Dayton Egloff, Mr. Leather Colorado

Matthew Pizzuti Out Front Colorado's former managing editor.

“I’m a socialite – I would go out three to four nights a week anyway. Being able to hold a title and go out to the same events really allows Denver to be represented more frequently,” said Dayton Eggloff, who in May became the local leather scene’s leading spokesman as Mr. Leather Colorado for 2012.

The job entails representing Colorado’s leather community at parties and events at home, as well as in the leather scenes in other states. “It’s both a pleasure and a challenge,” Egloff said, adding that he plans to put a focus on fundraising for charities – the one he’s worked with most this year is Gravity, a nonprofit that supports youth living with HIV.

“They’ve been nice and easy to work with,” Egloff explained, but when asked what connection he felt to that cause in particular, he gave a literal response: “Charity isn’t about its direct relation with me,” he said. “It’s about giving to anyone in need.”

The straightforwardness comes in handy – the Leather scene is a place with an emphasis on tossing subtlety out the window.

Pulling on a “bar casual” ensemble for Out Front’s photo shoot at the Eagle, Egloff explained his attire starting with the black flogger he carried – an intimidating-looking device resembling a leather pom-pom. “It’s pretty standard,” Egloff said, while the leather gauntlet wrapped around his wrist was, he said, “on the left because I’m a top.” Later, he changed to his “leather formal” outfit – and there were racier ensebles, too. He said different outfits would be appropriate for different occasions, but the only place he really wouldn’t don any leather gear is at work – Egloff has a corporate job – or on errands when he might wear casual clothes but include a leather item as a shout-out.

His hat was dark blue, “because I like to have sex,” Egloff said – an extension of the well-known Hanky Code where a man’s sexual interests could be advertised by the color of the bandana he wore in his back pocket, and which side that bandanna was on.

“Light blue is oral sex, white is ‘safe-only,’” Egloff went on. The code is not just an urban legend, it’s a real deal – “Once a guy came in to the Eagle with a bright yellow bandanna in his pocket, not knowing what it meant – he just really liked yellow,” Egloff explained. The curious newcomer was quickly informed that the fetish he unwittingly advertised was – well, lets just say he’d want to be carrying a couple clean towels in the other pocket.

Not that being wet-behind-the-ears is a problem in the Leather scene – “they’re really welcoming,” Egloff said. “I started because I was curious but found it was a place I could be accepted.” And as Mr. Leather, Egloff said he represents both the experienced and the new.

“Some enthusiasts aren’t really into the pain and pleasure stuff either,” Egloff said. “One of the challenges is getting people to understand it’s not about extremes, there are gray areas.” Later he said, “There is a generous variety of all roles in the leather community.”

“I hope that those who’ve had any curiosity about kink or fetish should take a chance and try to explore it,” he said. “It’s never too late to explore.”

August 15, 2012 Cover Story: