|
 Loren
Berthelsen began his leather journey in the mid 80s when he attended
his first weekend run with the Constantines of the Bay Area. He
returned to Nebraska hooked on the leather lifestyle and in 1986 he
was sponsored by a local bar as a contestant to International Mr
Leather. He didn't make the top 20 but the experience forged new and
deeper bonds with the community and created friendships that continue
to this day.
He
and his then partner re-located to San Francisco in the late 80s and
soon after Loren became active with the AIDS Emergency Fund, an
organization with deep roots in to the SF leather community. Loren
spent 5 years on the AEF board including 2 years as Vice President
and 1 year as President. While involved with the AEF he was
befriended by the SF Leather Daddies, in particular Daddy Alan Selby,
Daddy Philip Turner and Daddy Steve Gaynes. Another seminal event
occurred in 1994, Loren met his Boy, partner and now husband, Alex
Lindsay.
Loren
and Alex were very involved during this time with AEF and other
leather events and In 1995 he competed for and was selected as SF
Leather Daddy XIV. Loren had an extremely active year as Leather
Daddy along with his title Leather Boy, Joey Faria. Post AEF and his
title year, Loren continued fund raising with the SF Leather Daddies
and volunteering for many Bay Area agencies and non profits.
In
2001 Loren and Alex decided to change things up and moved to Palm
Springs to operate a guest house. Loren and Alex were active with
organizations like the Palm Springs Leather Order of the Desert and
the Desert Pride Center and got very involved in marriage equality
issues through an organization they founded called Equal Protection -
Equal Marriage. It was during this time that the two of them also
connected with members of Avatar Los Angeles and started attending
meetings and participating in demos with club members. In 2004 they
were both invited to join Avatar. Loren served on the Avatar board
for 3 years including a stint as Vice President. Today Loren produces
the Avatar dungeon parties and the two of them present numerous demos
throughout the year.
In
2004 he and Alex attended their first Mid Atlantic Leather and
inspired by this, decided to launch a new fetish event called West
Coast Rubber for rubber and gear aficionados from around the world.
The event is now in its 5th year, has since been moved to Los Angeles
and is kinkier than ever. Loren considers himself a multi-faceted
leather man and is as comfortable in a full rubber cat suit as he is
in a leather dress uniform. Or even a wrestling singlet, or rugby
gear, or bleachers. For Loren, It's all about the gear.
Loren
and Alex relocated to Los Angeles in late 2006 and with the
proximity to the amazing leather and kink community in LA have found
themselves busier than ever. In addition to his Avatar work, Loren is
also a voting member of the Los Angeles Leather Coalition and is a
member of a number of fetish and kink organizations including the
SoCal Bondage Club, the Regiment of the Black and Tans and the Boots
and Breeches Corps, Los Angeles Division.
Loren
returned to the title community in 2008 to support Alex as he
competed for and won the Mr Regiment 2009 title and went on to place
1st runner up at Los Angeles Leather. In May of 2009, Loren entered a
new contest created for men over 50 and won the first-ever title of
Mr Golden Leather. And in July of 2009 Alex went on to compete for
and win the American Leather Man 2009 title. Loren is currently
planning several fund raisers and gear-related events for his title
year and is contemplating a run for a national or international title.
In
his free time (yeah right!) Loren loves to cook for friends and
enjoys great restaurants and wine. He likes to ride his Triumph
Sprint ST whenever possible, loves traveling, great movies, books
about food and everything about the web and the techno love of his
life, his iPhone.
Regarding
personal philosophies, Loren believes that none of us stand alone
with our accomplishments in life. Every time our head sticks above
the crowd for a successful event or a personal achievement, it's
because we've been supported on the shoulders of our brothers and sisters.
People
are often asked to provide a quote or a statement that sums up their
outlook on life. Loren has two, one for when life presents a
challenge, "If that's the worst thing that happens today, I'll
make it just fine", and for keeping himself motivated, "Do
it now".
Oh
and one other, "Get your gear on...get your rocks off". |
