Friday, March 24, 2000

David Coral wins Mr. Olympus Leather 2000 title

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #126, March 24, 2000)

PHOTO: Left, Mr. Olympus Leather 2000 David Coral; right, Ms. Olympus Leather 2000 Joni.

It happened in New Orleans: Minnesota became home to yet another major leather titleholder. On Saturday, Feb. 26 Minneapolis resident David Coral (aka Jazz Thomas) won the men’s sash in the Mr./Ms. Olympus Leather 2000 contest. At the same time Cori Ander, Ms. Olympus Leather 1999 and also a Minneapolis resident, ended her title year and awarded a sash to her successor: Joni, the new Ms. Olympus Leather 2000 and a well-known member of the Atlanta fetish community. The Olympus Leather contest and titles differentiate themselves by representing and celebrating pansexual SM play.

Saturday night’s contest featured seven contestants (four for the Mr. title and three for the Ms.) and some very impressive and entertaining fantasy presentations. Ms. Minnesota Olympus Leather Hannah Miyamoto presented the first fantasy of the evening, a vampire-leatherdyke seduction scene based on a Mexican legend. Ms. Florida Olympus Leather Lady Cat’s fantasy took place on a plantation, and Joni’s breathtakingly sizzling and steamy fantasy started with corsetry and climaxed with flogging and fireplay.

The funniest fantasy of the evening belonged to Mr. Louisiana Olympus Leather Mark Anthony, who presented a boot-camp scene in which he turned the tables on his drill sergeant (who didn’t resist all that much). Mr. Georgia Olympus Leather boy kyle’s fantasy was a humorous portrayal of an office worker whose sole knowledge of SM practices came from surfing the internet after business hours.

Mr. Florida Olympus Leather Allen Grim’s paint-by-flogger fantasy held the crowd spellbound. After warming up Maryland Mr. Drummer Paul Bohli’s bare backside with a flogger, Grim covered Bohli’s back with black paint and pressed a blank canvas to it. Then he dipped three floggers in blue, white and red paint and flogged the paint onto Bohli, pressing the canvas to Bohli’s back after each color. (The four colors are the colors of the leather-pride flag.) The canvas was later auctioned off, with the proceeds going to charity. Grim will be at this year’s International Mr. Leather contest in Chicago and will be happy to make the same kind of painting of your backside.

David Coral’s fantasy was a 1940’s-era Havana nightclub dream sequence (choreographed to Santana’s “Smooth”) that featured rip-away clothing, hot-wax play and clothespin “zippers” for a finale. In addition to playing the main character Coral also directed a relatively large cast, all of whom performed exceptionally; the fantasy’s movement, staging, lighting and sound work were impeccable. This should come as no surprise: Coral is a professional actor who was last seen as Guildenstern in Theatre in the Round’s recent production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

The Olympus Leather contest was part of the tenth annual Pantheon of Leather weekend held at Le Petit Theatre, located in the French Quarter in the heart of New Orleans. Each year Pantheon of Leather presents awards to leatherfolk around the world for distinguished community service and contributions to the leather/SM/fetish community and culture. This year 30 awards were handed out at the awards ceremony on Friday, Feb. 25—and, unlike last year, many of the award recipients were there in person to receive them. (Attendance in general for this year’s Pantheon/Olympus weekend was up 33% compared to last year’s event.)

Todd Leek is new Mr. Mpls. Eagle 2000

On Sunday, Feb. 27 (the same weekend that Pantheon/Olympus was happening in New Orleans) the Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2000 contest was held in Minneapolis. The evening’s emcee was Minneapolis Eagle co-owner Greg Norton; judging the contest were International Mr. Leather 1997 Kevin Cwayna, Mr. Minnesota Olympus Leather 1998 B.D. Chambers, and Minneapolis Eagle co-owner Ed Hopkins. From a field of five contestants the judges selected Lonnell Callum as second runner-up, Robert Chatlos as first runner-up, and Todd Leek as the new Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2000. Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 1999 Tim Forte was on hand to make a stepdown speech and present the sash to his successor.

The contest was structured along the lines of the International Mr. Leather contest. Contestants were interviewed privately by the judges before the contest; onstage judging events included a “keg walk” (the contestants traveled from one end of the bar to the other and back with an empty keg on their shoulder), an erotic reading, a 90-second speech on a leather topic, and answering a question on ageism.

Leek will go on to compete in the International Mr. Leather contest, taking place Memorial Day weekend in Chicago.

Mark Your Calendar: The Bizarre Bazaar

Discover all things erotic and exotic at the Bizarre Bazaar, presented in Minneapolis April 15 by Minnesota Stocks Debentures and Bonds (MSDB), a local pansexual BDSM/fetish group. Buy or sell clothing, adornments, collectibles, toys, furniture . . . anything related to BDSM, fetish, leather, kink, and similar lifestyles. There will be vendor displays and a silent auction benefiting a local charity (donations of auction items welcomed). For more details visit the MDSB website: www.mdsb-mn.org.

Upcoming Leather Events (for Calendar section)

Saturday, April 8
Atons Leather/Levi Night
Location and time to be determined
Call the Atons HotLine for more information and to make reservations. Information is also available at the club’s website: www.atons.com.

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