THE FIGHT SOCAL'S LGBT MONTHLY MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

BY PAULO MURILLO
Patrick Smith, Mr. Los Angeles
Leather 2015, was named
International Mr. Leather 2015 at
the 37th annual IML Competition
in Chicago last month.
Smith’s big win makes him the third LA
Mr. Leather to bring the IML title home
to Los Angeles after eight years (Mikel
Gerle won in 2007 and Guy
Baldwin in 1989).
Smith, who won the Mr.
Los Angeles Leather 2015
title this past March, says
that the “Mr. LA Leather
contest does an incredible
job preparing you for
IML, because they are on a
similar level in terms of production,
value and intensity,
so fortunately for me, it did
feel very familiar.”
In an interview with THE
FIGHT the Canadian native
and current Los Angeles resident
discusses what the title
means to him, how his mom
is his biggest cheerleader and
his plans for the future.
What was it like hearing
your name being called as
the IML winner?
I can’t believe it, I’m still
in shock! ... You can never
prepare for it. It’s something
that you imagine and hope
will happen. I can’t even put
it into words—especially for
an international title. It was
completely surreal. I remember
gasping and putting my hands over my
mouth and I somehow managed to walk
over and step up to that podium and the
rest is just a blur.
Was there anything that you found
particularly grueling about the
competition?
I guess the most challenging part
of the weekend was just overcoming
your nerves... Everybody has that voice in
their heads that makes you second-guess
yourself sometimes, but you just have to
do the best you can to keep on going. I really
needed support and all the messages
that I got—they powered me through and
helped me shine on stage.
Did you end up taking your mom to IML?
Yes. She was a huge hit. I actually mentioned
her in my speech. She was there
in the audience cheering me on. I actually
heard her voice while I was on stage and it
was quite encouraging. Right after I won,
they brought her up on to the podium
and there’s a picture of us on the podium
together. She got to meet the judges and
they just fell in love with her.
Patrick Smith, with his mom.
Photo courtesy of International
Mr. Leather, Inc. IMRL.com
“The title
doesn’t belong
to just me. It belongs
to everybody who helped
get me here. It was truly a
group effort and I think the
entire Los Angeles leather
community should take
pride in this because they
all had something to
do with it.”
Was it uncomfortable at all having your
mother at this type of competition?
You might think so, but not at all. She
and I have been very close my entire
life. She’s my number one biggest supporter
and I have no secrets from my
mom. So no, it felt great. I think if I had
to filter myself I don’t think I would have
won. You need to go up there and you
need to expose yourself and bare your
soul and I think the judges want to see
you up there being yourself.
What does winning the
title mean to you?
It comes with an enormous
sense of honor... I
believe title holders should
do something for their
community. For me—it’s
the opportunity to have my
voice heard on an international
stage. I plan on
traveling the world. I plan
on doing a lot of writing
on gay issues that I’m
passionate about. It’s an
enormous responsibility
and I look forward to that.
Where do you go
from here?
At the moment there
are a few issues I want to
tackle, such as the impact
that censorship has had
on a global level in our
communities. Measure B
[law requiring adult film
actors to wear condoms]
for example, is a form of
censorship—it is censoring
porn. In the UK they
actually recently banned
BDSM in porn, so basically it is actually
illegal to show spanking in porn. That’s
censorship. If you want to take it to the
worst extreme, look at somewhere like
Russia where you can’t even speak favorably
about gay rights, or else you’ll
get thrown in jail. It’s a huge problem.
There is a lot of censorship that is
affecting our community and I want to
fight it all over the world.
Any final words to all the fans that
supported you?
I can’t reiterate enough that there are
many people responsible for getting me
here. I had an entire community behind
me. The title doesn’t belong to just me. It
belongs to everybody who helped get me
here. It was truly a group effort and I think
the entire Los Angeles leather community
should take pride in this because they all
had something to do with it.
JUNE 2015 | THE FIGHT 27