THE CLASSICS • Brian Dawson

I had just moved to California for work but had been married, so I decided it was finally time for me to follow what I had known for many years – that I was gay and preferred really masculine men. I ended up at Floyd’s (a Country and Western Bar) in Long Beach because I was from Texas and a pretty good dancer. They were having a leather contest and convinced me to enter. I won, and went on to compete at IML. I placed 2nd runner up and was very happy with my showing among over 60 other contestants. Along the way I met Mikal Bales – the man behind Zeus Videos. He asked me to do a video and suggested that I would do well in the Mr. Drummer Contest in San Francisco. This was in 1989. I won, and my life became a whirlwind of leather shows, events and Leatherfests. I was like a duck to water. I entered the scene as a Top and was mentored by Race Bannon and Guy Baldwin among others. I was hitting the gym really hard so at 42 I met many people’s expectations of what a Drummer Man should look like.

It wasn’t long before I was doing videos for Zeus and poster work for other magazines. As Mr, Drummer you’re pretty much out there as a sex figure, so posing in leather and nudity was not a stretch for me. I honestly went from being married to being Mr. Drummer in 3 years. I have a healthy ego so I really enjoyed all the attention and respect. Being Mr. Drummer exposed me (so to speak) globally –– I was able to travel and teach in Australia, Canada and much of the United States.

I really can’t imagine what my life would be like today had I not had the honor of being Mr. Drummer. I always took the title very seriously and tried to be available to both men and women as they began their Leather Journeys. For 7 years I ran a discussion group in Orange County through the Gay and Lesbian Center. We would get over 80 folks of all orientations. I’m very proud of creating a group (OCLA) that everyone felt comfortable and safe attending.

I sit here at 77 writing this and knowing that I have done a good and honest job at representing the title, the Leather Community and myself. I don’t consider myself too old to still make a difference. There is an entire generation of Leather Folk that still are interested in how we got to this point in our history.

I am still amazed when both men and women come up to me and tell me that I have made a difference in their lives when they were unsure where to go and what to do. My Drummer title gave me the ability to be accepted as one of their own.