Happy Holidays!
So, it goes without saying that this year didn’t turn out as many of us expected, but we’ve ALMOST made it to 2021 and there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel!
For me, January 2020 was filled with excitement, and the promise of a year full of all things leather! I stepped off the MAL stage and into my first event with Scarlet’s Bake Sale, an amazing event that helped to raise over $14,000 to support SMYAL, an LGBTQIA+ youth development and leadership organization. I lost some clothes…jockstrap, cock ring, socks, and shirt, but was able to raise about $7,000 from those items. All in good fun for a great cause!
And then, almost as if a fuse blew, we went into lockdown! It happened so quickly. Where were the events? How was I to make a difference? What would this year really look like if we were all stuck at home? It took me a while to recalibrate, but with support from folx inside and outside the leather community, I was able to re-center and focus on the “new normal” (a phrase I’ve grown sick of, and can’t believe I just used).
Despite travel/bar/occupancy restrictions, the magic of zoom and social media made it possible to still do some good within the leather community this year. We were able to organize, and/or participate in, several online fundraisers to support various causes, including Safe Haven, a LGBTQIA+
homeless/housing-unstable non-for-profit here in the Pittsburgh area, help raise money for the Leather Archives and Museum through their jock strap auction, and donated to support the Black Trans Live Matters movement. We event partnered with the Imperial Courts of Washington DC in the “From Our Hearts to Your Hand” campaign and made 100 PB&J sandwich brown bags to provide to a local shelter in Pittsburgh.
Most recently, Mr. Pittsburgh Leather Bear, Joshua Englert, and I helped to raise over $750 to donate for holiday gift purchases for kids in the Pittsburgh area.
I learned to make sourdough and did a ton of baking. And I hosted a couple of “Mangia! with MAL” cooking shows where I made spaghetti sauce, dry-rub ribs, mac and cheese, and triple berry trifle. Stay tuned for another episode coming in the new year!
I work in Higher Education, so navigating the issues of enrollment, class delivery, staff and student health and well-being amidst the pandemic was a tough, and ever-changing, challenge. Still, with my support group, we made it through several hurdles, and have game plans in place should the ground
continue to move underneath us.
Although this year was tough, I couldn’t have done any of this without the support of my friends and family in the leather community. The Barons of Steel and the Centaur Motorcycle Club were great support. They helped me in many of these endeavors, and stood behind me to guide me when the path didn’t seem as well-lit anymore.
I know each of us has had trials, heartaches, ups-and-downs, uncertainty, loss, and times when the world (and the people in it) just didn’t make sense anymore. The human spirit is strong, and if our past is any indication of our future, we will get through this – bumps, bruises, and all. Our community is
strong – lean on them. Reach out if you need to talk. Continue to do good in your community, and be well.
Until we meet again, here’s wishing you all health, happiness, and all things leather in 2021.
Your Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2021,
David Spivey
