Marcus Barela had quite a year as International Mr. Leather 2023. Although the rules of the annual competition, whose history dates back to 1979, state “that International Mr. Leather has no required duties,” Barela visited 29 cities in 14 countries on four continents, participating in about 30 leather events and judging almost as many leatherman competitions.
A Texan of Mexican descent, the 40-year-old is about to hand over the title to this year’s soon-to-be-decided winner at the Chicago IML event, a celebration of gay leather, kink, fetish and BDSM, which takes place May 23 to 27. But that doesn’t mean Barela’s life is going to calm down anytime soon. A bartender for almost 19 years at the Eagle LA (4219 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles), he’s recently been accepted into a bachelor’s program at UCLA, where he will focus on queer studies and the Spanish language.
Just before he was to hand over his sash, Wander+Lust talked to Barela about where he went during his reign and how it changed him.
How do you feel about passing on the title?
I’m super excited. I’m pretty tired. I’ve gotten around a bunch, and so my initial reaction is that I’m ready to give it away. But there’s definitely a sense of sadness and gratitude.
What are you expected to do during the competition weekend?
My only job is to judge the contest. Personally, what I’m looking for are people who can be really comfortable and confident talking to a judging panel or a crowd, people who are aware of the things they’re trying to create, people who can speak to specific stories or specific goals. Often, people competing for titles tend to throw around the same clichés. The words are obviously well intentioned, but if they’re not reflecting specific experiences or ideas or things they want to do, then they’re just empty words.
What did you want to achieve during your year as International Mr. Leather?
It was more of a personal goal—I wanted to express my gratitude for finding a place where I felt at home within the leather community. Just by showing up and being myself, I easily achieved that goal. Aside from that, I am Latino and I’ve started learning Spanish. My parents didn’t teach me when I was growing up, but now, as an adult, my Latino heritage has become really important to me. So I wanted to go to events that catered to the Latino community. I’m from a place called Midland, in West Texas. But in South Texas, right at the border, there’s an area called the Rio Grande Valley. There, in McAllen, Texas, they’ve started a leather contest and leather weekend (usually in February), which was super fun. While there, we decided to cross the border and go and have lunch in Mexico, do a little shopping, then cross the border back into Texas.
Which of your travels this year affected you the most?
In 2019, I went to Madrid, Spain, on vacation. And while there, I fell in love with the sound of their accent. It reignited my drive to learn Spanish and more about Spanish culture. I signed up for a course at a community college, a history class about Latin America, which totally changed my perspective of both my identity and the world.
I decided to spend time in Latin America. I went to Mexico for two and a half weeks and visited three different cities. I had more fear of going to South America alone, because I don’t speak Portuguese and my Spanish isn’t great. And everybody always talks about how dangerous cities in South America can be—and I like going out at night alone, to seedy places. But it was important for me to go to South America.
Winning IML was part of the reason I was able to succeed in going to South America. I mean, the people down there were not seeking me out, saying, “Oh, I want IML to come to our event.” I stalked people in the leather community online, found their Instagram profiles, started chatting with them. I was able to make some great contacts. Although I was travelling alone, people helped me out. In Buenos Aires, I got picked up at the airport. Having access to people in the community as a result of this title made the trip much more manageable, and it made me more brave to face my fears and go alone.
So visiting South America—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia—was a huge accomplishment. I know the title is International Mr. Leather, but I always had a bit of a problem with the fact that it’s mostly just Europeans and people from the United States who enter. So it was my goal to bring attention to other places. Of course, if you want to go to a big leather event, you go to Berlin. That was necessary for me, to go to the Mecca of leather events. But we forget sometimes that there are leather communities in other places.
Was there a stand-out moment from your time in South America?
I had a crying fit in Bogotá, Colombia, but that’s not necessarily a story I’m going to tell you. [Pause.] Okay, well, I will tell you about it. When I was in Bogotá, I met a man called Jorge, who’s from there but has lived in Chicago for a while. He’s very passionate about IML, and he’s very passionate about his country. He and his boyfriend produce this leather contest in Bogotá, Mr. Colombia Leather, and he invited me out to be a judge. He was at once connected to American culture, leather culture and Colombian culture. Jorge was showing us around downtown Bogotá, where there are older historic buildings—a much more authentic experience than in other parts of the city. You could buy local crafts there, that sort of thing. And it really hit me: I had been wanting to go to South America for so long, but I had been scared. And this little man, with his petite frame, this energetic, loud man, this passionate man made it possible for me. So I all of a sudden wept in his arms. I was so grateful. They were tears of gratitude.
I know it’s hard to pick favourites, but can you tell me about a place you really connected with?
In Santiago, Chile, there’s a bar called 105 Fetish (Bombero Núñez 105, Recoleta, Santiago). Two guys own the bar, both named Rodrigo. It’s a fetish bar, and it’s open all the time, Wednesday through Sunday. Not every city in the world has a home bar where you can go anytime. Working at the Eagle LA, I’ve always said that, yes, we’re a leather bar, but more than that, we’re a friendly neighbourhood bar. When you go in to 105 Fetish, it’s not always going to feel like a leather bar, but it’s the same kind of people, just laid back, easy going people.
That was south of the Equator. You also went to Tromsø, a Norwegian city that’s north of the Arctic Circle.
I was in the coldest Pride parade in the world (Arctic Pride, November 18, 2024). There was not a jockstrap in sight because it was like a blizzard the day of the parade. I started off with my cowboy hat, because I’ve been wearing that cowboy hat all around the world. Then I realized I was going to lose my ears. And I had no gloves, so I was thinking, “I’m going to lose my hands.” I had to stop in a store and buy some gloves—well, they were technically mittens—and a beanie. So I had this Norwegian beanie on with the rest of my leather gear. I was invited by Arctic Pilot, which happens at the same time as Pride in Tromsø. The organizer, Per Helge Nylund, started out trying to make sure there was leather representation in the parade, but now there’s a whole weekend of events where he gets to share his city with his fellow leather people. I’ve seen him through the year a bunch. I was a judge when he won the title Mister Fetish Europe, which is a new title, in Maspalomas, Spain, during Maspalomas Fetish Pride (October 4 to 13, 2024).
So you’ve seen him in very cold environments and very hot ones.
We were at the beach together, nude, in Maspalomas. I love a nude beach. I go to nude beaches wherever I go. They have these massive sand dunes there. The water felt great and warm.
What’s your travel style, accommodation-wise? Hotels, Airbnbs, crashing with people?
I’m actually quite an introvert. I think probably doing IML, the leather contests and stuff was part of getting out of my shell, getting a little bit out of my comfort zone. So I tend to not stay with people. I had an experience with Airbnb a few years ago that rubbed me the wrong way, so I usually get hotels; however, in South America, I did Airbnbs.
What’s something you do to make yourself feel at home in the places you visit?
I tend to look for a CrossFit gym—hopefully there’s one somewhat close by. One thing I like to do is exercise. It helps me be in a more relaxed state to enjoy my vacation. I also really like to go to museums.
What kind of places do you like to eat at when you’re globetrotting?
I’m not a foodie. I love pepperoni pizza and I look for it everywhere. But I don’t find good pepperoni pizza everywhere. There was some pizza in Sydney that I enjoyed, and some in Dublin. I’m not a rich person; I’m a bartender at the Eagle LA, and that provides my livelihood. And it’s provided a lot better than I ever imagined. I would prefer to spend my money on a comfortable place to stay. Street food is fine. I’ll even eat the same thing all the time, so I can get the eating out of the way and spend a few more hours in a museum alone.
Do you have a strategy for meeting guys and hooking up when you’re travelling? Or do you just wait for them to come to you, as I imagine they do?
I use the apps. Sometimes they just want to send me a hole pic, and they’re like, “Here’s my hole, come over.” I’m like, “Sorry, it takes more than that for me.” Of course, there’s just meeting people at events, going up to strangers or strangers coming up to me. At large social events, where I meet a lot of people, sometimes it’s hard to have an in-depth conversation, and I want to give time to everybody as much as possible. So a strategy that works really well for me, on many levels, is asking for somebody’s Instagram. Because sometimes people are too shy to talk in the moment. Or maybe I’m too shy to talk in that moment, but if I have a way to get in contact with them later, that really helps.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
