The famous Folsom Street Fair will be held this coming Sunday on San Francisco’s Folsom Street and some lucky souls from AEBN will be there! This fair happens every year on the last Sunday in September and celebrates the leather scene. It’s the last hurrah for Leather Pride Week and although it’s not a gay men-only event, it’s been a proud tradition in the gay leather culture as well as the BDSM scene since 1984.
Leathermen trace their community to post-World War II gay motorcycle clubs. Butch gay guys emulated Marlon Brando’s sexy biker look in The Wild One, and gay biker clubs such as L.A.’s Satyrs and San Francisco’s Warlocks were an important part of the scene. An emphasis on masculinity resonated with gay men who were tired of being stereotyped as effeminate. Some of these men were indeed far more masculine than any straight, suburban husband. The leather scene didn’t emerge from BDSM, but as it evolved, the community was a natural place to explore curiosities about kinky sex and BDSM. For others, wearing black leather is a sensual pleasure, a thing of beauty as seen on Tom of Finland models including Peter Berlin.
Like many subcultures, leather culture has traditions and a history far deeper than we can cover in one blog entry. Folsom alone could fill a book, and probably has, as it’s reportedly the world’s largest leather event and BDSM showcase. If you’re going to miss Folsom, there’s lots of porn for celebrating your love of leather at home.
For classics, you can’t beat Bijou Pictures. We recently reviewed Born To Raise Hell, a treasure of the genre, but don’t forget the other two parts of the Dungeons of Europe Trilogy, namely Pictures From The Black Dance (part one) and Like Moths To A Flame. Another must-see is 1978’s 10:30 P.M. Monday, because the weekend is not the only reason for a good time.
One company known for leather flicks is Raging Stallion Studios, whose June release Dominus is among the most popular leather movies. Its menacing, provocative tone adds to its appeal, and there’s no plot to bog down the thrilling action between some of the industry’s best studs — anyone for an interracial pairing with beauty Jason Adonis fucking black stud Race Cooper? But if it’s an epic scene you want, Big Bigger Biggest features the instant-classic moment when super-top Ricky Sinz took a cock up his ass for the first time on film!
You’ve no doubt noticed by now that the ever-evolving leather scene doesn’t look the way it did 60-70 years ago, and a brand-new release called Ipanema Heat from Dark Alley Media and Halcyon Studios might be one of our favorite examples of the new breed of leatherman. It’s an updated look (maybe influenced by the changes in biker culture?) and of course one thing hasn’t changed: the men are still absolutely volcanic. One summer holiday in Rio De Janeiro, Matthias Von Fistenberg and Tommy Hawk take over a penthouse in the famous Ipanema neighborhood for some hot bareback shenanigans you’ll never forget. We know Matthias nearly always means plenty of fisting, but not this time. However, leather and fisting frequently go hand-in-hand (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun), and you’ll see a lot of it in Berlin Underground and many other Dark Alley Media releases.
We at AEBN love leather as much as you do, and we offer more than 550 titles as of this writing. Some of our other favorites include Muscles In Leather (COLT Studio Group), the 2010 GayVN-winning Skuff 4: Downright Fierce (a relatively rare safe-sex leather title from Hot House Entertainment), and the 1996 military leather classic Code Of Conduct 2: Deliverance Director’s Cut (Falcon Studios).
