Category Archives: Leather
Chicago’s Chuck Renslow Passed, 87
Pioneering Chicago Gay Activist and Leather Community Leader Chuck Renslow Passes Away At 87
It’s with a sad heart that we must report that Chuck Renslow, the pioneering gay activist who opened the first gay leather bar in the country, the Gold Coast in 1958, has passed away at the age of 87.
Mr. Renslow was the founder and photographer of Kris Studios, one of the earliest and most durable of the physique houses ( and one where leather always had a place ) He was the publisher of Triumph, Mars and Rawhide Male magazines. He was a founder of Second City Motorcycle Club, the first club in the midwest in 1965.
He was among the earliest members, often among the founders, of many gay liberation organizations and movements. He was the publisher of GayLife Newspaper and has sat on the Board of fourteen different GLBT organizations. He was also the founder of many gay bars and sex clubs including Man’s Country, which has survived for more than 30 years.
He is the founder, in of the International Mr. Leather, which meets yearly in Chicago and was inducted into Chicago’s Lesbian and Gay Hall of Fame in 1991.
At the Leather Archives & Museum’s September 2016 Board of Directors meeting Chuck was elected “Chairperson of the Board” of the world famous museum that he himself founded.
Specific details of his passing have not been released as of yet.
Can A Leather Daddy Run For a Senate Seat? Joe Laiacona says YES!
Did you see the READER last week?!
Joe Laiacona, a part-time computer science teacher at Columbia College, is running as a reformer (state representative of the 40th District) against the incumbent, Deborah Mell, daughter of powerful 33rd Ward alderman Richard Mell.
With the help of veteran election lawyer Richard Means, Laiacona has filed a gutsy challenge to her nominating petition, alleging that she’s not a registered voter at her current residence.
That has election watchers buzzing, but it’s not what makes him a historic candidate. And he’s an openly gay man going toe-to-toe with an out lesbian for state office in a working-class northwest-side district—a first.
But there’s more: if elected, Laiacona would be the first known leather master to take office in Illinois.
Read the full article at the Chicago READER online.
(model from Hot House)
IML International Mr. Leather in Chicago Memorial Weekend
More than 50 contestants from across the U.S. and around the world will compete for the title of International Mr. Leather 2009, Thursday, May 21 through Monday, May 25, 2009 (Memorial Day Weekend) in Chicago. IML is pleased to announce an exciting new location for this year’s contest: The Chicago Hilton, 720 S. Michigan Ave. The Chicago Hilton is also the host hotel for the weekend.
In 1979 no one knew that International Mr. Leather would become a phenomenon. What started as a little contest in a small bar attracting about 400 people, now draws over 15,000 men to Chicago from over 60 countries around the world!
5 days of leathermen, parties, events, contest and more.
Visit IML online for more details.
The Best of Gay Chicago
