Informative documentary about an international gay leather event held in Chicago. Was surprised to see how committed the founders of this event have been and how close knit this community seems to be. As a gay person myself, my biggest road block to full acceptance of this fetish lifestyle is that it seems to be all about SEX. For most people, sex becomes less and less a part of their life as they age. The looks go; the hormones drop and other things take precedence.
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ohlabtechguy30 December 2018
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TBROUGH8 April 2012For those unfamiliar with International Mr. Leather, it as an annual event where literally thousands of Leatherfolk gather every May in Chicago. The centerpiece of the weekend is the International Mister Leather contest, in which men from around the world compete for the chance to promote the Leather Lifestyle (among other activities).
But it wasn't always like this. In a DVD that is destined to take a place next to the book "25 Years Of Champions," "Kink Crusaders" chronicles the humble beginnings of IML in 1979 (12 contestants from 6 states) to the extravagant pageant that it is today. In 2008, documentarian Mike Skiff travelled to Chicago for the chance to capture the 30th year of IML as it unfolded. So as you would expect, this is the kind of film that is laden with imagery of Homomasculinity at its hottest, with pictures, interviews and event clips documenting every year of International Mr. Leather. (Including a brief but explanatory clip as a postlude from IML 2010.) But once again, I have to repeat. "Kink Crusaders" is much more than a tableaux of hot men in leather. Perspective comes from a rare "Mr Gold Coast Leather" film clip to ongoing interviews with contestants and commentary from Guy Baldwin, founder Chuck Renslow and others (including the odd interlopers who found themselves inside the hotel as the contest was occurring). Mike Skiff and a host of contributors have created a grand history of this culture of leather in this magnificent 90 minute documentary. But if the thought of all those concepts and heavy thinking intimidates you, fear not. There are contest videos, and did I fail to mention that the pictures are hot? If you missed that earlier on, forgive me. I reiterate; the men are HOT. Get "Kink Crusaders" now. It's going to look great on your widescreen. -
etiennestories25 September 2020My partner and I watched this film thinking we would see a bunch of real-life macho men running around in leather outfits. Instead, what we saw was a bunch of queens, some of whom were really nellie queens, conducting what appeared to be an imitation of the Miss America Pageant. We were saddened to see that gay men could sink so low in their quest for attention.