Drawing by Nick Stryker that was inspired from our night out

Six young men, six pairs of boots, six points of view on the kink/gear/fetish community.  This was my running crew the other night when a group of us went out together wearing our gear.

We are a diverse pack ranging in age from 25 to 30 who all met at the Eagle at some point in the last 6 months.  Our interests and exploration of “kink and gear” is what unifies us and perhaps sets us apart from the broader pool of young gay men in the city.  I have to admit it’s easy to get tripped up by terminology here because as a group we are hard to define.  In a general sense, we like to wear gear of some sort and we collectively thought it would be fun to do so in a “non-gear space’ (aka, not the Eagle).

Last Wednesday we joined forces and went to Amanda Lepore’s party called Carnival at Big Top (the final week for the party since apparently the straight management doesn’t want to deal with the gayness any longer…just a rumor I heard).  Twas truly a scene filled with young, attractive NYCers who are all very proud to be young and attractive.  Our group of six (henceforth in this entry to be called “Gear 6”) turned a few heads and we ended up taking position along a curved couch at the side of the dance floor (prime spot to observe and be observed).  I must admit I felt pretty cool with my leather and my boys.

Boots on the dance floor

As many of you know, the Leather Community is a group in transition.  As society in general and gay men specifically change, so do the subcultures they create.  In the past decade there has been a merging of the standard L.C. with guys into more general kink and this combination has resulted in some young blood and new perspectives in the community.  Gear 6 represents this younger generation and gives me a fun boy pack to run around with while I learn about the leather world.

Also it shakes up the other queers we encounter and gives them something new to see and think about.  Leather outreach!  We may get new guys interested in checking out the scene…there certainly were a few guys at the club who seemed keen on us (as well as a little uncertain).

Gear 6.  Sounds like a comic book hero team (hmmm…now that would be a pretty hot comic to read…and as a teenager I always wished there were more gay characters in comics).  New York City beware…there’s a new group of wild dogs on the prowl.  Hide your kids, hide your wives…and for sure hide your husbands/boyfriends 😉  HOWL!

Jason, Nick, and me at Carnival