Life After IML - July 2004

Relaxing in Hawaii, June 2004 Photo credit: Dave Harris

Are you meant to stop travelling after your IML stepdown? Well, in June I managed to visit Hawaii, San Francisco, London and Minnesota Leather Pride. I've decided to stay at home in London for the whole of July and August to try and regain a sense of normality and spend some time with David (we celebrated our 11th anniversary in June by being apart). I also need to find a paying job and have no idea what kind of career I'm looking for.

I mentioned in my IML step-down speech that although I'm happy to travel to leather events to teach SM or emcee leather contests, I don't want to do any more contest judging. It's hard work being a judge: you have to get up early on Saturday morning for contestant interviews (not fun if you've travelled from the UK and are heavily jet lagged), you can't drink alcohol until the contest is over, and no matter what the outcome someone in the audience is going to bitch about you afterwards.

Since I don't intend to be a judge for the foreseeable future here are some notes I made during contests over the last year. These come with four large disclaimers:

• The comments are from contests across America, Canada and Europe - not just IML.
• They are my personal feelings and no-one else's.
• Most leather contests in North America use the Olympic scoring system and throw out the highest and lowest scores for each contestant. I'm convinced that my scores were often eliminated.
• Please don't think that if you copy what I've said that you will win your next contest. You're going to be facing a completely different judging panel and I won't be on it.

MEET AND GREETS
This advice covers every occasion after the judges and contestants have been announced when they might be at the same leather gathering. The contestants need to do three things:

1. Wear leather clothing and black leather boots. Once you have been announced as a contestant don't let the judges see you at a leather bar or leather event wearing your finest sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers.
2. Approach all the judges present and introduce yourself as a contestant. Make sure that you've read the judges biographies (put their names into Google if you can't find a biography). This means that you can impress the judge with your research and don't make any mistakes, such as never having heard of a leather event or organisation the judge founded!
3. Make sure you mingle with the crowd. That doesn't mean hanging out with your friends or other VIP's at the event. It means going up to people you've never met before and engaging them in conversation. As a test if you're travelling to a new city: could you tell the judges what problems the local community are facing, based on what you've learned that night?

OPENING CEREMONIES
Although this is unlikely to be an official judged event with scorecards, the judges will still be watching you very closely.

• Wear leather clothing and black leather boots. Now is a good time to wear your title sash and vest if you have one from a qualifying heat.
• Be proud of your sponsors if you have any - make sure you mention them at some point.
• Be clear, concise and confident onstage.
• Have good posture. Don't be afraid to alter the height of the microphone stand if you need to.
• Smile. Look as if you are a kind and approachable person.
• Don't exhibit too much personality - the search is for a potential ambassador, not a character from the World Wrestling Federation!

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS
First of all, please wear some leather to your contestant interviews. I have lost count of the number of contestants who turned up in boots, jeans and a white t-shirt saying: "I was told to wear something comfortable" or even worse: "I was told to be myself"! This is a job interview for the position of leather titleholder. When has a job interview ever been relaxing? Treat this interview as if it's another "leather image" round. It makes it very difficult to ask contestants questions about the leather they're wearing if they're not wearing any.

Other tips to make a good impression:

• Be formal. Stand up throughout the interview unless there is a medical reason why you need to sit down. (An exception would be if you are competing for a "boy" title, in which case you might be expected to kneel.)
• Try to make eye contact with all the judges during each answer.
• Make sure you have some community involvement to talk about (volunteering, fundraising etc.)
• Make sure you are a member of at least one leather club, even if it's an online group such as BLUF.
• Whether or not you are an SM player, make sure you know SM terminology and can talk about the subject fluently. As a titleholder your job is to represent all parts of the leather community.
• Give short, concise, concrete answers. Long winded or vague answers will lose you marks.
• Show the judges that you're open to learn new things during your title year. It will be a great education. They are unlikely to pick someone who thinks he or she already has all the answers.
• Don't talk about yourself the whole time. The title is not all about you!
• Don't have one platform about which you talk endlessly. Make sure you are aware of a range of issues so that you come across as a well-rounded individual. On the other hand, if you do have one issue about which you are passionate, make sure you have researched the projects or organisations that are currently tackling it.
• Don't be softly spoken. The job needs someone who can command attention when they speak.
• A truthful and intelligent answer is better than a politically correct cliché.
• Learn the judges' biographies.
• Spend some time considering what you would do if you won the title. Do you have a plan? The plan can be changed during your year, but you need to have some idea how you will begin.
• Don't lie on your application form. You WILL be found out.

One of the worst things you can do in your interview is say something that the judges know not to be true. For instance, claiming to be a member of a leather club when you're not (or worse, claiming to be a member of a leather club which doesn't exist), saying you don't have the support of your local community when actually they threw an event for you and you didn't show up, or claiming to have won a contest when someone else won.

Other things NOT to say in a leather contest interview:

• Normally I don't wear any leather.
• I think it's possible to take drugs like crystal meth responsibly.
• I can't answer that because it would prejudice an upcoming court case.
• I wouldn't do any press interviews because I have a sensitive job and I'm not out at work.
• I've been too busy to do any research for this interview.
• I have no idea who's won this title before.
• I'm not registered to vote.
• I'm not a member of the Leather Archives and Museum.

Photo credit: Dave Harris

PHYSIQUE ROUND
This round is NOT about who has taken the most steroids. It is about who can remove the majority of their leather and still remain confident and sexy onstage. I have seen bouncy and enthusiastic guys who have never been to a gym beat guys who had fantastic physiques but looked stiff and uncomfortable in front of an audience.

At IML this round is called "Pecs and Personality" putting even more emphasis on charisma over muscularity.

Have good posture. Put your shoulders back. Smile. Look like you're enjoying being on stage. Have bright, alert eyes. Play to the crowd and make sure you give a beaming smile to the judges and photographers. Be confident.

The following can help your appearance: a good haircut, contact lenses rather than glasses, a tan, a little bit of baby oil rubbed over bare skin, some sport or fitness regime.

The basic leather outfit for a physique round is a leather jockstrap (or black leather shorts) and black leather boots. Make sure the jockstrap fits and is not too tight or too loose. The boots should be polished and complement your legs. If your socks are visible they should be masculine and go with your boots. You can wear a few black leather accessories (for example wrist cuffs or half harness) if you want but avoid fancy dress, rubber, Lycra/ Spandex or chain mail. The more you wear the more it looks as if you have something to hide.

SPONTANEOUS QUESTION
I'm not a big fan of this round. I've only faced it once as a contestant - at IML 2003 - and in the whole of my year as IML I wasn't asked again about kitchen utensils! I've had to write many "humorous" questions as a judge. In my opinion, it doesn't really matter what you say as long as you are confident, funny, and don't offend the judges with your answer. It also helps to adjust the microphone stand to the right height for you, and have some stage presence.

If you are worried that you won't be able to think of a funny answer, try preparing short anecdotes in response to the following three questions: "What's the wildest sex you've ever had?", "What's the most embarrassing sex you've ever had?" and "Have you ever had any sex-related injuries?". You should be able to work at least one of those anecdotes into your answer. I'm sure if you start your reply with "That reminds me of the time when my boyfriend was trying to insert a pineapple into my arse, my mum walked in and she had to take me to the emergency room ..." the audience will be laughing so hard they won't care what the question was.

LEATHER IMAGE
This is the opposite of the physique round. That was about wearing as little leather as possible. This round is about full body coverage: leather cap, shirt, Sam Browne, gloves, jeans or breeches, knee high boots - put it all on! I gave an exception for submissives who had their own formal uniform, (for example collar, vest, shorts and boots).

I gave more marks to people whose outfit wouldn't offend a traditional or "Old Guard" member of the community.

I dropped marks for people who looked like they were on their way to a circuit party (bare chest, half harness and arm bands), or whose leather looked like it didn't belong on them (too baggy, too tight or too new). This is only my opinion: I also dropped a lot of marks to people who were wearing items of rubber, Lycra/ Spandex, denim, neoprene etc. The round is called LEATHER image. One of the reasons why our community started wearing leather was that it was durable enough to protect you while riding a motorbike and lasted long enough to be passed down from one generation to the next, gathering symbolic value along the way. I favoured contestants who seemed to understand those traditions.

SPEECH
Here I gave marks for presentation and content. I'll deal with presentation first:

• Wear leather and boots. If you are wearing any headgear make sure you remove it before you start to speak and put it under your arm.
• Have a relaxed and commanding delivery style. Good stage presence is essential.
• Remove the microphone from the stand, unwind the microphone cord and make full use of the width of the stage as you speak.
• Make the audience laugh if you can. Someone with a sense of humour will do better than someone who is earnest and serious.
• Try to be original. You can pick a popular theme if you like, but you must have something new to say about it.
• Don't insult, patronise or shout at the audience/ judges.
• Finish within the time limit. If you are inexperienced at public speaking read your speech out to a friend whilst being timed. Then double it. It will take you twice as long to read the same thing in front of an audience, and three times as long in front of an IML final contest audience.
• Have a good opening sentence and a good closing paragraph. Make sure that you can cut to the closing paragraph at any point if you are running out of time.

'ME' speeches tend to be delivered by people new to the community and are all about what the contestant has learned so far. For instance: "I dedicate this speech to my great mentor and friend who taught me so much ...", "The leather community is a wonderful place and I belong here ...", "This is what being a Sir (or boy) means to me ...", "I'm so glad to be here, this is such a great experience ...", "Please pick me because I have so much to offer ...", "I am a leatherman because ...", "Let me tell you about my journey ..."

'COMMUNITY' speeches tend to be delivered by leatherfolk who've been around long enough to realise that we have some problems, for example crystal meth use, the rise in barebacking and HIV transmission, pansexuality vs. single sex playspaces, ageism, lack of good SM education or the need for more mentoring.

I normally gave more marks to someone who identified a problem within our community than someone who just talked about themselves. However, I gave even more marks to someone who identified a problem and outlined a solution. For instance: "... and as a community we need to do X, Y and Z to combat this problem." That's what being a titleholder is all about. Someone who points out problems with no solutions is only doing half the job.

Photo credit: Dave Harris

AFTER THE CONTEST
Consider sending a thank you note to your judges. They've given up a whole weekend for your benefit and it's not an easy job. Besides being good manners, the judges will remember you favourably if they meet you again (perhaps at your next contest).

If you didn't place as highly as you had hoped please email the judges and ask (politely) if they have any feedback for you. Be wary about criticism from your friends or members of the local community, there is no way they can know what was going on inside the minds of the judges. And if you do get a response from a judge, don't then engage him or her in endless further discussion. It's not compulsory to answer such questions and a couple of bad post-mortem experiences will be enough to make them clam up for ever.

There's more advice for contestants in The Leather Contest Guide by Guy Baldwin, published by Daedalus Publishing company (ISBN 1-881943-08-9). However, this was published in 1993 so some of the information (for instance on airport security) is now out of date.

Best wishes,

John Pendal
International Mr Leather 2003