Former IML winner launches Leatherpedia, an online wiki-based forum for the leather community
Mon. May 22, 2017 9:18 AM by Ross Forman
patrick smith
photo credit // patrick smith
Patrick Smith has been hooked on the leather community since attending his first Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco in 2012, which then led him to becoming a regular at Eagle LA.
In 2015, a friend encouraged Smith to run for Eagle LA Mr. Leather, and he won, as well as the Mr. Los Angeles Leather contest. And then it was on to the International Mr. Leather (IML) contest in 2015, and he won that too.
"I had a really fantastic run as IML, and now I'm ready to embark on this new, exciting project," said Smith who, on April 17, launched Leatherpedia, a new online wiki-based encyclopedia for the leather community. The site is collaborative, meaning, anyone can create or edit encyclopedia entries, just like Wikipedia.
"This is a resource I would have killed for when I first started out in the community," Smith admitted. "I remember all-too-well trying to research various clubs and events, find out who's connected to who, and having to go all over the Internet for it. Now, the goal is for it to be all in one place."
Leatherpedia is structured as a non-profit organization committed to enhancing knowledge of the leather community. The site is funded by ad revenue, with a portion of proceeds going to site operation and marketing efforts to encourage content creation. The remaining proceeds will be donated to community organizations and charities, primarily the Leather Archives & Museum in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood.
"The goal is for Leatherpedia is to become the largest repository of leather knowledge in the world, so that newcomers can easily navigate the leather community. It's also a great way to memorialize the legacies of those who have come before us," said Smith, 31, who still lives in Los Angeles and works as the Director of Business Development for Marvel Entertainment. He is the founder of Leatherpedia which, in a matter of weeks, already had 550 user registrations. His goal is 1,000 entries written before Halloween.
"There are a few audiences we're targeting. The first is newcomers, who are hungry for knowledge and want to learn as much as possible. Another audience is those in remote parts of the world who don't necessarily have an established leather community they can learn from. Finally, the site should appeal even to longstanding community members who may be curious to learn a little more."
Leatherpedia is filled with unique information from around the world. Case in point, the support and input from the Australian leather community "has been phenomenal," Smith said.
Leather certainly has its misconceptions, too, Smith agreed. For instance, everything leather needs to be done a certain way. "While Leatherpedia exists to teach about and honor traditions, it's also about documenting how things are changing and new traditions are being created," Smith said.
Smith worked with a team of developers in India to build the site, so there were plenty of all-nighters and back-and-forths with folks who don't speak English as a first language. "It was a great experience, though," he said.
The leather community is front and center in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend, when the annual IML takes over downtown Chicago, not to mention gay bars in Boystown and beyond. Jackhammer and Touche Chicago will be leather-filled later this month, most assuredly.
Chicago's leather community is "incredibly vibrant, thanks to some pioneers in the community, such as Chuck Renslow. Every year at IML the world gets to see what makes Chicago the center of the leather scene."
For more information, go to Leatherpedia.org. Go to leatherpedia.org/getstarted for a step-by-step introduction to the site.
Calendar: International Mr. Leather 2017
In 2015, a friend encouraged Smith to run for Eagle LA Mr. Leather, and he won, as well as the Mr. Los Angeles Leather contest. And then it was on to the International Mr. Leather (IML) contest in 2015, and he won that too.
"I had a really fantastic run as IML, and now I'm ready to embark on this new, exciting project," said Smith who, on April 17, launched Leatherpedia, a new online wiki-based encyclopedia for the leather community. The site is collaborative, meaning, anyone can create or edit encyclopedia entries, just like Wikipedia.
"This is a resource I would have killed for when I first started out in the community," Smith admitted. "I remember all-too-well trying to research various clubs and events, find out who's connected to who, and having to go all over the Internet for it. Now, the goal is for it to be all in one place."
Leatherpedia is structured as a non-profit organization committed to enhancing knowledge of the leather community. The site is funded by ad revenue, with a portion of proceeds going to site operation and marketing efforts to encourage content creation. The remaining proceeds will be donated to community organizations and charities, primarily the Leather Archives & Museum in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood.
"The goal is for Leatherpedia is to become the largest repository of leather knowledge in the world, so that newcomers can easily navigate the leather community. It's also a great way to memorialize the legacies of those who have come before us," said Smith, 31, who still lives in Los Angeles and works as the Director of Business Development for Marvel Entertainment. He is the founder of Leatherpedia which, in a matter of weeks, already had 550 user registrations. His goal is 1,000 entries written before Halloween.
"There are a few audiences we're targeting. The first is newcomers, who are hungry for knowledge and want to learn as much as possible. Another audience is those in remote parts of the world who don't necessarily have an established leather community they can learn from. Finally, the site should appeal even to longstanding community members who may be curious to learn a little more."
Leatherpedia is filled with unique information from around the world. Case in point, the support and input from the Australian leather community "has been phenomenal," Smith said.
Leather certainly has its misconceptions, too, Smith agreed. For instance, everything leather needs to be done a certain way. "While Leatherpedia exists to teach about and honor traditions, it's also about documenting how things are changing and new traditions are being created," Smith said.
Smith worked with a team of developers in India to build the site, so there were plenty of all-nighters and back-and-forths with folks who don't speak English as a first language. "It was a great experience, though," he said.
The leather community is front and center in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend, when the annual IML takes over downtown Chicago, not to mention gay bars in Boystown and beyond. Jackhammer and Touche Chicago will be leather-filled later this month, most assuredly.
Chicago's leather community is "incredibly vibrant, thanks to some pioneers in the community, such as Chuck Renslow. Every year at IML the world gets to see what makes Chicago the center of the leather scene."
For more information, go to Leatherpedia.org. Go to leatherpedia.org/getstarted for a step-by-step introduction to the site.
Calendar: International Mr. Leather 2017