SouthEast Bootblack 2008
Updated 2009 - 2010
Our own Andy is off to compete for ICBB Oct. 29 - Nov. 1!
We're so proud of you Andy! Go get 'em and let us know how things went!
To contact Andy (Girl Commando): This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Schedule
July 18-22 2008 NLA_CFL in Tampa, Fl
August 7-10 2008 Master/slave Conference in Washington D.C.
Sept. 5 2009 The Red Chair Birmingham Al
September 20 2008 Hickory Playground Gastonia NC
September 26-28 2008 Fetish Fair Fleamarket in Charlotte, NC
Oct. 4 2008 T3WD Vendors Fair Columbia, SC
Oct. 10-12 2008 DomCon Atlanta, GA
November 14-16 2008 SC-Lock Fall Campout Greenville SC
Dec. 31 2008 RSVP Baton Rouge LA
Jan. 17 2009 Bootblacking Day Class Charlotte NC
Jan. 31 2009 Fundraiser for my trip to ICBB at 1763 Atlanta, GA
February 27-March 1 2009 South Plains Leatherfest in Dallas Texas
Feb. 21 2009 Hickory Playground Hickory, SC
March 8 2009 Sunday Service Grover, NC
March 21 2009 North Carolina Leather Contest Raleigh NC
April 3-5 2009 Leather Leadership Conference Atlanta, GA
April 9-12 2009 Frolicon in Atlanta Ga.
April 17-19 2009 NLA-Houston in Houston TX
May 1-3 2009 Submissive Journey Weekend in Pigeon Forge, Tn
June 12-14 2009 Southeast Leatherfest in Atlanta Ga
Columns
November 2008
This year has started out with a bang for me. At DomCon Atlanta in October I made the decision to run for International Community BootBlack. A wonderful gentleman from Atlanta decided to host a fundraiser for me. He worked with Ms. Whip and the people from 1763 and set it up for the end of January. I attended this fundraiser on January 31, 2009. Talk about amazing.
It was 1763’s Stations of the Cross night. We were given a station to bootblack at. He rounded up 6 bootblacks (including myself) and we blacked our hearts and our butts off. 4 hours and our station was never empty. I am proud to say that the bootblacks raised 513 dollars towards my trip to San Francisco. This will pay for my plane ticket and a good portion of my hotel room. Thank you so much Elegant, LB3, BootBrat, Michael, and most especially to the man who put it all together. You were all amazing. I will do my best to make you all proud of me.
I left Atlanta the morning after the fundraiser, made a pit stop in Charlotte to pick up the last of my stuff and then moved my entire life to Durham, NC. Its been a crazy month since then. Adjusting to a new city, starting a new job, learning to live with a new family has all kept me super busy. But, I’m so happy to be here. It was just the change I needed in my life.
Upcoming for me is SPLF, LLC, Frolicon, and NLA-Houston Spring Iniquity. I will also be teaching two classes at Submissive Journey Weekend 2009. This is an event that is near and dear to my heart. I attended the inaugural one last year and its where I met my girlfriend. So how could I not love it. I am glad to be able to give back to them this year. Then I will be attending SELFs Kinky Prom, which promises to be an amazingly fun event. After all that, it will be time to wrap up my year as SELF BootBlack. What an amazing year its been. I can’t wait to see what the next several months hold. Thank you all so much for your continued support of me as I continue on my journey.
In leather,
Girl commando
SELF Bootblack 2008
November 2008
Its
been a few busy months since my last column. They have been full of
fun, friends, new people, and lots and lots of boots. I have traveled
from Florida all the way to Louisiana and back. I have had the pleasure
of making many new friends along the way.
In July, I
flew down to Tampa to present for NLA-CFL. I did a full day
presentation on Leather, comprised of the Young Leather round table
discussion which is based on my speech from SELF; and then I taught
Bootblacking and a short demo on boot worship. I had never done boot
worship publicly before and boy was it well received. The people at
NLA-CFL were just amazing. I have never been treated so well in my
life. I hope I have the opportunity to go down there again someday.
The Fetish Fair Fleamarket-Carolinas was held in September and that was
an amazingly fun weekend to work. Cecilia and her crew were top notch.
Since the event was held here in Charlotte I got to spend alot of time
with local friends. And had a bevy of volunteers for boot worship. It
constantly amazes me how many times that class is requested and how
much fun it is to teach.
I had the pleasure and honor of working with my very first BDSM group,
T3WD, in October. I went and bootblacked for the day at their 4th
Annual Vendors fair. I have been wanting to work with them for quite a
while now. They are the group that gave me my start in this lifestyle
and they are a great group of people.
Also in October I bootblacked at DomCon in Atlanta. This was very
special to me because I got to travel with and work with one of my very
favorite people in the world, Q-tip. She taught me most of what I know,
not to mention pushing me to run for SELF this year. She is an
inspiration to me in so many ways. This was my stand out event of the
year. I got to meet so many new and fun people. I also got to meet Jay
Wiseman at this event. He was such a nice guy.
I finished out my year with attending and teaching a class at the
SC-LOCK Midnight Masquerade Campout. I won't divulge details so as to
protect the not so innocent. I will just say that no one who was there
will soon forget the craziness of that weekend.
I am taking the rest of the year pretty much off. I might make one more
trip down to Atlanta, but I'm not sure yet. In January I start the year
running with many events, large and small. I can't wait. I have loved
my title year so far and am chomping at the bit to get going again.
No column would be complete without a few thank yous:
First, to the SELF staff for their continued support.
To my girl who constantly amazes me and who helps keep my calendar straight.
To Q and Elegant for always answering my questions and helping me on my journey.
To Sir Kris, Leather Mentor extraordinairre. Thank you for working around my crazy schedule
To Wayne for all your help getting me ready for ICBB.
And finally, to everyone I have interacted with over the last 6 months, ya'll are amazing!!
In leather,
Girl Commando
SELF Bootblack 2008
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
| Wow, what a wild few weeks since SELF! It has been great and I am starting to get my feet under me. The first thing is my thank yous. I did not make it to SELF, nor did i make it through the competition on my own. I had an amazing support system and an amazing group of people spread throughout North and South Carolina and beyond who stepped up and helped out. Thank you to each and every one of you. Your support, donations, love, and willing ears/arms/backs meant the world to me. Thank you to the SELF Board for producing a fabulous event. I have never felt so loved and cared for as I did while competing for this title. You guys really do know how to take care of your contestants. I would also like to thank the judges. Every interaction I had with each of you led to me taking something away. It was wonderful to get to interact with such a venerable group of ladies and gentlemen. I have now attended SELF twice and both times have been life changing events for me. I cannot say enough good things about this event and the people who put it on each year. All I can say is if you have stumbled across my column and you have never attended SELF before, make your way to the registration page and sign up as soon as possible. You won't regret it. I have made friends and loved ones through SELF that I likely wouldn't have met otherwise. And that is what it is all about. SELF is a place for family and friends to meet, reconnect, and spend time together. My schedule has started off with a bang. I taught my first class at my home group, CAPEX (Charlotte Area Power EXchange), this past weekend. I did bootblacking 101. It was a great class with a small group who asked alot of questions and the class was well received. I look forward to the opportunity to present for CAPEX again soon. July 4th weekend will see me in Atlanta volunteering for Atlanta PRIDE weekend. Then I will be flying down to Tampa to present/fundraise with NLA-CFL. I am really excited about this one. Its sure to be a great weekend. In October i will be flying out to San Francisco to compete for the title of International Community BootBlack. It is going to be a weekend full of fun and some seriously stiff competition. I can't wait. I have a few dates set up for next year as well. I will be presenting at NLA-Houston in April. I will also be attending South Plains. I have several more offers in the works now and will keep you all up to date. It is my pleasure and privilege to hold this title. I have never done anything like this before and I am awed by the amount of support and the outpouring of love i have received. I am going to do my best to make you all proud and to be worthy of the faith you have placed in me. Thank you so much. girl commando SouthEast Bootblack 2008 |
Speech given at SELF
Usually you don't look for leather but rather leather finds you. You
could be at an event one day and over hear a conversation or meet up
with someone who takes the time to explain leather to you. Suddenly
something clicks. You have found your leather heart. This happened to
me about a year and a half ago. I was your typical young kinkster. I
had the vest and the boots and wore them because they were hot. But,
then I overheard the phrase "earned leather." I was curious what this
meant, so I approached the person who had said it and they were more
than happy to offer an explanation. It was a very brief cursory
explanation, but it triggered something deep inside of me. I knew this
was what I had been looking for. I took off my boots and my vest that
night and haven't put them back on since.
Once I discovered leather I never looked back. I soaked up everything
I could find and talked to everyone I could. That is how I became
Young Leather. I am one of the next generations. I take this very
seriously. I have duties and a legacy to carry on. I have chosen a
path that requires work and commitment in addition to the other
responsibilities in my life. I have chosen to carry on these long
standing leather traditions. Many of you in this room are the ones
who chose to walk the path before me. Some of you are the ones who
will walk the path after me. I have a responsibility to uphold these
leather traditions, not just for me but for all of us
To uphold the leather tradition I must keep not only learning from my
elders, but also passing down what I know to the ones coming behind
me. In this way our history and our traditions will survive the test
of time.
In addition to the responsibilities I have, I must also be conscious
of where my focus is. I am young leather and sometimes that leads me
to be impatient and to forget my focus. I sometimes forget the
important things in my life. When this happens, I remember a statement
that a good friend of mine made, "Earning leathers is what keeps us
grounded." My focus in my journey right now is earning my leathers.
Through doing this I gain an insight into the past, present, and
future of leather. I have been given assignments that range in focus
from the history of leather folk who have passed on to What earning my
leathers means to me. I look both inside myself and outside into the
leather world for the answers.
This is hard work and it is very humbling at times. When I step back
and see the big picture I am awed. I often think of walking down a
dirt road. Ahead of me I see many sets of footprints. They are the
footprints of the people who have forged this road. If I look behind
me I see my footprints over top of those and I can also picture the
footprints of the next generation coming along after mine. This is my
path. I am right where I need to be. I am Young Leather and I am proud.
*****************************************************************
This speech was written and given from the heart. I love what i do and
i feel like that showed. Thank you to everyone who expressed interest
in seeing my speech.
In leather,
girl commando
SELF Bootblack 2008
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