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.
Books
Love or fear flying you’ll devour ‘Why Fly’
New book chronicles a lifetime obsession with aircraft
‘Why Fly’
By Caroline Paul
c. 2026, Bloomsbury
$27.99/256 pages
Tray table folded up.
Check. Your seat is in the upright position, the airflow above your head is just the way you like it, and you’re ready to go. The flight crew is making final preparations. The lights are off and the plane is backing up. All you need now is “Why Fly” by Caroline Paul, and buckle up.
When she was very young, Paul was “obsessed” with tales of adventure, devouring accounts written by men of their derring-do. The only female adventure-seeker she knew about then was Amelia Earhart; later, she learned of other adventuresome women, including aviatrix Bessie Coleman, and Paul was transfixed.
Time passed; Paul grew up to create a life of adventure all her own.
Then, the year her marriage started to fracture, she switched her obsession from general exploits to flight.
Specifically, Paul loves experimental aircraft, some of which, like her “trike,” can be made from a kit at home. Others, like Woodstock, her beloved yellow gyrocopter, are major purchases that operate under different FAA rules. All flying has rules, she says, even if it seems like it should be as freewheeling as the birds it mimics.
She loves the pre-flight checklist, which is pure anticipation as well as a series of safety measures; if only a relationship had the same ritual. Paul loves her hangar, as a place of comfort and for flight in all senses of the word. She enjoys thinking about historic tales of flying, going back before the Wright Brothers, and including a man who went aloft on a lawn chair via helium-filled weather balloons.
The mere idea that she can fly any time is like a gift to Paul.
She knows a lot of people are terrified of flying, but it’s near totally safe: generally, there’s a one in almost 14 million chance of perishing in a commercial airline disaster – although, to Paul’s embarrassment and her dismay, it’s possible that both the smallest planes and the grandest loves might crash.
If you’re a fan of flying, you know what to do here. If you fear it, pry your fingernails off the armrests, take a deep breath, and head to the shelves. “Why Fly” might help you change your mind.
It’s not just that author Caroline Paul enjoys being airborne, and she tells you. It’s not that she’s honest in her explanations of being in love and being aloft. It’s the meditative aura you’ll get as you’re reading this book that makes it so appealing, despite the sometimes technical information that may flummox you between the Zen-ness. It’s not overwhelming; it mixes well with the history Paul includes, biographies, the science, heartbreak, and exciting tales of adventure and risk, but it’s there. Readers and romantics who love the outdoors, can’t resist a good mountain, and crave activity won’t mind it, though, not at all.
If you own a plane – or want to – you’ll want this book, too. It’s a great waiting-at-the-airport tale, or a tuck-in-your-suitcase-for-later read. Find “Why Fly” and you’ll see that it’s an upright kind of book.
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Theater
Out actor Kevin Cahoon on starring role in ‘Chez Joey’
Arena production adapted from Broadway classic ‘Pal Joey’
‘Chez Joey’
Through March 15
Arena Stage
1101 Sixth St., S.W.
Tickets start at $93
Arenastage.org
As Melvin Snyder in the new musical “Chez Joey,” out actor Kevin Cahoon plays a showbiz society columnist who goes by the name Mrs. Knickerbocker. He functions as a sort of liaison between café society and Chicago’s Black jazz scene circa 1940s. It’s a fun part replete with varied insights, music, and dance.
“Chez Joey” is adapted from the Broadway classic “Pal Joey” by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. It’s inspired by John O’Hara’s stories based on the exploits of a small-time nightclub singer published in The New Yorker.
A warm and humorous man, Cahoon loves his work. At just six, he began his career as a rodeo clown in Houston. He won the Star Search teen division at 13 singing songs like “Some People” from “Gypsy.” He studied theater at New York University and soon after graduating set to work playing sidekicks and comedic roles.
Over the years, Cahoon has played numerous queer parts in stage productions including “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” “La Cage aux Folles,” “Rocky Horror” as well as Peanut in “Shucked,” and George the keyboardist in “The Wedding Singer,” “a sort of unicorn of its time,” says Cahoon.
Co-directed by Tony Goldwyn and the great Savion Glover, “Chez Joey” is a terrific and fun show filled with loads of talent. Its relevant new book is by Richard Lagravenese.
On a recent Monday off from work, Cahoon shared some thoughts on past and current happenings.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Is there a through line from Kevin, the six-year-old rodeo clown, to who we see now at Arena Stage?
KEVIN CAHOON: Anytime I want to land a joke in a theater piece it goes back to that rodeo clown. It doesn’t matter if it’s Arena’s intimate Kreeger Theatre or the big rodeo at the huge Houston Astrodome.
I was in the middle stadium and there was an announcer — a scene partner really. And we were doing a back and forth in hopes of getting laughs. At that young age I was trying to understand what it takes to get laughs. It’s all about timing. Every line.
BLADE: Originally, your part in “Chez Joey” Melvin was Melba who sings “Zip,” a clever woman reporter’s song. It was sort of a star feature, where they could just pop in a star in the run of “Pal Joey.”
CAHOON: That’s right. And in former versions it was played by Martha Plimpton and before her Elaine Stritch. For “Chez Joey,” we switched gender and storyline.
We attempted to do “Zip” up until two days before we had an audience at Arena. Unexpectedly they cut “Zip” and replaced it with a fun number called “I Like to Recognize the Tune,” a song more connected to the story.
BLADE: Wow. You must be a quick study.
CAHOON: Well, we’re working with a great band.
BLADE: You’ve played a lot of queer parts. Any thoughts on queer representation?
CAHOON: Oh yes, definitely. And I’ve been very lucky that I’ve had the chance to portray these characters and introduce them to the rest of the world. I feel honored.
After originating Edna, the hyena on Broadway in “The Lion King,” I left that to do “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” as standby for John Cameron Mitchell, doing one show a week for him.
Everyone thought I was crazy to leave the biggest musical of our time with a personal contract and getting paid more money that I’d ever made to get $400 a week at the downtown Jane Street Theatre in a dicey neighborhood.
At the time, I really felt like I was with cool kids. I guess I was. And I never regretted it.
BLADE: When you play new parts, do you create new backstories for the role?
CAHOON: Every single time! For Melvin, I suggested a line about chorus boys on Lakeshore Drive.
BLADE: What’s up next for Kevin Cahoon?
CAHOON: I’m about to do the New York Theatre Workshop Gala; I’ve been doing it for nine years in a row. It’s a huge job. I’ll also be producing the “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” opening on Broadway this spring; it’s a queer-centric uptown vogue ball with gay actor André de Shields reprising his role as “Old Deuteronomy.”
BLADE: There’s a huge amount of talent onstage in “Chez Joey.”
CAHOON: There is. I’m sharing a dressing room with Myles Frost who plays Joey. He won accolades for playing Michael Jackson on Broadway. We’ve become great friends. He’s a miracle to watch on stage. And Awa [Sal Secka], a D.C. local, is great. Every night the audience falls head over heels for her. When this show goes to New York, Awa will, no doubt, be a giant star.
BLADE: Do you think “Chez Joey” might be Broadway bound?
CAHOON: I have a good feeling it is. I’ve done shows out of town that have high hopes and pedigree, but don’t necessarily make it. “Chez Joey” is a small production, it’s funny, and audiences seem to love it.
The Capital Pride Alliance held the annual Pride Reveal event at The Schuyler at The Hamilton Hotel on Thursday, Feb. 26. The theme for this year’s Capital Pride was announced: “Exist. Resist. Have the audacity!”
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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