Happy Pride, everyone! This is a photo flashback to New York City’s gay pride parade back in 1998. I marched with the men of GMSMA (Gay Male S/M Activists) as part of the leather contingent. I’m on the left.
Tag Archives: New York Fuckin City
Remembering Mr. Bratman
The leather community has lost a kind-hearted Old Guard Master.
Mr. Bratman was a true bondage enthusiast who dished out plenty of restraints, discipline and protocol — and lots and lots of love. He grew up in Baltimore and lived in New York City and San Francisco before moving to North Carolina, where he frequently hosted play parties at his facility.
“He died peacefully of complications from his heart condition. He was alert and socially active up until the end,” wrote Dan in an email.
Richter says there will likely be a memorial in the fall.
I spent an entire week with Mr. Bratman in San Francisco back in the early 1990s. He took me out in public every day with a fresh mohawk and a VERY big collar. The picture of myself in front of my then-employer’s corporate headquarters that I posted recently, was taken by Mr. Bratman on that visit! Each night it was a different form of bondage. I’ll never forget those experiences.
I am sharing this with love and respect for Mr. Bratman. There will never be another like him.
— Metal, June 9, 2021
Photo flashback: Gay Pride in New York City – 1997
I marched with the men from GMSMA as part of the leather section in New York City’s gay pride parade back in 1997. Several of the men pictured are no longer with us.
Purple Passion
One of NYC’s very best leather/BDSM stores is Purple Passion/DV8, located in Chelsea. The retail store is currently closed, but they have recently revamped their website and added new products. I have known these folks personally for many years, and they are good people — especially Hilton, Lolita and Keith.
“We have been sheltering in place and have been very busy updating our website,” the retailer announced in an email to its customers and friends. “We have added hundreds of new products and removed discontinued items. We now ship our web orders every Monday and Thursday, and Hilton is in the store to do phone orders and answer questions every Sunday and Wednesday from noon to 3 p.m.”
Purple Passion also recently donated a large supply of exam gloves to local first responders!
If you are so inclined, please visit the Purple Passion website and place an order! They have a large assortment of BDSM gear. Or you can even purchase a gift certificate for a future visit to NYC.
Issue 2 of Bound & Gagged magazine
It’s impossible to describe the amount of excitement receiving a new copy of Bound & Gagged magazine in the mail in its discreet brown envelope caused me, every other month, back in the day. In addition to providing endless hours of jackoff material, this magazine literally changed my life. Learning about the existence of a bondage club with weekly meetings in NYC was a huge incentive for me to move here! And I met many men through the bondage club and in the Bound & Gagged personal ads — several of whom I am still friends with to this day.
To my great delight, Bob Wingate, the editor and founder of Bound & Gagged and also the founder of the New York Bondage Club, recently revived his personal blog — located here — and he’s also started publishing eBooks — available here — with some of his magazine’s greatest hits.
NYC’s Folsom Street East block party is canceled
The 2020 Folsom Street East block party, which was scheduled to take place this coming June in New York City, has been canceled, according to an email announcement sent by the organization today (March 25, 2020)
The event’s official website is here
A message from The Leather Man in NYC
According to an email to its customers sent today, The Leather Man in New York City is temporarily closing its physical store location, but its website remains open for business:
Click for The Leather Man
New York and So Cal Bondage Clubs are canceling play events due to coronavirus
Hey fellow prisoners, please be advised that, in an effort to help keep everyone safe and healthy during the current COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic, a number of kink/fetish groups and events — including the New York Bondage Club, the Southern California Bondage Club, LA Leather Pride and Desert Fetish Authority (home of the Palm Springs Bondage Club) — are canceling or curtailing their upcoming events.
The New York Bondage Club said they are canceling their play parties scheduled for the next two Sundays (3/15 and 3/22) and the So Cal Bondage Club said they are canceling all upcoming events, including their play party on 3/14, until further notice. Desert Fetish Authority says they are evaluating each event on a case-by-case basis.
See below for further information from these groups:
Metal would everyone to stay safe and healthy — and remember, too, that the Prison Library is always open!