Sex and Politics

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #335, March 28, 2008)

This issue’s column was inspired by, and is dedicated to, Eliot Spitzer.

What, you may ask, is the former governor of New York doing in a leather column? He’s serving as a good example of a bad example. The leather/BDSM/fetish community can learn much from his recent misadventures. We ignore these lessons at our own peril.

It was dizzying to watch how quickly Spitzer went from being spoken of as a possible presidential contender in a few years to being spoken of as Client 9. Eliot Spitzer now joins Larry Craig, David Vitter, Rudy Giuliani, James McGreevy, Mark Foley, Bill Clinton, Gary Condit, Gary Hart, and many other powerful male politicians (yes, so far they’ve all been male) who have been the subject of sex scandals.

Our society is obsessed with the combination of sex and politics, and also with the combination of sex and religion (as in Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker). When something goes wrong with either combination it can create scandal—and we as a society are so absolutely, totally disgusted by sex scandals that we absolutely, totally can’t get enough of them. Since scandal sells newspapers and grabs television-viewing eyeballs, the media are only too happy to cater to our loathing.

What is there about sex and politics, or sex and religion, that’s such a hook for so many people? Whether politics or religion, the people at the center of sex scandals are always powerful people. Wait a minute—sex and power . . . playing with sex and power . . . does that sound like anyone we might know? Like, maybe, us? The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) conducts a “Sex and Politics” workshop and has even gone so far as to produce a very attractive t-shirt emblazoned with “Sex and Politics” (along with the NCSF logo).

NCSF, the Woodhull Freedom Foundation and other leather/BDSM/fetish community organizations and think tanks spend a lot of time contemplating sex and politics, and how to change things for our community’s betterment. Along these lines one long-term goal that has been identified, and is now starting to be acted upon, is the decriminalization of BDSM activity. But as we craft our strategies to achieve this and other community goals, it might be instructive for us to look especially closely at the somewhat frenzied nature of the current socio-political climate—the ocean in which we, along with the rest of society, are all swimming.

For example, instead of merely garden-variety internet prostitution, what if the governor had been caught being involved with, say, a professional dominatrix? Or even a pro-dom—another male? Would he still be governor? Would the shame have been less? Or would it have been even worse?

All we as a community can do with the above questions is to speculate, of course, because we all know how unlikely it is that any of our elected representatives in Washington or elsewhere would do anything so depraved as to utilize the services of a pro-domme. Certainly none of our elected representatives or officials are involved in BDSM, are they?

All kidding aside, I expect one day we’ll find out how the above hypothetical situation plays out for real, when a congressman or senator is caught in flagrante dungeon. We have already seen what happened when The Washington Post outed one of the UN weapons inspectors in Iraq as being a member of the BDSM community. If there can be that much of a media firestorm for someone who wasn’t an elected official . . . .

On the other hand, what if someone who was a proud member of the leather/BDSM/fetish community were to run for public office and win—and then be popular enough to be re-elected? That has happened for several openly gay politicians, including Representatives Barney Frank, Gerry Studds and Tammy Baldwin. Frank and Studds even both survived their own political scandals. (The man who led the charge in 1990 to expel Frank from Congress was, incredibly enough, Larry Craig.)

Maybe it all comes down to shame and secrecy. Right now in the public mind leather/BDSM/fetish sexuality is in the same category as prostitution and other scandalous things—in much the same way Trent Lott once put gay people in the same category as kleptomaniacs. That was in 1998, and Lott discovered a large segment of the population did not agree with his comparison, because by that time many people had decided that being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender was nothing to be ashamed of.

In much the same way, I think the day is coming when leather/BDSM/fetish sexuality will be nothing to be ashamed of. If part of what gets us there is working to decriminalize BDSM, we have our work cut out for us—but we need to do it. Both our community and society at large will be better for it, because so many members of our community have so much to offer the wider society. If politicians professing to be God-fearing Christians have made such a mess of things over the last few decades, it might take a bunch of people formerly known as “pervs” to make things better.

Self-Made Leather

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #334, March 14, 2008)

When I tell people I’m a leather columnist, many often assume I write about those cute little wallets they once constructed at summer camp from a Tandy Leather kit. Well, not quite.

But I don’t mean to disparage the practice of leathercraft. Where, after all, would the leather/BDSM/fetish community be without it—without people who know how to turn a hide into all the things that rock our world?

Charles Tandy, the entrepreneur behind Tandy Leather (and later Radio Shack), knew the value of leathercraft. His father’s business was a supplier to the shoe repair industry, and young Tandy suggested during World War II that leathercraft might offer new possibilities for growth of the business. Tandy noted that “leather was used in large quantities in army and navy hospital units and recreation centers. Leathercraft gave the men something useful to do; and their handiwork, in addition to being therapeutic, had genuine value.”

If it worked as recreation for soldiers in hospitals and kids at summer camp, you might find it fun, too. Disclaimer: Your humble columnist is not a leathercraft expert—far from it. But I have many friends who enjoy our community’s special flavor of leathercraft, along with the related hobby of toycraft.

Let’s look at toycraft first. At the last several Knights Tournaments, the Knights of Leather’s annual run, very popular classes in toycraft have been taught by local leatherman Bobbie Smith. In the classes he has shown many happy campers how to make their own leather/BDSM toys, such as floggers, restraints, blindfolds, gags and so on. The classes on Saturday have been followed by show-and-tell sessions on Sunday morning at which campers have displayed their creations, often with accompanying demonstrations.

Another member of the local BDSM community, Redline, has written and self-published a limited-edition book of BDSM and kink construction projects. Smith and Redline’s basic message: If you can’t find (or can’t afford) what you need, why not make it yourself to your own specifications? That way, you get exactly what you want—and it’s one-of-a-kind besides.

Assuming you have an idea for a fun new toy and you’d like to exercise your leather/BDSM/fetish creative bent, where can you find the raw materials? They’re all around you—the kitchen, the basement, and the garage can be good sources of “pervertibles,” ordinary items that, with a little ingenuity, can be turned into something much more fun.

If you can’t find what you need around the house, try your local hardware store, lumberyard or farm-and-fleet store (especially good for equestrian items). Or, for stuff you truly won’t find anywhere else and that often defies description, there’s always Ax Max Surplus, a local favorite of creative Twin Cities shoppers for many years. Wander the aisles of any of these stores and let your imagination run wild.

Now let’s talk about crafting leather items to wear. Unless you suddenly inherit a sewing machine capable of working with leather, you’re probably not going to choose a vest for your first project. But there are plenty of things to make that don’t require sewing: for example, armbands, wristbands, gauntlets, harnesses and even restraints.

To create these items you’ll need raw materials: leather and hardware (eyelets, rivets, studs, snaps, welded rings, lengths of chain). You’ll also need a few simple tools for cutting leather, punching holes, and attaching the hardware. A great local resource for leathercraft supplies is Gray’s Leather in south Minneapolis (<www.graysleather.com>).

Before you start an actual project, you might want to practice using your leathercraft tools on scrap leather. Then, when you feel comfortable, plan what you want to create and go for it.

Choose something relatively simple, like an armband, as your first project. Start with a strip of leather (probably belting). Measure the circumference of your arm to know how long to make the strip, allowing for overlap of the ends if necessary, and cut the strip to the proper length.

Now either punch holes in the leather and lace it around your arm with rawhide lacing, or install one or more snaps. Then, if you like, attach decorative studs, lengths of chain, or a pattern of welded rings or eyelets.

The crafting itself can be a fun and satisfying activity, and when you craft your own leather accoutrements the monetary savings can be significant. But even better, you enjoy the satisfaction that comes with wearing and using your own unique, custom-designed and custom-built creations.

MSDB premieres two new educational series

Two new series of educational seminars are kicking off in the next few weeks. On Saturday, March 29, MSDB presents the inaugural event in its new series of intensive workshops: “Killer B’s Invade Minnesota!” Presenters Padre Pugno and Mademoiselle B will focus on “bondage for sadism and humiliation” and “advanced decorative rope bondage.” For more information visit the events pages at <www.mdsb-mn.org>.

Then, on Wednesday, April 2, MSDB begins The LAB, a series of educational events being held the first Wednesday evening of every month. April’s topic is Wrestling, presented by Ellie and Forrest. Future planned topics include fisting, yoga and CBT. For more information, e-mail <thelab@msdb.org>.

New Giant Leather Pride and Rainbow Flags

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #333, February 29, 2008)

On February 16, I was at Vera’s Cafe in Minneapolis for what I thought would be a routine meeting of the Minnesota Leather Pride planning committee. Instead, to my surprise and delight, I was privileged to see history in the making.

Minnesota Leather Pride committee members at the meeting witnessed the signing of an agreement between Minnesota Leather Pride and Twin Cities Pride (formerly known as GLBT Pride/Twin Cities). The agreement is historic because it is the first official collaboration between the two groups.

The objects of their collaboration are the giant (approximately 76 feet by 29 feet) rainbow and leather pride flags that are carried up Hennepin Avenue every year as part of the Ashley Rukes GLBT Pride Parade. The flags, commissioned by Colin Spriestersbach and created by Carl Gscheidemeier (aka Allison Brooks), made their first appearance in the parade in 1998, and since have become beloved community institutions. But for several years both flags have been showing wear. So both are slated to be replaced—the leather pride flag in 2008 and the rainbow flag in 2009.

According to the agreement, both new flags will be jointly owned by Twin Cities Pride and Minnesota Leather Pride. Twin Cities Pride will be responsible for care and maintenance of the new rainbow flag and Minnesota Leather Pride will be responsible for care and maintenance of the new leather pride flag. (Similarly, any monies collected in the flags as they make their way along Hennepin Avenue during the Pride Parade, or at other events, will benefit the organization responsible for the flag into which the money is thrown.)

“This agreement is in keeping with Twin Cities Pride’s goal of reaching out to, and forging ties with, other local community groups,” said Twin Cities Pride president Bill Nienaber. Sam Carlisle, longtime member and chair of the Minnesota Leather Pride committee, said of the agreement, “We’re happy to be working with Twin Cities Pride. For a long time our two groups have been working independently toward the same goals. With this agreement we’ve joined forces to continue developing pride in both the GLBT community and the leather community.”

The agreement calls for the existing flags to be decommissioned and donated to historical organizations for safekeeping. Plans call for the existing leather pride flag to be donated to the Leather Archives & Museum (LA&M) in Chicago, while the existing rainbow flag will be deposited in the Twin Cities Pride archives, a part of the Tretter Collection, at the University of Minnesota. After decommissioning, both of the original flags will be displayed only as part of history presentations.

Why is this important? Why is it historic? For one thing, it shows the genius behind the original flags created in 1998—they were an idea whose time had come, and the fact that the flags are being replaced shows that they are still significant and meaningful symbols for their communities. Besides ensuring that twin giant flags will continue to be part of the Pride Parade every summer, the agreement also opens the way for taking the flags to other places and events.

But, even more than that, the agreement represents a bridge between two communities that are natural allies, and both communities are strengthened in the process. The agreement represents cooperation rather than separate co-existence. For me, as a gay leatherman, it’s a nice coming-together of two groups, both of which I feel reflect parts of my identity. It’s nice to see each group recognizing the other as valuable and worthy of cooperation.

Assuming the new leather pride flag can be procured in time for this year’s Pride Parade, a decommissioning of the old flag, and initiation of the new one, is planned as part of the parade. It probably will be an emotional, memorable and historic moment—much like what happened during last year’s parade when a plaque was presented to Gscheidemeier thanking him for his efforts in creating the existing flags.

This year, taking a cue from the current debate over marriage equality for gay men and lesbians, the theme of Minnesota Leather Pride is “Tie the Knot.” The Minnesota Leather Pride committee is planning its usual full schedule of Leather Pride events, and will be offering another in its continuing series of collectible Leather Pride dog tags.

The Twin Cities Pride theme for 2008 is “Free Your Mind.” In addition to its literal meaning, the theme coincidentally also serves as a reference to the pioneering Twin Cities gay-rights group FREE (Fight Repression of Erotic Expression). Founded in May of 1969 (please note: that’s pre-Stonewall), it survives to this day as the Queer Student Cultural Center at the University of Minnesota, making it the oldest college-student-run queer organization in the United States. More details of this year’s Twin Cities Pride activities will be announced in the days and weeks ahead.

Baldwin, Thorn to Headline Leather Leadership Conference 12

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #332, February 15, 2008)

And check out podcasts of LLC XI

April. San Francisco. Leather. Any questions? Why would you not be there?

If you plan to be there, register soon—prices go up after Feb. 29. And whether or not you plan to attend, check out the growing library of Leather Leadership podcasts from last year’s conference (details later in this column).

Now in its twelfth year, the Leather Leadership Conference (LLC) is one of the leather/BDSM/fetish community’s premier leadership-development resources. Each year’s conference is a weekend-long program of speakers, seminars and exhibits aimed at developing the leadership, mentorship and community-building skills of the community’s members. Additionally, the conference seeks to create a greater sense of connection among community groups.

This year’s conference has a one-word theme—with a double meaning: “Arouse!” The primary aim of the conference’s San Francisco-based organizers is to arouse, excite and challenge attendees as leaders and as members of the leather/BDSM/fetish community. In addition, conference organizers hope, according to the conference website, to “bring some of the sexiness and edge of what we do into the conference.”

Both of the major conference speakers announced to date (a third speaker is still to be announced) have been known to arouse controversy on occasion. The conference’s opening keynote speech will be delivered by noted psychotherapist, author and Radical Sexuality activist Guy Baldwin. For more than 40 years Baldwin has served the community as a psychotherapist, titleholder (International Mr. Leather 1989), author (Ties That Bind, SlaveCraft, The Leather Contest Guide), lecturer and presenter of many workshops and seminars through the U.S. and Canada.

Saturday’s featured speaker will be Michael Thorn, Instigator Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief. Instigator is an outspoken and often provocative chronicle of “the next generation of global men’s fetish,” and editor Thorn is described on the magazine’s website as “a dirty fucker and relentless crusader for your right to be different. Able to burn a candle at 3 ends and still have his fist elbow-deep in yours.”

The “Arouse!” theme of this year’s conference is reflected and extended in the planned program categories (“tracks”): Evolve (organizational development/vision), Involve (event planning), Arouse (case studies/activism), Embrace (outreach/volunteer development), Ignite (high end/advanced seminars), Transform (personal enrichment/individual skills), and Influence (media/legal/professional/branding).

For more information about the conference, or to register, visit <leatherleadership.org/llc12/>. The registration fee is $109 until Feb. 29, $134 until April 10, and $145 at the conference.

Host hotel for LLC 12 is the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway, conveniently located in the center of downtown San Francisco (and steps away from the historic California Cable Car turnaround). A special conference room rate is available until March 20.

Podcast Library from LLC XI Keeps Growing

Regardless of whether or not you’re attending LLC 12 in San Francisco, how about improving your leather self while you’re working out, commuting or just relaxing? It’s as easy as downloading one or more of a growing library of free podcasts from Leather Leadership Conference XI, held last year in Minneapolis. The 10 podcasts available include speeches by Barbara Nitke, John Pendal and Laura Antoniou, plus a number of workshops. For a link, visit <leatherleadership.org>.

Welcome, Black Frost 31 (and You Know You Are a Kinky Minnesotan If . . .)

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #331, February 1, 2008)

Welcome to everyone who is in town this weekend for the Black Frost 31 run presented by the Black Guard of Minneapolis. (This year’s theme: “Boots, Bras, & Kibbles . . . Oh My!!”) Here’s hoping everyone has a great weekend of renewing old friendships and establishing new ones.

My hat is off to the Black Guard for successfully dealing with a last-minute change of location for the run. Black Frost 31’s host hotel was supposed to be the Ramada Downtown Minneapolis, which closed suddenly at the end of 2007 and is slated for demolition. The announcement of the hotel’s closing came less than two months before the run was slated to happen. That didn’t give the Black Guard much time to find a new host hotel, but they did. Good work, gentlemen!

Recent Minnesota Leather History: “The Whippersnapper”

In honor of our out-of-town guests this weekend, your humble columnist is taking this opportunity to rescue a bit of obscure local leather history, give it a wider audience and preserve it for the ages—I hope, anyway.

Last year saw the brief but merry existence of a leather publication called “The Whippersnapper,” a newsletter that existed for the sole purpose of drumming up interest in Leather Leadership Conference XI (held last year in Minneapolis). Four issues were e-mailed to various leather lists on the internet, and a final issue was printed on yellow paper and handed out at the conference.

The name for the publication was suggested by Lady Carol, its editor. Lady Carol also thought the newsletter should include some humorous items and came up with a brilliant hook upon which to hang them: “You know you are a kinky Minnesotan if . . .” She posted a message on a local listserv asking community members to complete that phrase and send her their ideas.

Following are the responses she collected and included in various issues of “The Whippersnapper.” I reprint them here, taking no credit whatsoever for their creation, and thanking Lady Carol for her service in collecting them and various members of the community (you know who you are) for coming up with them in the first place.

Please note that, while a few items on this list very clearly relate to preparations that were underway for the conference, most of the list items are timeless. Also, please note that much of this list also will resonate with our kinky friends from Wisconsin.

You know you are a kinky Minnesotan if . . .

• The term “hot dish” can be used to describe both your potluck contribution and your date for the evening.

• Boot worship might involve salt residue.

• You check the temperature before you wear vinyl.

• The bearskin rug in front of your cabin’s fireplace is splattered with wax drippings.

• Knife play involves cleaning Bambi during hunting season.

• You take up fire play just for the warmth.

• You’re at a play party and everyone is excited because there are lemon bars.

• You’re at a play party and people are knitting.

• You’re at a kinky party and people are swapping recipes.

• You go to a play party and half the people there are talking about LLC instead of playing.

• Kinky includes Leather and Flannel instead of Leather and Lace.

• Leather and Levis turns into Leather and Long Underwear.

• Patterned wool socks are not part of a humiliation scene.

• Your date has so many layers on you can’t tell if they are crossdressing.

• You call them condoms because if you ask for a rubber your partner gets out the hip waders.

• You power your dungeon with solar panels—and you write it off on your tax form to get the Energy Credit.

• You keep the current Ace Hardware catalog in the stack with your other pornography.

• You have ever planned to use mosquitoes in your outdoor scenes.

• You have included mosquito play on your list of hard limits.

• You realize you have spent more time working on LLC in the last few months than you have doing kinky stuff.

And, finally:

• The safeword is “Uffda!”

Our Continuing Crystal Meth Mess

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #330, January 18, 2008)

For some time I’ve wanted to say something in this column about the use of crystal meth in the leather and gay male communities. No, I’ve never used it, but I’m still affected by it. It affects all of us, users and non-users alike.

Like California in the 1960s, the leather and gay male communities have developed their own drug subcultures. And, like California in the 1960s, methamphetamine (also known as crystal, crank, Tina, Crissy or tweak) is one of its stars. Users today take the drug orally, snort it, smoke it, inject it or do “booty bumps” (squirting the drug into the rectum, where it is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream). Online profiles advertise a willingness to “PNP” (party and play), where the drug-taking is an integral part of the sex.

Meth is a powerful stimulant that heightens euphoria and lowers inhibitions. It gives users the freedom to do sexual things they otherwise might not do, and the energy to do those things for hours.

But this freedom and energy come at a very high price. Large doses of meth often make users mean, paranoid and psychotic. In the rush of the high, users lose sight of such simple things as eating, drinking and sleeping. They also tend to be too high to be concerned about HIV prevention, which often results in adding the devastation of HIV infection to that wrought by meth use.

How to deal with it? The U.S. government’s decades-long “War on Drugs” has been a failure that would be laughable if it wasn’t so tragic. (Outlawing alcohol made us a nation of scofflaws in the 1920s—why did anyone think it would be different with meth and other drugs?)

One current way of addressing the problem is “harm reduction.” Advocates of harm reduction take the tack that if people are going to use drugs, they should know how to use them in ways that minimize as much risk as possible. Thus, websites and counselors stress the importance of managing drug use by managing the rest of one’s life. Sample suggestions: Stock the refrigerator with food and beverages before you start partying; meth is a powerful appetite suppressant, so eat while you’re high even if you’re not hungry; drink all the water you can; have a financial plan in place and pay your rent before you pay your meth dealer, because it’s worse to be high when you’re homeless.

In one sense this seems like a finger-in-the-dike strategy, because for many people the time will come when their addiction will overwhelm their best-laid plans. These strategies attempt to control an addiction that, by definition, ultimately cannot be controlled.

But in another sense harm reduction is buying time. It might slow the downward spiral. And perhaps an addict won’t have to spiral so far down before deciding they need help.

Recovery from meth addiction is possible, but not easy. An indication of how powerfully addicting meth can be is the fact that success is often defined as spending more total time not under meth’s influence, and longer and longer periods of time between relapses and episodes of meth use. And then, even if a person is no longer using, there are still consequences of past use to be dealt with—problems ranging from damaged teeth to ongoing struggles with HIV infection.

Beyond setting up harm-reduction counseling, the leather and gay male communities must continue to voice their disapproval of meth abuse. Our own voices have a credibility that voices outside these communities do not have. Our message, to both current meth users and those who might start, must be: We love you. We value you as community members. We want you to remain alive, strong and healthy. Please don’t sabotage your potential by using meth.

The process of turning the tide could take years. Nevertheless, it can be done. We’ve done it before—a generation of gay men reinvented the way they had sex in the 1980s to counter the AIDS threat. The current generation needs to reinvent sex yet again, to clean up the party and make both crystal meth and HIV tragic relics of our community’s past.

Crystal meth abuse: Do something about it

Read: Licit and Illicit Drugs by Edward M. Brecher and the editors of Consumer Reports Magazine. Published in 1972 and now out of print, it remains required reading for anyone interested in the most objective and comprehensive book ever on street drugs such as meth—and legal drugs like alcohol, tobacco and caffeine. (Available in libraries and on the web at <www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/cumenu.htm>.)

Visit: <www.CrystalClearMN.org>, a website with crystal meth info, resources and support for gay and bi guys in the Twin Cities. There’s information here for current and former users, or for those concerned about a partner’s or friend’s meth use. The site is a collaboration of the HIM Program of the Red Door Clinic, the PrideAlive men’s community initiative of Minnesota AIDS Project, and AccessWorks.

Sign: the Gay Men & Crystal Meth Manifesto at <www.gaymeth.org>. Put together by the Crystal Meth Working Group, a part of New York’s HIV Forum, the Manifesto is an example of our community giving itself a clear and unequivocal message about crystal meth use and what we all must do to deal with the problem.

Leather Celebrates the Holidays: Atons Holiday Fundraiser 2007

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #328, December 21, 2007)

Continuing a long-standing tradition, The Atons of Minneapolis held their annual Holiday Fundraiser Sunday, December 2, at the Bolt Underground in Minneapolis. A food drive collected food for The Aliveness Project’s Holiday Basket Program, which was also the beneficiary of the door proceeds. Silent and live auctions benefited Open Arms of Minnesota.

The Atons gave this year’s fundraiser a carnival atmosphere. Tickets could be used for a haircut, a photo with Leather Santa, getting your boots shined, a session in a latex vacuum bed, or to bid on varied and plentiful silent-auction items.

Enjoy the photos, and—whatever you celebrate, however you celebrate it—Happy Holidays from Leather Life!

PHOTOS: Two Zip files of high-res photos have been uploaded to Lavender’s server.

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Brian Spence inspecting some Silent Auction merchandise.

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B.D. Chambers getting his boots shined by bootblack Pup.

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Keith Cheetham getting his boots shined by bootblack Pup.

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Leather barber Brian Preston gives John Warner a haircut.

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Randy Hornstine of The Aliveness Project doing his best Vanna imitation.

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Some of the food and other items donated for The Aliveness Project’s Holiday Basket Program.

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Dan Porter posing for a photo with Leather Santa (Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2007 Dan Beach).

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Photographer Andrew Bertke (with camera in hand) and photo stylist Angel Rodriguez made sure all the photos with Leather Santa were top-notch.

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Rick Burgess, left, and Mark Christ, right, flank Leather Santa (Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2007 Dan Beach).

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What’s a carnival without a thrill ride? Overheard: “Nothing says ‘holidays’ like a latex vacuum bondage bed.”

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The evening’s auctioneer, B.D. Chambers, getting ready to sell a leather harness.

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The evening’s auctioneer, B.D. Chambers, taking bids on a leather tank top.

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Caterers for the evening, John Christensen (left) and Tim Forte (right), flank Bob Fischer, the evening’s bartender.

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Representing The Aliveness Project at the event: Board chair Bill Schlichting, left, and Development Director Tim Marburger, right.

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David Coral, Mark Gibson and Donavan Cummings of the Knights of Leather.

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John Hustad and Ed Skjaret.

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Atons pledge Rick Burgess showing off his pledge vest.

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Atons pledge Rick Burgess.

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Jon Sipe in seasonally appropriate red leather.