David Sugar of Baltimore, Maryland was sashed Mr. Mayhem Leather Bear 2022 during the annual Bears, Bikers & Mayhem event held on May 5th to 8th in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Born and raised in Baltimore, David discovered the leather community in December of 2013 when he was asked to deejay for the ShipMates leather club’s annual Daddy Christmas fundraiser. David pledged the ShipMates in 2017 and began his leather journey.
The first time he entered a contest, it was for a bar title. He competed to be Mr. Green Lantern 2015, a popular LGBTQ bar in Washington, DC. Although he came in last, David said it was his first time on stage and a good learning experience. He continued to work in the leather community and also became a member of another area fetish club, Capitol Pups & Handlers. He next competed in the Mr. Maryland Leather 2019 Contest and was awarded the title of first runner-up. In keeping with tradition, the first runner-up of the Mr. Maryland Leather Contest competes in the big Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather Contest in DC. Although David was not awarded the MAL title, he continued to grow, build his resume in the leather community, and become more visible. He deejayed area drag shows and benefits, often with no pay. For three years he was on the board of directions for the GLCCB (Gay, Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Community Center), now called Pride Center of Maryland, the organization that puts on Baltimore Pride. He also became involved with the Imperial Court of Washington and was chair for the ShipMates’ 45th anniversary event. He held the office of ShipMates’ secretary and was the vice president and secretary for Capital Pups & Handlers. He is also currently on the board of Baltimore’s Clifton Pleasure Club. Diagnosed with Asperger’s just as he was graduating high school, David has presented both in-person and online presentations regarding the importance of accessibility in the kink community and has worked to educated the leather community about the challenges that some leather folk face when attending events.
When David met Mr. Mayhem Leather 2021 Duke, he began to think about running for another contest. Although he was afraid that some would view him as someone who is just chasing after a sash, he saw that being a leather titleholder gives him a louder voice and greater visibility in the community to educate. He first though about running for the Mr. Mayhem Leather title, but after talking to Duke and studying the BBM website, David decided that the bear title was a better fit. David sees “bear” as a mentality and identifies as a cub. Since the title was not just a bear title, but a leather bear title, it seemed to be the perfect fit.
During his title year, David has worked closely with his fellow BBM titleholder Mr. Mayhem Leather 2022 Colton Bell, who lives in Utah. They both recently held a fundraiser for Equality Florida at the Eagle Wilton Manors in Fort Lauderdale and for the Trevor Project at the Clifton Pleasure Club in Baltimore. David was also the chair for the ShipMates’ Daddy Christmas fundraiser for Baltimore Safe Haven on December 3rd at the Baltimore Eagle.
David credits the ShipMates, his Alpha KitTwililight Barkson, International Mr. Leather 2019 Jack Thompson, Mister Daddy’s Barbershop Leather 2017 Geoffrey Millard, and Sir Eli Ra as his mentors. David’s year has kept him very busy with multiple events every weekend. His advice for someone who wants to run for a leather title is to work with others, learn as much as you can, build a resume’ in the community, and do not expect to be awarded a title the first time on stage.
Author Profile
- Rodney is originally from Hagerstown, Maryland and for many years has lived in Baltimore. In April 2017, Rodney was sworn in for his 10th year as the President of the ShipMates Club of Baltimore. He has been involved in the leather community for many years, but often denies that he sold Jell-O shots at The Last Supper. He has been writing THE LEATHER LINE for the BALTIMORE OUTLOUD newspaper (Baltimoreoutloud.com.) for over fourteen years. He has produced the Mr. & Ms. Baltimore Eagle Contest and the Maryland LeatherSIR/Leatherboy Contest. In 2001 he was proud to serve as Maryland Mr. Drummer 2001. Rodney also does stand-up comedy and in 2013 was thrilled to perform at Philadelphia Leather Pride Night. He has been nominated multiple times for a Pantheon of Leather Award, was selected Leather Man of the Year in 2013 by COMMAND M.C. and by the Baltimore Leather Association of the Deaf in 2006. The 11th annual 12 Days of Christmas benefit show was dedicated to Rodney and his partner Sir Steve. He has been twice selected as ShipMate of the Year. He has judged Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2015, Atlantic States LeatherSIR / Leatherboy and recently judged Mr. Eagle NYC 2018. He is delighted to be able to bring news of his beloved leather community to his readers every issue.
