September 6, 2008

New Haven, CT

Chris Grasso, Head Judge, Mr. CT Leather 2008 /Mr. MAL 2008

Living in the New Haven County of Connecticut for over 20+ years, Chris felt it is was time to move out of the city and head for the countryside in Portland, CT where he lives with his friend Lyme of Leatherwright. Chris found himself and became part of the gay community in 1988. After exploring the many gay “communities” he found himself hanging out at The Dugout & The L.U.R.E in NYC where he felt right at home among the many men of all shapes & sizes. He saw that many of the men at both bars were bearmen & leathermen; it was then did he realize that he himself was a leatherbear. After winning Mr. Connecticut Leather, Chris competed for Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather, and is the second Mr. Connecticut Leather title holder to win the honor of Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather.(Mr. Tug Taylor won in 2004) As Mr. Mid-Atlantic Chris went on to compete @ IML XXX where he was very honored not only to meet 50 outstanding men but also be part of such an incredible weekend.

Chris has a soft spot in his heart for children.(Not in the Michael Jackson way) He enjoys raising money for children charities and loves spoiling his godson Julian Christopher every chance he gets. Chris himself is a BIG kid at heart! He also enjoys meeting new people, reading, traveling, and just hanging out with friends. Chris is single & looking for that TOP Daddy to fill the position, any takers??

" To the men, women, & boys I have meet over this past year, thank you.. thank you for being you... thank you for showing me that "leather" comes in ALL shapes,sizes & color"

Rick Spencer, Judge, North East Leather Boy 2004/Producer: North East Leather Sir Boy

How a good ole southern boy went bad.... It started 14 years ago when my interest for leather was discovered.   Born and raised in North Carolina after college I moved to Florida where I discovered who I was. On to Syracuse NY in 1993 where I met my partner (Sir) of 11 years.. My journey in leather lead me to experience leather clubs, runs and on to winning my first leather tittle, Mr Oneida Leather 1999. Then to enter and win Mr Western New York 1999. I currently reside in Brooklyn New York with my Sir. I have been producing the Mr Oneida Leather contest for 10 years, and Oneida Leather boy for 4 years.  During my journey and experiences in the leather community I discovered I was a boy which led me to enter and win NorthEast Leather boy 2004. After all boys love to serve! After several years of community service I then  in 2007 began producing for the NorthEast Region.    The experiences  above have led me to be the bad boy I am today. 

Peter Schwartz, Judge, Mr. NYC Eagle 2008

Peter recently competed in IML XXX.  He has been very active in the leather community raising funds for groups like Safer + Saner, AIDS Action International, and The LGBT Center.  He has personally raised over $40,000 for The Center alone.  This will be his fifth year of riding in Braking the Cycle, a 3 day AIDS Ride that benefits the HIV AIDS services of the New York LGBT Center.  He is co-caption of Team Eagle, the Eagle’s cycling team for Braking the Cycle, which raised over $63,000 last year and has a goal of raising $100,000 this year.  He is an associate member of the New York boys of Leather.  Peter lives in New York City with his partner of 5 years, Rick

spanky, Judge, Mr. New Jersey Leather 2008

spanky has been part of the Leather Community for close to 2 decades now, coming out in NYC in the early 90's.  When spanky moved to NJ he noticed that there was no organized leather contingent for the first NJ Pride parade so he too up the challenge and organized one along with writing "The Leather Link for a local gay NJ publication.  spanky competed in and won NYC Drummerboy in 1993 and then won Northeast Drummerboy 1993.  He is proud to be representing the home of his choice NJ and looks forward to the opportunity to help choose the new Mr Connecticut Leather.

Joe Moran, Judges Boy, North East Leather Boy 2008

I entered the leather community at an early age frequenting the many clubs of New York City's Meat Packing district in it's heyday. I was attracted by the mystique of the community and the allure of something I desired, I found it. Through my career I have lived in many areas of our country and been lucky enough to find and join the tribe of those areas. I am a proud member and current Vice President of the Pocono Warriors, and been lucky enough to have won the title of NorthEast Leather boy 2008 I am 47, single, and enjoying the interview process of meeting the right Sir while currently residing in New York City.

Jayson Scott , MC, Mr. CT Leather 2007