Arts & Entertainment
Mr. MAL — where are they now?
We checked in with three past titleholders to celebrate 34 years of the contest
NAME: Matthew Bronson
YEAR WON: 2012
HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU ATTENDED MAL? 6
WILL YOU BE GOING THIS YEAR? Yes
RESIDENCE: Emmaus, Pa.
RESIDENCE THE YEAR YOU WON: Emmaus, Pa.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO LEATHER? I have always found myself attracted to leather bars and men. I found the men at leather bars more genuine and were easy to have a talk with.
HOW MANY COMPETITORS THE YEAR YOU WON? 8
DID YOU ENTER CASUALLY OR COMPETITIVELY? Causally
HOW DO YOU ID? Gay
WHAT WAS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE TO YOU? Because of MAL’s history, the title was very important to me. I wanted to represent a person who was very approachable in the community and return all that was given to me from that community.
DID YOU COMPETE IN ANY OTHER LEATHER CONTESTS? Before MAL, I was Mr. Pittsburgh Leather/Fetish. Also, because I won MAL I ran for International Mr. Leather.
ADVICE TO THIS YEAR’S CONTESTANTS? Just be yourself and enjoy the whole experience. It’s a fun ride! You will meet some amazing people. If you do not win, it’s life telling you it wasn’t your time or place to win. Continue to put yourself out there and follow your passions. They will lead you in the direction you were meant to be following.
WHY DO YOU FEEL MAL HAS LASTED? Mid-Atlantic Leather, at its soul, is about leather. It has a strong history. People still want to follow that history to show the leather generations for tomorrow where we came from in our past. I always feel MAL is a reunion of leather friends and family.
NAME: Frank Nowicki
YEAR WON: 1993
HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU ATTENDED MAL? Thirty-nine years for Leather Cocktails and 34 years for the contest and weekend.
WILL YOU BE GOING THIS YEAR? Yes
RESIDENCE: Washington, D.C.
RESIDENCE THE YEAR YOU WON: Washington, D.C.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO LEATHER? Some of my closest friends that I met in 1978 were members and friends of the Centaur M.C. Dick Cogan (past president of the Centaurs and owner of The Leather Rack), Paul Criss (aka Lainie Kazan, director of The Rogue show bar), Tony Bacharach (founder of BHT) and Lou Ritz (Owner of the Eagle in Exile). Always loved the smell and feel of leather growing up, the feeling of power and confidence when wearing it. Guess it was a natural progression.
HOW MANY COMPETITORS THE YEAR YOU WON? It was held at Tracks and there were 25 contestants, the largest to date.
DID YOU ENTER CASUALLY OR COMPETITIVELY? I entered MAL 1992 casually against 18 contestants and placed first runner-up. I realized the contest was much more than dressing in leather and parading around on stage. I returned the next year in 1993 competitively and won. I spent the prior year donating my time and involvement with the community and clubs as AIDS was at its peak. Fundraising to assist our friends who were dying was so very important at that time.
HOW DO YOU ID? Gay
WHAT WAS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE TO YOU? The most significant aspect of being Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather was that it provided me with a vehicle to open doors that otherwise may have been closed. In the ’80s and ’90s, we were battling the AIDS epidemic head on. We had lost innumerable friends and loved ones to this plague. I utilized my year as MAL to do fundraisers, assist other titleholders with their fundraisers traveling throughout the United States and to Europe. I was blessed being entertaining on a microphone and found out quickly the power of suggestion in raising funds from an audience while at the same time making them laugh during a time when all of us wanted to cry from the loss of our friends. I have emceed/hosted the MAL contest since 1995.
DID YOU COMPETE IN ANY OTHER LEATHER CONTESTS? International Mr. Leather 1993, fourth place. When you win MAL, you represent the local leather community at IML in Chicago on Memorial Day weekend. Contestants from around the world compete. My year, there were 63 contestants.
ADVICE TO THIS YEAR’S MR. LEATHER CONTESTANTS? Know that the fact you have taken the time and effort to be in the contest makes you a special representative of our community. Enjoying yourself on stage brings confidence. Cherishing the experiences and friendships you will have the rest of your life are the rewards you win. Winning or not winning does not define you; use the contest experience as a stepping stone to become more involved with our community and a way to support your personal causes. Some of my closest friends and confidants are the very contestants and titleholders I met 26 years ago.
WHY DO YOU FEEL MAL HAS LASTED? I personally feel that Leather Weekend celebrates 45 years because of the welcoming and gracious feeling one experiences whether you are a first timer or a multi year alumnus. Over the four decades of existence embracing change yet respecting tradition is the key to the success of the weekend. The Centaurs welcome everyone and celebrate the diversity of choice over the adversity of judgment.
NAME: Mauro Walden-Montoya
YEAR WON: 1996
HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU ATTENDED MAL? I started attending MAL in 1993, and have been going ever since. But I’ve missed several years since I have been with my now husband because he can’t get off work often enough for us to go. I was there for my 20-year anniversary in 2016.
WILL YOU BE GOING THIS YEAR? Unfortunately I will not be attending this year.
RESIDENCE: Albuquerque, my hometown.
RESIDENCE THE YEAR YOU WON: Lived in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I’d moved there from D.C. six months before I won.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO LEATHER? First time I started getting into leather was when my ex and I were having sex and out of the blue, he said, “Hit me.” I was startled but he kept repeating it, so I did. And we both went, “Ooooh,” and it started me on my journey where I discovered I like inflicting consensual pain on those willing to receive it. I always loved the look of the Tom of Finland men and the look and feel of wearing leather is intoxicating.
HOW MANY COMPETITORS THE YEAR YOU WON? 6
DID YOU ENTER CASUALLY OR COMPETITIVELY? I entered casually, being relatively new to the scene and not really knowing what to expect. I entered more for fun than anything, and my ex, who had said he wanted to compete before we moved to Puerto Rico, had put the idea in my head. After we moved and split up, I was going to go to MAL anyway (my fourth time), and just decided to compete for fun. I had no idea I had to go on to compete at IML and had to ask someone what IML was. But once it happened, I was hooked and have lived in leather ever since.
HOW DO YOU ID? Gay Latino man
WHAT WAS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE TO YOU? When I entered, it was for fun. But during the competition, I found a true spirit of brotherhood, and I saw the greatness of the community, the brotherhood, the spirit of love and spirit of service to others. I have always been about service to the community, so this fit in two of my many interests. As I went through the competition, and ended up winning, I realized how I could use my platform as a titleholder to do more good in the community.
DID YOU COMPETE IN ANY OTHER LEATHER CONTESTS? I have competed in many titles besides MAL, but MAL was the first. I was Mr. Leather Puerto Rico in 1998, and in 1999, won Mr. South Florida Leather Daddy. After that, I started judging, and then producing contests, and produced Mr. Florida Leather as well as Mr. & Ms. Rio Grande Leather.
ADVICE TO THIS YEAR’S MR. LEATHER CONTESTANTS? Have fun and love what you’re doing, make the judges and audience laugh and show yourself and who you are.
WHY DO YOU FEEL MAL HAS LASTED? MAL has lasted for 45 years because it is an amazing event. It is, to me, the truest leather event out there now. It has always stayed true to its roots. It is where I send people for their first “real” leather experience because it has it all. The hotel lobby, the Leather Market, the events, the contest, the spirit of brotherhood shown by the Centaurs in hosting it year after year, it all makes for an incredibly special event that if leather is in your journey, you simply should not miss. I highly commend the Centaurs for keeping this going for 45 years because it is not an easy task, especially in an all-volunteer organization.
Celebrity News
Silky Nutmeg Ganache talks sex and dating, gender, politics, weight loss journey
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ semifinalist grew up in Bible Belt
Uncloseted Media published this interview on July 7.
By SPENCER MACNAUGHTON, ISABEL STOKES, and BELLA SAYEGH | After appearing on the 11th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the first season of “Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World,” the sixth season of “RuPaul’s All Stars” and now the 11th season of “All Stars,” Silky Nutmeg Ganache, known by many as the Reverend, is undoubtedly a legend.
Born and raised in Moss Point, Miss., Ganache bears all in this episode of “UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton.” She speaks about her relationship with gender, her 100-pound weight loss, what it’s like living as a queer person of color in a red state and why she’s calling on allies to stand up for the trans community.
Patrons enjoyed a night out at the popular LGBTQ venue Crush Dance Bar on Friday, July 3.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Theater
‘My Favorite Sociopath’ debuts at Shepherdstown’s CATF
Gay playwright Aurin Squire’s take on D.C. journalism in the ‘90s
‘My Favorite Sociopath’
Contemporary American Theater Festival
July 10-Aug. 2
Shepherdstown, W.Va.
Catf.org
Discernment. It’s a thing some people have, explains playwright Aurin Squire, especially when you’re gay or Black in America (Squire is both).
“You instinctively know when the mob is teaming up for the best interests of the powers that be. You can feel it in the air.”
In his sharp new satire “My Favorite Sociopath,” Squire writes about life experiences but set in a different time and place: It’s the 1990s, early days of the 24-hour news cycle, and three ambitious journalism students are pursuing success in D.C.
And now, Squire’s play, along with other new works, are making their world premieres at the annual Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) at Shepherd University in historic, queer-friendly Shepherdstown, W.Va. (just a 90-minute drive from D.C.).
“All of my plays are queer in some way,” says Squire, 46. “This one touches on harmless and dangerous lies. The characters are on the spectrum sexually, and it’s interesting how all that falls out.”
And he’s given it a lot of thought.
“Already as a kid, it seemed to me that the rage against rap music and sex was coming from closeted people resisting their own urges and temptations. For me, it was interesting to see a witch hunt led by witches. Queer people can always call out a lie.”
Since September, Squire has also been working with a TV show about the tech industry set in Silicon Valley. He says, “It seems the general flow of the tech industry is that humanity and civilization is finished and it’s just about accumulating as many goods as possible before everything collapses. In fact, those who are profiting actually agree. But for those who disagree, they believe the solution is to build bigger gates, but activists believe we can stop this”
Yet, he’s learned from folks associated with the show. “Many say the quickest way to divorce yourself from any responsibility or regulations — smash and grab. Otherwise, you have to stop and think and regulate your desires for greed and power”
Squire possesses a penchant for pithy titles. He laughs, explaining the first thing he wrote as a student at Juilliard was “Obama-ology,” the comedy with contemporary message. While a lot of people liked the name, it didn’t necessarily vibe with the author. He concedes that he chooses names based on “easy to remember” and titles that won’t be easy to lose as a file.
Another is “Defacing Michael Jackson,” a coming-of-age dramedy set in rural Florida in 1984, specifically Squire’s native town Opa-locka, Miami, a fantastical place famed for its fanciful Moorish revival architecture.
Living in the shadow of exotic structures, he wasn’t particularly fazed. Squire says “It wasn’t until returning to visit after my freshman year at Northwestern University in Chicago that I realized how weird it was: When you grow up in a place, you take surroundings for granted no matter how over the top.”
Now based in New York (where for two happy years, 2017-2019, he shared digs with drag king Murry Hill), Squire returns frequently to Miami to be with family, but this summer has been filled with both work and travel.
Currently, he’s in Shepherdstown with CATF shaping up “My Favorite Sociopath.” Later this summer he will travel to South Africa for research, followed by a silent writing retreat in Santa Fe, N.M.
Much of Squire’s work reflects the Latino, African, Caribbean, African-American, and Jewish cultures he grew up around in South Florida.
When asked if today’s winds of anti-multiculturalism worry him, he replies, “No, because that’s going to pass. Most people don’t like, people are seeing the negative results of it, and the young people coming up despise it. White male gamers were tricked momentarily through the algorithms into voting against their own interests and they’re now seeing how it’s not working out for them.
“Conservatives always try to stop progress and eventually they always lose. It’s just a question of where we’ll be in the middle of the end of civilization before that happens. I’d like to hope we can turn the ship around before then.”
In addition to “My Favorite Sociopath,” CATF summer season features three other world premieres (Lisa D’Amour’s comedy “The Smoker,” “Refugee Rhapsody” by Yussef El Guindi, “Best Line Wins: A Play Inspired by the Improvised Lives of Elaine May & Mike Nichols” by Beth Kander) and “¡VOS!” by Christina Pumariega.
CATF runs from July 10-Aug. 2 in three venues on the Shepherd University campus: Frank Center, Marinoff Theater, and Studio 112.
As Washington shifts right, Democratic Socialists gain ground
Susan Stewart could make history as Rehoboth’s first openly gay mayor
Silky Nutmeg Ganache talks sex and dating, gender, politics, weight loss journey
Madonna roundup: Reviews, sales, and love for ‘Danceteria’
Three overlooked court rulings limited White House anti-trans policies
‘Transcendent’ a tough but important read
‘My Favorite Sociopath’ debuts at Shepherdstown’s CATF
Under-the-radar Delaware beach towns smart buyers are targeting
In Trump’s divided America, Michael Weinstein’s AHF responds
