International Mister Leather

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International Mister Leather (IML) is an international conference and contest of leathermen and leatherwomen held annually since 1979 in Chicago, Illinois.

IML's forerunner was the 1970's "Mr. Gold Coast" bar contest held at Chicago's Gold Coast leather bar, owned by Chuck Renslow and his then lover and partner, Dom Orejudos. As the "Mr. Gold Coast" contest became one of the bar's most popular promotions, it expanded to a larger venue in 1979. Along with the change of venue came a change in name to International Mr. Leather.^[1]

IML is an independent contest in that there is no contract or formal connection with feeder contests.^[2] To qualify, IML contestants must either be the winner of a bar, local or regional leather contest or be sponsored by a leather bar, business, club, or organization.^[3]

Over the years, a whole conference and another contest, the International Mister Bootblack Competition, have arisen around the IML contest.

Contents 1 IML contest criteria[4] 1.1 Preliminary round 1.2 Final round 2 IML contest winners 3 IML conference 3.1 Opening ceremony 3.2 IML Flag 3.3 Leather market 3.4 International Mister Bootblack Competition[7] 3.4.1 IMrBB Contest Winners[8] 3.5 Pecs and Personality: physique prejudging 3.6 IML contest 3.7 Salute! IML Closing Ceremony 3.8 IML Victory Celebration Party 3.9 IML Winners Press Conference 3.10 Black & Blue Ball 3.11 Event schedule 2006 4 Footnotes 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] IML contest criteria^[4]

First, all contestants are judged in a preliminary round. Second, the top 20 contestants from the preliminary round move on to become IML finalists. In each round, there are nine judges and two tally masters.

[edit] Preliminary round

The preliminary judging consists of two parts:

1. The preliminary interview, up to 8 minutes in length and held in private, which accounts for 60% of the preliminary score.
2. Stage presence and personality at a Saturday "Pecs and Personality" event, which account for 40% of the preliminary score.

The highest and lowest scores by judges for each contestant in each part are dropped, and the contestant's remaining seven scores are added together. The 20 contestants with the highest combined scores are announced as finalists at the Sunday IML contest event.

In case of a tie for 20th place, the dropped scores are added back for the two tied contestants. If that does not resolve the tie, then each of the nine judges must vote for only one of the two contestants.

No scores from the preliminary judging are carried forward.

[edit] Final round

Each of the 20 finalists is judged at the Sunday IML contest on a scale from 0 to 100 in this order:

1. Leather image, which accounts for up to 40 points.
2. Presentation skills, which account for up to 40 points. Each contestant must give a short speech.
3. Physical appearance, which accounts for up to 20 points.

The highest and lowest scores for each finalist are dropped, and the remaining seven scores are added together. The finalists with the top three scores are the second runner-up, first runner-up, and winner, International Mr. Leather.

In case of a tie for the winner position, the dropped scores are added back for the two tied contestants. If that does not resolve the tie, then each of the nine judges must vote for only one of the two tied contestants.

[edit] IML contest winners

Date	IML winner	Winner's preliminary title or sponsor	Winner's city	Field of contestants	Contest's Chicago location
1979-05-20	David Kloss	Mr. Leather Brig	San Francisco, California	12 men from 6 U.S. states	Grand Ballroom of the Radisson Hotel
1980-05-10	Patrick Brooks	Mr. Leather Australia	Sydney, Australia	18 men from 7 U.S. states and Australia	Grand Ballroom of the Radisson Hotel
1981-05-09	Marty Kiker	Sponsored by The Brig & The Phoenix	San Francisco, California	36 men from 3 countries including 11 U.S. states	Park West
1982-05-08	Luke Daniel	Mr. Drummer	San Francisco, California	46 men from 14 U.S. states and Canada	Park West
1983-05-07	Coulter Thomas	Mr. Texas	Houston, Texas	44 men from 15 U.S. states and Canada	Park West & Allerton Hotel
1984-05-27	Ron Moore	Mr. Leather Colorado	Denver, Colorado	30 men from 14 U.S. states and Australia	Park West & Allerton Hotel
1985-05-26	Patrick Toner	Mr. Chaps San Francisco	San Francisco, California	27 men from 3 countries including 14 U.S. states	Park West & Allerton Hotel
1986-05-25	Scott Tucker	Mr. Philadelphia Leather	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	28 men from 14 U.S. states	Park West & Lake Shore Hotel
1987-05-24	Thomas Karasch	Mr. Leather Europe	Hamburg, Germany	31 men from 3 countries including 14 U.S. states	Park West & Days Inn
1988-05-29	Michael Pereyra	Mr. Leather San Diego	San Diego, California	42 men from 3 countries including 20 U.S. states	Clubland at the Vic & Executive House Hotel
1989-05-28	Guy Baldwin	Mr. National Leather Association	Los Angeles, California	48 men from 22 U.S. states and Canada	Clubland at the Vic & Executive House Hotel
1990-05-27	Mark Ryan	Mr. Boston Leather	Boston, Massachusetts	42 men from 3 countries including 22 U.S. states	Clubland at the Vic
1991-05-26	D Cannon	Mr. CC (of Palm Springs)	Hollywood, California	50 men from 3 countries including 24 U.S. states	Clubland at the Vic & Executive House Hotel
1992-05-24	Lenny Broberg	Mr. San Francisco Leather	San Francisco, California	56 men from 22 U.S. states and Canada	Aragon Ballroom & Executive House Hotel
1993-05-30	Henri ten Have	sponsored by Motor Sportclub Amsterdam (MSA)	Amsterdam, Holland	51 men from 5 countries including 23 U.S. states	Aragon Ballroom & Congress Hotel
1994-05-29	Jeff Tucker	Mr. San Jose Leather	San Jose, California	43 men from 5 countries including 21 U.S. states	Congress Theater & Congress Hotel
1995-05-28	Larry Everett	Mr. Oklahoma Leather	Collinsville, Oklahoma	50 men from 6 countries including 26 U.S. states	Congress Theater & Hyatt Regency Chicago Hotel
1996-05-26	Joe Gallagher	Mr. Leather New York	New York, New York	49 men from 6 countries including 25 U.S. states	Congress Theater & Congress Hotel
1997-05-25	Kevin Cwayna	Mr. Minnesota Leather	Minneapolis, Minnesota	53 men from 5 countries including 24 U.S. states	Congress Theater & Congress Hotel
1998-05-24	Tony Mills	Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather	Washington, D.C.	62 men from 7 countries including 24 U.S. states	Congress Theater & Congress Hotel
1999-05-30	Bruce Chopnik	Mr. Rocky Mountain Leather	Denver, Colorado	52 men from 5 countries including 23 U.S. states	Congress Theater & Congress Hotel
2000-05-28	Mike Taylor	Mr. Heartland Leather	Columbus & Cincinnati, Ohio	60 men from 7 countries including 25 U.S. states	Congress Theater & Congress Hotel
2001-05-27	Stefan Müller	Bavarian Mr. Leather	Munich, Germany	63 men from 7 countries including 27 U.S. states	Congress Theater & Palmer House Hilton Hotel
2002-05-26	Stephen Weber	Mr. Texas Leather	Dallas, Texas	66 men from 7 countries including 28 U.S. states	Congress Theater & Hyatt Regency Chicago Hotel
2003-05-25	John Pendal	Mr. Hoist	London, United Kingdom	58 men from 5 countries including 25 U.S. states	Congress Theater & Palmer House Hilton Hotel
2004-05-30	Jason Hendrix [5]	Mr. DC Eagle	Washington, D.C.	58 men from 5 countries including 23 U.S. states	Congress Theater & Hyatt Regency Chicago Hotel
2005-05-29	Michael Egdes [6]	Mr. Ramrod	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	52 men from 6 countries	Navy Pier Skyline Stage & Hyatt Regency Chicago Hotel
2006-05-28	Bo Ladashevska	Mr. Leather Montreal 2006	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	to be determined	Chicago Theatre & Palmer House Hilton Hotel

Source for 1979 to 2003: Bean, Joseph W. (2004). International Mr. Leather: 25 Years of Champions, International Mr. Leather, Inc. and The Leather Archives and Museum, 1st edition, Las Vegas: Nazca Plains. ISBN 1-887895-38-8. 

[edit] IML conference

Of all the IML conference events listed below, only the IML contest itself and the Black and Blue Ball have been held since IML's beginning in 1979. As IML evolves over time, other events have been added to the conference. The newest event is the presentation of the IML Flag, a tradition started in 2005.

[edit] Opening ceremony

[edit] IML Flag

[edit] Leather market

[edit] International Mister Bootblack Competition^[7]

The International Mister Bootblack (IMrBB) Competition runs throughout the IML weekend. Contestants are given a location in the IML Leather Market at which they perform bootblacking services. Weekend ticket package holders (as well as judges, contestants, and vendors) are each provided with a bootblack ballot which is redeemable for one shine by the bootblack of the voter's choice. Bootblacks are free to shine the boots of any person, regardless of whether that person has a ballot, although it is made clear that the ballots are the means by which the winner will be determined. Tipping is not required, but is quite common.

The bootblack contestants work during the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of IML during the time that the Leather Market is open, a total of approximately 20 hours over three days. In previous years, the bootblacks were allowed to shine boots and collect tickets at all times during the weekend. Since 2001, the bootblack contestants have established a gentlemen's agreement at the start of the weekend that they will not shine boots or accept ballots except during the established competition hours. This agreement was conceived to give the contestants the freedom to take time to enjoy the weekend without feeling the pressure to always be bootblacking.

At its inception in 1993, the competition was properly titled the International Bootblack Competition, and both men and women were allowed to compete. In 1998, it was announced that the competition would be changed to the International Mister Bootblack Competition and that a separate competition solely for women would be held at International Ms. Leather. This change was made largely because it was commonly held that women had a significant disadvantage competing for ballots from the mostly gay male IML attendees, who often base their bootblack selection at least partly on their sexual attraction to the bootblack. Since 1999, competitors for IMrBB are restricted to persons over the age of 21 who can provide a valid government-issued form of identification that identifies them as male.

The winner of the International Mr. Bootblack Competition is announced (along with the first and second runners-up and the winner of the Brotherhood Award, on which the IMrBB competitors vote and which is roughly analogous to the Miss Congeniality Award from various traditional beauty contests) at the Sunday contest, immediately following the announcement of the top 20 IML finalists.

In recent years, largely because of coordination of the contest by David Hawks, International Mr. Bootblack 2000, the Bootblack Competition has begun to develop adjunct activities. A IMrBB party is held in a hotel function room on Saturday night, offering food, music, and a silent auction, the proceeds of which go to the travel fund of the winner. Likewise, during the competition hours in the Leather Market, volunteers man a table to answer questions and sell IMrBB Travel Fund pins, which also adds to the travel fund. These sources of revenue have provided the various titleholders with significantly more money to aid their travel to distant events during their title years. The money is controlled by the contest coordinator, and any access to the funds must be accompanied by proof of the travel outlay.

[edit] IMrBB Contest Winners^[8]

Date	IMrBB winner	Winner's preliminary title or sponsor	Winner's city
1993-05-30	David Morgan	DC Eagle	Washington, D.C.
1994-05-29	William Shields, Jr.	Chicago Eagle & Chicago Hellfire Club	Chicago, Illinois
1995-05-28	Tim Cousins	DC Eagle	Washington, D.C.
1996-05-26	Todd Nelson	The Cuff	Seattle, Washington
1997-05-25	"Driller"	SF Eagle & Daddy's Bar	San Francisco, California
1998-05-24	Matthew Duncan	Centaur MC	Washington, D.C.
1999-05-30	Robert Ehrlich	DC Eagle	Washington, D.C.
2000-05-28	David Hawks	Centaur MC	Washington, D.C.
2001-05-27	paksen	Centaur MC	Washington, D.C.
2002-05-26	Michael Lanzini	not listed	New York, N.Y.
2003-05-25	Richie Chameroy	Daddy's Bar & Powerhouse Bar	San Francisco, California
2004-05-30	Alan Tunstall	The Barracks Bar & Avatar Club	Los Angeles, California
2005-05-29	Arthur Funni	Great Lakes Leather Alliance & the Barony of Chicago	Cleveland, Ohio
2006-05-28	Benjamin Palmer	PumpJack Pub & Priape Vancouver	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

[edit] Pecs and Personality: physique prejudging

[edit] IML contest

[edit] Salute! IML Closing Ceremony

[edit] IML Victory Celebration Party

[edit] IML Winners Press Conference

[edit] Black & Blue Ball

[edit] Event schedule 2006

Below is the conference agenda for 2006. It is similar to IML event schedules in recent years.

Thursday

• Opening ceremony
• Presentation of the IML Flag

Friday

• Leather market opens
• International Mister Bootblack Competition

Saturday

• Pecs and Personality

Sunday

• IML contest
• Salute! Closing Ceremony
• Victory Celebration Party

Monday

• Leather market closes
• IML Winners Press Conference
• Black and Blue Ball

[edit] Footnotes

1. ↑ Bean, Joseph W. (2004). International Mr. Leather: 25 Years of Champions, International Mr. Leather, Inc. and The Leather Archives and Museum, 1st edition, Las Vegas: Nazca Plains. ISBN 1-887895-38-8. 
2. ↑ Davolt, Robert (2003). Painfully Obvious: An Irreverent & Unauthorized Manual for Leather/SM, cover design by Steve Diet Goedde, Los Angeles: Daedalus Publishing, p. 212. ISBN 1-881943-19-4. 
3. ↑ International Mr. Leather, Inc.. Contestant Application (PDF). Retrieved on 2005-12-21.
4. ↑ International Mr. Leather, Inc.. Official IML Scoring Procedure. Retrieved on 2005-12-21.
5. ↑ International Mr. Leather, Inc.. IML 2004. Retrieved on 2005-12-18.
6. ↑ International Mr. Leather, Inc. (2005-05-30). Michael Egdes Named International Mr. Leather 2005 Memorial Day Weekend in Chicago. (Microsoft Word). Press release. 
7. ↑ International Mr. Leather - Bootblack Contest. Retrieved on 2006-04-14.
8. ↑ International Mr. Leather - Past Bootblack Winners. Retrieved on 2006-04-14.

[edit] See also

• Domination & submission (BDSM)
• Leather Archives and Museum
• Leather subculture
• LGBT culture
• Steve Maidhof, an unsuccessful candidate for Mr. Leather who later founded National Leather Association International

[edit] External links

• Official International Mr. Leather site
• Joe Gallagher's Leatherpage.com
• IML Winners
  • International Mr. Leather 2005: Michael Egdes
  • International Mr. Leather 2004: Jason Hendrix
  • International Mr. Leather 2003: John Pendal