Tag: international mr. leather

Meet Jack Thompson. He was just named this year’s International Mr. Leather, making him the first trans person of color and the second trans person ever in the competition’s 41-year history to win the coveted title. Thompson competed against 67 other titleholders last weekend in Chicago, where he gave an empowering speech during the competition. “There’s people in this room right now that don’t believe I’m man enough to be on this stage,” he said. “If you’re enough for you, then you are...

A record-number of leather enthusiasts packed the Auditorium Theatre for the annual competition where Thompson became the 41st person to claim the coveted leather title.Thompson is the first trans person of color and the second trans person ever to win."There's people in this room right now that don't believe I'm man enough to be on this stage," Thompson said during the speech portion of the competition. "If you're enough for you, then you are enough. Period.""I'm Jack Thompson and I'm a proud...

The flag was designed by Tony DeBlase, a well-known activist who died in 2000, and presented as a "proposed design idea" on May 28, 1989 at International Mr. Leather in Chicago on May 28, 1989.According to Chicago-based Leather Archives & Museum, the design was immediately embraced and began appearing in parades within a month of its introduction, and turned up in shops as a bumper sticker barely two months later.The flag is composed of nine horizontal stripes of equal width. From the...

"No matter what your scene, there's something for everyone that weekend," Anthony DiFiore, president of Neverland Events & Artists Management, said of the upcoming weekend, which annually attracts thousands of visitors from around the world for the parties and pageantry, plus more leather and fetishes that any one person can handle.Neverland, for the first time ever, is holding a Saturday night party over IML weekend.  Then, on Monday, after the Victory Party, Neverland is throwing "Happily Never Afters" –...

Now in its 41st year, IML draws nearly 20,000 attendees to downtown Chicago for a celebration of everything leather and fetish. The five days of non-stop events will be hosted for a fifth year at the Congress Plaza Hotel, 520 S. Michigan Ave.IML weekend is filled with conventions, workshops, and parties all celebrating a shared love of leather, rubber, sports gear, pup play, and much more. All the events are organized around the annual competition to crown International Mr. Leather as well as...