Board and Staff

 Kyle -- Producer/ Weekend Registration/ and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Kyle entered the Leather Community in 1998 in Atlanta, GA, and has served in many different entities, including the Atlanta boys of Leather, Tribe, host of Queer Energy Night at the Sanctuary and as Mr. Georgia Olympus Leather 2000. For SouthEast LeatherFest, he has been fund-raising chair, registration chair, secretary, and for the last seven years, Co-Producer. His commitment is to education and family.

Catherine Gross -- Producer/Operations/Workshops   

Catherine Gross is an educator and certified PCC Life Success Coach. She teaches classes that focus on relationships, play-oriented BDSM skills, Dominance and Submission, improving your sex life, gender, house management, activism and theory. She has been active in various communities for decades. She has served on local and national boards, judged contests, staffed conferences, emceed and produced fund-raisers for various charities/organizations. She loves her volunteer work for SELF. It allows her to give back for so much that she's been given. She is also on the board of CARAS (Community-Academic Consortium For Research on Alternative Sexualities)

Catherine has presented classes at conferences such as LIL, Leatherfest, Leather University, Boys Camp, International Ms. Leather, Pantheon, TES, and many more. She is the recipient of Black Rose's Vaughn Keith National Educator Award presented November 2002, Pantheon of Leather Southeast Regional Award 2006 and Business of the Year (FetishAuctioneer.com) 2006. For her coaching site please visit www.foryourlifecoach.com or her classes www.bdsmclasses.com

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Miss Bettie is a Switch from Wilmington, NC.  She is the 2008 Ms. Southeast Leatherfest and was the 2007 Ms. North Carolina Leather.  Miss Bettie has been active in the BDSM and Leather Lifestyles for over 4 years.  She has presented for WINK, the Hickory Playground, and The Triangle Munch Group in North Carolina.  Throughout the Southeast, she has presented and volunteered for the Florida Fetish Weekend, Atlanta Regional Munch, The Mark, Nashville, TN, Frolicon 2009 and SELF.  She has also volunteered at Southplains Leatherfest 2009.  She is an activist, a brat, an educator, and a relative newbie.  Her activism involves everything from domestic violence to sexual rights.  She is also passionate about education and the transfer of ideas from one generation to the next.

slave nic -- Accountant / Registration /Operations Asst. 

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Melissa is a bisexual, dominant slave committed to service with Master Conrad. After over a decade in the leather community, she is finally at home at his feet. She holds a PhD in psychology and works as the director of a social services agency in Las Vegas. She has taught classes internationally on a wide variety of topics. Melissa is a member of Sin City D/s Network, Desert Rose Power Exchange and MAsT: International. She served as the president of the Nevada Women of Leather for three years, and continues to organize a back to school fundraiser for kids affected or infected with HIV. She is an instructor for crisis intervention and restraint programs for healthcare professionals, and raises a toddler (in her spare time).

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Eclectic. Femme. boi. Poly. Switch. Queer. Multifaceted? Oh, just a little! Gayla and alex are two very different sides of the same unique coin. With interests ranging from service to humiliation, age play to blood play, I have the habit of sampling everything from the grand buffet of life that I can. I am devotedly in service and collared to Sir Nicholas. I have been active in the BDSM community since 2001 after spending a number of years in the lifestyle in a more private setting. I was honored to join the SELF board in 2007 and enjoy working with the Volunteers to make SELF a wonderful event. In either femme or boi mode; heels or boots; my main focus is my families, both chosen and given. I still reside in AL (Yes, really! AL!) with my family and spend my weekends on the road traveling to and from those that I love.

jen -- Volunteer Coordinator Assistant

jen has been involved in the lifestyle since the wee age of 18 (aka 1997), when she discovered D/s through the marvelous universe then known as the “information superhighway”.  Since then, she has explored her masochism and submission by serving as a slave in several households, each of which has been an eye-opening and educational experience.  jen is queer, poly, androgynous, and an emotional and physical masochist.  On the non-leather front, she is involved in theatre, psychology, and education. She enjoys organization, discipline, and color-coding.  In some worlds, she has come to be known as coli-jen (or aardvark), the anti-aging slave.  jen is overly excited to have the opportunity to work with SELF.

Steven Hagen -- Graphic Design & Podcasts Chair

Steven fills a unique niche within our leather community. This Leatherman is proud of his ability to serve. His experiences expand our cultural definition of what a leather slave is. Steven holds a firm belief that you don't have to be a traditional "boy" to be successful in the leather community.

Steven has been working with our community since 1999, starting as an organizer for a heterosexual bdsm dinner club, 3D, in Charleston SC. This led to a leadership role in South Carolina where he helped start similar clubs in Wilmington NC, Myrtle Beach SC, Columbia SC, and Savannah GA. These experiences worked to build the foundation of his lifestyle knowledge.

In October of 2008, Steven moved to Richmond, VA  for occupational reasons. He is active in the bootblack community, a graphic artist who supports several leather organizations and a volunteer for different leather events.

Lisa-Pre Event and Weekend Fun Chair

Lisa is a bisexual woman who thrives within the various elements of the lifestyle from playing, socializing, serving, to the joys of ensuring her stilettos match her lingerie. She attended her first BDSM event in 2003 after it occurred to her that perhaps something existed beyond the rather bad bdsm porn on her nightstand.

She recently moved to Atlanta from NC where she was an active member of her community. She has served as the Education Director for CAPEX and has taught service classes at Raleigh TNG, DF&SA, and Submissive Journey Weekend 1.

Her love of organizing and event planning draws heavily from her professional experience as a project manager as well as over four years as an Event and Convention Planner for Marriott and Hilton Hotels in Los Angeles CA.

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Boy harley has been lighting, building, loading in and out, and fixing sets, lights, special effects, and sound for theatre, corporate events, film and video, high school productions and even religious broadcasting. He has handled the staging for SELF since 1997, as well as managed the staging for SE Olympus a few times, and various other leather events.

Boy harley was trained in Old Guard at the Sanctuary of a Dark Angel in 1997 and took part in helping the Sanctuary run. Primarily a submissive bottom, boy harley has been known to switch on occasion. His interests are: bondage, leather, exhibitionism, mindplay, electricity, watersports, wax, and shaving (not necessarily in that order). He has only one piercing (left earlobe), but could see getting one or both nipples pierced, if done in the context of a scene.

MJ -- Vendor Chair

MJ has been a member of the Atlanta community since 1999. She produces Twisted Toyland Atlanta (formerly Atlanta Fetish Flea Market), an annual event that benefits various charities and people in the BDSM realm. She has worked on SELF since 2005 and loves the opportunities it has given her to meet new people and learn new things.

SELF_Butterfly -- Social Publicity Coordinator                   

The SELF Butterfly has been part of the Atlanta community since 2004 and is extremely honored to be a member of the SELF family. She has been a presenter and participant at many lifestyle events.  You never know where the SELF Butterfly might turn up or what tantalizing tidbit of information she might find to share.

Q -- Black Out! Coordinator

IMsLBB 2008

SELFBB 2007

Q, easily recognized by her blonde mohawk, is a two-time award winning bootblack and internationally recognized presenter both within and outside of the leather community. An activist for more than 15 years, Q has consistently made strides to bridge the various communities to which she belongs. Her most recent journey as a titleholder in the leather community provided her with the opportunity to continue a rich tradition of education while indulging her activist side.

Born and raised a southern boi, Q currently lives in Charlotte, NC. Q considers herself very fortunate to have been involved with a variety of service organizations outside of the leather and BDSM communities prior to beginning her leather journey. She has worked with organizations such as City Year Columbia, SC Gay and Lesbian Pride Movement and CALCASA.

Q first encountered bootblacking while attending her very first leather event, Together in Leather, in 2005. Her next exposure to bootblacking, at Frolicon 2006, started Q on her journey to learn more regarding this art. Q was honored to receive the title of SouthEast Bootblack in June 2007. Her title year afforded her the opportunity to provide a tangible service to our community, while at the same time providing continued opportunity for her own personal growth.

Since earning her title in June 2007, Q has had the privilege of attending, presenting or bootblacking at Great Lakes Leather Alliance, Black Beat’s 5th anniversary, WhipperSnappers (ATL), DomCon Atlanta, Florida Fetish Weekend, Folsom Street Fair, Southwest Leather conference, SELF Indulgence and Smokey Mountain Power Exchange.

Her path of continued growth lead her to participate in the International Ms Bootblack contest in San Francisco in May of 2008, where she was further honored by earning that title. Q used that time to do her part to contribute to a rich tradition of education in our community both here and abroad.

Since earning her first title, Q has had the privilege of attending, presenting or bootblacking at Great Lakes Leather Alliance, Black Beat, WhipperSnappers (ATL), DomCon Atlanta, Florida Fetish Weekend, Folsom Street Fair, Southwest Leather Conference, TESfest, Mid-Atlantic Leather, Beyond Leather and South Plains Leatherfest. She has also presented internationally at Velvet Eden and the Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar, both in the UK.

A queer polyamorous leather boi, Q has a growing love for the more physical styles of play, but likes the sharp and shinies too! She is also enjoying her latest adventures in learning to play with rope, an adventure that was re-ignited last year by the southeast's own Artemis Hunter. It’s well known that flirting is Q’s default mode of communication. She can often be found with a charming smile on her face or looking mischievous with the other bois. On rare occasions the boi might even be found dancing on a table for the right amount of money…for charity of course!

Not wanting to rest on her laurels, Q seeks to actively serve as a bridge for our community’s kinky youth and more established members, as well as those outside of the community whenever possible. Check out Q's old/yet updated column page!

Staff

Chris - Dungeon Manager

Chris is a long time resident of Atlanta, GA. He has had extensive dungeon experience DMing and managing various local venues. He has a penchant for cigars, sharp pointy things and smart women. Chris hopes to be out and about more and continue his interests in SM and D/s.

Randy - Day Security

Randy Sir is the proud husband and owner of two wives and together they host monthly demos for their local BDSM group. He is a member of Poly Explorations and Central Alabama Power Exchange (CAPE) , where he has served on the leadership board for the past five years. He makes his home with his wives children and a multitude of pets and visiting family, in Montgomery AL.

Randy has an extensive military background as well as being a Fire Medic. His interests vary from the mild to the extreme in all aspects of his life. We hear he is an adrenaline junkie, but he says it's just a nasty rumor! This will be his first year serving as the Head of Security for SELF and he looks forward to the experience.

Master Gowain - Evening Security

Master Gowain is a leatherman who has been a member of the Atlanta community for almost five years and has been involved in the lifestyle for many years. Gowain enjoys teaching and giving back to the community whenever possible. He has volunteered at SELF the last three years, he has presented at DomCon the last four years, and has presented at other various groups in the South East. Gowain is passionate about the leather community, its people and its history. Other passions include education, keeping old traditions alive, and making his girl Erin scream when ever possible. Referred to by many as Satan due to his sadistic abilities, Erin swears he is a nice guy.

Heather S. - Lead Staff Photographer

Heather S. is a 34-year-old versatile queer leathergirl.  She's been involved with various Leather communities for about 11 years, 8 1/2 of which have been spent in the Atlanta area.  Her pursuit of photography is more recent, but no less integral to how she interacts with the world. 

Her photographs are expressions of how she sees, and fetish photography is a favorite.  She prefers to photograph people in situations involving their own sexuality and fetishes, rather than setting up "hot scenes" for shots - she loves seeing the person inside the fetish, and the fetish inside the person. 

Heather lives in the suburbs of Atlanta with her owner and their three cats, who also make the list of her favorite photography subjects.  She served on the Board of Directors of Whippersnappers, an Atlanta-based TNG group, until 2009.  She has presented for Whippersnappers, Frolicon ’08-'10, and SouthEast LeatherFest, and has exhibited her work at Spring in the South 2008, SELF '08-'09, and Frolicon 2010.

Joel - Contestant Den Daddy

Joel has been a part of SELF for five years. He's the unsung hero of registration and the apple of his Daddy's eye (and Catherine's if truth be told!). He is the 2005 SouthEast LeatherFest boy and has been making a contribution to his communities for fifteen plus years.

Erin-Assistant Staff Photographer

Erin is many things to many people – a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a leather girl, a collared slave, a fiancé. Aside from all of that, she is also an up and coming Photographer capturing everything from engagements, weddings and portraits to fetish and lifestyle photography. She has been an active member of the Atlanta BDSM and Leather community for a little over 5 years; volunteering her time at local community events like SELF, DomCon and most recently the NLA Atlanta Chapter and Twisted Toyland’s photos with Santa.  She has been an avid photographer since she was a preteen, but has since taken her interest in photography and changed it from a hobby to more of a professional passion. Over the past year, not only has she been working professionally with a wedding company and shot over 15 weddings, but she has been fortunate enough to photograph some of the local lifestyle events and some personal photo shoot work for members of the community. 

Erin lives just north of Atlanta with her Sir, Master Gowain and her family. This is Erin’s first year as a SELF staff member and is thrilled and excited to be able to capture the moments in the leather history of SELF and in our Atlanta community.

Nev-Program Book Editor                                                    

Nev is a dominant switch that lives in North Carolina with her 24/7 male submissive Jarek. She has been active in the lifestyle since 2001 when she realized that her ‘perversions’ where actually normal and which many others shared. She is self-described as an exhibitionist and loves to play in public. Nev cherishes the act of kneeling, appreciating and respecting its symbolism within a D/s dynamic.
 
Nev is Emeritus Administrator on http://bdsmtasks.org/tasks/, and is a member of the Triangle Munch Group and Female Artists of Domination of Raleigh, in which she actively volunteers and participates. She owns her own graphic design business, www.myraygraphix.com , is the creative director for two monthly magazines and Web hostess to three Web sites. She proudly boasts that her greatest accomplishment is her two children, ages 21 and 23. Nev enjoyed volunteering at SELF in 2010 and cannot wait until SELF 2011.  She can be found on Fetlife as Nev1965, BDSM Tasks as Nev, and of course here at SELF 2011!