WINGS sits down with Brew Hunter, the funniest and most open-hearted man who doubles as the ‘Dom/Leather/SM/ Spit-in-your-face Top’ of our dreams. Five years ago, Hunter took it upon himself to bring back the hot and hard leather days of the past to London’s diminishing cruising scene, tackling the interference of the world wide web with his infamous night ‘Mastery’.
So before we delve into Mastery, tell us a little about Brew Hunter and how you got into leather?
“I started very young, buying a leather jacket and boots with my first ever paycheck. At that age, you don’t know where it is going and why you are so interested in it but gradually, as you grow up, you realise there is something more to it than just looking a certain way. You start feeling things. Through my teenage years and my move to London, I started realising that all these feelings were guiding me to walk ‘the leather path’, so to speak.”
Did you have to ‘come out’ twice?
“I came out as a leather boy before the big, official ‘coming out’ thing. I remember being in ‘regular’ clubs back in the day, walking around with nipple-clamps and a leather vest on! That was just the look I felt comfortable in, even if it did shock people around me.”
How much of ‘Brew Hunter’ trickles into your personal life? Do you wear leather to do your groceries?
“I am very fortunate to live in London and I have never had a problem wearing leather out and about, ever. I do, however, have minor issues about fetish as fashion. It is refreshing that it is so open — someone wore a harness to the Oscars and it was deemed as cool. The whole thing has become less threatening to outsiders. Having said that, I like to keep the hardcore fetish stuff to the bedroom. As sexual beings and leather men, we need to tread carefully to keep our fetish hardcore and not just becoming a sideshow at a street fair.”
“Someone wore a harness to the oscars and it was deemed as cool”
What is Mastery all about then?
“The Backstreet in London is an incredible setting. We have leather boots hanging from the ceiling, a couple of cages, a great smoking area — the whole vibe will bring you right back in time. It is all about the Masters in their leather, lighting up cigars as their chained-up subs lick their boots. Picture a modern-day realisation of the golden era. The sex, the mentorship, the communication, the brotherhood, the social aspect of it all weaves together. It creates an incredible sense of community between people from all walks of life that wouldn’t otherwise cross paths. There is an old school approach to the party that attracts the seasoned guys who show up for the first time in years, saying they didn’t know places like this still existed and younger guys who are new to the whole thing but are eager to learn and are fascinated.”
Tell us a little about the conception of Mastery.
“In the pre-Mastery days, I was always too busy travelling back-and-forth for work to ever partake in the leather scene myself. I would get home after a business trip and just crave my bed. You may have guessed by now but I love the whole retro thing, the history of it, Tom of Finland, black-and-white porn from the 70’s — all of it. I had always known that was the sort of person I was, and they were the sort of places I wanted to go. So when the opportunity did arise for me to start going out more and experiencing what London had to offer, I realised, to my dismay, that the scene had been hugely impacted by the introduction of the internet. The legendary days of The Hoist and all the leather bars, packed with hot and horny men, were over. I thought to myself ‘if someone is going to try and reverse this, it might as well be me.’ So one night I sent out invites and gathered a group of like-minded guys, telling them to meet me at The Backstreet in their best leather and rubber. That is how Mastery was born.”
You mention the Internet having a negative impact on the scene — why do you think that was?
“The problem with the internet coming along was that everything was so accessible. You could find everything and see everything so easily. We are, intrinsically, all lazy fuckers. It didn’t take long for searching on porn sites to become the substitute for searching at cruise bars. The problem is then what you see in porn becomes the norm. All this horny, terrific-looking sex just isn’t real life. Sex is messy. You have to work on it. Sitting behind a screen and creating this little bubble of perfection is going to do you no good. You see these incredible looking men doing a fetish scene and anxiety kicks in. ‘Why doesn’t my sex life look like this,’ ‘why don’t I have a slave to fist fuck,’ ‘why isn’t my boyfriend a master?’ — you have to get off your ass and get out there! That is the bottom line.”
Is there hope for future generations?
“Yes, of course! More and more fetish people are realising the power and pleasure of meeting face-to-face and the thrill of the chase! Plenty of young guys are starting to organise socials and events, to get people out and to create the new, 21st Century, leather and fetish scene. It is thanks to organisations like Mister B, who are spending their time and money, supporting the people who are fighting to create a change in our community.”
If you are twitching in your pants from reading this check out:
masteryonline.co.uk
for information about upcoming events, the dress code, rules mastery classes and more.
Photography by: D81 Photography
Photography by: PIGtures by Dash
Photography by: Sly Hands
