My god, what a weekend.
Friday:
My good friend Dino picked me up in the afternoon and we headed down to San Diego, where we met up with my other friend Michael who was very generous to open his home to me for the weekend. Dino and I quickly changed and headed back out to the VIP party held at Sir Tom's house. We arrived fairly early and were of the first guests. We met the judges, Tom Dickerson, Anthony Rollar (Mr. San Diego Leather 2010), Lance Holman (Mr. San Francisco Leather 2010), Rick Russel (Mr. Bolt Leather 2009), Karen Yew (Ms. San Diego leather 2004), Red Warrior (International Community Bootblack 2010), and Boy T.C. (Southern California Leatherboy 2007) the other contestants, Sam, Brit, Slutbottom Chris, and Zigzag, and our Den Daddy Anthony as well as Shawn (California Leather boy 2010).
After the party we all headed out to regroup at The Eagle bar where we mingled and greeted before Anthony urged us to get an early night for Saturday. Following his advice, I went home with Michael and we went to bed.
Saturday:
Michael drove me and my gear to Queen Bee's, and we met with Tom and the other contestants but the center was closed. Unfortunately there must have been a miscommunication, so we headed over to a nearby diner and after a nice breakfast, compliments of Tom, we headed down to Pleasures and Treasures to prepare for our interviews and to practice our fantasy scenes. The new location had just opened, so everything was crisp and new. The store itself was very clean and well organized, plus the staff were so accommodating and friendly. Dino and I went into the back utility room to practice the ideas of our fantasy scene, this year's theme was "Locker Room Fantasy" and Dino and I had been bouncing ideas off of each other. It took about 15 minutes to get the main idea down, and we were ready.
When it came time to go in for my interview, I dressed in my cowboy boots, jeans, a white shirt with a gas masked duo by Luis Skobar, and my leather vest. After walking upstairs and reaching the room partition, Lance asked me "Are you prepared for your interview?" to which my mind immediately hit the RESET button, and I looked to him and said, "Well I was before you asked that, Sir."
This interview was both similar and very different from my last interview for Mr. Long Beach Leather, the questions were more personal, I felt a lot of them made me really dig back in my head to frantically ferret out my answer. One of which I was asked of Red Warrior, "What is the difference between a slave and a boy?" my original answer was deflected and dissolved right before my ears, my logic was completely flawed and I had no answer to it. I requested to rethink my answer and give it to her later, to which she agreed. (Later I did find my answer, and returned it to her.) As the interview went onward, the room was becoming slightly smaller, slightly warmer, I felt beads of sweat on my forehead, and I caught myself nearly crushing my own hands behind my back several times. When it was finished, leaving the room was like opening the door to a sauna of anxiety, I began to tear up as the stress released itself from my chest and out my eyes. Lunch was brought up, again donated generously by Tom, and I grabbed a plate. However everyone seemed to choose that exact moment to introduce me to someone, or ask me a question pertaining to this or that. I really, really just wanted to flush my head of all my stress and eat so badly at that one second.
After lunch, Shawn said we should have some boy-boy time together, talking about the contest and clearing up any concerns I had. We walked from Pleasures and Treasures over to Queen Bee's, talking about how the contest emerged out of Drummer Magazine, and the history pertaining to it.
Arriving at Queen Bee's, I gathered my gear from Dino's car and was hurried backstage to set up.
Jagermeister had generously donated costumes for the opening number as a sponsor of the event. We were given hats, polos, wristbands and...really skimpy thongs. I opened mine out of its plastic wrap and took a good look at it. It was...very small. I looked at Sam and Brit who were already wearing theirs, and then back at the front of mine. It had glitter too. I tried it on and was alarmed when it wouldn't go any higher. I looked behind me and asked some friends of Chris "Is it supposed to just stop there?" I tried fanning out the rear as much as possible, Brit called over "Just yank it up! Accept it!". Sam came over, and before I could react, did it for me.
I knew I had to be blushing, I had never worn a thong before, but then words echoed in my head from a conversation I had overheard earlier in the day. "This is a player's contest, a leather man needs to feel comfortable in his own skin, if you don't feel comfortable in your own skin, then what are you doing here?" I sucked it up and looked at myself again, I had to wear the thong anyway as part of the number, there was no going around that fact. I needed to own it. Then one of Chris' friends piped up. "You have a great ass, and believe me I know a good ass when I see it."
Thank you!
Our Den Daddy Anthony and Boy Vince had set up boot blacking our many pairs of boots, bringing them to a beautiful sheen, thank you so much guys! They came out great! After a quick rehearsal of the opening number, we sat backstage and waited. Up until that point I was fine, the contest wasn't bothering me at all, I was coasting gently through each hurdle as they appeared, and the other contestants didn't seem fazed either. One thing was bothering me though. The interview had left a grain of doubt in the folds of my brain and it was scratching the ever living hell out of my mind.
Now I forgot to mention, prior to this weekend I fell ill with a small cold. I was so angry at it I did everything I could to stop it. From drowning myself in orange juice, to sucking down zinc drop after zinc drop, to even looking at myself in the mirror and screaming "NUH-UH! NOT NOW! THIS IS MY HOUSE! YOU GET THE HELL OUT!" It worked, as my cold dissolved within three days, however I did have what I think was a hallucination dream at one point, lots of colored shapes like jellybeans on a black background. Before leaving me, the cold gave me whacked out dreams, hazed the line between reality and fantasy, stole my voice, and finally crawled into microscopic oblivion but not before cursing me with a lingering cough that is actually still plaguing me tonight.
Couple all of that with this grain of doubt that had now rubbed my mind and spirit raw, thankfully Dino came by and urged me to join him on a walk. We walked across the street and sat down, we had a short heart-to-heart and I ended up breaking down in tears. This was an enormous relief and left me with a serene numbness that I so badly needed. I recalled the people who urged me to run, and reminded myself that they wouldn't have done so if they didn't think that I could do it, they wouldn't have done so if they didn't want me to do it. When we made it back we sat down in the back patio and had a conversation with another titleholding leather man. Unfortunately I could not recall his name, but he invited us to a play party for the 4th of July weekend. Heading in, it was time to suit up and get ready.
We lined up in our Jagermeister gear first. Hats, polos, wristbands, jeans, and boots. Sam, Dino, myself, Brit, Chris, and Zigzag and walked out on stage. Sam took the lead and descended the stairs, followed by Dino, then myself. We walked out into the center of the audience and then curved around and back to the stage stairs where we ducked behind the curtain, ripped off our clothing as fast as possible to our boots and thongs, whipped a white towel around our waists and lined back up for the second number.
Go time. We walked out into a fogged stage, each of us reaching the head of the stage and taking off the towel when we reached the stairs, and walking the gauntlet once more, now to even more hooting and hollering. Backstage once more, we changed to our jocks and were introduced by category. Sirs first, then their 90-second speeches, then my category was introduced, followed by a mishap where the puppies went on next, but my speech followed.
I spoke out about how I identified as a boy, how I enjoyed submission, making others happy and how it felt to me when a dom says the words "Good boy" to me. It means I have pleased them, done my job correctly. I ended it there, I wanted to keep it short and to the point, and I had already gotten my point across.
Walking off stage I went to get ready for my fantasy with Dino when I noticed Brit's knees were bleeding. He had decided to forgo his knee pads for the Puppy stamina number and ended up skinning them as a result. I grabbed a paper towel and cleaned them up as best I could, the wounds healed fairly quickly which was great. The intermission was a nice breather space, letting me get dressed in the calm before the puppies went and shared their own speeches. I wasn't able to hear any of them due to being backstage coupled with the noise, which was frustrating as I really wanted a closer personal look into the Puppy world.
After the speeches it came time for the fantasies, Sam and Brit went out first with a very intense fighting scene, which Sam ended by whipping out a fake dick and "pissing" all over Brit. Needless to say the crowd loved it. Next it came time for Dino and I to go out.
The music we chose was "The Beginning" by DJ Krush, I walked out on stage in nothing but my towel, combat boots, red jock strap and some knee pads I quickly borrowed from Brit. I sat down on the chair out on stage and started to towel myself off before Dino approached me as the football player and forced me to his cleats. He pulled me up and along his body before his eyes met mine. They were frighteningly intense, I had never seen them like that before. If it wasn't just a stage act I would have probably been scared out of my mind. He turned me around and directed my arms onto my head, he then lightly flogged me, then bent me down and "fisted" me, before grabbing both my arms behind my back with one hand and pushing me off stage.
As I walked backstage I felt a smile warm my face, I liked that. It was fun. My Alpha was absolutely right, I am an exhibitionist.
After my fantasy was the Puppy Play portion, I only saw bits and pieces of each one but it was very interesting, and cute in a dark "Ohhh, baaaad dog!" sort of way.
Finally after one final costume change we were marched out one last time to announce the winners.
- Dino won 1st Runner up for California Leather Sir 2012.
- Sam won California Leather Sir 2012.
- I won California Leather boy 2012.
- Slutbottom Chris won California Puppy 2012.
Now to clear up any confusion, yes I did run against myself. However that does not mean I am an automatic winner and take the title by default. I must make an average of 70% or more of Judge's points before I am awarded the title. Besides, I wouldn't feel as if I earned the title anyway if I just won it by default.
As California Leather boy, I represent all leather boys within the state, and it is my duty to train my puppy as well as, from what I have been told, forge a set of new social traditions and rules likened to Old Guard but for Leather boys and puppies.
As the contest ended, we were rushed to pack our gear and leave, but not before some random guy with a camera man popped in and asked us to do a shout out for a documentary called Kink Crusaders in Philadelphia. Weary and disoriented from the great emotional event I had just been through with my cough entering its aggressive night phase, I walked with Slutbottom Chris and a group of his friends to The Eagle, one of whom, Jae, took very good care of me! Grabbing my bags and putting them in the van, checking on me every step of the way, running to get me juice, nuts and anything I needed as I was a right mess by the time we reached the bar. My cough had gradually worn me down over the weekend, adding in contest exhaustion, and quite frankly if anyone had offered me any more water I would have dumped the bottle all over everyone including myself within arm's length, started crying and laughing hysterically before passing out in the street! I had to be the guy with the cleanest bladder there! However after the juice, vitamin water, and mixed nuts, plus a good sit down and a laugh or two I was good for another hour.
We were congratulated once again on stage at The Eagle, I mingled for a little before heading outside and eventually meeting up with Ian Bin (Mr. Long Beach Leather 2011), Dino, Michael (Mr. Long Beach Leather 2010 Alex Kitay's Sir) and my friend and dom, Michael. Before heading home, Jae went and brought back all three of my bags from the van by herself, I felt awful when I saw her lugging all my heavy gear on her own, and I couldn't be more thankful for all the help she gave me that night.
It wasn't until I returned to Michael's apartment that I realized just how massive my title was. When I finally took a good look at the medal that was around my neck, my eyes wandered to the massive poster of California on Michael's wall. For this full year, I represent each and every single man who identifies as a leather boy in this entire state. Looking up at the poster made me feel small, I was now a titleholder who represented a tremendous amount of people.
I will be myself, I will not be someone else.
Sunday:
I woke up with Michael and we walked down to a restaurant called Brian's for breakfast, then came back to the apartment and played a little bit. After the events of Saturday, I really needed to submit, be chained down, and given some tender love by a man in uniform, followed by a beautiful release.
After the afterglow had subsided and I was released, we went into the living room and watched "Idiocracy" with his prisoner guest who had been chained up the entire weekend I was there. After the movie I packed my gear and dressed for the cigar beer bust at Redwing. After we dropped Michael's prisoner off at the airport, we headed to the victory bust and met up with the others. Once there a Jagermeister boy gave us some fun swag and he was also responsible for setting us up with our costumes for the opening act, so I gave him a proper hug thank you. I also noticed he had a black Jagermeister handkerchief in his left pocket (which flags "S&M - top") so I had to wonder if it was simply promotional or was he really serious. I made a mental note to see if he knew what flagging meant, but later I lost sight of his handsome face and the chance was lost.
We were introduced once more as the winners, we were given a VERY generous gift of a private photo shoot by our Den Daddy, Anthony who did an amazing job keeping us prepped and ready for our contest, as well as taking such wonderful care of me and my cough. We also received a disc of the photos from the contest, a guest pass to Slammer, and a gift card to The Crypt. I was also given a very nice little leather journal, which I'm still trying to think of what exactly I want to use for. I was told I should use it to record my title year, and I think that would be a good idea.
Later on after mingling and conversing I had dinner with Michael in the bar, as the cigar smoke was starting to get to me. After which we gathered up and left to meet Dino at a bar called Numbers where a Drag Queen competition was just finishing up. We said our goodbyes and Dino drove us home.
I'd like to take this time to thank the sponsors who donated and helped make this possible:
Paradise Piano Bar (Long Beach)
World Famous Falcon (Long Beach)
The Crypt (Long Beach)
Jagermeister
Queen Bee's (San Diego)
The Eagle (San Diego)
Redwing Bar and Grill (San Diego)
Pleasures and Treasures (San Diego)
Thank everyone who made this possible.
Thank you Tom for opening your home to us, bringing us food, and keeping us on the ball throughout the contest.
Thank you Anthony, for polishing my boots, bringing me medicine, and taking care of me. I deeply appreciate that.
Thank you Michael for opening your home and bed to me, and taking care of me as I coughed through the nights I spent with you. Thank you for the meals you treated me to, they were delicious. Thank you for driving me and my gear around San Diego.
Thank you Dino, without you I never would have made it to San Diego in the first place, nor would I have made it back home.
Thank you everyone who came out to see us and to those who support us! We love you!
Play Safe.
