Recently I took part in Saber Thrust, the Fort Lauderdale leather club's annual Run. As a member of the Saber M.C. for the past 13 years, I am proud of my Club's success, a product of its remarkable growth over the past five years.

Sixty gay and bisexual leathermen attended Saber Thrust '98, representing such clubs as Atlanta S/M Solidarity, Conquistadors MC (Orlando), Empire Coastal Sentinels (Savannah), Key West Wreckers, Menamore L/LC (Wilmington, NC), National Leather Association (NLA) Florida, Panthers L/L (Atlanta) and Trident International South Florida. Most of those Clubs belong to the South East Conference of Clubs (SECC), an umbrella organization formed in June of 1996 "to promote brotherhood, sisterhood, and camaraderie among" leather, SM and fetish clubs in the Southland. Thrust events were held at local levi/leather bars Boots, Chaps at the Corral, the Cubby Hole, the Fort Lauderdale Eagle and the Ramrod, themselves proof of Fort Lauderdale's resurgent leatherscene. 

South Florida's gay leatherscene has come a long way during the past twenty years. During the pre-AIDS seventies it was dominated by a brotherhood of motorcycle clubs -- the Brotherhood of Man, the South Florida Eagles, the Stingrays, the Sunrays and the Thebans -- that set the tone for both their members and for "GDIs" ("God-Damned Independents"). During the late 80's the leather club scene as we knew it died in South Florida, a victim of the epidemic that killed so many of the club members. Only the Saber M.C. -- and for a time the "Fall Festival Association" (FFA) -- remained of what was once a flourishing club subculture.  

Climate and culture combined to keep back South Florida's leatherfolk. Even today South Florida's leatherscene takes a back seat to those of New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, London and Berlin.  

South Beach, in so many ways a mecca of gay life and culture, has no leather presence to speak of, a state of affairs critics attribute to the climate, the Latin influence, and the predominance of youthful, gym-buff bodies to who leather is a fashion statement but not a lifestyle choice. Though South Beach benefits from the Loading Zone, a levi/leather bar, and the imposing presence of Jeff Adler, the first Floridian to win the coveted title of Mr. International Drummer, most SoBe leatherfolk go to Fort Lauderdale in pursuit of leather bars and clubs.  

Though AIDS decimated the first generation of gay leathermen, enough survived to carry the torch to a new generation and to new converts to the scene. The inevitable aging of gay baby boomers (those who survived AIDS) led to the creation of gay leather clubs and bear clubs as alternatives to the buff boyman scene that dominates much of gay society. Local leatherfolk created a Florida chapter of the National Leather "to establish and maintain a ... communication, information, education and support network for members of the Leather/SM/Fetish community." Other Fort Lauderdale leathermen formed Trident International South Florida, one of many Trident clubs that dot the Eastern seaboard. Since all the local leather clubs except NLA limit their membership to gay or bisexual men, local leatherwomen started their own club, SLLAP - Southern Leather Lesbians At Play. 

Though I hate to admit it, a gay leatherman or leatherwoman does not have to join a club to enjoy Fort Lauderdale's flourishing leatherscene. As the Saber Thrust itinerary made evident, this City has several bars that cater to the leather/SM/fetish lifestyles, from pure levi/leather bars like the Fort Lauderdale Eagle, the Ramrod and Chaps at the Corral to leather-friendly "butch bars" like Boots, the Cubby Hole, and the EndUp. These bars do more than their fair share to foster the growth of the local leatherscene, from hosting bar nights for local clubs to sponsoring leather "beauty contests." Leather contests, mostly affiliated with the International Mr. Drummer Contest or the International Mr. Leather Contest, attract gay and bisexual men who admire masculine beauty (are there any other kind?). Through these contests, many men learn about the local leatherscene.  

For over two decades, South Florida's leatherfolk contributed more than our share to gay organizations. Leathermen like Gregg Adams, Michael Greenspan, Eric Lawrence, Richard Sedlak, the late Mitch Novack, the late Marty Rubin and the late Steve Selwyn led (nonleather) gay groups with distinction and success. More recently, leathermen served at the front lines of the local fight against an epidemic that has killed so many of our brothers. Gay leathermen helped found Center One, Fort Lauderdale/Broward's oldest gay organization, and HEALTHLINK, a group that helps financially-strapped PWAs acquire needed medications. Every year local leatherfolk throng the Blackheart Ball, a benefit for HEALTHLINK. Attended by hundreds of men and women in their finest black attire (from leather to feather), the Blackheart Ball is the black leather equivalent of Miami's better-known White Party. 

The leather community in South Florida has its own unique identity. With so many influences from all over the country and all over the world, it's a collage of different ideas and attitudes. Already the major leather center south of Washington, D.C. and east of New Orleans, Fort Lauderdale could well become an international leather mecca. South Florida's leatherfolk, as part of this unique and dynamic community, could very well make it happen.