Leatherwest's Five Ways To Te A Better Leatherman

Make 2015 the best leather year of your life so far. 

Becoming a Leatherman can be the most natural progression for any gay man with a fetish for leather, but it can feel daunting for 'newbie kinksters'.

The following five points from Leatherwest provide some useful advice and tips to becoming a (better) leatherman in 2015:

1 – Get your kit on!

2 – Get involved

3 – Brush up on your history

4 – Try something new

5 – Have fun!

Full description of each point can be found on Leatherwest's website: 

Screenshot from Leatherwest

 #SupportLeather #Leather2015

GEAR Ireland - 2015 Irish Title Holders' Competition

Bristol Leather Weekend #BLW2014

Well, blow me! What a weekend! My Bristol Brothers have done it again. They surely know how to throw a fetish fiesta. The Bristol Leather Weekend was a fantastic gathering of leathermen from across the south west of England, across the country, from Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia and beyond. 

The weekend's festivities commenced with welcome drinks at the Bristol Bear Bar. Despite the rain, the leathermen were pouring in. I cannot imagine the bear bar, or Bristol, ever had so much 'dead cow' in one space before. At one point, looking across the bar, it was a sea of Muir caps, Langlitz, and leathermen! 

After catching up with some friends, and getting to know new ones, it was time to eat. For those leathermen who were BLUF members, our Bristolian hosts had organised an exclusive evening meal at The Retreat, just a few stomps from the bear bar. For me, it was amazing to see so many leathermen in one place sitting down for dinner, socialising and sharing stories with one another. For this occasion, my recently acquired Langlitz jacket was staying on! 

During dinner, I nipped downstairs to use the facilities, where I accidentally spotted the 'interactive art installation' on the pool table. This was shaping up to be an interesting evening! As I walked into the gents, I noticed the iron bar gate. Great for photos, I thought. After dinner, with more leathermen arriving, my partner and I went downstairs to explore. It was then we spotted the official photographer for the weekend, Neil Page. As we got chatting, the conversation came around to my partner and I saying 'wouldn't it be excellent to have a few photos taken.' And so we did, with Neil fixing the settings on his equipment to capture us in the dimly lit basement. After several shots, and trying not to giggle, Neil got a few photos to show us. WOW. They looked fantastic! Then we remembered the iron bar gate at the entrance of the toilets. Over we went. 'Snap, snap' - a few photos of us behind the bars. Some direction from Neil, and, again, 'snap, snap' the shutter went. As we were reviewing the photos, we were all very pleased with how they turned out. (When we got the e-versions emailed to us afterwards, we were extremely delighted, as was Neil, the photographer. And now they are getting loads of 'likes' and positive comments on Facebook. I have to say, a huge thank you to Neil for the quality of the photos, and to everyone for the fantastic comments. Much appreciated.)

Buzzing after the impromptu photo shoot, we made our way back upstairs to grab our drinks and chat further with our leather brothers. All-in-all, the first night of the weekend was very enjoyable and set the weekend off to a good start.

The Saturday was filled with an art expo that included sketches and paintings, accompanied with leather literature on sale, and a speed dating event, before the first ever Mr LeatherWest competition. Very well hosted by our leather brother, Spencer, the event was something very special to be part of, especially given the amount of effort the Bristolian leathermen put into it and for the first of its kind in the south west. Huge congratulations to the winner, Neil Harris, on being crowned the inaugural Mr LeatherWest 2014. Further details on the runners-up are available on the LeatherWest website. The atmosphere was electric after the announcement of the winner, and the party continued into the wee hours, with many leathermen joining the revelers at The Palace for post-competition shenanigans.

The Bristol Leather Weekend was definitely one of the best leather gatherings in the UK in recent years. Those guys have demonstrated how dedication, pooling resources and efforts, and nurturing a strong spirit of camaraderie can achieve great outcomes. A huge thank you has to go to Tim, SBerg, James Langlitz, Spencer and all the other organisers for making this a very special leather gathering. You should all be very proud of what you have achieved. And I am delighted that my partner and I were part of this wonderful weekend. I hope to see you - and many of the other guys from the weekend - in Dublin at a GEAR/BLUF night in the future. Get planning guys!

Leathercolt 

Next GEAR Ireland night coming up soon!

GEAR Ireland's first birthday celebrations - 17th May 2014

Leather. Langlitz. (Be)Longing.

For me, 'Berlin' and 'belonging' are two words that capture the essence of Easter 2014.  

Before Easter, I had never visited Berlin. I know, a Leatherman, who has not been to Berlin, I hear you cry...but a Leatherman has to start somewhere. Nevertheless, I have had an affinity with Berlin for many reasons - from chatting with other leathermen; admiring Recon profiles of leathermen from Berlin for many years; and, having several conversations with my partner (BLUF2329) before going for the BLF ("Berlin Leder and Fetisch e.V.") gathering in Berlin at Easter. 

Well, what a weekend! Where to start? The excitement grew in the days leading up to our departure, on the Thursday before Easter weekend, deciding what gear to bring, how many pairs of boots can one leatherman bring, keeping in mind - like all proper leathermen do - an airline's baggage allowance. 

Sure, it would be 'wrong' not to have a pint and some nibbles before it was time to board our flight. Walking to the departure gate, we bumped into two other Irish guys, involved in organising the GEAR Ireland nights in Dublin, and got some GEAR flyers and merchandise to distribute to other fetishists we met during our visit to Berlin. Well, it appears the leather/fetish scene is growing, so it's time to put Dublin on the European fetish map; well, at the very least, let other European gay guys know that GEAR Ireland exists if they plan to visit the 'Emerald Isle'!   

After a good flight and short taxi ride to our accommodation near Fuggerstrasse, it was time for a quick change into our leathers. Now, we were good to hit Prinzknecht to grab a pint, catch up with friends, and chat about the weekend ahead. 

Day Two started out as expected, not rising too early, both of us getting refreshed for day ahead, enjoying the complementary Nespresso in our room. However, two leathermen cannot live on coffee alone - it was time to visit MORE, a must visit my partner informed me, and I have to agree with him - it's a great eatery for breakfast (lunch, or dinner), among many good eateries in the Schöneberg area of Berlin. Fed and watered, we made our way to the fetish shops in the neighbourhood. First, Mr.B, where my partner and I spotted several items on the 'potentially buy' list, but we agreed we should check out the other nearby stores, to see what else was on offer. Well, that's the best decision we made! Walking around the corner to go to the Gear store we revisited an earlier conversation we had back home about the possibility of getting a good quality secondhand Langlitz jacket at Gear, thinking if there was one there that fitted well, it would be a sign from the 'leather gods' to just buy it! After trying on several new jackets, not getting the perfect fit, my partner spotted a secondhand Langlitz jacket, in excellent condition, with fantastic quality leather that was worn in just exquisitely. I tried it on... Yowsers! It fit perfectly! My partner's eyes lit up - as did mine! The feeling was amazing. Nothing feels and behaves like a proper Langlitz jacket when wearing one. It was a simple decision - I had to buy it. I did!

That was the highlight of my visit to Berlin at Easter - addition to meeting some new fetish friends and having my first ever 'leather dinner' with a group a wonderful leathermen. 

Roll on next year. Berlin at Easter will be in my social calendar every year! 

GEAR Ireland - 19th April 2014

GEAR Ireland - Saturday 18th January 2014