Mr. Michigan Leather 2016 contestants. Left to Right: Chris Rice, Adam Way, Brian Mailley
DOUGLAS, Mich. – This past weekend we traveled to The Dunes Resort for the 20th Annual Mr. Michigan Contest. That’s right, this year marked 20 years of MML and that would also be the theme of this years event.
Keeping with the theme this years judging panel were all former Mr. Michigan Leather Titleholders. The judging panel included; Mr. Michigan Leather 2015 Josh Fortuna, Mr. Michigan Leather 2004 Bob Rose, Mr. Michigan Leather 2001 Doug VanKirk, Mr. Michigan Leather 2006 Tony Wolfram, and Mr. Michigan Leather & International Mr. Leather 2012 Woody Woodruff. Tallymasters for the event were Great Lakes Power Exchange Couple 2014, Sir Travis & Girl Niki while Emcee duties were handled by Mr. LA Leather 2006 & Founder of the Michigan Band of Brothers, Bob Johnson. Mr. Michigan Leather 2009 & Mr. Friendly Founder, Dave Watt filled the role of Stage Manager and the Producer for MML 2016 was Bryon Hayes.
The Leather Archive & Museum Display at Mr. Michigan Leather XX.
Being that this was Mr. Michigan Leathers 20th year they decided that this years fundraising would be for the Leather Archive & Museum located in Chicago, Illinois. The Leather Archive & Museum or LA&M for short, houses the history of the Leather Community, displaying it at their museum as well as taking pieces on the road in traveling displays. LA&M brought with them a traveling display and had it set up the entire weekend for the enjoyment and education of the MML attendees.
Saturday afternoon seen the annual MML cookout and Mr. Friendly’s 7th Birthday, “That’s one year old in puppy years.” Mr. Friendly founder Dave Watt was happy to share with me. The cookout featured burgers, chips, and potato salad while Mr. Friendly supplied cake for the birthday festivities. The usual irritating Michigan weather even worked in MML’s favor this year as it was warm and sunny the entire weekend allowing attendees to enjoy time at the pool as the cookout took place.
A friendly nap with Friendly Pup after the Mr. Friendly Birthday Party.
The contest it’s self took place Saturday evening. All three of this years contestants held titles and were hoping to walk away with the Mr. Michigan Leather Title. Contestant #1 was Mr. Campit Leather 2015, Chris Rice. Contestant #2 was Mr. Dunes Leather 2015, Adam Way. Contestant #3 was Mr. Liberty Leather 2015, Brian Mailley.
For those of you who may have never attended a contest allow me to briefly explain, and for those of you who have you are welcome to skip to the next paragraph. Many contests, including this one, have four parts. There is the Interview portion that takes place behind closed doors. The Bar Wear portion is the first on stage portion and is your first introduction to the contestants. Next is the Pecs & Personality where contestants display their bodies and minds by wearing their jocks on stage and answering pop questions. The final part of the contest is the Leather Formals portion where contestants dress in their best leathers. Scoring is done by the earlier mentioned judging panel and the winner is announced at the end of the evening.
During the contest we seen the presentation of the new Community Boot Black Stole to Elisa the Michigan Community Bootblack 2015. Prior to this presentation the Michigan Community Bootblack was only presented a back patch each year.
Mr. Michigan Leather 2015, Josh Fortuna standing beside the new Mr. Michigan Leather 2016, Brian Mailley.
Entertainment for MML XX was provided by Kelly Carey a singer from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her performance included help of past Mr. Michigan Leather Titleholders as well as this years contestants getting frisky in the the background as she sang. A very entertaining act that was enjoyed by all.
The annual step down of the then current Mr. Michigan Leather then took place as Mr. Michigan Leather 2015, Josh Fortuna gave a very touching step down speech and shared with the audience a slide show of his past year as Mr. Michigan Leather.
It was then that time in the night (as well as in this article) to announce the winner of Mr. Michigan Leather 2016. This years winner was contestant #3, Brian Mailley. Brian will go on to compete at International Mr. Leather in Chicago in May of next year.
Saturday evening then closed with the annual Victory Party and the After Hours Party that was sponsored by LeatherUNITED.
As a journalist I attend many events & contests a year and I must say that this years Mr. Michigan Leather seemed to run flawlessly. It was a fun time and all three contestants were very deserving of being on that stage competing. Every contest should strive to do what Bryon Hayes has done with MML.
(I would as always like to thank The Dunes Resort & Mr. Michigan Leather for inviting us out to cover the event and being so welcoming.)
