We Will Not Forget

Written by Master Asriel Rose

Moggy

My moggy’s leather was not the leather I came into. I learned from the Leather Dykes and the generation who survived HIV and buried their brothers and their sisters while still trying to live an authentic life. Those wounds are etched in the stories and ideals and ideas I was raised with. moggy's leather was much different. I could say her leather journey started in childhood, the first time someone told her she wasn't good enough because she liked women. It was a common enough discussion for us. I think that is both true and an inadvertent step on her path. For me the real work on that path started in covid. Watching the communities we had both frequented attacked by hate and hurt and political garbage. Not because the people involved couldn't get along but because some belief of theirs prevented it. Masks no masks, gather or not - so many of those questions.
She asked me one night what it meant to be leather as I put on my vest and my boots. I was preparing to hop on a zoom and sit with friends. I told her leather was showing up for people. It was being there for people, and it was remembering all those who couldn't be there with us. Those who had died, fallen off the path, been traumatized or hurt, those who had left because they didn't feel safe or seen. She was quiet while I was in the meeting and smoking a cigar. We smoked with a man I had never met, but who had put out on Fetlife that he was lonely and needed to feel some sense normal. So, he got a blow job and smoked a cigar on screen while we talked politics and philosophy and discipline and history. He talked about his depression, and I talked about different things I was doing to cope. At the end of the zoom, I beat my slave because I was in the mood to feel some normalcy myself, she looked at me from the puddle on the floor and asked me: Who cares for those who show up for others? I was a little stunned, but I thought about it and my answer was - the Bootblacks. They are the heart of any thriving community I have ever been a part of - one part bartender, one part therapist, one part cleric, one part caregiver. It was then she told me that she wanted to be Leather enough to be a Bootblack, leather enough to care for those who showed up again and again.
There are many profound things I have heard in my time. Her words took me a week to process. I am not a Bootblack. That is not my path. Mine is the builder and the maker. Hers was different. We started working then to put her in touch with the Bootblacks I knew. Colorado has a proud Bootblack history. I put her in touch with IML winners and contestants as well as a number of folks who ran events around the state. She learned and dove in headfirst.
I got moggy her first kit two weeks after that session. It was basic and based on what one of my NE Bootblacks recommended. It was small and it was basic, but it had the brushes and it had the stuff she needed to get started developing her own preferences. It became a topic she pursued as Covid lockdown continued. Where everyone else was focused on staying connected, she focused on enriching the connection hosting online Bootblack jams, reading books, and putting together care packages.
The first time we could gather in public at our local dungeon she was there before I was with food and prepped and ready. To say she was prepared was an understatement. Our friend Lee made a post on one of the kink education platforms entitled soul and sole. It inspired her just as much and she was telling people about it that day and made it a point to be active in meeting as many people as she could. Even from six feet away, people told me later she brightened up their lives.
As time went on, she grew confident enough to start Bootblacking at the local club and then at Trade, a local leather bar. In that first year we started going out to events again, she was too nervous to Bootblack, so I scheduled her 3 shifts through the Bootblacks I knew at SPLF. I think the only time she was ever more terrified was on stage at Colorado M/s contest. There was no reason for it. Like a fish to water she was off and making connections and talking with people. I swear we must have had 200 hundred invites for dinner because of all the people she had talked to.
I remember her tips that year. It was the same year that Tomo only got one dollar on stage. When that was announced moggy handed me the tips she still had on her that hadn’t yet gone to other things and asked me to deliver the tips to Tomo - all save for two dollars. She took those two dollars and got a two-dollar bill, which were her favorites. She wanted to make sure next year she could give you two dollars because she believe if you are brave enough to be on stage for a cause it should be acknowledged.
Back to moggy’s leather. This picture was taken at one of the last major events we attended in Colorado before the accident, Back Alley. In it she’s surrounded by friends, family, our title family (the two people in the chair would be our title grandbabies after she passed). Each person in that picture, including the person who took it, were all people she impacted at core levels. There wasn’t a care about gender, sexuality, status, color, education, religion, politics or past fuck ups. There was acceptance of who you were and where you were. That was moggy’s leather. It was the leather she bled for.
In her world, if you were willing to show up and do the work there was a place for you, no matter what your past. That is the leather I have come to believe in. The bastion of last call. If you are here, it is because you belong here, and I will help make a room at the table for you and with you. That was what my moggy believed in and that is what I believe in. We are far better together than we are trying to tear each other apart. We are a family of ten thousand origins and one hundred thousand destinations. Each person has their place. The dollar bills displayed here are the first and last tips moggy made as a Bootblack.

Sir Stephen

We at South Plains Leatherfest and the International Master/slave Contest mourn the passing of Sir Stephen, a beloved friend, educator, leader, and pillar of the Master/slave community. Sir Stephen died on May 26, 2025 his home in New Jersey after a long and courageous battle with cancer, lovingly cared for to his last breath by his devoted slave, slave catherine.
Sir Stephen’s legacy in our community is deep and enduring. He was the first Northeast Master in 2004 and went on to become International Master 2005 and 2021. He remained a steadfast contributor to MTTA and MsC for decades, serving on the MTTA Board as Secretary and then Vice President, and in 2009 becoming Associate Producer of MsC. Alongside the late Lady Lynette and Master Taino, he helped form the triumvirate that shaped and expanded the MsC experience for so many.
His wisdom, integrity, and unwavering dedication to the traditions of authority exchange touched countless lives. As an educator and mentor, Sir Stephen offered his insight with humility and purpose. As a friend and colleague, he gave the gift of loyalty, quiet strength, and deep humanity.
We extend our heartfelt love and condolences to slave catherine, and to all who are grieving his loss. We have lost a giant. May his memory continue to guide, inspire, and remind us of the strength of our shared path.

BebeBlueEyes

What made Bebe special wasn’t all she did, but rather who she was at a more essential level which informed all of that activity.
She was a firebrand with a heart of gold and a burning desire to help anyone and everyone she could.
She had an indefatigable capacity for uplifting and inspiring others. At turns, quick witted, brazen, brassy, joyous, outspoken, sassy, saucy, and deeply genuinely kind.
She was an impish paradox, matronly in her mama-bear like care, then wantonly shameless with a jibe made cigar in hand, and then again joyously childlike and prone to fits of giggling. Maiden, Mother, and Crone all wrapped up in a singular Red-Headed Whirlwind of Gleefully Chiming Laughter…

Simcha Collins

Simcha Collins, a long time Exiles member and officer, died December 29, 2022 of heart failure. She identified as a leather dyke, slave boi, feminist, masochistic slut, and romantic who liked to play very hard, and have her boundaries pushed.
Simcha came into the San Francisco leather community in 2014, and shortly met Marilyn, who became her Ma’am in 2015. Simcha joined the Exiles early on, and held several officer positions over the years, including Membership Director (2015-16), Co-coordinator (2015-17), Treasurer (2018-19), and Website Manager (2020-21). Simcha was also a key figure in the Ms. San Francisco Leather contests, serving as both Assistant Producer and Contestant Coordinator with Sal Hopkins in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
She volunteered at numerous leather events, conferences and beverage busts, and co-taught classes with her Ma’am Marilyn and Marilyn’s slave Rio. She presented at International Ms. Leather/Ms. Bootblack, as well as at Southeast LeatherFest, Foundations, Sin in the City, Wicked Grounds, the Exiles, and the Fresno Leather Advocacy Group (FLAG). She was a member of Mama’s Family as "Mama’s Naughty Boi".
In her personal life, Simcha was an only child who spent her earliest years with her grandmother, who was half Cherokee, learning both Western & Native ways while growing up in Oklahoma. She went to work at an early age, and held a large variety of jobs, including as an exotic dancer in a bar, as an armored car driver for Wells Fargo, a telemarketer, printer, cashier, and photographer. If you named an industry, she’d usually had a job there! She got her BA from the University of Texas, and spent her career locally in the Biotech field, specializing in Flow Cytometry.
Simcha was a member of Peninsula Temple Sholom in Burlingame, and was one of the leaders of its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging (DEIB) Working Group. She also helped plan the synagogue’s annual Pride Shabbat in June, and often sang in the temple’s adult choir.
She was a scholar, a singer, and a leather woman who loved being of service. She is survived by her Ma’am, Marilyn, leather sister Rio, and many friends.

kim serva bella

kim serva bella became part of Master John's family 17 years ago, and along with slave ann, they became a poly triad. She was a strong and loyal servant, and has been and will be missed.

Master Mack

Master Mack of Dallas, Texas lived this life for 50+ years. He considered himself as Pansexual because although he was straight, he was not narrow. He had close friends of all orientations.
Master Mack was introduced to the lifestyle in 1966 when those who shared his fantasies lived an extremely closeted life and contacts were very hard to make. He remained active although his network of friends was quite limited.
In 1988, he was introduced to Leather and became active in the Leather community. He was one of the founding members of GWNN in Austin. His slave at the time was one of the founding members of Bound by Desire (a female-only group) and became the first Ms. Texas Leather Pride in 1991. Because of his support for her and the group, the founder made him the first (and to the best of his knowledge) male associate member of that group.
Moving to Houston, Master Mack became the first heterosexual member of NLA-Houston in over a decade and while a member of NLA-H he earned his leathers. His slave joined FIST (a female-only group) and because of his support for that organization, he was voted an Honorary Lesbian so he could attend their parties. During this time, he presented at International Ms Leather.
Returning to Dallas in 2004, Master Mack was instrumental in the creation and one of the founding members of DFW PowerExchange. He was a mentor and apprentice advocate for the Dallas Mentors Program and mentor’s advocate and on the development team for the Dallas submissive Mentors Program for their 1st two years in Dallas.
Much of Master Mack's time was spent helping newcomers to our lifestyle and assisting in their education concerning the Leather life.
Master Mack was humbled and honored to be presented a Master's cover in June of 2008.
Master Mack passed away on February 11, 2019 at the age of 69 years old. At the time of his passing, he was a resident of Oak Cliff, Texas and was loved by his community.
Master Mack always had a story and loved to share his life, history and past with others. He is missed by many, though we know he's kicked back, enjoying a good cigar with those that went before him.

Master Morris Taylor

Master Morris Taylor, aka Dr. Morris Lyle Taylor, had been active in the San Francisco Leather scene for over 15 years when he was catapulted into the international scene when he won the International alongside his slave Jonathan Taylor in 2013.
He was equally at home in the dungeon scene as well as the educational workshops. Always the consummate professor, he delighted in teaching people to co-discover the joys he had discovered in the bdsm scene where he taught best practices in safe and sane bdsm practice. His caning demos and workshops were legendary. Master Morris was equally adept in the educational sphere where he loved to teach the bliss of sustainable and consensual Master/slave relationships. Master Morris was a true Renaissance man: For forty years, Morris Taylor was a Professor of Music, a classical pianist, and musicologist. He was also a watercolor artist with over a dozen one-person shows to his credit. Sir was also a great poet as well as the author of many short-memoir pieces he called “Flash Memoirs.”
Master Morris was beloved in the leather community, and his passing in August of 2015 was a tragedy and loss for the community, especially because of the knowledge, humor, compassion, and warmth he exuded.
His slave Jonathan has endeavored to collect that humor, compassion, and warmth he exuded into a collection of his complete works. Jonathan compiled a collection of his short memoirs, poetry, watercolors, and bdsm materials which he would like to digitize in the form of an e-book and make this book freely available to all in the community. He’s looking for help either in crowd-funding to get these materials in publishable format or possibly finding someone with experience in publications to donate their work to create a digital version. Please contact slave Jonathan at Jonathan.a628@protonmail.com if you can help him with this project. This page will contain the link to the collected materials when it is finished.