VANCOUVER MEN IN LEATHER

OUR PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

A Club for Men with an Interest in The Leather Lifestyle:

Both gay life and the leather lifestyle have evolved significantly since January 2004 when a small group of gay men interested in leather, uniforms, and fetish banded together to form a community-focused social club.

The club is still dedicated to having fun, meeting new people, and learning more about the leather lifestyle, and we’re still offering gay men interested in leather a place to meet on a regular basis.

A History of Vancouver Men in Leather:

In late 2003 a group of seven men envisioned what a gay men’s leather club would look like. Long before Vancouver Men in Leather had its kick off party in 2004, a great deal of thought and planning went into the creation of the club and what it wanted to offer the community.

Peter Beauchamp invited six close peers to meet each other and create Vancouver Men in Leather, meeting first in a west end apartment.  Prior to this meeting, Seattle Men in Leather and other clubs were inquired about their missions, structures and other issues related to running a club.

These men had different experiences, belonged to different clubs and who enjoyed various kink interests, including titleholders and members of Vancouver Handyman.

It was decided in those early days to operate under the general rules of a society without being registered, in order to avoid some obligations associated with registering as a society. A mission statement was crafted, with a clear focus that VML would be a gay leather men’s club.

Since at the time, several of the clubs that had once hosted leather events were no longer in operation, the focus of VML would be on offering social interaction, along with demonstrations and workshops on the leather lifestyle.  That way, leathermen could share their kinks and fetishes in a safe, comfortable, and trusting environment.

Vancouver Men in Leather’s first home was the upstairs bar at Numbers, renamed the Leather Loft for all club events.

With a new board in place, a mission statement written, and a logo designed, the inaugural VML party was held on February 27,  2004.

Adapted from the original History section of the VML website, preserved here for posterity and archival purposes.