Sir Bradford - 2018 Mr. SouthEast LeatherFest
Sir Bradford is a queer transman of color that proudly serves not only in our community but within the military as well. He is the Owner and husband of Girl Pixie, who enjoys living at home with their kids and pets in South Carolina. He has been active in the Southeast and has branched into the Mid-Atlantic region as well as traveling as often as he can. Sir Bradford is the Head of House of Kreatures and spends his time reading, hiking, and adventuring out into new things at home, at work, and in his kinky life. He and his girl have pledged themselves to helping the community and specifically, in making a safe space for everyone who needs one through The House of Kreatures. To reach their goal of allowing the growing generation a safe-haven to find out who they are and what path is meant for them, while having a family, Sir Bradford joined the volunteer team at The Leather Heart Foundation in 2017 as their resource manager, gathering resources to help in new and growing ways as he can. He can be found making puns at any event while volunteering and keeping everyone laughing. When he’s not at events he is working on new classes, writings, or community service projects for veterans.
Calendar of Events
June
23rd Capex: Fire Play Charlotte, NC
July
6th – 8th Stars & Stripes: TLC Leather Run Greensboro, NC
12th – 14th Kinky BBQ Troy, AL
20th – 22nd Fireside Chat with Mr. SELF Raleigh, NC
August
4th Little Leather Scouts Troop 42 Greensboro, NC
4th Tradesman Bar Night: House of Mercy Cookout Charlotte, NC
5th Midlothian Virginia MAsT Midlothian, VA
17th – 19th F.I.R.E. Orlando, FL
30th – September 3rd Master/slave Conference Tyson’s Corner, VA
September
14th – 16th Chicago Trip Chicago, IL
22nd Charleston Pride Charleston, SC
28th – 30th Atlantic States Leather Weekend Baltimore, MD
October
19th – 21st Tentative New Jersey Leather Contest New Jersey
26th – 28th ASGARD & Jacksonville MAsT Jacksonville, NC
November
9th – 12th Leather Reign Seattle, WA
December
8th Hooker & Boys: 12 Days Baltimore, MD
January
4th Onyx SE Bar Night Atlanta, GA
5th Tradesman Bar Night Charlotte, NC
18th – 21st Tentative Southwest Leather Conference Phoenix, AZ
February
1st – 3rd Sin in the City Las Vegas, NV
16th MAsT Greensboro Greensboro, NC
16th TLC Bar Night Greensboro, NC
17th MAsT Raleigh Raleigh, NC
March
1st – 3rd Tentative MX Virginia Leather Contest Richmond, VA
15th – 17th Tentative Leather Leadership Conference Atlanta, GA
29th – 31st Tentative Kapu Honu High Point, NC
April
4th – 7th Tentative M/s Reflection Retreat Pigeon Forge, TN
12th – 14th Tentative The M/s Gathering 2019 Wilmington, DE
May
3rd – 5th Tentative Trademark 33 Pirates Charlotte, NC
June
13th – 16th SELF 24 Atlanta, GA
June 2018 Column
SELF 23 was a wild ride for me. I competed in my first title contest and won! I got to meet and speak to many new people. I was delighted to be a part of the many experiences of all of the SELF Virgins who set aside time to tell me their stories and ask questions about where they could go to learn more. What an amazing adventure this will be! To the many people who donated to my auction baskets and title vest: Jade LeBlade, Peach, Marty & Petal, Sakura House, Brutal Passions, and the many, many, others who helped me, I am honored and humbled by your generosity. I cannot say it enough, thank you, thank you, thank you. I cannot say thank you enough to the sponsors, staff, volunteers, and producer of SELF for this amazing opportunity. I cannot say thank you enough to those in the audience who voted for me and those cheering me on from home. I am overwhelmed by the support I have been shown. I was surprised by how many people my message reached and the outpouring of love that I received in return. SouthEast LeatherFest has truly become a home to me. The fact that we can have so much fun and tackle the important topics our community needs to face is a great thing that events like SELF can do.
This year will be awesome! My girl and I plan on travelling all over the region and beyond to bring awareness of how we can help our LGBTQIA+ youth who are struggling to find their place and to help spread safe spaces within our community. Already, people have been reaching out with organizations and individuals and their families willing to take up the cause and it is a beautiful site to see. I can not believe the amount of emails and private messages I have received to come teach or speak or even just to offer help in any way people can! I hope to represent our community well and do you all proud. I look forward to continuing the conversation on how to bring our community together to lift each other up every way that we can. We are a community of outsiders, it’s time to show that we have each other’s backs and aren’t fighting our fights alone.
This upcoming month, we will be at Tarheel Leather Club’s annual run, Stars and Stripes, in Greensboro, NC, and House InNC Presents: A Fireside Chat with Mr. SELF in Raleigh, NC. In August, we will be at the Tradesmen Bar Night and House of Mercy Cook Out in Charlotte, NC, Midlothian, VA MAsT, F.I.R.E. down in Orlando, FL, and Master/slave Conference in Tyson’s Corner, VA. I hope to see some of you there!
Oct 2018 Column
Hey fam! August and September went by much faster than I anticipated. I hope everyone has been well. Here’s what’s been going on with Mr. SELF and his lovely First Lady:
The first weekend in August, the Pixie and I escaped up into the hills to hang out with Master Blue and slave sheri for MAsT Lenoir before the Tradesmen’s bi-annual House of Mercy Cookout. While there, we got to spend some time with the residents, Mx. North Carolina, Jade LeBlade, members of the Tradesmen Levi Leather Club, and, of course, Master Blue and slave sheri. It was a blast and we had some delicious food! After the cookout, we ventured out to the Woodshed for the Tradesmen’s monthly bar night with Ms. Becca, her boy Adrian, boy Jordan, Stick, Maggie, and members of CAPEX. It was a night to remember! PM Grey pinned me with a Tradesmen friendship pen and what an honor that was. The next morning my girl and I got on the road and headed to Virginia to teach our All the Small Things class at MAsT Midlothian. Master Steve, slave Lisa, and their group were absolutely amazing to spend some one on one time with! We had a great time teaching our class and hanging out poolside with a good group of people.
Next on our August adventures, was Charlotte Pride. Ms. Becca, Adrian, and Tris Esclave were wonderful hosts as we bunked with them for the weekend. The Tradesmen granted me the opportunity not only to serve on the color guard to kick off Charlotte Pride but also to march with the honor guard in the parade the next day! As we walked through the many vendors and booths at Pride, I got to see all of the businesses and organizations working to make the local area more open and accommodating to the LGBTQ+ community. Tidbit, Quasi, Master Blue, and I not only marched with the honor guard in the parade, but we also marched with the Woodshed float! If any of you missed Boy Dave on his Segway with his bullhorn, I have pictures. He corralled like I have never seen before and made sure we took our first step on time!
To break up the event travel, after Charlotte Pride weekend I STARTED SCHOOL! If you haven’t been following my random Facebook posts, I started the Paralegal Associates of Science Program. It has been amazing! I am learning so much! I just want to throw out there that it is never too late to start something new and that is exactly what I am doing. I’m taking classes full time and my plan is to become a certified paralegal, so I can provide some kind of service to my community in a legal capacity. It is yet to be determined if I will try to tackle law school, but it is a strong maybe.
The Master slave Conference in Tyson’s Corner, VA slid us into September. The Pixie and I drove up to MsC excited as ever for a reunion with friends from the M/s community that we only get to see at the event. Lady Catherine won the Lady Lynette Leadership award and I was honored to lose my voice shouting with pride for her accomplishment. At MsC, something beautiful happened. I got to watch our community come together to support one of our own. The Mid-Atlantic Onyx Pearls and Mid-Atlantic Onyx usually do a raffle throughout the weekend and this year they did not disappoint. The beautiful thing is that these two clubs, MTTA, the Leather Heart Foundation, and the attendees of MsC donated over four thousand dollars to help slavegirl j. This is what I’ve been talking about when I say that together, we can do amazing things for our community. With everything that happened over the weekend, this is the thing that stood out the most in my mind when I thought back to all of those who came together to have a good time and enjoy each other’s company. I got to hang out with Mama Vi and Robbie in the Leather Library. And guys, I GOT MY FIRST KILT! Buz Norwood and Margret met us for family dinner at an awesome seafood restaurant with slave laura, Mama Vi, Pulse, and Robbie. Then we got to watch slave laura bring down the house with her magical voice for the contest. I met a ton of new people and got to hang with Mister Blue and Blue Frost (who I totally want to be when I grow up, move over Idris Elba) and attend two of their classes which were amazing. I also got to spend time with my MTTA family, which will always be close to my heart. These people have seen me grow and learn from the very beginning. They supported me when I chose to ran for Mr. SELF, and have always popped in with kind words of encouragement and advice when I needed them. Thank you, Master Taino for putting on yet another awesome weekend!
Our last event for September was South Carolina Pride in Leather in Columbia, SC. I got my judging cherry popped with the help of Ms. Tina Landi, Sir David Labriola, Boy Dave, BJApries Onyx, and Boy Scott (you hoped I would forget to mention you didn’t you). Sir Tom and Ms. Peach produced a great event. It was an honor to be asked to judge their contest. I was so nervous! The contestant was an amazing boy with a beautiful message to spread in the South East. I hope when you see boy Brian out and about representing is state, that you take some time and listen to the things he has to say. It was great to spend time with my Columbia Leather Order family and catch up. Master Blue, slave sheri, Tidbit, Quasi, and I took our most creative picture yet (we tried our hand at a modified Eiffel Tower), and got to chat about our latest adventures in traveling. We had an inspiring leather round table kicked off by the lovely Lady D and I feel like we all left the event with our hearts full.
September is an especially important month to me and my girl because on the 17th of September, two years ago, I collared my girl. The Pixie became my owned property. September is the month we celebrate our commitment to each other in a way that’s different than some people’s marriage anniversary and we try to do extra things that feed our relationship that month. The events we attended did just that. My Pixie had some health trouble for the first half of the month but is doing much better. In October, we will be teaching our Bridging the Gap at New Jersey Leather Weekend and we will be teaching at my brother Master Aaron’s group, Jacksonville MAsT, in North Carolina. Stay tuned for some sneak peaks on a project we are working on for our LGBTQ+ Youth!
January 2019 Column
Happy New Year SELF Family! The past six months have been a wild ride! I hope everyone enjoyed a relaxing holiday season. Since I last updated you all, I have been to New Jersey Leather Contest in October, Jacksonville, NC MAsT, 12 Days, Leatherman & Leather Woman of Color Contest at the DC Eagle, and *drum roll please* I moved to Jacksonville, FL! You heard that right! The head quarters for House of Kreatures has moved! Anyways… It was amazing to watch my brother Lynx Onyx become Mr. New Jersey Leather 2019, witness history continuing on at 12 Days’s 20th Anniversary where they raised over $16,000 for four charities, and witness Velvet Storm go down in HERstory as the first ever Leather Woman of Color! This month, the Pixie and I said our goodbyes to the Carolinas in style by surprise attending the Tradesmen’s first bar night of the year. Coming up the Pixie and I will be heading to Las Vegas (my first excursion ever to the city of sin) for me to judge the International Person of Leather contest and present at Sin in the City. If you haven’t gotten your tickets already, please join us in the on the West Coast as we romp, play, and enjoy each other’s company! In March, Girl Pixie and I head to Richmond, VA, for the first ever Mx. Virginia contest. I will be judging that contest as well. It is always wonderful to not only see our community growing and evolving to show support of one another but to be a part of that change as well. It’s what my fantasy was all about, let’s make space that includes everyone, we’re marginalized enough as kinky folx as it is.
March 2019 Column
First, I would like to say again, congratulations Iamar on being the 2019 International Person of Leather!
My, how time flies! It seems like not long ago I was just finishing my last column and sending it out to my wonderful SELF Family. The past few months, I have ALMOST finished unpacking, drove up for a Tradesmen Bar Night, attended my first Sin in the City where I judged the International Person of Leather contest with an amazing panel of judges, started a new job, and met a ton of new and wonderful people! It has truly been an amazing time.
Sin in the City was an absolutely amazing experience! Slave Jazz, The Sin Staff, and volunteers do a wonderful job! I got to experience Las Vegas, an international contest, and not only teach there but judge too! I had so much fun getting to know those on the panel of judges I hadn’t met yet and getting to spend extra time with those I’ve known for some time now. Honestly, it was like we already knew each other. I expected to feel out of my depth and like someone playing at being a judge because all of the other judges were either Elders in the community, international titleholders themselves, or both. I learned a lot from them, and I have a secret to tell you… They’re some of the most amazing human beings (and pup) I have ever met! I felt right at home at Sin and I cannot wait to go back! It hardly feels like it’s been 27 days since we were there that’s for sure. I cannot wait to see everyone again. Someone mentioned something about Pup Havoc and I doing a calendar to raise money for charities. Be on the lookout for those.
The Pixie and I are settling in nicely, the tiny humans are doing the school thing, and Mr. SELF 2018 has managed to incorporate his Batman and Joker personalities into the new workplace (evil giggle). No but seriously, there are pictures on the Facebooks of the Batman and Joker lanyards I wear to events functioning as my work badge holder.
I’m looking forward to judging the first ever Mx. Virginia contest in Richmond, VA this weekend (March 1-2). The Pixie and I will be teaching two classes at LLC (March 15-17), one class at Kapu Hanu in High Point, NC (March 30), and I will be participating on a panel at the M/s Gathering in Wilmington, DE (April 12-14). My title family has been up to some amazing things as well. Ms. SELF 2018 just finished her first Consent Summit which I have heard nothing but good things about. I got to hang with our SELF Boy and his Ma’am in Vegas (no, we did not gamble together). I will see both our SELF Bootblack and SELF Boy this weekend and we will commit ALL OF THE MISCHIEF! I hope to see some of you at the upcoming events!
June 2019 Column
What a year this has been! Hello SELF Family and welcome to my last column of the Mr. SouthEast LeatherFest 2018 title year! I don’t know if I’ve said this already or not but it bears repeating: I never thought I’d be here. What you all have seen is the shy, oddly loud at times, tiny trans guy that usually sits in the corner or far enough in the back as to make a quick exit become a representative of the Southeast. All with your help and support. I am truly humbled and I greatly appreciate the opportunity to be your Mr. SELF 2018.
I just want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me and the Pixie this year. Those who have shown us amazing hospitality and been a huge part of this portion of our Journey. There were many events we attended people we met, people we got to know better, and places we traveled to which I had never been before. We got to find out just how vast our community is in the United States. But! It doesn’t end here! Just because the title year is over does not mean the Journey is over! There is a project in the makings that we are working on that,hopefully, will be epic. We also have a lot more traveling we still want to do.
I wanted to take a moment to again congratulate IML 41 Jack Thompson and IMLBB 27 Kriszly de Hond! I’ve met Jack on several different occasions and had the honor of seeing him run for Leatherman of Color 2018. He is an absolutely amazing guy and if you ever get the opportunity to chat him up I highly recommend it. I think it shows amazing community growth and unity how we all rallied behind Jack in the face of transphobia shortly after his win. I’d like to keep that going and encourage you to expand that stance to include a zero tolerance of bigotry and hate all around. There is no place in this community for anything but love and acceptance. (I am in no way condoning physical violence. That is not the answer.) I haven’t met Kiszly de Hond just yet but from what I’ve gathered he is also a cool guy with a pretty epic plan to bring awareness to Bootblacks in Europe. He’s also super Facebook friendly if you ever just want to hit him up on messenger (cause I totally did).
I’m really looking forward to seeing as many SELF attendees as I can in the next few weeks. If you catch me walking by, please stop me and say hey. The theme this year is embrace… and maybe I promised to give out some epic hugs to those who came to see me.
See you soon SELF Family!