Gay motorcycle guy
Home / gay topics / Gay motorcycle guy
Boots can be purchased from local retail stores where they can be tried on to ensure a correct fit, or from on-line retailers (keep in mind that sizes vary between manufactures).
Casual leather attire or gear:
Casual leather is typically worn at leather bars, festivals, club events and other informal activities.
The Satyrs was not the first gay & lesbian organization, that was the Mattachine Society formed in 1950. Today leatherfolk have a wider range of choices of what to wear while still honoring the core leather traditions.
Boots:
Plain black leather military or motorcycle boots are the foundation of leather gear. Boots are considered essential, even if you are otherwise naked.
There are two general categories of boots:
- Lace-up motorcycle or work boots such as military combat boots, logger boots, linesman boots or law enforcement boots are the most versatile and can be worn with or without full length pants.
- Pull on motorcycle boots such as harness boots, patrol boots or engineer boots are best worn with full length pants.
ISBN 1-881943-09-7, pp 111-112.
Trust, Honor and Respect
Information on this page is from the Leather 101 workshop at the West Coast Gathering, September 2018, presented by Rick B. Mr CMEN Leather 2015.
Information on this page is provided for educational purposes and does not imply endorsement by CMEN.Please note that CMEN does not control the content of linked web sites, the organizations who own these web sites accept sole responsibility for their content.Exploring the Leather Community – Leather Events and Organizations – Wearing Leather – Leather Care – Leather Shops – Hanky Code – Exploring Kink
Who are the Border Riders?
Founded in 1969, the Border Riders Motorcycle Club is one of the oldest and largest gay motorcycle clubs in North America.
Ask the host ahead of time if you aren’t sure what is appropriate.
Getting Started:
Stick with the basics when starting to visit leather bars and attend leather community events. Leather quality varies, shops offering custom made goods typically use the best quality leather.
Leather gear gradually evolved beginning in the mid-1970’s and continuing through subsequent decades, influenced by a growing sense of freedom, emerging national and international leather community events, publications such as Drummer Magazine, and new offerings from leather shops and manufactures.
It is water, stain, and perspiration resistant and is popular with motorcycle riders and workers. Someone who didn’t dress following the protocol was commonly perceived as an outsider. Protocol and traditions often varied somewhat by city or region. They reorganized again 3 years later with a few rough starts as the One Society. These manufactures all offer black leather work or motorcycle boots as described above, most offer high quality boots made in the United States or United Kingdom.
Since our founding, the Satyrs have been a gay men’s motorcycle club welcoming men of all backgrounds. Guys prefer to shower and be clean and smell natural. A leather harness has also become a popular optional basic purchase for wear when not wearing a shirt.
Remember that in traditional leather culture leathers were typically earned one piece a time as a rite of passage, it is best to treat your next purchase with the same respect.
While not endorsed by CMEN, a partial list of leather shops is provided for your convenience. Some local leather clubs hold leather swap meats which present an opportunity to purchase used leather gear at a fraction of the price of new leather gear. Thrift stores can also be source of used leather motorcycle jackets, boots and other items.
Additional Information:
1 Baldwin, Guy.
Ties that Bind; SM / Leather / Fetish Erotic Style; Issues, Commentaries and Advice. 2nd Edition, 2003, Daedalus Publishing Company, Los Angeles. But the Mattachine Society had a Communist “cell structure”and drew the spying interest of J. Edgar Hoover who was focused on getting, founder, Harry Hay. Plus Senator Joe McCarthy’s hunt for “un-American activities and communism, along with internal fighting caused the Mattachine to shut down by 1953.
We provide social and educational opportunities for members and other gay men interested in recreational motorcycle touring.
The Satyrs are currently preserving the club’s archives to be entrusted in the near future at the One Archives Foundation for public and academic studies. In the earliest years leather gear could be either black or dark brown following original service uniform leather, black quickly emerged as the most popular color of leather boots and gear worn in the emerging gay leather community.
Protocols developed during the 1950’s, helping leathermen express their identity with the leather community, identify like minded men, develop interpersonal connections and establish the social order within the leather community.
Join us for a unique and unforgettable journey, where you can meet like-minded people and discover the beauty of the Pacific Northwest on two wheels.
Read more Facts and FAQs about the club here.
Read about becoming a Border Rider Member.
The Satyrs Motorcycle Club of Los Angeles
Who We Are...
The Satyrs Motorcycle Club of Los Angeles is the oldest running gay men’s motorcycle club and organization in the world.
All motorcycles must be capable of freeway speeds and be in good running condition. Today, they are known as the One Archives Foundation at the USC Libraries, a respectful national repository of LGBT history. Patrol boots or engineer boots are ideal with leather uniforms. One of the first was The Leathermaker which opened on Melrose in Los Angeles in 1960.
Purchase the best quality leather boots you can comfortably afford. Motorcycle events provided a way for interested gay men to meet each other at a time when being gay was still considered a crime in most countries, punishable by years in prison or even execution.
The 1953 outlaw biker film The Wild One, starring Marlon Brando, played on pop-cultural fascination with the July 1947 Hollister “riot” and promoted an image of wearing black leather jackets, a black leather cap, black leather boots and jeans as an appealing alternative to the pervasive effeminate stereotype of gay men.