Leather fetishism in America has its origins in the post-World War II motorcycle culture, but its ascent into an institutionalized and accepted lifestyle must be, in part, credited to Chuck Renslow, a lifetime Chicagoan and founder of the Chicago Leather Archives and Museum. His accomplishments over the past 50 years as a public activist and gay businessman have not only contributed to the legitimacy of the homosexual fetish community, but have made Chicago the "leather man" capital of the world, creating a hub for an entire leather-clad culture.
Renslow's influence began in 1950 with Kris Studios. With the encouragement of a friend, Renslow, already an established photographer and open homosexual, began publishing a magazine called Physique Pictorial. The magazine featured photos of minimally-clad male body-builders. The magazine's success in the gay scene had two consequences for him: He became an important player in Chicago's homosexual population and he was introduced to obscenity laws and the nature of the type of political antagonism that was directed at alternative lifestyles at the time.
His rise to leadership continued in 1956 when he and a group of like-minded individuals decided to start hanging out at local bars and attracting other "leather men." More men joined the group and, after being kicked out of several places, they settled down at The Gold Coast Show Lounge on Clark Street. The owner of the lounge didn't mind the growing presence of "leather men" in his bar. After the owner's death, his son offered to sell the business to Renslow and his partner, Dom Orejudos, better known in Chicago as erotic artist Etienne. In 1958, The Gold Coast became one of the world's first official leather bars. In the same year, Renslow successfully beat an obscenity charge issued against him by both federal and local authorities. The victory was a milestone in the expansion of gay publications.
The Gold Coast's popularity opened up the possibilities for the leather lifestyle; The Leather Cell, a fetish accessory store, and the Chicago Hellfire Club, an S&M party organization, were just two of the immediate beneficiaries of Renslow's sexual revolution. In 1972, he experimented by having a contest for Chicago's most aesthetically complete "leather man," which he dubbed "Mr. Gold Coast." The competition was a hit, and seven years later, a renamed International Mr. Leather Contest was held in Chicago, where it has continued to be held every Memorial Day since. The contest draws thousands from around the world and has matured from only including the "hardcore" members of the community to attracting both the experienced and the curious.
Renslow was a publisher for the magazine Gay Life and ran several more leather-oriented businesses, including Man's Country Bathhouse, Pyramid and The Eagle. In 1991, he further legitimized the fetish lifestyle by creating the Leather Archives & Museum, located a few blocks west of Loyola. Besides its impressive collection of art and artifacts, the museum is hosting a project that attempts to record oral histories of people who were part of the leather revolution.
Renslow is in his seventies now but remains an active member of the community he fought so hard to create. Leather fetishism has endured political obstacles, public disgust and the HIV outbreak of the 1970s, but as the 28th annual International Mr. Leather Contest approaches, the lifestyle is clearly here to stay.
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