International Mr. Leather

The forerunner of the competition was the 1970s "Mr. Gold Coast" contest held at Chicago's Gold Coast leather bar, owned by Chuck Renslow and his then-partner, Dom Orejudos.[2] The "Mr. Gold Coast" contest became one of the bar's most popular promotions causing the need to locate the competition to a larger venue in 1979, upon which the title was changed to International Mr. Leather.[2]

The inaugural IML competition took place May 18-20, 1979.[3] The event was advertised as "a weekend you won't want to miss" featuring "some of the world's hottest men, representing leather bars and clubs across America and Europe" competing to win prizes worth $5,000 ($20,990 in 2023), including a motorcycle.[3] Tom of Finland was one of the judges.[3] Spectators could purchase a weekend package for $25 ($105.00 in 2023) that included a shirt designed by Etienne, tickets to parties and events, and coupons for local shops and bathhouses.[3] Standalone tickets to the contest were priced at $10.[3]

The leather pride flag was designed by Tony DeBlase, and he first presented the design at the IML competition on May 28, 1989.[4] The flag was incorporated into the design of the sash awarded to contest winners.[5]

The International Bootblack Competition was added to the IML program in 1993. In 1998, the coed competition was spun off into two separate competitions: International Mr. Bootblack (IMrBB) and International Ms. Leather.

Since 2009, IML proceeds have been placed in a trust to benefit the Leather Archives and Museum (LA&M).[6] LA&M, which Renslow and Deblase co-founded, is the custodian of IML records.[7]

In 2009, prior to the widespread availability of PrEP, IML forbade from its vendor market "any entity which promotes barebacking or distributes/sells any merchandise tending to promote or advocate barebacking."[8] However, IML did not consistently enforce the policy and in 2019 announced that it would repeal it.[9]

The Congress Plaza Hotel has hosted IML guests and festivities every year since 2015 (but the contest itself has often been hosted at offsite venues such the Auditorium Theater).[10][11]

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant shutdowns and cancellations of large gatherings throughout the world, in-person IML events in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled.[12][13] IML resumed in May 2022.[14]

Preliminary round

Contest finalists are selected following:

1. A preliminary interview with each of the nine judges, up to 8 minutes in length, are held in private (60% of the preliminary score).
2. Stage presence and personality at a Saturday "Pecs and Personality" event (40% of the preliminary score).

The judge's highest and lowest scores for each contestant on each criterion are dropped, and the contestant's remaining seven scores are tallied to determine the 20 contestants with the highest combined scores to proceed as finalists at the Sunday IML contest event. The only time that the dropped scores are included in the tally is when there is a tie for the 20th place; the contestants in question have their dropped scores included in the tally but if the stalemate continues then each of the nine judges must vote for only one of the two contestants. Preliminary judging scores are not carried forward. There are also two tally masters.

Final round

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

1. Leather image (up to 40 points).
2. Presentation skills that include a contestant speech (up to 40 points).
3. Physical appearance (up to 20 points).

The highest and lowest scores for each finalist are dropped, the remaining seven scores are added together, and the top three scores designate the second runner-up, first runner-up, and winner, International Mr. Leather. A tie for the title is resolved by adding to the tally the dropped scores of the two contestants; if the stalemate continues then each of the nine judges must vote for only one of the contestants in question.

Twenty-six countries spanning six continents have officially fielded one or more titleholders to compete at IML as of 2024, listed with first competition year in parenthesis: Australia (1980),[15][16] Austria (2018),[16] Belgium (1996),[15][16] Brazil (2017),[16] Canada (1981),[15][16] Chile (2015),[17] China (Hong Kong) (2019),[18] Colombia (2022),[19] Finland (2017),[20] France (2002),[15][16] Germany (1987),[15][16] Ireland (2000),[15][17] Israel (1995),[15][16] Italy (1990),[15][16] Mexico (2018),[16] Netherlands (1993),[15][16] New Zealand (1993),[15] Norway (2000),[15][21] South Africa (2015),[17] Spain (1988),[15][16] Sweden (1985),[15] Switzerland (2018),[16] Thailand (1995),[15] United Kingdom (1994),[15][17] United States (1979),[15][16] and Venezuela (2019).[18]

Some IML contestants have immigrated from countries that had not previously or never have officially sent titleholders to IML. For instance, Gary Iriza from Venezuela (Mr. Palm Springs Leather)[22] won IML 30 in 2008,[23] more than a decade before Venezuela officially sent a titleholder (Mr. Leather Venezuela) in 2019.[24]

As of 2015, 43 U.S. States, have fielded titleholders, as have Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.[15][25] The only states that have not fielded a titleholder as of 2015 are Alabama, Delaware, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Wyoming.[15][25]

The International Mr. 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 called 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 Mr. 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 IML's predominantly gay male attendees, who may favor bootblacks who they find attractive. Since 1999, competitors for IMrBB are restricted to persons over the age of 21 who present 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. An 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.

Starting in 2013, the IMrBB contest has implemented a judging system to select the winner. Contestants are evaluated by a panel of judges on the basis of their technical bootblacking skills, how they present themselves on stage and in public and what they say in an interview with the judges. Ballot voting still makes up a percentage of the contestant's total score.

According to the Chicago Reader, "IML has endured as an institution that serves the LGBTQ+ community by fundraising for grassroots groups as well as providing opportunities to gather and exchange goods, information, and kinship."[44] IML has also improved the visibility and popularity of leather culture;[45] past IML contests and spectators have started leather competitions and opened leather-related businesses around the world.[46][47]

• Leather competitions
• LGBT culture
• Mister Leather Europe
• National Leather Association International

1. ^ Bean, Joseph W. (2004). International Mr. Leather: 25 Years of Champions. International Mr. Leather, Inc. and The Leather Archives and Museum (1st ed.). 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). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2005-12-21.
4. ^ "Leather Archives & Museum Announcement". Twitter. 2009-05-25. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
5. ^ "IML Makes History". Will Clark World. 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
6. ^ International Mr. Leather, Inc. "Official IML Scoring Procedure". Archived from the original on 2005-12-22. Retrieved 2005-12-21.
7. ^ International Mr. Leather, Inc. "IML 2004". Archived from the original on 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2005-12-18.
8. ^ International Mr. Leather, Inc. (2005-05-30). Michael Egdes Named International Mr. Leather 2005 Memorial Day Weekend in Chicago. (Microsoft Word). Press release. Archived from the original on 2005-12-23. Retrieved 2005-12-19.
9. ^ "International Mr. Leather – Bootblack Contest". Archived from the original on 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
10. ^ "International Mr. Leather – Past Bootblack Winners". Archived from the original on 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
11. ^ International Mr. Leather, Inc. (2007-05-27). Mikel Gerle Named International Mr. Leather 2007. (Microsoft Word). Press release. Archived from the original on 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
12. ^ "International Mr. Bootblack 2013 Press Release" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-07-19. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
13. ^ 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 ed.). Las Vegas: Nazca Plains. ISBN 1-887895-38-8.
14. ^ Source for 2004 to 2008: "International Mr. Leather - History". Archived from the original on 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2009-03-15.

• Official website
• IML Winners
  • International Mr. Leather 1996: Joe Gallagher
  • International Mr. Leather 2003: John Pendal
  • International Mr. Leather 2004: Jason Hendrix
  • International Mr. Leather 2005: Michael Egdes
  • International Mr. Leather 2007: Mikel Gerle
  • International Mr. Leather 2008: Gary Iriza
  • International Mr. Leather 2009: Jeffrey Payne