International Mr. Leather (IML): Iconic Event
Chuck Renslow, founder of the Gold Coast bar in Chicago, launched the contest in 1979 as a showcase for the leather community, and Jack Fritscher was there for Drummer. His eyewitness report appeared in Drummer No. 031 (September 1979) and recorded the first title going to San Francisco’s David Kloss. Fritscher also coined the term homomasculinity in that account. The report was later reprinted in Joseph W. Bean’s 2004 retrospective International Mr. Leather: 25 Years of Champions. For the fortieth anniversary in 2019, Fritscher returned to the story in Alphatribe No. 12, tracing how IML grew alongside Drummer’s own Mr. Drummer contest and why it became the “Leather Super Bowl” of the community. Visit the official IML website for the contest’s history and current events.