Andrew Harwin, who died recently, was a member of Inferno, Delta, GMSMA and many other organizations. He was one of the organizers of the popular Folsom Street East block party here in NYC. There will be a memorial service for Andrew on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019, from 3 to 5 p.m., at the LGBT Community Center in New York. It will be a wonderful opportunity to reminisce, to connect with those who knew and remember Andrew, and to help celebrate his life.
Andrew Harwin died today.
Andrew was a wise and spiritual man who was generous with his time and attention. He had many friends.
He was one of the organizers of the popular Folsom Street East block party and fund-raiser here in NYC. He was a member of Inferno and of Delta.
I got to know Andrew many years back when we served together on the board of GMSMA (Gay Male S/M Activists). I knew him as hard-working, kind, friendly and thoughtful.
Andrew was a longtime survivor of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. He bravely battled so many health crises over the years that I thought he would outlive us all.
He is going to be missed.
Houdini died on this day today (Halloween, Oct. 31) back in 1926, in Detroit, and this afternoon (Halloween day, 2018) I paid a visit to his gravesite in Queens, New York.
Houdini rests amongst his relatives in an elaborate family plot at Machpelah Cemetery in Glendale. From Manhattan, it was an hour-long trip on the subway and then a 20-minute hike.
As a tribute to Houdini, I left a pair of police-issue Smith and Wesson Model 100-1 handcuffs that I had specially engraved with his name. I made sure to double-lock the cuffs before leaving them.
I learned with great sadness last night that David Stein, also known as slave david stein, has died. I do not know any of the details.
David was an author and publisher of BDSM-themed books, both fiction and nonfiction. His most popular works included “Carried Away: An SM Romance,” an erotic novel; and “Ask the Man Who Owns Him: The Real Lives of Gay Masters and Slaves,” a non-fiction book in which a number of real-life Master/slave couples share their stories. David self-published his books — along with many more by other authors — via his publishing company, Perfectbound Press. His fiction and non-fiction writing was also published in Drummer, DungeonMaster, Mach and many other gay underground magazines back in the day.
David was one of the founders of GMSMA (Gay Male S/M Activists), which was a New York City-based organization of gay men dedicated to “safe, sane, consensual s/m.” As an officer of GMSMA and longtime volunteer and editor of NewsLink, the organization’s newsletter, David helped educate countless others on safety and technique. He wrote a column on safety for Bound & Gagged magazine, called “Bond+Aid.” Over the years he was a volunteer, speaker and presenter at many leather and SM events, including numerous International MAsT (Masters and Slaves Together) weekends, the Leather Leadership Conference, the Master/slave Conference, South Plains Leatherfest, and Leather Pride Night.
He was also an active on many online discussion groups over the years, including FetLife.
His most recent project was “Our Lives, Our History: Consensual Master/slave Relationships From Ancient Times to the 21st Century,” a non-fiction anthology edited by Peter Tupper, which he published under Perfectbound Press. His books are also available on Amazon.
According to his profile on FetLife, David was in service to Sir Brian. He is also survived by many former Masters and fellow slaves, as well as countless friends. He will be greatly missed.
Chuck Renslow, the Chicago gay pioneer who founded International Mr. Leather and much more, recently died at age 87. The moderators of the weekly “GAY USA” program — TV’s weekly LGBT news hour — paid tribute to Chuck in their 7/5/17 broadcast.
Click to play:
Windy City Times obituary here
Gay USA website here
The beloved Chuck Renslow, a longtime fixture of Chicago’s gay community and the founder of the annual International Mr Leather event, has passed away.
Article here
It is with great sadness that I learned of the recent passing of the kinkster known as Sly Hands
He was out and proud in the rubber community, and he is greatly missed.
It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of a kind and gentle soul recently.
I knew Ray for many years as a play partner and friend. He was a member of the Delta Brotherhood and of Chicago Hellfire. Always an adventurous kinkster, he let me take pictures of him for the Metalbond site on numerous occasions over the years. He was loved by family and friends and is dearly missed.
