Jun 21, 2025 - Georgia Leather United Cigar Social, https://fetlife.com/events/1779236
Jun 29, 2025 - We Have Always Been Here: A Celebration of Diversity In Leather, https://fetlife.com/events/1756062
July 18-20 2025 - Tarheel Leather Club Stars and Stripes Run, https://www.tarheelleatherclub.org
July 25-26, 2025 - Meeting with Mistress Cyan, https://www.sanctuarylax.com/sessions/new
Aug 28-Sep 1, 2025 - Master/slave Conference, https://masterslaveconference.org/
Sep 4-7, 2025 - Sex Down Down South Conference, https://www.sexdownsouth.com/
Oct 4, 2025 - Service Oriented Conference, https://serviceconference.org/
Oct 22-26, 2025 - DomCon NoLA, https://domcon.com/
Nov 6-9, 2025 - Kink Between the Lines, https://kinkbetweenthelines.com/
Nov 14-16, 2025 - FLAIR Forward, https://www.flairincharge.com/
Dec 13-14, 2025 - All 'Bout Community: A Free Virtual Ageplay Con, https://fetlife.com/events/1732289
Jan 31, 2026 - Twisting Culture, https://fetlife.com/TwistingCulture 
Feb 27-Mar1, 2026 - Vision Lotus Conference, https://visionlotus.org/
Feb 28, 2026 - HALE's 2nd Annual Day of Leather, https://fetlife.com/events/1883067
Mar 19-22, 2026 - South Plains LeatherFest, https://www.southplainsleatherfest.com/
Apr 9-12, 2026 - SouthEast LeatherFest, https://seleatherfest.com/

“A Bar Was Set. A Flame Was Lit. A babygirl Was Chosen.”
Some moments tattoo themselves on Yyour soul. Sitting offstage—bruised, limping, held together by Leather grit and community care—i heard my name called as Ms. SouthEast LeatherFest 2025. That was one of those moments.

It wasn’t glamorous. It was real. i had two injuries that weekend, one requiring a cane, forcing me to navigate public space with new eyes. Accessibility stopped being theory—it became necessity. And that lived, refreshing clarity? It’s now part of my Leather herstory, my leadership, and my responsibility.

Still… i won. i am Yyour Ms. SouthEast LeatherFest 2025. And i’m still a bit dazed. There was no certainty—just deep preparation, difficult choices, and passionate heart. i sobbed, i toiled, i showed up. Not as a perfect contestant, but as a whole Leather-being. This win affirmed that Leather isn’t about polished perfection—it’s about raw presence. Shadow, scars, and all.

i learned that excellence often walks hand-in-hand with exhaustion. That community care looks like early morning pep talks with a newfound friend, identity-affirming greetings in crowded halls, a Handler who reminds you to breathe and chant, and a Junior Junior Handler who keeps you snatched when you’re crumbling. Sometimes, excellence looks like crying at 8am on your Master’s chest… and standing tall by 11am, ready to face a panel of judges and make Ttheir shadows laugh too.

From the moment i was inspired to run, i steeped myself in intention—writing, connecting, fundraising, preparing. i poured my therapist perspective, slayv soul, babygirl spirit, and organizer’s service into every word and interaction. i wrestled with fear, allowed renewed tears after a mock panel, and still chose to rise. All of this—while working full time, leading in my faith community, nurturing multiple sacred dynamics, and holding the weight of visibility and purpose. i deserve a medal. (And yes, technically… i got a sash!)

But this was never just about a title. It was about honoring the life that shaped me—grief, joy, trauma, devotion, survival—and offering it all back. i want to hold space that reflects Uus—all of Uus. The kinky and complex. The playful and prayerful. The newly curious and the long-devoted. The able-bodied and mobility-assisted. The chosen families, the sacred survivors, and the tenderfierce truth-tellers. i want to travel, educate, listen, and laugh. To meet folx who never thought Leather was for them—and show them it absolutely is. To lead workshops that don’t just pontificate kink, but teach introspection and practice. To dance in deep play with Yy’all—at dungeons, galas, panels, munches, and more. Boots and mobility aids welcome.

To the SELF producer, staff, and volunteers—thank Yyou. Yyour behind-the-scenes labor made space for my full becoming. Thank Yyou for every lamp recovered (inside joke), code call answered, nervous moment held, and magic sparked.

To my Handler, Ms. International Leather 2025 Velvet Storm—thank You for insisting i show up fully because that is all. To Eve Minx, my Junior Junior Handler—thank you for your fierce joy and unwavering belief in me.

To ThePremiers—Master Blacksmith, Moomie Mocha Breeze, and Sir Valentino—thank You for carrying me with care and preparing me with purpose.

To the Southeast region—my Leather home. To the Black Kink Network - my Legacy. To the baby kinksters whispering to shadows like i once did—this title is for Uus.

To my inner circle—Yyou know who Yyou are. Yyour hands were on my back every step of the way. Through Yyou, i am. Thank You to my Kink Brother Jus Mista Prince for the spotlight of me His munch group COVET featured. Check out His website and COVET’s endeavors at DoYouCOVET!

To VirgoFlix, thank You for the amazing photoshoot! You have been a constant support throughout the years and i appreciate all Your skillful eye catches. Here’s to letting Oothers see what You see: Instagram: @JCrooms69.

Back when i was organizing online communities to nationally connect BIPOC kinksters and hosting Philly/NJ munches and BIPOC play parties in Brooklyn, i wasn’t dreaming of titles. i just wanted to belong. To make space. And now? All grown up? i wear this sash not for shine—but with pride in service. Elders prepared me for this. And i step forward with reverence. Asé.

So here’s to what’s next.
To the work. To the people. To Leather.
To the dreams Wwe didn’t know were Oours—until Wwe lived into them.
Know justice, know peace. No one is free until all of Uus are free.
Llet’s work hard—play even harder, and not only continue to survive, but thrive in Oour existence. Take care of each Oother. Yyour work matters, too.

Amethyst glaze’s #FirstHundredDays
Whew, this traveling bug of mine has been putting in some work! i was adorned by the smell of sweat, cigars, and Leather all Summer and i’ve gotten some age and lots of pinholes in my vest already!

Looking back since i’ve taken title, it’s felt like my own personal #FirstHundredDays. Okay, technically it’s been 109 days but Yyou get it! i’m excited to tell Yyou what i’ve been up to, but first, i’d like to acknowledge and thank the editors and contributors of Black Leather In Color (BLIC) Magazine for promoting my debuted travel schedule in the July 2025 Issue. Representation matters, and i’m grateful to be among such powerful voices and visuals. Each issue is absolutely epic but this one? Yyou just have to check it out at this link! 

First up, as i was still nursing my injury, i attended a virtual event and joined the Leather Solidarity Collective’s “Many Shades of Pride” panel on Zoom. It was such an intentional, beautifully curated conversation centering diversity in Leather. The panel was brilliantly curated and Aall did absolutely amazing. It was heavy, yes. But also light, fierce, and uplifting. Listening to Black and Brown Leatherfolx who carry both battle scars and ancestral brilliance was grounding.

To everyOone doing the work under the Leather Solidarity Collective banner: Thank Yyou. Oour solidarity is not symbolic nor is Oour diversity. It is survival. As Wwe welcomed Hispanic Heritage Month, i see Yyou continuously doing the work and i salute Yyou: ¡Viva, La Libertad!

Next, two weeks out from event, my mobility cane and i kicked off my title travels in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for chAPTERnooga’s second annual Leather Pride event “We Have Always Been Here: A Celebration of Diversity in Leather.” That ‘turn-and-burn’ road trip with my Leather Ssiblings fed me! Literally! What do Yyou get when Yyou place two Dominant Leatherwomen and two Leather Littles in a car together for a road trip? “Chickee Nuggees anyOone?” LOL

The lineup of voices at “We Have Always Been Here” was powerful: Master Thumper of House Fuji brought depth to His embodiment of diversity, Ma’am LadyD delivered Herstory like only a Griot can, and MsGee Wila lit a fire under Oour boots with a Call to Action for Leather Activists in support of Oour most marginalized. If Yyou haven’t heard of the Chattanooga Trans Liberation Collective, go get familiar, especially if Yyou’re talking justice in Leather and looking for a direction for activism. To the entire chAPTERnooga crew: i see Yyall. i’m proud to have shared space. And yes, i grabbed a few more hankies for a worthy cause to really let it all hang out!

After that road trip it was time for another and let me say this: if Southern Hospitality was a title, it would’ve gone to the Tarheel Leather Club for their Stars and Stripes Leather Run in Greensboro, NC. And i’m not just saying that because i was surrounded by four, count them, FOUR generations of my OH-SO-HANDSOME Title (including current sash) - Husbands!

What a time!

The fellowship among the Carolinas clubs - the joy, the lore, the cocktails (i’ll come back to that) - was something special. i was deeply moved by the camaraderie and richness of community there and glad i got to hear and learn Leather history.

And another congratulations to Yyour 2025 NC Bootblack: Lady Abrams!! Watching Yyou black, connect, and strive through your competition deepened my appreciation for Bootblacks and their integral part of Leather even more.

i must give a special nod to all of the hosted cocktail parties including that Tradesmen’s Tea of the Charlotte Tradesmen - of which i was doubtfully challenged (no, They didn’t know the demon baby - but now They do!) and had two…or more cups? Who’s counting? However! The SELF 2025 Titleholders’ Cocktail Party was obviously my fav - and everyOone else’s! Wwe took home that win baby!! i’m glad the attendees had such a good time creating little polycule colonies of aliens and attempting to take home the prized alien stuffy! Beam Uus up anytime, Scotty!

Back home, and i had about four days before i was on the move again to begin celebrations for my bearthday by traveling to Los Angeles to sit with the legendary Mistress Cyan of DomCon. This amazing woman is someOne who’s not only held space in Oour subculture, but chiseled it out and built it for decades. Wwe shared conversation around legacy, vision, and building sustainable containers for diverse leadership in Leather. i was honored to meet such a down-to-earth Beauty and i left invigorated. i’m looking forward to reconnecting with Mistress Cyan and many Oothers when i show up strong for Dom Con New Orleans October 23rd-26th! i’ll be presenting ‘Fetiquette: The Nuance Between ‘Your’ and ‘A’ on Friday, the 24th and hosting the BIPOC Social on Saturday, the 25th! If Yyou’re going, i’ll see Yyou there!

Back on the East Coast in Atlanta, my bearthday happened to be the same weekend as Kink Down South so unfortunately, i wasn’t able to attend. But, before i dove back into titleholder duties and boarded another plane, my bearthday welcomed in a rest period that was dedicated to connecting with myPremiers and my Leather Family. If Yyou attended KDS i hope Yyou had an absolutely amazing time celebrating boldly, beautifully, and safely! And don’t worry, i’m around locally. Yyou might catch me at the ATL Eagle every 3rd Saturday for the Georgia Leather United Cigar Social or every 1st Sunday at the MAsT Thomson meetings.

Celebrating my bearthday and resting was just what i needed to fuel me for continued travels, communion, and indulging Leather energy. i had two upcoming cons less than a week apart! i’m telling Yyou, these #FirstHundredDays had me feeling like i was back in undergrad at Leather University! First up was traveling back to the familiar stomping grounds of the NorthEast for the Master/slave Conference and then back SouthEast for the incomparable Sex Down South Conference. Both experiences were so refreshing. i missed the energy of MsC, attending such varied, diverse, educational classes, workshops, panels, and more, and resting in the fullness of my slayvhood. i reunited with my SELF Titleholders Family including my Sash-Mama Master Sabrina and my Sash-Glam-Mama Scarlett Rose,and Wwe represented 8 years of legacy (2017-2025)! i also had the opportunity to finally attend a Leather title contest as an audience member and seeing it from the other side truly put the depth of work, preparation, courage, and passion needed to run in perspective. i’m even more inspired to pay forward the faith my region placed in me as i support others in their Leather journeys.









And Sex Down South?! This was my second year attending and the Leather presence is surely strengthening as a reminder that Leather, too, encompasses sexual liberation, health, wellness, education, and consensual debauchery. i was pleasantly reunited with my Sash-Mama Ms. SouthEast LeatherFest 2024 and shared congratulatory space with the beautifully influential Ms. Bulge Leather 2025, Empress Jessica Akanke! Sex Down South’s theme for their 11th year, ‘Spiritual Awakening’, left me fully awake and recharged in claiming my pleasure.

And how pleasurable it was to witness my Lil’ Sis, my Junior Handler step even deeper into her Leather Journey as she continues the legacy of ‘Each Oone, Reach Oone’ bestowed upon her by launching the Dallas Black Munch in Dallas, Tx. As a proud, vetted organization under the umbrella of the Black Kink Network, i am so proud to have attended her second event, the launch of Dallas Black Munch’s virtual munch, ‘Connections Run Deep’ to continue opening the door and reaching even more POC kinky folx waiting for and seeking community and knowledge. If Yyou’re in the DFW area or just want to support The Next Generation, friend the Dallas Black Munch Fetlife page, join their group, and stay tuned for what’s up next.

my title year is just getting started and the fun is far from over! Up next i’ll be supporting the Service Oriented Virtual Conference for another year on October 4th, this time moderating two classes – one of which is for one of my Judges who recently won Midwest slave! Congratulations to Master Lucian Raven and celina raven as Midwest Master/slave 2025! Also, congratulations to Shay Raven, Midwest Person of Leather 2025! i can’t wait to see Master Lucian and celina again at SOC and get ready, because the SouthEast will see Yyou at SPLF!

As i write this column, i feel the pride of what stepping into title truly means. Showing up isn’t just for large conferences and events or to tick off a list of duties on a piece of paper. It’s about honoring the weight of Leather Values and embodying them with a unique spin only Yyou can. More congratulations are in order to Oour newest Women of Drummer 2025, Mrs. Dee Supreme! The work You are called to do in Your purpose is necessary and i look forward to witnessing all the more You will bring to the beauty of Leather.

Whew, have enough confetti poppers, mocktails, and cocktails been popped yet? Never!

These past 109 days have surely been a fantastic voyage, yet the most thrilling part so far?

Meeting Oour people. Witnessing Oour diversity. Hearing how Oothers LIVE Leather. Seeing how Oothers live Leather, and joining in to cement it as Oours.

From the sexy, to the social, to the service-driven, i have seen so many expressions of Leather identity. Oour culture isn’t a monolith. And let no Oone tell Yyou how to define YyOUR Leather.

Everywhere i’ve traveled so far - virtually and physically - has reminded me that diversity in Leather isn’t just a catchy theme, it’s the truth. And i’m honored to carry this title into more spaces driving connection and witnessing that beauty.

Remember, ‘Each Oone, Reach Oone’. And i’m still reaching, for Yyou. See Yyou soon!

From Grief to Grounding: The Hollow Between Loss and Light
October has always been my month. i’m a Summer baby who adores Fall.
The air shifts, the veil thins, the world feels both softer and sharper, and the spiritual energy hums at frequencies i understand. The breeze blows both cool and warm, like a welcome hug from one of my oldest babysitters, The Crypt Keeper. It’s the season where my demon baby energy feels most at home, wrapped in jack-o’-lanterns, cool nights, and the eternal debate of whether ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ is a Halloween or Christmas movie. (for me, it’s Thanksgiving - my happy medium.)

This October though, carried weight. Grief braided itself, yet again, into the celebrations and joys of my life. The last time i talked with all of you, it was October 1st, about 109 days into my title year. Shortly after, October slipped through my fingers like sand. It began with service. On October 4th, i sported the newly created Service Oriented Virtual Conference swag pin while moderating classes for the conference and felt refueled being back in that space soaking up wisdom and witnessing folx reflect service from every angle.

But by dawn the next morning, everything changed.

On October 5th, i received unbelievable news that my longtime accomplice and dear friend, my co-founder and fierce supporter of nearly every bright idea my imagination could conjure including the Black Kink Network (BKN), Mr. CunningLinguist (Mr. CL / James Ward), had passed.

my world collapsed inward. Time lost its edges as His absence carved out a hollow with a rippling depth. Days blurred, folding in on themselves marked by grief and stamped by the quiet necessity of still having shit to do. i moved like a shell. Half-aware. Trying to maintain my hold on work, on titleholding, on connection, but slipping. my capacity was already stretched thin and grief pulled at what was left. i watched my own life from a distance on autopilot. i showed up because that’s what Leatherfolx do, honor our commitments, but beyond the ache and the effort of labor, i don’t remember much.

i didn’t realize how far into autopilot i’d gone until it was suddenly time for DomCon New Orleans near the end of the month. Grief, like trauma, plays with memory and time-bends. How did i get from October 5th to the 23rd? The answer was the beauty of the in-between.

October, already one of my favorites, reshaped itself into a month of ceremony lined with grief, gratitude, and deep joy. In that in-between, i answered a familiar call to begin again by loccing my hair. One of my tried and true rituals of patience, reclamation, and quiet devotion. i was then collared into The Forge by The One i Serve, marked as His with blessings received from Mr. CL just a week earlier. i leaned into the comfort, discipline, and clarity of M/s Leather. The next morning, i welcomed myMoomie’s bearthday while, at the same time, Loved Ones gathered in person and virtually to honor Mr. CL’s life. i attended His funeral services virtually, holding tears in one hand and reflective gratitude in the other, suspended in that paradox of loss and love, grief and celebration.

In the days that followed, my remaining co-founders of the Black Kink Network gathered for our first prescheduled administrative meeting without Him. It was charged yet necessary. We pledged, together, that His work continues through us. That His energy still anchors what we are building. That in the tangle of sorrow, His covenant with community, purpose, and service lives on. The next evening, we hosted a four-and-a-half-hour memorial for Mr. CL in the Black Kink Network’s origin space on the Clubhouse app. We shared stories, memories, laughter, silence, and tears. It was remembrance as ritual. Protected community remembering itself through the energy of our transitioned with those still here. It was life-affirming and life-giving.

By the end of October, after the emotional rollercoaster that is Uni (my pet name for the Universe), i could hear Mr. CL in my head: “Alright, glaze. Get it together.” Not as a dismissal, but as a sharp reminder that grief does not pause my responsibilities or shield my heart.

Duty called. It was the end of October and DomCon New Orleans arrived. i was still carrying grief yet still deeply committed to service. i presented a class i had previously only shared virtually within the Black Kink Network, now offered real-time, from a heart still mourning. i hosted the BIPOC Social. i assisted as Sir officiated a collaring ceremony for members of our Leather Family held, intentionally, in that BIPOC space at Dom Con. i navigated, with other attendees, the “underside of the BIPOC track” - the scheduling conflicts, emotional labor, expectations, and invisible weight that too often fall on the same shoulders. This year, that disconnection to my people, that inability to show up for my people, felt more raw - for me.

And when Dom Con NoLA, a beautiful, enjoyable, first-time experience of which i will absolutely be returning, was over, and my Leather Sibling and i traveled home, we stayed tapped into that quiet underground current that holds our Leather kinship together - checking in on community members who we knew were having significant travel woes, reaching out, ready to detour if needed. Even in my grief. Even in our exhaustion. Even after a weekend full of service, reconnection, and joy, we reached for, and held onto, our people. Because THAT is Leather in Action and i’m so blessed to have witnessed it and contributed to it.

Halfway through my title year, i’ve become even more grounded in my life’s work of embodying duality. The reality that grief and growth are companions. Service and sorrow can coexist. And even in the hollow between loss and light, when i am battling inner and outer shadows and forget how to literally live, Leather and the people who embody it continue to teach me how to live and remind me of why i still do. This year is not about perfection, polish, or accolades. It is about persistence in the midst of varied, complex injury. i mean, from the onset of an injured knee to the current of my injured heart, i am living the embodiment of grit and smiling beautifully through it, crooked and pained muscles and all. i am breaking open and practicing showing up through the ache, choosing community over isolation, and allowing vulnerability to be a form of service. It is about admitting when i am not okay and still choosing to remain in relationship with those who can hold that truth.

i made Mr. CL a promise that i’d speak my pain, and my needs, and definitely my desires. i do not only serve in Leather, i serve throughout my life. And this life of mine is heavy. i am holding community, leading, serving, teaching, tending to my title, reminding myself to engage with my family and personal connections, and navigating ongoing conflicts and demanding pressures outside of Leather while choosing integrity even when it costs me comfort. i am embracing underlying clinical symptoms that were skillfully masked throughout the course of my life. i am managing a complex, loving, layered relationship with my mother, who has spent a lifetime navigating mental and physical diagnoses and recently endured two major life-altering surgeries. She is still here laughing, cracking jokes, and expressing her love for me. That matters. i am doing all of this as a powerful, Black, femme s-type in a world that does not always embrace us, understand us, or catch us when we stumble, much less, when we fall.

And i am clocking, very clearly, who checks on me, too.

Leadership is not always loud. Sometimes it is surviving the silence. Sometimes it is holding yourself together just enough to keep space open for others and letting them hold space for you right back. Grief has sharpened my sight. i see who leads with ego. i see who knows service. i see who reaches. i see who disappears. i have no space for superficial performances of Leather. i only have space for love, for humanity, for truth. Through grief and grit, i’m still here serving, choosing connection, reaching for the light and, yes, lovingly dragging others with me all the way down to hell when they forget they too deserve to rise.

Leather titles are callings. They are platforms for change. Yes, i am having the time of my life! And also: this is work. This is dutiful weight. Behind the titles, patches, protocols, and personas are hearts breaking, souls mending, and people just trying their best to stay tethered to living.

We, Leatherfolx, are people. We hurt, we break, we may retreat, we rise, we return, and we must take care of each other. REACH ONE. Before the heartbreak arrives or the call comes too late. Check on your folx. Love out loud. Hold each other. Serve like it matters because it does. If you love Leather, please act like it. If you love community, please tend to it. If you love people, please check on them.

Honor that or don’t speak my name. It’s amethyst, yes, still glaze.

As i write this, welcoming in the Holiday Season, a season so fraught already with sensitivity and emotional risks, i am looking forward to (hopefully) taking a short, yet true break. One where i not only pause, but actually STOP and allow it all, all of the experiences, to catch up to me so that i can feel, process, rejuvenate, and reemerge. Before that though, as i feel myPremiers’ eyes getting squintier and eyebrows threatening to become wings as they fly off faces, i am excited to moderate in support of the FLAIR Forward Virtual Conference held November 14th-16th, 2025 and M. Mocha Breeze, myMoomie, as She presents two classes throughout the weekend. i also look forward to moderating in support of the virtual conference In Leather We Trust, December 5th-7th, as M. Mocha Breeze presents there as well. Service, duty, honor, loyalty, integrity, authenticity, joy, fun - those and more Leather Values are the lifeline of my inner code. i’m still here. i don’t plan on going anywhere, but Mr. CL’s passing transformed me.

my Black Kink Network cofounders Switchress Shay Au Lait and Mr. Prince and i expanded BKN this year and are hosting a BKN ‘State of the Union’ address on zoom December 9th to update our existing protected membership of all of our developments - and then, we’ll host an ‘Informational’ (to be scheduled) for other interested individuals. Please visit www.BlackKinkNetwork.com. Peruse our information and the collection of five years worth of intentionally building community and reaching for and with each other. Check back for the forthcoming Founder Memorial page for Mr. CL and take a momentary breath to honor lineage. Join us, support us, witness us, know us, if you feel so inclined. i thank you for that.

As i prepare to close 2025, i hold deep gratitude for every lesson, every loss (but not Mr. CL’s just yet), and every light that shaped me this year. This journey has softened and strengthened the very heat of me and i carry that spark with me to flame across regions. As 2026 approaches, i’ll be heading back to the Northeast to emcee the NE Person of Leather Contest at Twisting Culture on January 31st. In February i’ll be in Florida attending HALE’s Second Annual Day of Leather. In March i’ll be attending SouthPlains LeatherFest for the first time in support of the SE POL and SE M/s couple’s run for International and to enjoy a new experience. In the Spring BKN will host a Virtual Conference BKN style! And in April, i’m sure by now you know where to find me - in the stomping grounds of Downtown, Atlanta at SELF 2026: ENERGIZE! i’ll be stepping down from this deeply special experience as Your Ms. SouthEast LeatherFest 2025. my family, The Forge, will be hosting a BIPOC Cigar Social (open to all) Friday night. Members of my Leather Family will be presenting throughout the weekend, and i’ll be copresenting HuPets: When Anthropetized Play Becomes Role with a beloved BKN member, elle marie of House of Royals, on Friday as well.

i’m finding my grounding amidst turbulent winds, collared into protection, connected through the strong hide of Leather, and still conjuring the next demon baby endeavor. May the close of this year bring you rest, reflection, the covering of deep love, and the courage to step into your next season with grace.

i leave you with a timely callback to a portion of my contest introduction speech for those who were unable to witness it and those who may welcome a reminder:

“i’m running for Ms. SELF 2025, because i believe in the kind of presence that’s forged through sleepless nights, playing double-dutch with demons in the dark - and then - stepping into the light to foster understanding, cohesion, integration. i represent the tender-fierce, shadow-kissed survivors, and the innocently playful victors. i run to show that surrender is shadow, Leather is the work, yet joy and depth in complexity belong to us too. i’m not here as a polished product. i’m here as a rites-of-passage offering to you, my needed community. A tribute that’s kinky, curvy, where shadow and light wed birthing demigods of ritual. i walk in alignment with every part of who i am, using harmony as my compass. And i’d really like to meet you. Vulnerable. Naked. Humans in shared existence. Can we play?”

Hug me when you see me. That good kind, you know? The one science articles are written about that lead those embraced to sway? Yea, i need that.

Please?

For A Dirty Projector, Stillness Is The Move

i’ve been contemplating SELF 2026’s theme: ENERGIZE.

The word itself feels electrifying to me. It calls to passion, to embolden, and to reinvigorate. It also speaks to knowing when energizing is needed to replenish the energy.

There’s a leak somewhere within me — and i’ve been depleting. A projector can’t cast clearly when it’s overheated and unclean.

i said i was moving like a shell and didn’t recognize it until service called — so i needed to pause on the service and be served.

i spent December moving toward opening at the close with Chosen Family. i turned inward and observed my life: my attachments, my connections, my commitments. i evaluated where, what, and who was stoking my fire — and where embers were quietly dimming.

i needed to transition into and from the holidays while acknowledging the depth of my grief. i needed to breathe within my own body without narrating it. Without overanalyzing, overexplaining, or making it pretty and palatable for the unreadied. i needed to sit with what changed in me after October.

i needed to recognize that change and give it space to birth.

And i did.

i stepped into 2026 with a spark held gently in my bosom, blowing sweet breaths to enliven its flame. i took a piece of me, planted it in another, and announced the reactivation of my mentorship under former Ms. International Leather 2025, Velvet Storm, as i ushered into official mentorship with my own kinkling, Eve tha Minx of the Dallas Black Munch.

Having direction for my power has provided structure to expand within. With our mutual acceptance of beginning this new relationship — one of Leather mentorship and familial kinship-making — i felt something shift.

i was beginning to energize.

i was ready to come back outside and finish what i started within this Title Year just as strongly. To lean into my upcoming step-down with fervor, appreciation, reflection, grace — and of course — renewed demon baby energy.

In January, i attended Odyssey of Kink: An Art Exhibition by Mistress Sheba, held at an art gallery in Atlanta. i enjoy immersing myself in Black Leather archives and history. i felt honored to be in space with some of the very same people depicted in the photography adorning the walls and tables, reading written experiences decades in the making.

i spent much of that night weaving in and out of the crowd, finding pockets to connect with others, pockets to reconnect with myself, and navigating energy in multiplicity.

The following day, my BKN Cofounders and i attended KinkedIn Konnect: The Worldwide Kinky Educator and Presenter Virtual Conference produced by Let It Reign as educators and organizational representatives.

i was impressed with the production and execution of that event. i fell into the newness and excitement of meeting so many diverse, experienced, knowledgeable, and skilled industry educators, presenters, and organizers. Hosting a virtual table to share the Black Kink Network’s endeavors felt like a roundtable of likeminded energy.

Yes. i could feel it. i was energizing.

January closed with more events dear to the process of my resurgence — events that illuminated my path and showed me how i could actualize my own gifts and goals.

i attended the Dallas Black Munch’s “Kinky Goals and Next Steps” virtual event produced and hosted by my mentee. i was inspired to review my aspirations and believe in their achievement. i smiled at her growth as she authentically, gently, and knowledgeably guided her curated munch group.

To have a kinkling is to have a piece of yourself experiencing the world with fresh perspective. That newness revitalizes me.

Shortly after, the Black Kink Network hosted our open Public Informational, and then — with just a few short days’ turnaround — i was absolutely ready to board a plane and travel to Baltimore, MD for Twisting Culture’s 2026 Northeast Person of Leather Contest, where i planned to visit with friends and loved ones and emcee the contest.

Until i didn’t.

i had been hearing the news. Watching emails from work about safety measures and potential office closures. Bundling up and traveling to and fro each day, eyes alert and peeled to the roadways.

Two days before the NEPOL contest, i received a notification from my airline app that my flight was delayed.

One day before the contest, i received text messages from my support network informing me not to travel — then urging me not to travel when i hadn’t responded quickly enough to their outpours of consideration.

But i knew. i knew i wouldn’t be boarding that plane. Wouldn’t be traveling from freezing rain in the Southeast into inches of snow piled atop thick ice in the Northeast.

But then — and i chuckle here — Leather said, “hold my battery pack.”

Within less than 48 hours of the contest date, i witnessed the cumulative grit and effort as an entire regional contest shifted from an in-person ticketed event to a 100% virtual ticketed event.

my goodness was it glorious.

And it was damn sure energizing.

But here’s what reverberated within me: energy doesn’t only surge. It redirects. It saves itself. It flows toward the path of least resistance and maximum potency.

While snow was piling up in Baltimore and ice was glazing the Southeast, something else was happening. What could have been panic became pivot. What could have drained the team became coordination. What could have been cancellation became recalibration.

No one pretended the storm wasn’t real or that risk wasn’t significant. They adjusted.

And i was proud to be right there with them.

When i logged in to prepare for opening as emcee, sitting in my Georgia home prepared to hold space for two regions united in the East navigating weather and uncertainty, i felt steady, firm, and at attention.

Until 5:00 PM EST.

As i was closing out Master of Ceremonies duties, the lights around me flickered, puttered, and went out.

Of course they did.

There’s a leak somewhere, remember?

As i lost external power and dropped from the call right as i was introducing Twisting Culture’s Producer to announce the 2026 NEPOL, i felt my internal reserves ticking down.

Thank goodness i had charged an external battery pack and stocked up on snacks that were now redirected to immediacy.

The leak hissed louder.

“i’m still here,” it said. “Push through. Don’t drop the ball. Stay online. Hold it all. Be perfect.”

Thank goodness i had been bating sweet breaths to reenergize my tanks, because i was able to feel that familiar pull and recognize it.

This time, discernment whispered louder than self-sacrifice.

“You can do anything, baby,” it said. “But you can’t do everything. Log back in by mobile and finish your duties. Do only what is necessary. You can be excellent. You don’t have to be perfect.”

So i did.

i logged back on by mobile and handled my Master of Ceremonies duties. i did not martyr myself to the moment. i shared powerful space with all who attended and navigated the challenges and obstacles. i congratulated the 2026 Northeast Person of Leather, slave sunflower.

And when it was done, i rested.

That might not sound groundbreaking.

But for me — it is.

Earlier versions of me would have treated that sudden power outage in the midst of duty like a test of self-worth. An invitation to prove.

This version understood it as a reminder: energy is not infinite. Service — especially when directed one way and capitalized without reciprocity — is not proof of value.
And when there’s a leak, you don’t pour more in. You find the source.

Let me be absolutely clear: the leak was never this title or this title year.

No matter how the container is housed, the leak was overextension without pause for recalibration. And i’ve embraced this title year for offering me the opportunity to sit in process and repair those pieces of me quietly — yet so visibly.

i made changes in areas of my servitude that redistributed my energy as part of that repair. It wasn’t because i couldn’t do. It wasn’t because i didn’t care. It definitely wasn’t because i wasn’t capable.

It was because discernment over the sustenance of my very life force asked me:

“Is this output aligned with the energy you actually have? Or the energy you’re trying to prove to be worthy of vulnerabilities held with love, gentleness, and care?”

That question — a question He asked of me for over a decade — has been echoing in MaSire CL’s voice since October.

His passing changed me. Permanently.

His energy isn’t a haunting. It’s calibration. A steady internal voice that asks:

“glaze? Is this devotion? Or depletion? You remember when Lois Lane fell out of the plane and Superman saved her and said ‘I’ve got you,’ and Lois Lane said ‘You’ve got me? Who’s got you?’ Yeeaaa… ponder that.”

ENERGIZE, for me, no longer means “pump up and go harder.” It means compassionate self-auditing as self-care. Find the leaks and seal them. Protect the all-spark within. Redirect the current as necessary. Know when to plug in. Know when to unplug. And know that both are valid.

That process — engaging discernment — is the difference between burning out and burning steady.

Now here, in February, as i move toward copresenting “Leather Houses & Leather Families” and sitting on the panel “Stories of Lived Leather” with my Brother Mr. Prince Feb 28th in Milton, FL at HALE’s Second Annual Day of Leather…

As i prepare to attend South Plains LeatherFest March 19th–22nd hosting a SELF Cruise with my 2025 SELF Titleholder Family and supporting the International M/s and POL contestants…

As BKN prepares for our first two-day virtual summit March 28th and 29th with intentionality toward honoring time, curated space, and energy…

As i eye my Ms. SouthEast LeatherFest 2025 sash, medallion, and back patch — proudly nearing what feels beautifully like a coming home and a closing to this rites-of-passage title year at SELF: ENERGIZE April 9th–12th at the Courtland Grand in downtown Atlanta…

i am not sprinting and i am not disappearing.

i am stewarding.

There is still fire here.

But now?

i know where the switch is.

In the surgical room, calm envelops with a gentle galloping as the year of the Fire Horse ushers in and i, this spirit-child born of the year of the Earth Snake, attunes the snake to her rhythm — balancing, adjusting, tuning — so that i may continue dancing,

with you.

i’ll see you soon. So very soon.

And i hope you’ll be energized too.

There’s a soft cadence of deep closure as i sit to write the final column of my title year.

This year began with heightened anticipation. With the adrenaline of the sudden awareness that something significant had been placed in my hands — the trust, expectation, and responsibility of legacy carried publicly.

And now, feeling just as sudden, the year is almost complete.

When i began this journey as Ms. SouthEast LeatherFest 2025, i knew my year would be unique and that ten months would move quickly. What i did not fully perceive at the time was just how much this role would reshape my understanding of service, responsibility, community, my personal relationships, and how much the year would ask of me not just in representation, but in reflection.

Titleholding looks ceremonial from the outside. Sashes, stages, points made, pomp and circumstance — all for a moment of recognition.

But from the inside, it becomes deep work.

It is standing in front of rooms full of strangers and speaking honestly about power, responsibility, vulnerability, and the complicated beauty that is Leather. It becomes travel, connection through conversation, presenting, listening, representing philosophical yet lived values, and experiencing the quiet transformation happening behind the scenes within your psyche.

This year, unexpected in many ways, brought me across the Southeast and beyond, into rooms filled with Leatherfolx carrying different traditions, perspectives, and histories. Every stop reminded me how expansive and diverse Leather truly is.

i am deeply grateful to the organizations and individuals who invited me into their spaces, offering opportunities to speak, to teach, to learn, and to connect.

my work has always focused on agency and awareness through power literacy. On helping people understand the frameworks beneath the aesthetics of consent, authority transfer, cultural awareness, and psychological responsibility.

Through workshops and conversations, i have focused on these frameworks that help us engage power responsibly. Expanding these discussions matters because Leather is not simply aesthetic or identity. For some of us, it is daily lived practice, responsibility, and stewardship.

At the same time, this year reminded me that titleholders are human beings navigating real lives.

There were moments of celebration, moments of strain, and as i come to write this column, moments of culmination.

There were physical challenges, emotional recalibrations, embracing the ordinary realities that exist alongside extraordinary opportunities, and recognizing that the human being behind the sash still has limits, still has a life unfolding outside of titleholding, and must face themselves when the sash comes off.

Learning how to continue serving while protecting my personal capacity became one of the most honest and important lessons of this journey.

This year also taught me, painfully, that service requires stillness.

In my last column, i reflected on the theme of energy and the importance of pausing when our internal reservoirs begin to leak. That reflection came from a moment when i realized that even the most passionate servant leadership can become unsustainable — and even cause wreckage — if we forget how to replenish ourselves.

Sometimes the most responsible action is to pause, reconnect and reevaluate with self, and return to the work with clarity rather than exhaustion.

Holding this title as a Black, Queer-Femme Leatherbeing carries meaning beyond myself. Courageous visibility can help others see that there is space for them here too.

Representation is not only about being seen, but demonstrating that the fullness of our identities — the complicated, joyful, shadowed, evolving parts — have their place in Leather too.

i have felt that responsibility deeply throughout this year, and i am honored to have carried it.

This year reminded me that Leather survives because of the genuine people within it. Mentors who pass knowledge forward, strengthening tradition. Peers who hold one another accountable, furthering protection and safety.
Organizers who keep events alive year after year, feeding reunion and welcoming the new. And the countless individuals who show up quietly to support the work without ever standing on a stage.

To the people who supported me through this year — those close to me, those who invited me into your spaces, and those who simply watched the journey unfold from afar — thank you.

To the Elders who guided me, the peers who stood beside me, the organizers who make way, and the many community members both visible and unseen — thank you.

i will always be Ms. SouthEast LeatherFest 2025 — but it will not always be 2025.

As this chapter closes, i remain committed to the work that guided me here: education, fostering dialogue, community building, and the practiced protection of honoring the values that make Leather more than aesthetic, but a living tradition.

The work continues, and i am grateful to have carried it, even for a little while.

To the next adventure — may the lessons learned guide my way.

And may the work continue long after the sash is folded.