Last month the Calgary Eagle held the annual Mr. Calgary Leather competition – an event very important to Calgary’s Leather and Fetish community. Similar events are held in any city that has a leather or fetish bar, in order to appoint a community figurehead for that year. At this function, Mr. Calgary Leather 2006 Chris Enright stepped down to allow new candidates to vie for the position.

“The title of Mr. Calgary Leather has…been held most years since about 2000, and usually in conjunction with the Eagle since 2002 because the Eagle is the home in Calgary of leather for gay men,” Enright told GayCalgary. “I see [Mr. Calgary Leather] as a representative of the community – someone who has been chosen to put a face to leather in Calgary, to be visible within the community and to some extent outside of it, whether it’s at Pride Parades or what have you.”

During his time holding the title and with the help of the Calgary Eagle, Enright was able to raise enough funds to cover part of the cost for himself and his partner to attend the International Mr. Leather competition (IML) in Chicago. “Canada did very well,” commented Enright, referring to the fact that 4 out of the 5 Canadian candidates were in the top 10. Enright himself placed number 8 out of a pool of over 50 contestants from across the globe. This year’s winner, Bo Ladashevska, is from Montréal.

Back to Calgary, the competition was a matter of winning the votes of the judges – a panel of prominent men and women from the leather community. As with previous years, individuals from the Edmonton leather community, such as the former Mr. Edmonton Leather, played a part in the judging process. Contestants got to show off some of their different leather gear, answer a number of fun but challenging questions, and perform an amusing task to test their clout. This year, the two contestants were asked to pick members from the audience, and then given the task of removing that person’s clothing above and below the waist - without using their hands!

This year’s winner of Mr. Calgary Leather 2007 wishes to be referred to as “Marshall”. He and his partner just recently moved to Calgary from England for a change of life, to meet new people and have new experiences. Marshall commented on what it takes to be a competitor.

“It does take a lot of hard work, in a way. There’s a certain amount of preparation that goes into it. …Getting down to the gym and preparing physically for it, and mentally as well because they’re quite rigorous with their questions. So [it involved] doing research on the internet into the Leather scene and thinking about what sort of questions they might ask at the interview. And then there’s the whole thing of organizing the different costumes; getting the leather gear all polished and looking nice and prepared.”

“The event organizer, Jim, he was a great help and very supportive, and sort of chatted to me a little bit before the show on what I should wear, and the same thing applies to my partner who was quite good with giving me tips.”

Although Enright is no longer the current title holder, Marshall was thankful that he hasn’t seen his work to be over just yet. “He has been great…even since I’ve gotten the prize he has been E-mailing me tips and offering support and suggestions…when to wear your sash, an other helpful hints.”

Marshall spoke about his plans for the next year as Mr. Calgary Leather.

“I’ve agreed to host a few events at the Eagle Bar and take part in the Pride Parade in Calgary. And I’d like to visit some other towns in Canada, get to some other Prides as well, to fly the flag for Calgary. I’d be quite keen to get involved if there are any charity events going on, fundraising or what have you. I’d be happy to be involved with that as well.”

For more information about Mr. Calgary Leather or Calgary’s leather scene in general, check out the Calgary Eagle’s website at www.calgaryeagle.com.