To be a surprise judge, you must be pre-registered. Don’t miss out- register now and tell us you're interested in judging for our 29th SELF! Surprise Judge drawing will be held Feb 7th.
Opportunity to enter as a suprise judge closes at 11am eastern Feb 6th.

2025
Celina Raven

Exhilarating: causing strong feelings of happy excitement and elation- Merriam-Webster dictionary. I would utilize this specific word to summarize my experience as the 2025 SELF surprise judge. Being involved in our diverse community provides various different opportunities to give back and serve the community that serves you, but one of the opportunities I had yet to experience until SELF was to be a judge. I was welcomed with open arms by not only the SELF operations team, but also the selected judging panel, understanding that while I have my own experiences and additions to add to the table, I was very new to being on the other side of the judging table. What I loved most from this experience was I got to see pure growth, from beginning to end, of both contestants and of us as judges which was truly beautiful to see. SELFs surprise judge is a special opportunity like no other that I have seen at events. My experience, memories and kinship will stay with me forever. I am beyond grateful for this opportunity and I implore those who are looking to try something new to apply because you just never quite know if you’ll get that phone call.

In Leather, Service, Giggles, and Glitter,
celina Raven,
SELF Surprise Judge 2025
2025 Midwest slave
2023 Show Me Leather Little

2024
Miss Meesh

This was my first year at SELF and my intro into the leather community. I was impressed with the hard work of everyone involved in the contests, judges and contestants included. The judges communicated well and worked as a team. I felt that those who won, did so because of the effort they put into their campaigns. I found judging to be a great learning experience.

2023
Lady Kita
My time as SELF 2023 surprise judge was an experience I will never forget.

This would be my 6th year at SELF and just like every prior year I walked away with more appreciation, respect, and love for this event.

The peak around the curtain into the contest life, journey, and heart is one that all should admire and applaud.

My fellow judges had beautifully long decorated resumes in the Leather Community that were reflected in their questioning, commentary, and advice. What was I to add to such an elite group of such prestigious judges?

I presume fresh and unbiased opinions are extremely valuable in their own way but it really began to hit home once I began reading the bios of the contestants and learning that some of the contestants were as new to Leather competitions as well. This reminded me that SELF is for everyone regardless of time in the community or experience and with that I gave my all to the experience and learning opportunity that was judging a Leather competition.

First I was astounded by the amount of "pre-work" done by contestants and SELF months and months ahead of the conference just to prepare. After learning this and going to the various other judging meetings and events I have a huge respect for contestants because it is not easy and possibly not even all that fun running for a title. It's a lot of hard work; mentally emotionally and physically to compete in SELF Leather title.

My favorite part was seeing all that hard pay off in their speeches, performances, and, of course, winning the title.

I learned, I loved, and grew so much from this experience and I thank Catherine Gross from the bottom of my heart for gifting me such a lucky experience.

2019
Service Kitty

Being the surprise judge was an interesting and thought provoking experience. I've attended Leather events for years but mostly skipped out on title competitions. My fear was that the competition was a popularity contest like Prom Queen and King, and I had never been one of the popular kids. 
Reading the submissions the contestants wrote before hand on why running for the titles at SELF where important to them made me begin to reconsider my views. During the interview process I was again forced to look at my own preconceived notions around what a title was all about. Some of my co-Judges asked questions I never even would have considered. They asked things that helped me build stronger community ties to many of them and with the contestants. 
I want these connections to members of my community. I want to help raise funds for people to be able to travel and share their Leather experiences and make Leather something people can find, participate in safely and take comfort in knowing they are not alone. 
For the most part being a surprise judge was fun, but it was also hard. It does require a time commitment and gave me reason for a lot of introspection. I am glad I did it and I think anyone who has interest in what Leather titles are all about should throw their name in the hat and see if they get selected as a surprise judge! 

2018
Tris

I had always wanted to attend SELF.  I heard amazing things about the event, the classes, contest, and producer – and wanted to see for myself if things were as good as I heard (the movie rarely holds up to the book after all).

Being a first time attendee to the event, I was nervous.  I’ve been to a bunch of events, but this was the first event in my new home area.  It was an opportunity for me to meet people, socialize, in addition to see what the hype was about.  Imagine my surprise when I got a call from the producer asking me to be SELF’s “Surprise Judge”!  Imagine my further surprise when a few judges were friends of mine from out of town! 

Upon arriving at SELF, I had an opportunity to meet the producer, Catherine Gross.  Catherine was lovely, engaging, and humorous.  She provided information as to how the event worked, the reason why judging was different at SELF versus other events, and how she viewed the importance of what we would be doing for the region and for her event.  I was impressed, and the level of detail and expectations that she has of her staff showed through in this initial meeting.

Over the next three days (starting at the meet and greet, ending at the luncheon), I was absolutely blown away at every interaction.  Every time I was in the social area downstairs, people were huddled around talking as if it was their living room.  Each hospitality event had individuals who seemed to be in the room just to make introductions.  Every class I attended was well delivered by an expert presenter – and some presenters stepped up at the last minute to fill in!  The Saturday luncheon speakers?  There are no words to describe how touched I was by people sharing their life experiences, and how much I cried upon hearing some of their stories.   

Saturday evenings extravaganza of the contest was an experience.  The clothes were amazing, the energy was incredible and the MC was phenomenal (an impromptu bidding war over the producer was certainly a fun addition….)!    The speeches and fantasies absolutely blew me away.

That all said, I was in attendance to judge.  It was a challenging job, and more so for the contestants than for the judges.  I was impressed by each and every contestant who chose to put themselves out, show their vulnerability, and allow themselves to be on display for the weekend.  It is not an easy thing to do, and I wish the titleholders the best throughout the remainder of the year.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to participate in such a critical role for SELF.  I enjoyed my first experience at the event, and understand why people refer to it as ‘coming home’.  I look forward to learning more about the community in the SouthEast and making it my home moving forward.

In Leather,
Tris
Washington State Ms. Leather 2014

2017
GearDog

2016
Dragon

Dragon was raised by his WWII fighter-pilot father with many of the principles that would shape the Leather movement, but is a relative newcomer to the Lifestyle where he was happy to find there was a community and word for those who share his core beliefs. He has been slowly building his poly Leather household, Caer na’Drac, in the Northwest Georgia hills near Chattanooga. He is a proponent of the idea of the mission-driven Household and has taken the lessons learned from decades as a teacher in the neo-Pagan community together with his love of history to create a Neo-Edwardian model for his House, rather like a kinky Downton Abbey.  He is currently attending Adler University with the openly declared purpose of using his Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology to help him be a better administrator for a future shelter for victims of domestic abuse in the BDSM lifestyle.

2014
Master Bear

In 2009, he was a founding member of the Legion of Sin Motorcycle Club, the only LGBT Non-Gender Orientation specific MC in California, holding the position of Vice-President until November 2013 and now currently Treasurer.

He believes that he is evolving into the Master that he wants to be. He is the Founding Director of MAsT- Livermore Valley , Founder and Host of the Tri-Valley and Beyond Kinky Brunch Munch, sits on the Board of Directors for the SF Leather Alliance, and hosts the Bear’s Lair BDSM Parties in Livermore.