Leather is more than fetish gear and BDSM nights; it’s identity, community, and culture. Deeply rooted in the gay bars and motorcycle clubs of the 1950s and ‘60s, Leather has evolved into a vast and diverse subculture. Today, it celebrates kink, fetish, queer history, and radical liberation.
In Pittsburgh, the leather scene is alive and growing, held together by two main organizations, the Three Rivers Leather Club (TRLC) and the Barons of Steel (BOS). Founded in 1991, TRLC is a social organization supporting the LGBTQ+ community with interests in leather, Levi, kink, and fetish. BOS, established in 2017, is a men’s social leather club that uplifts the local leather and fetish scenes through inclusive community-building, educational programming, and philanthropy. Many more sub-leather culture groups are growing and thriving in Pittsburgh.
Corey Dunbar: Building Confidence Through Community
Corey Dunbar, winner of the Texas Bear Round Up Bear 2024 contest, moved to Pittsburgh in 2015 after earning a degree in electrical engineering. Born in small-town northeast Ohio, Pittsburgh felt like a big city to him, and at first, it was overwhelming.
Things shifted for Corey after the COVID pandemic. In 2021, he came out as gay, joined the Stonewall Sports leagues, and started making friends in the bear community. One of those friends, Josh Englert, a member of the Barons of Steel, encouraged him to enter the Pittsburgh Leather contests.
Although he didn’t win, the experience was deeply affirming. “The amount of love and support from that initial conversation with Josh, until this very day, has allowed me to continue growing into a more confident, loving, and passionate person, which means the world to me,” Corey said. “This caused me to pursue the bear contest circuit, where I won the Texas Bear Round Up Bear 2024 contest.”
Today, Corey is a vibrant presence in Pittsburgh’s queer nightlife. You can find him hosting bear events at P Town or sipping hurricanes at 5801 after a day of kickball. His passion? Creating a welcoming, safe, and joyful environment for all.
Michael Tikili: Harnessing Power and Uplifting Others
Mr. Pittsburgh Leather Fetish 2024, Michael Tikili, brings both heart and history to his role in the Leather community. He moved to Pittsburgh from Brooklyn seven years ago with his partner of twelve years, Joe. Born to immigrant parents, his mother from Guyana, his father from Nigeria, Michael grew up in a close-knit family as the youngest of five. He spent part of his childhood in Guyana, graduated from James Madison High School in Brooklyn, and later attended Duke University.
After returning to New York, Michael became deeply involved in AIDS activism and organizing through ACT UP NY. Over time, his work shifted from global health policy to direct HIV services. When he moved to Pittsburgh, he continued this work, managing a housing assistance program with AHN’s HIV clinic.
His first taste of Leather came at a Brooklyn party called Swoon, thrown by a friend at the now-closed gay bar Sugarland. Leathermen donated a bulldog harness intended for a raffle at the event. “Once I put on that harness, I knew I wasn’t going to let it go,” Michael said. “Needless to say, that raffle ended rigged, and I wore the hell out of that harness to every damn sweaty after party I found myself rallying to.”
He began collecting more leather wear, often second-hand. But engaging with New York’s Leather scene proved difficult. It was largely centered around The Eagle, a bar far from where he lived. “I never entered any competitions there,” he recalled.
Pittsburgh offered something different. “I went to a gear night or two and immediately felt that this was my tribe,” he said. “Being able to embrace my sexuality in such a socially uplifting space has been an ongoing therapeutic counter to my religious upbringing of not feeling accepted or understood for being queer.”
“The titles are given to those willing to put themselves on a platform and show off all the sexiness they’re made of,” Michael said. For him, the experience has been healing and he hopes to use his visibility to encourage other Black queer folks to see Leather as a space of agency, sexuality, and belonging.
Michael also highlights the charitable core of Leather culture. “Many of the major leather gatherings around the country raise funds for local LGBTQ organizations in their areas,” he said. “I live my life with a strong love ethic that keeps me motivated to make a difference in the lives of my communities while pursuing fulfillment and joy.”
He and Joe live in Wilkinsburg with their two kitties. Outside of work and activism, Michael enjoys running in Frick Park and playing pickleball and tennis and tending to his beloved Hoyas as a self-proclaimed “plant daddy.”
Brianna Serenity: Power Tools, Power Exchange, and Redical Welcome
Ms. Pittsburgh Leather Fetish 2025, Brianna Serenity, is a powerhouse in more ways than one. A fetish model and owner of Brianna’s Mobile Workshop, she spent 25 years as a paramedic before being outed, an experience that reshaped her life.
At the time, she also ran a remodeling business. When she came out as a trans woman to her clients, telling them, “If you still want me, I’ll still come,” most did not. Her client base dropped from 100 to just a few.
She also experienced a separation from her then-relationship and a three-month period of homelessness until a friend offered her a place to stay. That friend’s house is now her home, one she eventually bought and rebuilt as her own.
Brianna’s business is now entirely queer-owned and operated. “All the work we do now is for the queer and LGBTQ Community,” she said. “I look for all my employees within the community. I want people to feel safe when we come into their homes, I want them to feel respected.”
When asked if she misses being a paramedic, Brianna says that while she doesn’t miss the politics of being a supervisor, she misses the patient care provider role and being able to help people in that way.
She’s also active in Western Pennsylvania’s trans community as the leader of Western PA Transgender United, a support group she turned to during her early transition. When its former leadership stepped down, she stepped up, offering others the same care and guidance she once needed.
As for her Leather journey? It began with a Penthouse magazine at a younger age. “I connected with the pictures and the leather dominatrix,” she said. She was one of the few who read the magazine’s stories, finding resonance in the DS power exchange narratives. Still, it wasn’t until about seven years ago that she began exploring those interests more openly.
With a friend’s encouragement, Brianna entered and won the Ms. Pittsburgh Leather Fetish 2025 contest, the first time that title had been awarded in over 13 years.
Of course, leather and gear are part of the show, but there’s more behind the scenes. “They want to know what your platform is, how involved you are in the LGBTQ Community, and, if you win the title, how you would use that,” Brianna said. “It’s more in-depth than just what we are wearing.”
For Brianna, Leather is a space of depth, connection, and mutual understanding. “We share not only a common interest in leather, but connections are deeper with the understanding of others,” she said. “There’s no fear of judgment. People are very welcoming.”
Now, with her title and platform, Brianna is committed to encouraging others to show up in their full, kinky glory — whether they’re into leather, latex, or just looking for community.
