DES MOINES – Kinksters from all over the Midwest converged on the legendary bar The Blazing Saddle in Des Moines, IA, October 12-14, 2012, for Iowa Leather Weekend.
The party started Friday night with the Iowa Bears Party followed by the Contestant “Meat” & Greet for the Mr. Iowa Leather Contest (MIAL). Emcee Jon Krongaard, who is the Executive Coordinator of IML, introduced five sexy men who were competing for the Mr. Iowa title, followed by caning and fire play demos by CIPEX.
On Saturday morning, the contestants had their private interviews with the judging panel, and came back that evening for the on-stage portion of the contest. The men competing this year represented the broad range of Iowa’s leather community: a bodybuilder, a twink, a goth, a hot gay nerd and a longtime member of the Corn Haulers Leather club. They all brought their specific personalities to the table and made it a very difficult task for the judges to pick just one winner. In the end, Mark Turnage won the title of Mr. Iowa Leather 2013 with Trahvae and Taler Grier as 1st and 2nd runner-up, respectively.
This year’s judges for MIAL were Randy Carmenaty, American Leatherman 2008; Angel Velez, Mr. Chicago Leather 2012; Karen “Ultra” Crecelius; Sandy “Mama” Reinhardt; and Mike Pagano, Mr. Iowa Leather 2011. The talley master was Sam Clemmons, Mr. Bluegrass Leather 2012.
After the contest, the AIDS Project of Central Iowa hosted its 2nd annual Black Party at the Glaza Studio. Hundreds of gear-clad attendees were treated to kink demos by local Midwest titleholders as well as a DJ set by former IML Gary Iriza.
Sunday, the weekend wrapped up with the Victory Brunch & Beer Bust at the Saddle.
This year’s Iowa Leather Weekend also featured fetish wear vendor Le Chateau Exotic, performances by porn star Keiron Ryan and the deft skills of Bootblack Mike of Minneapolis.
