Not long after the beginning of Somandros, Avatar Club Los Angeles was founded in 1982.
Story by Alexei Romanoff needed. www.avatarla.org
Founded in early 1982, Los Angeles' first men's SM club was named Somandros with a focus on education, safe sex and play. The term Old Guard Leather was the title of one of the monthly meetings and is The Leather Journal's first account of that phrase.
David Kloss became the first International Mr. Leather in Chicago, IL. Durk Dehner, later of Tom of Finland Foundation fame, was first runner-up and Jesse Capello was second runner-up 12 men competed at the Gold Coast. For those trivia buffs, Kloss was Mr. Brig from San Francisco, CA. And more trivia: the first year it was Mr. International Leather according to the banner that hung over the back of the stage. Was that a mistake? If not, when was it changed to International Mr. Leather. www.imrl.com
Circa late 1975 the first Issue of Drummer Magazine debuted. For the first time, anyone had access to Leather by their own choice. This was the beginning of what The Leather Journal has often dubbed The Drummer Boom. Generally speaking, before that there was Old Guard Leather and later their was New Guard.
The first publisher and editor of Drummer was Jeanne Barney who started Drummer in Los Angeles, CA. Drummer later moved to San Francisco under new ownership. Drummer #1 had a feature titled The ABC's of S&M. Perusing the pages, one can see the longer hair styles of the mid-1970s - pre Village People. The phrase "Leather community" appeared in Drummer #1, so we know the term goes back at least to 1975. Drummer published 214 editions before folding circa 2001, becoming the longest running Leather/BDSM/Fetish publication for several years.
The quote from Henry David Thoreau, "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." was Drummer's motto from day one.
Some call it the bible of Leather and some consider it to be just one of the hottest tomes of gay Leather erotica in history. The Leatherman's Handbook by Larry Townsend of Beverly Hills, CA was published in 1972. The Leatherman's Handbook was so popular in that era that it had reprints soon after in 1974 and 1977. Edited and revised versions were released several times later (see below). The Leatherman's Handbook had a compilation of many masculine adventures and plenty of Leather/BDSM/Fetish; enough so that there seemed to be at least one fetish that turned on almost every gay who has read it. My favorite is the sweat and full-body tongue bath on pagers 120-123 in the third printd edition.
Often The Leatherman's Handbook is named as a book read by contestants when queried by judges during Leather contest interviews. It simply is a must. For the young Leather/BDSM/Fetish/Kink/Gear man, note that much of this will float your boat just as much as it did in 1972 - human nature is the same, and thus is our craving for good, raw man sex with a lot of kink thrown in.
Its popularity has continued throughout the years with not only a Re-write as a result of the AIDS Epidemic in the early 90's, but also the Silver Jubiliee Edition being released during the 25th anniversary of its initial release.
Let's see... six months had elapsed since I joined the touring company of Cabaret.
In preparation for an indefinite period on he road, I'd sublet my New York, West 93rd Street studio apartment to an attractive and well-dressed young Wall Streeter who, in his nonprofessional hours, was into uniforms and Leather. His rent checks provided a tidy nest egg along with my salary from acting and singing.
Our tour took us to over a dozen cities in the US, from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Coast. When our travel schedule allowed, I' go back to New York to check on my Uptown apartment and the tenant.
On one of the last of three New York trips, I stayed overnight, as the tenant had vacated my place. I had to return to the touring company, which was in transit from Washington, DC to Philadelphia. That next morning, I craved a home-style breakfast at one of The Village's gay-run restaurants, before taking the Metroliner to Philadelphia. So, I rode the IRT Seventh Avenue Subway from my end of the 96th Street Station down to Christopher Street. I climbed the stairs from the station platform to the bright, sweet-smelling summer air of the little triangular park dedicated to General Phil Sheridan of Civil War renown. The shape of the park was no impediment to its being named Sheridan Square; check your geometry.
There were two or three decent restaurants just north of Christopher Street and that's where I planned to go.
Almost at the top of the stairs of the subway, I began feeling uneasy.
It was far too quiet one moment. The next moment all hell broke loose.
The damn bottle whizzed by the right side of my head and shattered on the pavement, a couple of yards in front of me. Even though it was mid-morning, there was out-of-place activity. Some guy ran past me, west on Christopher Street; the same direction as the restaurants. Then a group of New York's Finest, read: 10th Precinct cops, were fantastically assiduous in their mandate to clear the streets of those detested faggots from The Village's bars, restaurants, shops and baths.
Apparently the bottle, which, likewise, assiduously missed my head, had been hurled by a determined drag queen whose heel had broken at the moment prior to release. That glass messenger had been intended for one of New York's Finest, but had become my momentary companion. So, heed the admonition to not wear evening stilettos before 6 PM and after 2 AM; Cuban heels are best, especially when hurling bottles at NYPD Blues.
The Greek-run coffee shop was a most welcoming haven at the 8th Avenue intersection. It took me a few minutes to calm down enough to sip in the fresh coffee and think about what to order; much appetite was gone. But, I needed nourishment for the trip to Penn Station and the Metroliner ride to Philadelphia.
Breakfast turned out well, in spite of the excitement I'd experienced only some minutes earlier. At the same time, the meal cost under $3.50 including tip and tax. I paid my bill, left the tip and left the coffee shop.
I proceeded very carefully and alertly north away from Sheridan Square, making my way to the next subway station at 14th Street. It was only six blocks, which, for a New Yorker, is a pleasant stroll, especially on a sunny, late June morning-after of the Stonewall Backlash.
We had had enough of the cops' and other officials' attitudes and actions against gays. Stonewall was the landmark, in more ways than one, of change from that late June 1969 weekend, lemme tell ya! www.aarp.org/Gay-Rights-Movement
Metropolitan Community Church founded by Leatherman Reverend Troy Perry in 1954
Leatherman Troy David Perry founded Metropolitan Community Church in 1969. MCC became a world wide denomination in a matter of years. Perry has never abandoned his Leather for the robe. He has spoken at numerous events throughout the years. http://mccchurch.org/
1959 saw the Big Dollar bar in New York fills with men dressed in Leather on a regular basis. James Dean and Tom of Finland are having an effect on what masculine gay men wear
The Leather Journal was founded in May, 1987. The Leather community was hungry for news magazine that covered clubs, organizations and events. TLJ has successfully met that need for 34 years. We have adapted to change more than once and when the Internet came about we were there by adding www.TheLeatherJournal.com
