Jockstraps and Assless Chaps for Charity

Who would have thought that assless chaps and charity would fit so well together? The 7th annual Cleveland Leather Awareness Weekend (CLAW) will once again prove that leather men and women -- and their admirers -- are among the most generous. “When we see all those people havin’ such a good time,” says Dennis McMahon, president and founder of CLAW, “and then when we present those checks, like to the [Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community] Center and to the AIDS Taskforce, for thousands of dollars... it’s just money that these organizations need.”

Since 2002, CLAW has raised over $100,000 for local and national charities, including Camp Sunrise, the Center for Integrated Therapies, and the Leather Archives and Museum, among many others. CLAW is a four-day, multi-venue leather event that draws thousands of people -- and tens of thousands of dollars -- from around the country and across the globe to Cleveland each spring. The entire Wyndham Hotel at Playhouse Square is reserved for CLAW guests and various features such as their unparalleled three-day auction, the largest leather vendor mart in Ohio (showcasing over 20 American and international vendors), a Sunday brunch and some spectacular parties. There’s also a juried BDSM art show (one of the few in the country) downstairs in the Halle Building, as well as field trips that will take attendees to the Rock Hall, the Christmas Story house, and a Tribe vs. Yankees game. It’ll be hard to miss 30 guys all dressed in leather at the Prog!

One of the many things McMahon is excited about is Friday night’s “Cleveland Rocks the Big Top” bash. “It’s free. Anybody can come down to the [Wyndham] hotel, and it’s gonna be like a carnival. There’s gonna be different games and fortune tellers, and we have some entertainment lined up. We’re gonna have a ringmaster who’s 'Mr. Pistons Leather,' this hot guy from L.A.” Hardly able to contain his enthusiasm, he adds, “We’ll close it off with a jock auction, the [leather] titleholders that we can put into a jock and then you buy their jock, so you get to go up and take it off—it’s fun!”

McMahon, a former Mr. Cleveland Leather and recently-retired RTA mechanic, loves CLAW’s dedicated volunteers, who make up 100% of the organization. “We have about 300 volunteers. When people volunteer for CLAW, they become invested, and people feel like it’s their function. And it is.” He’s also crazy about Cleveland. “I think we’re one of the best kept secrets in the [nation]. I’m born and raised here. I tell our volunteers, ‘Every one of you is an ambassador for Cleveland and CLAW, so please smile, and try to help out a stranger from out of town.’ I just think Cleveland is special, and I love promoting it. It’s got so much potential. I just wish the state would be more welcoming to homos.”

Though the majority of CLAW attendees are gay males, CLAW is a pansexual organization. “We’re not gay, we’re anything, really, that’s leather -- men, women, trans, questioning, crossing over, whatever, it doesn’t matter, as long as leather is the common denominator,” McMahon explains. “And you know, gay men love a beautiful woman, especially in leather. I mean, they drool over her! They might not wanna do her — some of ‘em might! — but they can just appreciate the beauty of a woman.”

What makes the leather community so appealing? “I get kinda goosebumply when I think about it—it’s just like a family of people that think similar to you. You don’t feel like a freak when you’re with these people, you just feel normal. And all this testosterone energy is just — well any sexual energy —whoo!” McMahon is also very proud to be part of a group that promotes a positive view of sexuality.

“We don’t think sex is bad—sex is good! And there’s a way [to do] it and still be safe. Of course, we always follow the Leather Man’s Code, which is safe, sane and consensual. You don’t do anything that’s gonna cause anybody to get a disease, and sane, you don’t stick anybody in the head with a pitchfork ‘cuz it’s hot, you know what I mean? And you don’t do anything with anybody that they don’t wanna do, so it’s consensual and everybody has fun. Why do it if it’s not fun, right?”

CLAW 7 runs April 24th through 27th. To see the complete event schedule and learn more about getting tickets, check out http://www.clawinfo.org.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Dana Aritonovich mrsgrohl1ATyahoo.com
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