The Mr. Leather Toronto competition took place at the Phoenix Theatre in Toronto on November 27, 2008. The evening was co-hosted by Shaun Proulx and David Kloss. Shaun fluffed the crowd by saying that leathermen are the best sex he's ever had, and are also responsible for all his fetishes. "It's your fault that all I want for Christmas is a rim seat."
The eight contestants first appeared in full leather, then in minimal wear, which is always a treat. They also get to speak. This is my seventh MLT, and everyone, always, wants to give back to the community, whatever that means. Proulx gave each contestant 90 seconds to talk about themselves, but every one of them took much more than the allotted time. "That's 90 marijuana seconds," he clarified.
The eight contestants were:
Tom Bishop, Mr. Zelda's Leather, who is an accountant by day;
Peter Dillon, Mr. Spearhead, who is into camping, gardening, and wrestling steers;
Wendell Leadbeater, Mr. Gladaman's Den, former armed forces, who wants to help open a habitat for wolves, and is apparently in the December issue of Inches;
Corey Breau, Mr. Churchmouse & Firkin, who said "When my mother found out I was in the leather community, her exact response was 'Well, maybe you'll actually meet somebody.'" The laughs continued when he admitted, "When I moved her from the east coast, I felt to be honest that Torontonians were very rude, my exact word was 'vile'." Then he met Matthew Pavelich, who turned him around;
Jon Henderson, Mr. Steamworks, who is still in school and sports fully tattooed arms, also does some modeling, and as Shaun said, "He's bi ... lingual." His cause was to raise money for the PWA Foundation;
Ritchie Brown, Mr. Cruiseline, welder, who was asked "If you had a superpower, what would it be and what judge would you use it on?" Ritchie took the high road when he declared, "I would take the power of healing and use it for Richard Hubley," one of the judges who is in a wheelchair, then got all choked up talking about his late father. Ritchie had the most fans in the audience, and I thought he was a lock to win, especially after David Kloss dropped some innuendo about Ritchie having an enormous shlong;
Pete Villeneuve, Mr. Cedars Campground, who was asked which celebrity he wishes would be into leather, and what would he do to that celebrity? "Tim McGraw," he deep-breathed into the mike. "What wouldn't you do to Tim McGraw?" Listen to his music for starters, Pete. "I have a dream," he said, referencing MLK as he talked about his vision for the leather community;
And finally, Matt Muir, Mr. Priape/Woody's, who is a hockey coach and camp counselor, and the only one without facial hair. He wants to get the younger generation involved in leather, and although estranged from his family, feels warmly welcomed by the leather community.
At last, the judges came to a decision. Corey Breau won both Mr. Fellowship and First Runner-Up; Tom Bishop took Second Runner-Up; and Peter Dillon was named Mr. Leather Toronto.
