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Brian Dawson has been active in the Leather Community for many years. He was selected as International Mr. Drummer in 1989 and has been in demand as an MC, speaker, demonstrator and judge since that time. Brian began the keynote by asking people to stand based on how many years they had been in the Leather Lifestyle.

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Many of you are saying to yourself - This is the most clothing that I have ever seen Brian in and there's no flogger in sight. In case this speech goes poorly, I have Jeff standing by in the back and he will be hanging out old Zeus videos. How many of you remember Susie Shepard? Susie was International Ms. Leather the year I got my title. That was the same year Guy Baldwin had his title and the earth began to cool. Susie had the amazing ability to wrap up a whole room in her warmth and make you feel better about yourself. I told her that I was afraid that I would make a fool of myself when I got up in front of a group by saying the wrong thing. She taught me that if you speak from your heart, you will have conviction in your voice, and the words will come out right. Susie was correct and so tonight, Susie this one's for you.

We call ourselves the leather community but who are we? We are gay, straight, bi, or transgender. We come in a variety of sizes and colors… We like the look, smell and feel of leather… or maybe not. It is our lifestyle all the time… or some of the time. Some of us play in leather and others stay in leather. Some of us prefer our leather with healthy doses of SM. Some prefer SM and could care about the leather. Some of us have families, others have leather families… and some have both. Some of us like uniforms, latex, rubber, chaps and harnesses and others like it all… For some of us leather is drag… It shines, it intoxicates, it empowers. It transcends race, religion and sexual orientation. Leather, ultimately, is the rich tapestry of our lives that is woven of all of these things.

Thoughts on Leadership

Henry Kissinger said that "The task of the leader is to get people from where they are, to where they have not been." Remember if you can't get your message across clearly, and motivate others to act on it, then the fact that you have a message at all, really doesn't even matter.

This weekend's leather conference is a continuation of what was started many years ago in the biker bars that created the leather sub-culture. Then the only way to become an accredited leatherman was to train under one. This provided mutual support and respect, and a place to practice their newly acquired skills. I don't believe that they thought of their close associations as a club, but we owe much of what we have become to the men that risked their personal safety to follow their unique kinks. Today we have the luxury of making reservations at a hotel and attending a conference on leather leadership without much fear of ridicule. Remember that the information that you gain this weekend will have far reaching consequences. You haven't truly begun to make a difference until you share this knowledge with someone else.

This conference was formed to represent the Leather Community. Give it a forum for outreach and activism and provide a chance to hone personal skills to become effective leaders. Talk generates ideas. Remember talk to each other as equals. Use humor often. Understand what's in people's hearts, not just what's on their minds.

Big thinking precedes great achievement.
We are here because we have common goals. We have come to educate, be educated, and communicate with those of like or similar minds. Remember that leadership cannot be taught. It can only be learned. It is through this dialog that we learn that we are not alone. We create a unity that demonstrates that we are separate but equal in our leather lives. That means that we can support each other on these common principals upon which we can all agree. The fact that many of us came from some distance to get to this conference is not nearly as important as where we hope to be able to go after the conference.

Community leaders represent a constituency much larger than themselves. Our obligation to the community is to listen to those with whom we disagree… be tolerant of their views and seek to understand them. As their chosen leaders, we must accept responsibility for their actions, apologize for their mistakes, acknowledge their successes and work passionately to find a solution to the problems of the community. But don't expect people to follow you unless you know how to follow.

Leaders must dare to dream but never allow themselves to confuse dreaming with being awake and making progress. Start your dream with what is, not what will be. You have to know about yesterday to understand today, and you need to have lived today to be able to dream about tomorrow.

Leaders run the risk of failing and being criticized, but without taking the risk nothing can be changed. Oh yes, and a word of advise from Democratic attorney, Henry Gilmer. "Look over your shoulder now and then to make sure that someone is following you."

Thoughts on Diversity

Author, B. H. Liddell Hart said that "Vitality springs from diversity- which makes for real progress so long as there is mutual toleration, based on the recognition that worse may come from an attempt to suppress differences, than from acceptance of them."

We say how America is stronger as a result of the September tragedy. Halle Berry spoke of how all actors of color are stronger because one person received an Oscar for their work. Stonewall made gays realize that they were not alone and that they were stronger in a group that shared a common goal. On a personal note, I have been thinking about competing at the Gay Games in Australia in physique but felt very alone. The other day I received an email from Team LA inviting me to join them in their quest for the gold. Suddenly, I felt like I had partners in my project. In our ignorance we may believe that we can survive alone. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

This conference is a celebration of our diversity, yet it is our love of this lifestyle, however you define it, that has brought us all together this weekend. If you can, for a moment, strip away your color, sexual preference and religious beliefs, the reason you are here becomes apparent. You gave up your weekend to make a difference with others that share your desperate desire to be who we are as individuals and as a community. And that we call diversity.

"When you are surrounded by sameness, you get only variations on the same." Kevin Sullivan, VP of Human Resources at Apple Computers. Surround yourself with interesting, articulate, intriguing people that will stimulate your thinking.

We have conveniently lumped all of our fetish, kink, bd/sm, uniform, and leather subcultures into one word and called it leather. We refer to this as an umbrella under which each subculture can stand. I believe that the point to this analogy is that the umbrella is for protection from the elements of those who would tear us apart. The analogy of the umbrella is not to say that we are all to think the same but rather that we think independently and act collectively. We have come together this weekend to learn how unique each of us is and leave with the knowledge that it is the very diversity of our tribe that makes it so strong.

Thoughts on Mentoring

I believe that much of what we know about the practice of mentoring and training may have been lost during the AIDs epidemic. Our relay team that had worked so hard all through the 60's, 70's and 80's to keep our leather traditions alive, lost many of its warriors. There was no one to pass the baton to. We have had to re-establish our mentoring system and are really only now starting to build up our relay team again. We owe an enormous debt or gratitude to those writers and poets that have chronicled our history. (acknowledge Mark Thompson and 'Leather Folk") I believe that one of the key benefits of LLCSix is the strengthening and nurturing of that mentoring system. While information on all facets of leather are available on the internet and in books, it is the experience of the information that can only be gotten from being with another person. It is the responsibility of each person here to share his or her knowledge with another person. It will start in the classroom but when you leave this gathering of the tribe, it must be shared, one on one, with all those that will listen.

Thankfully there seems to be a resurgence of interest in our leather history. Many young people are seeking the structure that existed in the past and wish to integrate it into their play and their lives. We have to make ourselves available to mentor the curious of mind. The answer is out there if not with one person then certainly with another.

I guess Old Guard is not a well agreed upon term but that's what I prefer to call myself. At the very least, I embrace their lifestyle, rights and rituals. The basis of all they stood for could be summed up in three words: Trust, Honor and Respect. These values are basic to society, not just leatherfolk. If we follow these principles in our daily lives, we become role models for our families, both conventional and leather. We have so much to learn from each other.

Because new and young players are entering our ranks at ever increasing numbers, it is more important than ever that our senior members be there (with acknowledgement to Race Bannon) to teach them the ropes. We must insist that, for safeties sake, we make ourselves available at every possible type of leather, fetish or kink event to help spread the word and show, by example, how to be safe, sane and consensual.

It is in this spirit of educating each other through a sharing of experiences that LLC six was created. LA RAWW, OCLA, Threshold and Avatar have worked tirelessly putting together a conference that will allow us to exchange our ideas, reconfirm our goals and enrich our souls. If you don't get answers this weekend, it is because you simply didn't ask the question. The answers lie with those that surround you here tonight. The future of our community lies with you its leaders and the time to make a difference is now.

Part of our hope for the weekend is that we will be cultivating new leaders that will take our community to the next level. I am a member of Avatar Los Angeles and the Orange Coast Leather Assembly. Both of these organizations have flourished in recent years because of the input of young, energetic people. They have come seeking knowledge of their leather history from our current leaders, but in the process they have brought a new level of energy that has stimulated the very people from whom they seek knowledge. Many have come desperate to learn about the rights and rituals that is our leather heritage. We owe it to them to take the time to mentor them in the ways of their forefathers. They seek structure in their play and take pleasure in the fact that they are carrying that history forward for our next generation. But they have not come just to take. They have given us a level of enthusiasm for bd/sm that we may have forgotten existed. As any educator will tell you, as soon as you stop learning you become stagnant in thought and indifferent to change.

We must design a strong structure upon which others can build. Our structure must have a broad base to withstand those who would attempt to topple it over. Yet we must design it with flexibility to allow for modification of goals and ideals. We must constantly seek new knowledge so we might better lead by example. Remember the world is guided, directed and ultimately changed by those who show up.

Final Thoughts

I give a class on Creativity in which I discuss the levels of play. At the most basic level we seek to play with others on a purely physical level. If we are good we may reach others at an emotional level. We often speak of spirituality as a play goal, and it, for many of us is the pinnacle of our best efforts. But I would like to offer that there is still another level of play that should be our goal and the goal of those that we play with. That would be play at a soul level. That is when your bodies, minds and hearts become one. Time stops and your focus tightens so much that you can see through your partner's eyes and into their soul. And don't think that this is the responsibility of the Top or the bottom; this is a journey that begins with two people going to the same place at the same time.

I once asked Guy Baldwin about fear in regard to where you might go in a heavy scene. He used the analogy of being in a tree and hugging the trunk for all your worth. As you get comfortable you let go and begin venturing out on one of the limbs of the tree, knowing that you can always return to the trunk for safety. As time goes by you reach further and further out on the limb until, at last,you come to the end. I asked Guy what happened when I got to the end of the limb. He said to think about it and that someday we would discuss it again. The answer came to me at a pool in Palm Springs talking to a slave in the hot afternoon sun. I told him Guy's story and that I was unclear about what happens when you get to the end of the limb. Without hesitation he looked at me and said "You Soar"! What a revelation! The answers may come to us at any time and any place. Stay alert to knowledge because it comes at the darndest times.

Share thoughts on violence in videos that show bd/sm as a tool to sell videos. Talk about Zeus videos and USSM3. It is actually used as a training aid by a sm club in Canada.

This community is made up of a diverse group of team leaders and team players. Be secure in the knowledge that no matter how you contribute, you are making a difference because your goals are the same. Change begins with a sharing of ideas through your leadership. This give and take process results in focused determination with an economy of purpose. It is important to remember that every idea will stimulate thinking and insure the creative process. How many ideas did men like Henry Ford or Albert Einstein have before they hit on the one that made a difference. Remember the best way to have a good idea is to have lots of them. You can't be afraid to dream, and hope, and wish for a stronger community. Through your mentorship it will happen.

Stephen Sondheim wrote a musical called "Into the Woods". It was recently in Los Angeles and perhaps some of you saw it. One particular song stuck with me. Last Friday night, Jeff and I saw Bernedette Peters in concert and she sang the song again. The lyrics are very powerful and comforting. So I'd like to end my speech by reading you the final words from that song.

"Someone is on your side. Someone else is not. While you're seeing your side, maybe you forgot. They are not alone. No one is alone. Hard to see the light now, just don't let it go. Things will come out right now, we can make it so. Someone is on your side."

2002 © Leather Leadership Conference, Inc.

 

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