Leather Club Roma [Edit]
Club
Leather Club Roma is a non-profit LGBT organization born in 1999 and has been active for almost 20 years in Rome and in Italy. Its goal is to promote and support the leather and fetish (rubber, skin, military, a/m, etc.) community in Rome and nationwide. The club periodically organizes national and European events, such as Fetish Pride Italy (since 2014), which is the biggest fetish event in the country.
Leather Club Roma is a member of ECMC, the European Association of Motorcycle Clubs.
History
The history of Leather Club Roma began on January 20, 1990, when a group of friends decided to found the organization. The goal was to create a point of reference for all the leathermen and fetishmen of Roma. The venture did not seem the easiest: in Rome there was no leather or fetish scene, and the few leathermen were forced to go abroad
Starting from the small group of founders (the first club president was Alfred, a German who moved to Rome), gradually the Leather Club began to grow and organize the first leather parties in some bars of Rome (Skyline, Alcatraz and the Circolo degli Artisti).
In 2000, during the WorldGay Pride in Rome, the Leather Club Roma organized a large leather party at the Qube. The event is attended by hundreds of Italian and foreign leathermen and is the event that for the first time makes the club visible outside the Italian borders.
In 2001, the Leather Club Roma became a member of ECMC and started working with the Sphinx. The Sphinx becomes the de facto point of reference for the club and for the Roman leathermen. The club continues to organize parties and events, initially without fixed intervals and then every month. From 2001, the Leather Club Roma participated in the organization of Mister Leather Italy, along with two other Italian clubs (Milan and Moto Leather Club Leather Club Veneto).
In 2003 the club organized, for the first time, Mister Rubber Italy. Starting from 2012, it became a collaboration with LFI (previoulsy named MLCV) with a year in Rome and a year in Padua and Milan.
Since 2004, with the gradual exhaustion of Leather Club Milano, Leather Club Roma and Moto Leather Club Veneto (later named LFI) decided to organize the contest of Mister Leather Italy alternately in Rome and in a city in northern Italy. 2004 was the first contest organized by Leather Club Roma, and took place in Florence with the victory of Francesco.
In 2005 the Annual General Meeting elected the first board (consisting of 5 persons). The president is Massimo Fusillo, who was confirmed until the end of 2012 and under whose presidency the Leather Club achieved major visibility.
In 2007, the BikerRun was held. This was a European meeting for gay bikers organized for the first time by Leather Club Roma (before 2007, it took place only once in Italy: in 2003 organized by Moto Leather Club Veneto). The BikeRun is organized by LCRoma in Abruzzo with the final party in Rome. More than 200 gay bikers and leathermen participated to Bikerun, showing LCRoma as one of the most active and respected clubs in Europe.
In 2009 the ECMC AGM organized for the first time in Rome. The AGM is the annual meeting of all European leather clubs with the election of Mr. Leather Europe. More than 200 leathermen (including more than 100 foreigners) participated in the weekend, ending with the election of Pieter Claeys as Mister Leather Europe 2009.
In 2011, the Leather Club Roma participated in EuroPride , which took place in Rome. The club organized three fetish nights and participated with its own stand and exhibition at the Pride Park.
In 2012, the Leather Club Roma again organized the BikeRun, but this time in Tuscany. The participation of European bikers was very high. The organization of BikeRun was also supported by the two gay Italian motorcycle groups, the COMOG and the GAM.
Starting from 2013, Leather Club Roma organized Fetish Pride Italy, the week of pride for the Italian leather and fetish community. The event has been a great success both at Italian and international level. It helps to spread the knowledge of the leather and fetish culture and lifestyle in the Italian gay community.
During Fetish Pride Italy, Leather Club Roma also organized the Rome Fetish film Festival (a film festival about leather, fetish and BDSM lifestyle) and WeFetish, a contest and exhibit of international fetish photography.