International Mr. Leather

For other uses, see IML (disambiguation).

International Mr. Leather (IML) is an American multi-day convention and competition celebrating the leather, kink, fetish, and BDSM communities. Established in 1979, IML is held annually in Chicago, Illinois over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, drawing thousands of attendees from around the world.^[1] As of 2025, over 2,200 contestants from 28 countries have competed in the weekend's contest to earn the title of International Mr. Leather.

International Mr. Leather
IML Wingman logo
IML 29 at the Chicago Theatre (2007)
Nickname	IML
Status	Active
Genre	leather kink fetish BDSM
Frequency	Annually, Memorial Day weekend
Location(s)	Chicago, Illinois
Country	United States
Inaugurated	1979 (1979)
Organised by	International Mr. Leather Inc.
Website	www.internationalmrleather.com

Events include speakers, socials, themed dance parties and a leather market. IML contestants are expected to participate in the weekend while also fulfilling contest-related duties. Contestants qualify for the competition by winning an approved leather contest organized by a bar and/or local or regional leather club, or by being sponsored by a leather-related business or organization.

Since 1993, the organizers of IML have also produced and hosted the International Mr. Bootblack competition, occurring the same weekend as the main convention. This contest was created to recognize the service and contributions of bootblacks to the leather and BDSM communities. Following the resignation of IMBB staff in 2023, the contest has remained inactive.

History

International Mr. Leather is regarded as the world's oldest continuously operating international leather and fetish event,^[2] even being dubbed "the granddaddy of all leather events."^[3] This contest, like all similar leather contests, was designed to be both an homage and a satire of women's beauty pageants, by giving men their own platform to admire and be admired, specifically by and for gay men involved in the leather and BDSM subcultures.

The forerunner of the competition was the Mr. Gold Coast contest held through the 1970s at Chicago's Gold Coast leather bar, owned by Chuck Renslow and his partner Dom Orejudos.^[4] This contest became one of the bar's most popular events, causing the need to relocate the competition to a larger venue by 1979, at which point Renslow decided to change the name to "International Mr. Leather".^[4] Flyers and promotional materials for this first IML were sent to every leather bar that Renslow and his associates knew of, not knowing if the historically regional contest would actually be able to attract a global audience. Fortunately, by the contest's second year, it would go on to actually live up to its name.

The inaugural IML competition took place May 18–20, 1979.^[5] The event was advertised as "a weekend you won't want to miss" featuring "some of the world's hottest men, representing leather bars and clubs across America and Europe" competing to win prizes worth $5,000 ($21,662 in 2024), including a motorcycle.^[5] Spectators could purchase a weekend package for $25 ($108.30 in 2024) that included a shirt designed by Orejudos (under his pseudonym "Etienne"), tickets to various parties and events, and coupons for local shops and bathhouses.^[5] Standalone tickets to the contest itself were priced at $10 ($43.32 in 2024).^[5] Orejudos also designed much of the contest's promotional material, including the iconic "Wingman Logo" still used today.^[6][7] David Kloss won the first contest, with Durk Dehner and Jesse Capello as first and second runners-up.^[6] Touko Laaksonen, a.k.a. Tom of Finland, volunteered to judge the contest, but had to drop out for health reasons (he later judged the 1983 contest).^[6]

Advertisement for inaugural IML contest (1979)

In 1980, IML introduced the Black and Blue Ball.^[6][8] In 1982, Glynn Sudbery served as press coordinator.^[9] By 1984, attendance had increased from 300 to 1,500.^[6] The leather pride flag was officially unveiled by its designer Tony DeBlase during IML 11 on May 28, 1989.^[10] The flag was quickly incorporated into the design of the sash awarded to subsequent contest winners.^[6]

The International Bootblack Competition was added to the IML program in 1993, intended to honor and showcase the hard work performed by bootblacks in the leather community. In 1998, the originally mixed-gender competition was spun off into two separate events: International Mr. Bootblack (IMBB), still produced by IML, and International Ms. Bootblack (IMsBB), now produced by International Ms. Leather, the female equivalent of IML held annually since 1987.^[11]

Since 2009, IML proceeds have been placed in a trust to benefit the Leather Archives and Museum (LA&M), the Chicago-based institution dedicated to preserving the history of the leather and fetish subcultures.^[12] Co-founded by Renslow and DeBlase, LA&M is also the official custodian of IML records and artwork.^[13][14]

The historic Congress Plaza Hotel has hosted IML guests and festivities every year since 2015, but the contest itself has often been hosted at offsite venues, such as the Auditorium Theatre across the street from the Congress Plaza.^[15][16] As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant shutdowns and cancellations of large gatherings throughout the world, in-person IML events in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled.^[17][18] IML resumed in May 2022.^[19]

In 2025, the gay men's kink-focused hookup site Recon sponsored a pay-per-view live broadcast of the contest, the first time it had ever been officially broadcast live for a wider audience.^[20]

Leather market

Each IML contest features a market for leather, kink, and LGBT-related vendors and organizations of all kinds.^[21] The market is open for multiple days and routinely draws thousands of visitors.^[22] Past and present participants include Chicago Department of Public Health, Folsom Street Events, Howard Brown Health, Mid America Fists In Action, MIR, Nasty Pig, and Recon.^[23]

The leather market also hosts bootblacks in partnership with International Mr. Bootblack.

Rules

Eligibility

As of 2024, to qualify for IML, prospective contestants must:

• Present as male and be 21 years of age or older.^[24]
• Win a preliminary contest or receive a primary sponsor.^[24]
  • Preliminary contest is defined as a bar, local, or regional leather contest that awards its winner entry into IML.^[24]
  • Primary sponsor is defined as "a bar, business, club or organization that specializes in the levi/leather, uniform, S&M, western, gear or related lifestyles.^[24]
• Submit an application and registration fee.^[24]

Contest Criteria

Preliminary round

Contest finalists are selected following:

1. A preliminary interview with each of the nine judges, up to 8 minutes in length, are held in private (60% of the preliminary score).
2. Stage presence and personality at a Saturday "Pecs and Personality" event (40% of the preliminary score).

The judge's highest and lowest scores for each contestant on each criterion are dropped, and the contestant's remaining seven scores are tallied to determine the 20 contestants with the highest combined scores to proceed as finalists at the Sunday IML contest event. The only time that the dropped scores are included in the tally is when there is a tie for the 20th place; the contestants in question have their dropped scores included in the tally but if the stalemate continues then each of the nine judges must vote for only one of the two contestants. Preliminary judging scores are not carried forward. There are also two tally masters.

Final round

Each of the 20 finalists is judged at the Sunday IML contest on a scale from 0 to 100 in the following order:

1. Leather image (up to 40 points).
2. Presentation skills that include a contestant speech (up to 40 points).
3. Physical appearance (up to 20 points).

The highest and lowest scores for each finalist are dropped, the remaining seven scores are added together, and the top three scores designate the second runner-up, first runner-up, and winner, International Mr. Leather. A tie for the title is resolved by adding to the tally the dropped scores of the two contestants; if the stalemate continues then each of the nine judges must vote for only one of the contestants in question.

Participating countries and territories

As of 2025, twenty-eight countries spanning six continents have officially fielded at least one contestant to compete at IML. Additionally, 44 U.S. states have provided contestants, as have the District of Columbia (D.C.) and the U.S. territory Puerto Rico;^[25][26] the only U.S. states that have yet to field a contestant are Delaware, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Wyoming.^[25][26]

Country	Region	First CompetedA	WinsB	Win Year(s)	Ref.
Australia	Oceania	1980	1	1980	[25][27]
Austria	Europe	2018	0		[27]
Belgium	Europe	1996	1	2022	[25][27]
Brazil	South America	2017	0		[27]
Canada	North America	1981	1	2006	[25][27]
Chile	South America	2015	0		[28]
China ( Hong Kong)	Asia	2019	0		[29]
Colombia	South America	2022	0		[30]
Denmark	Europe	2007	0		[31]
Finland	Europe	2017	0		[32]
France	Europe	2002	1	2011	[25][27]
Germany	Europe	1987	2	1987, 2001	[25][27]
Ireland	Europe	2000	0		[25][28]
Israel	Asia	1995	0		[25][27]
Italy	Europe	1990	0		[25][27]
Mexico	North America	2018	0		[27]
Netherlands	Europe	1993	1	1993	[25][27]
New Zealand	Oceania	1993	0		[25]
Norway	Europe	2000	0		[25][33]
Philippines	Asia	2025	0		[34]
South Africa	Africa	2010	0		[35]
Spain	Europe	1988	0		[25][27]
Sweden	Europe	1985	0		[25]
Switzerland	Europe	2004	0		[36]
Thailand	Asia	1995	0		[25]
United Kingdom	Europe	1994	1	2003	[25][28]
United States	North America	1979	37	1979, 1981-1986, 1988-1992, 1994-2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007-2010, 2012-2019, 2023-2025	[25][27]
Venezuela	South America	2019	0		[29]

^A Some IML contestants emigrated from countries that have not officially sent contestants to IML (or had not as of the time they competed). For instance, Venezuela-born Gary Iriza (Mr. Palm Springs Leather)^[37] won IML 30 in 2008,^[38] more than a decade before Venezuela officially sent a contestant (Mr. Leather Venezuela) in 2019.^[39]

^B Wins by contestants with international or nonnational preliminary titles (e.g. Mister Leather Europe, Mr. Gay Naturists International Leather) are attributed to the winner's country of residence.

Winners

As of 2025, 45 contestants representing eight countries have won IML: the United States (37), Germany (2), Australia (1), Belgium (1), Canada (1), France (1), the Netherlands (1), and the United Kingdom (1).

The following is a table of IML contest winners. Note that winner's city as used in the table variously refers to the preliminary title host city or winner's city of residence.

Year	Class	Winner	Preliminary Contest / Primary Sponsor	Winner's city	Number of Contestants	Contest Location & Host Hotel	Ref.
1979	1	David Kloss	Mr. Leather Brig	San Francisco, California	12 men from 6 U.S. states	Grand Ballroom of the Radisson Hotel	[25][6]
1980	2	Patrick Brookes	Mr. Leather Australia	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	18 men from the U.S. and Australia, including 7 U.S. states	Grand Ballroom of the Radisson Hotel	[25][40]
1981	3	Marty Kiker	Sponsored by The Brig & The Phoenix	San Francisco, California	36 men from 3 countries, including 11 U.S. states	Park West	[25]
1982	4	Luke Daniel	Mr. Drummer	San Francisco, California	46 men from the U.S. and Canada, including 12 U.S. states and D.C.	Park West	[25][41]
1983	5	Coulter Thomas	Mr. Texas Leather	Houston, Texas	44 men from the U.S. and Canada, including 14 U.S. states and D.C.	Park West & Allerton Hotel	[25]
1984	6	Ron Moore	Mr. Leather Colorado	Denver, Colorado	30 men from the U.S. and Australia, including 13 U.S. states and D.C.	Park West & Allerton Hotel	[25]
1985	7	Patrick Toner	Mr. Chaps San Francisco	San Francisco, California	27 men from 3 countries, including 13 U.S. states and D.C.	Park West & Allerton Hotel	[25]
1986	8	Scott Tucker	Mr. Philadelphia Leather	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	28 men from 13 U.S. states and D.C.	Park West & Lake Shore Hotel	[25]
1987	9	Thomas Karasch	Mr. Leather Europe	Hamburg, Germany	31 men from 3 countries, including 14 U.S. states	Park West & Days Inn	[25][39]
1988	10	Michael Pereyra	Mr. Leather San Diego	San Diego, California	42 men from 3 countries, including 19 U.S. states and D.C.	Clubland at The Vic Theatre & Executive House Hotel	[25]
1989	11	Guy Baldwin	Mr. National Leather Association	Los Angeles, California	48 men from the U.S. and Canada, including 21 U.S. states and D.C.	Clubland at The Vic Theatre & Executive House Hotel	[25]
1990	12	Mark Ryan	Mr. Boston Leather	Boston, Massachusetts	48 men from 4 countries, including 22 U.S. states	Clubland at The Vic Theatre	[25]
1991	13	D Cannon	Mr. CC (of Palm Springs)	Los Angeles , California	50 men from 3 countries, including 23 U.S. states and D.C.	Clubland at The Vic Theatre & Executive House Hotel	[25]
1992	14	Lenny Broberg	Mr. San Francisco Leather	San Francisco, California	56 men from the U.S. and Canada, including 22 U.S. states	Aragon Ballroom & Executive House Hotel	[25][42]
1993	15	Henri ten Have	Sponsored by Motor Sportclub Amsterdam (MSA)	Amsterdam, Netherlands	51 men from 5 countries, including 23 U.S. states	Aragon Ballroom & Congress Plaza Hotel	[25]
1994	16	Jeff Tucker	Mr. San Jose Leather	San Jose, California	43 men from 5 countries, including 20 U.S. states and D.C.	Congress Theater & Congress Plaza Hotel	[25]
1995	17	Larry Everett	Mr. Oklahoma Leather	Collinsville, Oklahoma	50 men from 6 countries, including 25 U.S. states and D.C.	Congress Theater & Hyatt Regency Chicago	[25]
1996	18	Joe Gallagher	Mr. Leather New York	New York, New York	49 men from 5 countries, including 25 U.S. states and Puerto Rico	Congress Theater & Congress Plaza Hotel	[25]
1997	19	Kevin Cwayna	Mr. Minnesota Leather	Minneapolis, Minnesota	53 men from 4 countries, including 23 U.S. states, D.C., and Puerto Rico	Congress Theater & Congress Plaza Hotel	[25]
1998	20	Tony Mills	Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather	Washington, D.C.	62 men from 6 countries, including 23 U.S. states, D.C., and Puerto Rico	Congress Theater & Congress Plaza Hotel	[25]
1999	21	Bruce Chopnik	Mr. Rocky Mountain Leather	Denver, Colorado	52 men from 5 countries, including 22 U.S. states and D.C.	Congress Theater & Congress Plaza Hotel	[25]
2000	22	Mike Taylor	Mr. Heartland Leather	Columbus & Cincinnati, Ohio	60 men from 7 countries, including 24 U.S. states and D.C.	Congress Theater & Congress Plaza Hotel	[25]
2001	23	Stefan Müller	Bavarian Mr. Leather	Munich, Germany	63 men from 7 countries, including 26 U.S. states and D.C.	Congress Theater & The Palmer House Hilton	[25]
2002	24	Stephen Weber	Mr. Texas Leather	Dallas, Texas	66 men from 7 countries, including 27 U.S. states and D.C.	Congress Theater & Hyatt Regency Chicago	[25][43]
2003	25	John Pendal	Mr. Hoist	London, United Kingdom	58 men from 5 countries, including 24 U.S. states and D.C.	Congress Theater & The Palmer House Hilton	[25][44]
2004	26	Jason Hendrix	Mr. D.C. Eagle 2004	Washington, D.C.	57 men from 6 countries, including 23 U.S.states	Congress Theater & Hyatt Regency Chicago	[36]
2005	27	Michael Egdes	Mr. Ramrod	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	52 men from 6 countries, including 25 U.S. states	Navy Pier Skyline Stage & Hyatt Regency Chicago	[45][46]
2006	28	Bo Ladashevska	Mr. Leather Montreal 2006	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	52 men from 5 countries, including 18 U.S. states	Chicago Theatre & The Palmer House Hilton Hotel	[47]
2007	29	Mikel Gerle	Mr. Los Angeles Leather 2007	Los Angeles, California	53 men from 5 countries, including 23 U.S. states	Chicago Theatre & The Palmer House Hilton	[48][31]
2008	30	Gary Iriza	Mr. Palm Springs Leather 2008	Palm Springs, California	51 men from 6 countries, including 21 U.S. states	Hyatt Regency Chicago	[38][49][50]
2009	31	Jeffrey Payne	Mr. Texas Leather 2009	Dallas, Texas	54 men from 7 countries, including 26 U.S. states	Hilton Chicago	[51][52]
2010	32	Tyler McCormick	Mr. Rio Grande Leather 2010	Albuquerque, New Mexico	52 men from 10 countries, including 21 U.S. states and D.C.	Congress Theater & Hyatt Regency Chicago	[53][35][54]
2011	33	Eric Guttierez	Mr. Leather Europe 2011	Paris, France	53 men from 7 countries	Harris Theater & Hyatt Regency Chicago	[55][56][57]
2012	34	Woody Woodruff	Mr. Michigan Leather 2012	Waterford, Michigan	49 men	Harris Theater & Hyatt Regency Chicago	[58]
2013	35	Andy Cross	Mr. San Francisco Leather 2013	San Francisco, California	51 men from 6 countries, including 24 U.S. states and D.C.	Harris Theater & Marriott Michigan Ave. Chicago	[59][60][61][62]
2014	36	Ramien Pierre	Mr. D.C. Eagle 2014	Washington, D.C.	46 men from 5 countries	Harris Theater & Marriott Michigan Ave. Chicago	[63][64][65][66]
2015	37	Patrick Smith	Mr. Los Angeles Leather 2015	Los Angeles, California	52 men from 9 countries, including 22 U.S. states and D.C.	Park West and Harris Theater & Congress Plaza Hotel	[28][67][68]
2016	38	David "Tigger" Bailey	Mr. New Jersey Leather 2016	Howell, New Jersey	59 men from 8 countries, including 24 U.S. states and D.C.	Park West and Harris Theater & Congress Plaza Hotel	[69][70]
2017	39	Ralph Bruneau	Mr. GNI (Gay Naturists International) Leather 2016	Los Angeles, California	63 men from 12 countries, including 23 U.S. states and D.C.	Auditorium Theatre & Congress Plaza Hotel	[32]
2018	40	James Lee	Mr. Kentucky Leather 2017	Lexington, Kentucky	71 men from 14 countries, including 25 U.S. states and D.C.	Auditorium Theatre & Congress Plaza Hotel	[27][71]
2019	41	Jack Thompson	Leatherman of Color 2019	Baltimore, Maryland	68 men from 13 countries, including 23 U.S. states, D.C., and Puerto Rico	Auditorium Theatre & Congress Plaza Hotel	[39][29]
2020	42	Contest cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic					[17]
2021	43						[18]
2022	44	Gael Leung Chong Wo	Mr. Leather Belgium 2020/2021	Ghent, Belgium	60 men from 11 countries, including 22 U.S. states and D.C.	Arie Crown Theater & Congress Plaza Hotel	[30][72]
2023	45	Marcus Barela	Eagle LA Mr. Leather 2023	Los Angeles, California	54 men from 10 countries, including 20 U.S. states and D.C.	Auditorium Theatre & Congress Plaza Hotel	[73][33][74]
2024	46	Jamal "Alpha Pup Savage" Herrera-O'Malley	San Francisco Eagle Leather Pup 2024	San Francisco, California	59 men from 9 countries, including 20 U.S. states and D.C.	Venue SIX10 at Spertus Institute, McCormick Place, & Congress Plaza Hotel	[75]
2025	47	Rene Hebert	Mr. Palm Springs Leather 2025	Palm Springs, California	68 men from 11 countries, including 24 U.S. states	The Vic Theatre & Congress Plaza Hotel	[34]

^C In cases of regional, international, or non-geographic preliminary titles (Mr Midwest Leather, Mr SECC Leather, Leathermen of Color, Mr Leather Europe, etc.), participation is attributed to the contestant's country, state, and/or territory of residence.

Milestones

In 1984 Ron Moore became the first black man to win International Mr. Leather.^[76] In 1997, his sister Genelle Moore won International Ms. Leather, which made them the first siblings to hold international leather titles.^[77][78]

In 2010, Tyler McCormick became the first openly transgender man, the first wheelchair user, and the first person from New Mexico to win International Mr. Leather.^[53][79]

The 2012 contest featured two weddings as well as the contest's first pair of married contestants competing against each other.^[2]

In 2019, Jack Thompson became the first openly transgender person of color to win International Mr. Leather.^[39] His win also marked the first time black men won consecutive International Mr. Leather titles.^[80]

International Mr. Bootblack

The International Mr. Bootblack (IMrBB) Competition runs throughout the IML weekend. Contestants are given a location in the IML Leather Market at which they perform bootblacking services. Weekend ticket package holders (as well as judges, contestants, and vendors) are each provided with a bootblack ballot which is redeemable for one shine by the bootblack of the voter's choice. Bootblacks are free to shine the boots of any person, regardless of whether that person has a ballot, although it is made clear that the ballots are the means by which the winner will be determined. Tipping is not required, but is quite common.

The bootblack contestants work during the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of IML during the time that the Leather Market is open, a total of approximately 20 hours over three days. In previous years, the bootblacks were allowed to shine boots and collect tickets at all times during the weekend. Since 2001, the bootblack contestants have established a gentlemen's agreement at the start of the weekend that they will not shine boots or accept ballots except during the established competition hours. This agreement was conceived to give the contestants the freedom to take time to enjoy the weekend without feeling the pressure to always be bootblacking.

At its inception in 1993, the competition was called the International Bootblack Competition, and both men and women were allowed to compete. In 1998, it was announced that the competition would be changed to the International Mr. Bootblack Competition and that a separate competition solely for women would be held at International Ms. Leather. This change was made largely because it was commonly held that women had a significant disadvantage competing for ballots from IML's predominantly gay male attendees, who may favor bootblacks who they find attractive. Since 1999, competitors for IMrBB are restricted to persons over the age of 21 who present as male.

During the Saturday contest, before the Pecs and Personality segment, each of the contestants for International Mr. Bootblack is required to give a speech to the contest audience, giving future patrons for the following day an idea of who they may like to vote for. The next day, during the Sunday contest, the IMBB winner is announced (along with the first and second runners-up and the winner of the Brotherhood Award, on which the IMBB competitors vote and which is roughly analogous to the Miss Congeniality Award from various traditional beauty contests). This occurs before the announcement of IML's winner and runners-up, after which all seven men may return to the stage for photos.

In recent years, largely because of coordination of the contest by David Hawks, International Mr. Bootblack 2000, the Bootblack Competition has begun to develop adjunct activities. An IMrBB party is held in a hotel function room on Saturday night, offering food, music, and a silent auction, the proceeds of which go to the travel fund of the winner. Likewise, during the competition hours in the Leather Market, volunteers man a table to answer questions and sell IMrBB Travel Fund pins, which also adds to the travel fund. These sources of revenue have provided the various contestants with significantly more money to aid their travel to distant events during their title years. The money is controlled by the contest coordinator, and any access to the funds must be accompanied by proof of the travel outlay.[10]

Starting in 2013, the IMrBB contest has implemented a judging system to select the winner. Contestants are evaluated by a panel of judges on the basis of their technical bootblacking skills, how they present themselves on stage and in public and what they say in an interview with the judges. Ballot voting still makes up a percentage of the contestant's total score.^[81]

In 2019, Dutch bootblack Kriszly de Hond became the first primarily non-English speaking IMBB titleholder (he gave his contestant speech in English, but his primary language was Dutch), as well as the first to originate from outside North America. These distinctions made him the first truly International Mr. Bootblack.

In early 2023, in the months leading up to the convention, the entirety of IMBB staff resigned from their positions, citing many years of mistreatment and dwindling interest in the contest. This mass resignation effectively made the occurrence of IMBB impossible until negotiations and compromises were agreed upon by the IML and IMBB staffs.^[82] There are currently plans to bring the IMBB contest back for IML 48 in 2026.

IMBB Winners

As of 2025, 28 contestants representing four countries have won IMBB: the United States (24), Canada (2), the Netherlands (1), and the United Kingdom (1).^[83]

Year	Winner	Preliminary Contest / Primary Sponsor	Winner's city	Contestants
1993	David Morgan	D.C. Eagle	Washington, D.C.
1994	William Shields, Jr.	Chicago Eagle & the Chicago Hellfire Club	Chicago, Illinois
1995	Tim Cousins	D.C. Eagle	Washington, D.C.
1996	Todd Nelson	The Cuff	Seattle, Washington
1997	Driller	SF Eagle & Daddy's Bar	San Francisco, California
1998	Matthew Duncan	Centaur MC	Washington, D.C.
1999	Robert Ehrlich	D.C. Eagle	Washington, D.C.
2000	David Hawks	Mid-Atlantic Bootblack 2000 (Centaur MC)	Washington, D.C.
2001	Paksen Burrell	Mid-Atlantic Bootblack 2001 (Centaur MC)	Washington, D.C.	8
2002	Michael Lanzini	The Lure	New York, New York
2003	Richie Chameroy	Daddy's Bar & Powerhouse Bar	San Francisco, California
2004	Alan Tunstall	The Barracks Bar & Avatar Club	Los Angeles, California	8
2005	BooBoo	Great Lakes Leather Alliance & Laws Leather	Cleveland, Ohio	9
2006	Benjamin Palmer	PumpJack Pub & Priape Vancouver	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	5
2007	Spot	Great Lakes Leather Alliance	Lansing, Michigan	5
2008	Bootdog	Alameda County Leather Corps	Oakland, California	5
2009	McG	Bootblack Toronto 2009	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	6
2010	Tim Starkey	Boston Ramrod	Boston, Massachusetts	5
2011	Jim Deuder	NYC Bootblack Roundtable, The Leather Man NYC, & Eagle NYC	New York, New York	6
2012	Nick Elliott	Oregon State Bootblack 2011	Portland, Oregon	2
2013	Sammy Sklover	Oregon State Bootblack 2012	Portland, Oregon	3
2014	Scout	Eros SF & SF Eagle	Oakland, California	7
2015	Bamm-Bamm	International Leatherboy 2012, SF Eagle	San Francisco, California	6
2016	Erick Joseph	Alaska State Bootblack 2015	Anchorage, Alaska
2017	Ryan "Pawlish" Garner-Carpenter	independent candidate	Cincinnati, Ohio	3
2018	Lucky Rebel	Mr. Oregon State Leather 2016	Portland, Oregon
2019	Kriszly de Hond	Mr. Puppy EU 2015, XXXLeather's House Bootblack	Zaandam, Netherlands	4
2020	Contest cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021
2022	Alistair LeatherHiraeth	Bootblack Europe 2020	Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom	3
2023	Contest cancelled due to staff resignation
2024	No contest held
2025

Cultural impact & legacy

IML proceeds have been placed in a trust to benefit the Leather Archives & Museum.^[84]

According to the Chicago Reader in 2024, "IML has endured as an institution that serves the LGBTQ+ community by fundraising for grassroots groups as well as providing opportunities to gather and exchange goods, information, and kinship."^[85] IML has also improved the visibility and popularity of leather culture;^[86][87] past IML contestants and attendees have founded leather organizations, competitions, and businesses around the world, including National Leather Association International.^[88][89][90]

IML proceeds have been placed in a trust to benefit the Leather Archives & Museum.^[84] The museum’s photos, videos, and oral histories chronicling IML (and International Ms. Leather) were featured in a 2015 documentary by Christina Court, titled High Shine: 15 Years of International Ms Bootblack.^[91]

Recognition

• In 1995, “Chuck Renslow – IML” was one of the recipients of the International Deaf Leather Recognition Award.^[92]
• In 1999 IML received the Business of the Year award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards.^[93]
• In 2007 and 2012 IML received the Large Event of the Year award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards.^[93]
• In 2010 IML was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.^[94]
• In 2010, director Mike Skiff released the documentary film Kink Crusaders, which chronicled the history of IML as well as the 2008 convention. The film featured interviews with Renslow, as well as past IML winners David Kloss, Guy Baldwin, Jeff Tucker, Tony Mills, John Pendal, Mikel Gerle, and then-contestant Gary Iriza. The following year, an epilogue was added to document the historic win of Tyler McCormick.^[95]
• In 2018, IML was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame during Cleveland Leather Annual Weekend 2018.^[96][97]
• On May 25, 2018, the Chicago City Council voted to honorarily designate a stretch of Clark Street in Uptown (between Winnemac Avenue and Ainslie Avenue) as "Chuck Renslow Way";^[98][99] the city unveiled the new street sign during the anniversary of IML.^[100]

See also

• LGBTQ portal

• International Ms. Leather
• Mister Leather Europe
• Leather competitions
• MIR contest
• Mr Gay World
• LGBT culture

Footnotes

1. ^ Bean, Joseph W. (2004). International Mr. Leather: 25 Years of Champions. International Mr. Leather, Inc. and The Leather Archives and Museum (1st ed.). Las Vegas: Nazca Plains. ISBN 1-887895-38-8.
2. ^ Davolt, Robert (2003). Painfully Obvious: An Irreverent & Unauthorized Manual for Leather/SM. cover design by Steve Diet Goedde. Los Angeles: Daedalus Publishing. p. 212. ISBN 1-881943-19-4.
3. ^ International Mr. Leather, Inc. "Contestant Application" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2005-12-21.
4. ^ "Leather Archives & Museum Announcement". Twitter. 2009-05-25. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
5. ^ "IML Makes History". Will Clark World. 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
6. ^ International Mr. Leather, Inc. "Official IML Scoring Procedure". Archived from the original on 2005-12-22. Retrieved 2005-12-21.
7. ^ International Mr. Leather, Inc. "IML 2004". Archived from the original on 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2005-12-18.
8. ^ International Mr. Leather, Inc. (2005-05-30). Michael Egdes Named International Mr. Leather 2005 Memorial Day Weekend in Chicago. (Microsoft Word). Press release. Archived from the original on 2005-12-23. Retrieved 2005-12-19.
9. ^ "International Mr. Leather – Bootblack Contest". Archived from the original on 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
10. ^ "International Mr. Leather – Past Bootblack Winners". Archived from the original on 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
11. ^ International Mr. Leather, Inc. (2007-05-27). Mikel Gerle Named International Mr. Leather 2007. (Microsoft Word). Press release. Archived from the original on 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
12. ^ "International Mr. Bootblack 2013 Press Release" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-07-19. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
13. ^ Source for 1979 to 2003: Bean, Joseph W. (2004). International Mr. Leather: 25 Years of Champions. International Mr. Leather, Inc. and The Leather Archives and Museum (1st ed.). Las Vegas: Nazca Plains. ISBN 1-887895-38-8.
14. ^ Source for 2004 to 2008: "International Mr. Leather - History". Archived from the original on 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2009-03-15.