Entertainment

Viola Johnson is a leatherwoman, activist, motivational speaker and author who has been active in the leather BDSM scene for well over four decades. Vi has served as a mentor to countless individuals, and was dubbed “Mom” by several generations of Leathermen and women. She is delighted to now be “Grandmom” and now Great Grandmom to a whole new generation of “kinklings”.

Vi is passionately involved with preserving the history of the SM/Leather/Fetish communities. She is the Owner and Senior Griot of the Carter/Johnson Library and Collection, a compilation of over 15,000 books, periodicals, posters and other art, newsletters, and ephemera documenting the history of SM/Leather/Kink from early drawings documenting human sexuality to the present day.

The Goddess is an author and international educator with a unique brand of irreverent humor. This covered Leather Master is a founding board member and President of Onyx Pearls Lustre Southwest and Directrix of MAsT Austin. Previously, she was the Talk Show host of "The Leather Line" radio show (KPFT, FM 90.1-Houston).

An ordained minister and Ms. Texas Leather 2023, she is Matriarch of the Leather Family Genus Indigo and is honored to own three force multipliers: Dr. Bob, BBG and Sinfully Sill. She is blessed to be a member of “The Family,” the oldest BIPOC Matriarchal Leather family.

Tomo (He/They) is a queer butch leatherdyke who found the leather community during a sunset motorcycle ride with his wife Mel decades ago. He has presented classes, produced events, served as a judge, keynote speaker, auctioneer and emcee at leather events since. Tomo has been served by his Majordomo Levi for over 15 years.

Tomo is Owner and Producer of South Plains Leatherfest, the International Master slave Contest and the International Person of Leather Contest. He served as Northwest slave 2015 and International slave 2016/2021. He was a Producer of Northwest Leather Celebration, the Northwest Master slave, Northwest Bootblack, and Northwest Person of Leather Contests. He was also a Producer of International Ms Leather and International Ms Bootblack for seven years. He co-produces the Ms Sacramento Leather Contest and is a founding member of the D.U.C.

Tomo is a member and serves as Webmaster for Queer Leather Association Sacramento, has served as the West Coast Curator for the Leather Quilt Project, is a former Director of MAsT: Sacramento , and is a member of MAsT: San Francisco and The Exiles. He was awarded the 2013 Pantheon of Leather President's Award, the 2018 Master slave Conference slave Heart Award, the 2020 Vice President’s Award from the National Leather Association, and the 2023 Master slave Conference Guy Baldwin Master/slave Heritage Award.

Race Bannon has been at various times an organizer, writer, educator, commentator, leader, speaker, and activist in the LGBTQ, leather and kink, polyamory, and HIV/STI prevention realms since 1973.
Race’s accomplishments include co-founder of Kink Aware Professionals, leader of The DSM Project, author of the bestselling Learning The Ropes: A Basic Guide to Safe and Fun BDSM Lovemaking; founder of Daedalus Publishing Company; prolific writer; former sex advice columnist; former producer and host of the first kink internet talk show, Bound To Talk; past Board member of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom; Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities; NLA International, and Avatar Club Los Angeles; co-founder of NLA Los Angeles; and member of Chicago Hellfire Club, The 15 Association, and Society of Janus.
Race is currently on the Board of Governors for the Leather Hall of Fame and has been inducted into the Society of Janus Hall of Fame. He is featured in the documentaries Vice and Consent, Out of the Darkness: The Reality of S&M, and Folsom Forever. Race is also a popular speaker who has delivered numerous speeches including keynote addresses at many events.
He has been awarded: the 1991 and 1993 Southern California Regional Pantheon of Leather Community Service Award; the 1995 Large Nonprofit Organization of the Year Pantheon of Leather Community Service Award, The DSM Project, as Project Leader; the 2006 National Leather Association International's Lifetime Achievement Award; 2010 Mister Marcus Hernandez Lifetime Achievement Award (Man) Pantheon of Leather Community Service Award; the 2011 Philip M. Turner Lifetime Achievement Award; the 2013 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Creating Change Leather Leadership Award; the 2014 San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance Co-Man of the Year (tie); the 2015 “Key to Folsom Street Fair” from Folsom Street Events in recognition of service to the community; the 2016 NorCal/Northwest Regional Pantheon of Leather Award; the 2016 Southwest Leather Conference Leatherman’s Heart Award; the 2018 Race Bannon Advocacy Award from NCSF; the Palm Springs Pride 2021 Spirit of Stonewall Lifetime Achievement award; and Anomaly Certificate of Appreciation presented at FROST Gala 2022.
Race is currently working on a documentary and book project, Kink Is My Superpower and over the course of seven years, Race published 165 columns as the leather columnist for the Bay Area Reporter, America's longest continuously published and highest circulation LGBTQ newspaper.
Early on when pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) was first introduced to prevent HIV infection, Race was a national advocate for its adoption and community uptake. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic Race was a founding Steering Committee member for the SF Bay Area Queer Nightlife Fund to provide resources and opportunities to promote and support those in queer nightlife in the San Francisco Bay Area during the pandemic. Race is especially proud to have been sainted by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence bestowing upon him the name Saint Daddy Daedalus, Seriously Sensual Scribe and Sentinel of Sound Minds and Sadomasochism.
Most recently, Race was given The Academy SF 2022 Diane Jones Solidarity Award. You can currently see him in a new online series, On Guard Cigar Salon. You can find out more about what Race is up to and where to read his writings at this link: https://linktr.ee/BannonRace.