampson, Eastern Canada LeatherSIR 2009 – Sir Tony Palazzo, Great Lakes LeatherSIR 2009 – Sir Merrill, Gulf Coast LeatherSIR 2009 – Sir David, Mid-Atlantic LeatherSIR 2009 – Sir Ky Eaton, Northeast LeatherSIR 2009 – Sir Marco Rosato, Northwest LeatherSIR 2009 – Sir Thom Butts, Southeast LeatherSIR 2009 – Sir Jason Pelky, and Western Canada LeatherSIR 2009 – Sir Johnathan Finlayson. Vying for International Leatherboy 2009 we have - Central Plains Leatherboy 2009 – pup sparkie, Eastern Canada Leatherboy 2009 – boy Brad Hill, Great Lakes Leatherboy 2009 – boy ed, Gulf Coast Leatherboy 2009 – boy John DeLorme, Mid-Atlantic Leatherboy 2009 – boy Eddie Ortiz, Northeast Leatherboy 2009 – boy Jim Gardner, Northwest Leatherboy 2009 – boy Dominic Chevalier, Southeast Leatherboy 2009 – boy kirk schwartz, and Western Canada Leatherboy 2009 – boy david. Vying for International Community Bootblack 2009 we have – California Community Bootblack 2009 – Blast, Central Plains Community Bootblack 2009 – boy blu, Gulf Coast Community Bootblack 2009 – Sir Evan, Mid-Atlantic Community Bootblack 2009 – Brandon Riley, Northeast Community Bootblack 2009 – Kyle Applegate, Northwest Community Bootblack 2009 – Jack “Diamond Jack” Shephard, Southeast Leatherfest Bootblack – Andy, and Southeast Community Bootblack 2009 – Chris Landers.

Whew! After the Contestants left the Stage, the Judges were formally introduced, and they were – Daddy Sal, boy jean – International Community Bootblack 2007, David Kloss – International Mr. Leather 1979, Graylin Thormton – International Mr. Drummer 1993, David Carranza – Southbay Mr. Drummer 1991, Ms. V – International Ms. Bootblack 2007, Ray Perea – International Mr. Drummer 1981, pup Sparky – International Leatherboy 2007, Master Mike Zuhl – Head Judge Emeritus, and Mr. Marcus Hernandez (In Memoriam). The rest of the Staff was rounded out with Queen Cougar as Emcee, boy alex as Judge’s boy, Todd Jones as Tally Master, Tom Stice and Phil Nickerson as Den Daddies, and anyone else that I’ve inadvertently neglected to mention as it is 4AM and my deadline looms ever closer!

Once the Judges left the stage, it was time for Jock! The LeatherSIR and Leatherboy Contestants made their way across the stage in what they thought best showcased their assets. I’ll leave you to look at the pictures. From here we continued with formal step aside speeches by the 2008 International Titleholders and here it can always get a little emotional because everyone relives their past year as each person speaks, so it is always a touching moment. The rest of the evening saw Formal Speeches by all of the LeatherSIR and Leatherboy Contestants, and a Live Auction featuring Sir Raul and Randal Kinnear – International LeatherSIR 2006. 

Saturday saw more Workshops, ranging from Electric Play to Flogging and Single Tails to Breath Play to everything in between. We were blessed again with more “Open Shine” time with the Bootblack Contestants, and then we had demos from the LeatherSIR Contestants doing everything from flogging to violet wand to bondage to sounds! Awesome!! From there it was on to the final portion of the Contest.

This was a fun night because every Region had their LeatherSIR / Leatherboy Contestant Fantasy, then the Bootblack Contestant gave their Speech. Every Region had a theme. For example, Military or Consensual/Nonconsensual or Outdoors, et al. So it was very interesting to see how each Region interpreted its theme and worked it into its Fantasy. I must say how awesome it was to see how every Contestant brought their best “game” to San Francisco. Everyone performed to the best of their abilities and carried themselves the best that they could as representatives of their Regions. 

And, adding to the fun of the evening was a Mama’s Family (www.mamasfamily.org) Photo!! It is always good to see Mama, but especially in her hometown of San Francisco. I got to meet many of my Mama’s Family’s Brothers and Sisters, so this was a real thrill!! 

Before the 2009 Titleholders were announced, it was time for the Brotherhood or Spirit of Brotherhood Awards. These are special in the sense that they are awarded by the Contestants as a whole to the one Contestant who everyone felt best exhibited and exemplified the Spirit of Brotherhood throughout the Contest. So, we have the Davis / Clark Golden Flogger for the LeatherSIR’s, the John Siracusa Paddle for the Leatherboy’s, and the Golden Brush for the Bootblacks. Now the Bootblacks get to give out a Silver Brush as well, to a non-Contestant that they felt best embodied the Spirit of Brotherhood. I am pleased to announce that the Golden Flogger was awarded to Western Canada LeatherSIR – Sir Johnathan Finlayson, the Paddle was awarded to our own Mid-Atlantic Leatherboy 2009 – boy Eddie Ortiz, the Golden Brush was awarded to Gulf Coast Community Bootblack 2009 – Sir Evan, and the Silver Brush was awarded to Mr. Southeast Leatherfest 2009 – Nefarious!!

So at this point everyone in the audience is anxious to see what the results are, and I am sure you are too, so here we go!

Your International LeatherSIR 2009 is Sir Tony Palazzo, representing the Eastern Canada Region. 1^st Runner-Up, International LeatherSIR 2009 is Sir Merrill, representing the Great Lakes Region.

Your International Leatherboy 2009 is boy Brad Hill, representing the Eastern Canada Region. 1^st Runner-Up, International Leatherboy 2009 is boy Dominic Chevalier, representing the Northwest Region.

Your International Community Bootblack 2009 is Sir Evan, representing the Gulf Coast Region. 1^st Runner-Up, International Community Bootblack 2009 is Kyle Applegate, representing the Northeast Region.

Congratulations to everyone!! And a huge thank you goes to Sir Raul, boy Bill and Black Jack for such a tremendous year that they have had! My gratitude goes out to Mark Frazier – Gulf Coast Mr. Drummer 1991, Randal Kinear, and Master Olivier Pratt – International LeatherSIR 2007 (Producers of ILSb/ICBB 2009) for such a wonderful weekend and such a welcome home. This year’s Contest was well put together, and had such International Titleholders as (but not limited to) International Mr. Leather 2009 – Jeffrey Payne, International Ms. Leather 2009 – Lamalani, International Mr. Deaf Leather – Terry Morrell, International Mr. Bootblack 2009 – McG, and International Ms. Bootblack 2009 – pony in attendance.

The following day was the Victory Party at Stompers Boots (www.stompersboots.com) where everyone just relaxed, enjoyed the good food and each other’s company, and fell victim to the siren song of the boots that were available to purchase. I may or may not have fallen victim to some Chippewa’s, but then again, it may or may not have been worse as many more fell victim to the Dehner’s. Just saying….

Our flight back home was not as exciting. Due to travel scheduling, it was just Sir Hooker, Momma Connie, and me… asleep… dreaming about coming home again next year for International LeatherSIR / Leatherboy / Community Bootblack 2010! See you all there!!

Email Sir Andy Liu at FloggerTales@aol.com.