International Mr. Leather (IML): Iconic Event

International Mr. Leather (IML) was founded by Chuck Renslow in 1979 at Chicago’s Gold Coast bar, quickly establishing itself as the leather community’s premier international contest and, in Jack Fritscher’s words, its “Leather Super Bowl.” Fritscher covered the very first IML for Drummer in 1979, coining the term homomasculinity in the process, and his eyewitness account of that inaugural contest — won by San Francisco’s David Kloss — was later reprinted in Joseph W. Bean’s 2004 retrospective International Mr. Leather: 25 Years of Champions. Fritscher revisited the contest’s origins on its fortieth anniversary in 2019, tracing IML’s rivalry with Drummer‘s own Mr. Drummer contest and its lasting role in shaping leather community identity.

Drummer No 031 Sep 1979

International Mr. Leather (IML)
Compiled by Joseph W. Bean
An Introductory Essay by Jack Fritscher

Alphatribe No 12 April – June 2019
Walking the Leather Carpet: The First IML Contest also as PDF