Patrick Smith [Edit]

Patrick Smith (born March 14, 1986) is a Canadian-American leather titleholder and LGBT rights activist. He is the 37th International Mr. Leather and has expanded his platform through advocacy work, public speaking and acting. 

Early Life and Education

Smith enrolled at the University of Manitoba following high school, where he earned his Bachelor of Science. Upon leaving school, he moved to Ottawa, Ontario and accepted a job in federal politics as Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff in the Office of the Prime Minister. He later accepted a job as Director of Strategic Planning for the provincial Conservative party in his home town.

At age 25, Smith moved to Los Angeles to pursue his MBA at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he met his husband Michael. He graduated in 2013 on the Dean’s List of Honor Students.

In the Leather Community

While a regular at leather community events such as the Folsom Street Fair since 2012, Smith did not consider running for a leather title until he was urged by a friend in 2015.

In 2015, Smith competed in a class of 6 contestants and became Eagle LA Mr. Leather. Two months later, he competed against the nine other Los Angeles-area titleholders to become Mr. Los Angeles Leather.

Over the next six weeks, Smith trained for International Mr. Leather with a team including Charlie Matula and Hunter Fox, producers of the Eagle LA Mr. Leather and Mr. LA Leather contests, Mike Gerle, International Mr. Leather 2007, and Lou Romano, former Mr. Oil Can Harry’s Leather and handler to Gerle at IML.

In May 2015, Smith competed among a class of 52 and won the International Mr. Leather title.

International Mr. Leather

Smith traveled over 106,000 miles during his title year, and was gone from Los Angeles for 37 of the 52 weekends.

Smith’s stated mission as IML was to broaden the reach of the leather community beyond its core following. As part of this, he spoke at non-leather related forums including at the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, and hosted events such as the official pool party at Gay Days Anaheim.

International Activism

In September 2015, Smith traveled alone to Uganda to meet with gay rights activists, to learn about the experience of sexual minorities in African countries with repressive laws against homosexuality. He followed up his trip with visits to other countries considered hostile to sexual minorities, including Ukraine, Egypt, Morocco and Trinidad and Tobago. Upon the conclusion of his travels, Smith returned home to raise money and awareness for sexual minorities in countries in which they are persecuted.

In March 2016, Smith was featured on the cover of The Fight Magazine under the headline, “They Kill Gays, Don’t They?” He received a certificate of recognition from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, for his “dedicated efforts and untiring advocacy on behalf of disadvantaged LGBT domestic and global communities.”

In his IML step-down speech, Smith announced he would be continuing his international advocacy work with the Harvey Milk Foundation.

In other media

In 2016, Smith was the principal subject of a Buzzfeed documentary about leather contests. The video was viewed more than 500,000 times within the first week of its release. He was featured in the New York Times speaking on eliminating the swimsuit category for mens and women’s pageants, and has published numerous op-eds for The Advocate Magazine. He appeared on Season 2 of Netflix’s “Dragula” and is a staple playing the leatherman role in video projects for drag queens such as Yvie Oddly, Manila Luzon and Willam Belli.

Career and Personal Life

Smith works in film with Universal Pictures. He lives in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles in a polyamorous relationship with his two partners Michael Malenitza and Trevor Palia. 

Awards and Honors

Certificate of Recognition – Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti

Harvey Milk Civil Rights Award – The San Diego Nicky Awards

George Wong Person of the Year Award, Southland Honors

Marcus Hernandez Leather Leadership Award