by Anthony Glassman

Cleveland--March came in like a lion, and brought with it a new titleholder.

The inaugural Mr. Rubber Cleveland competition was held February 29 to March 2, and Sean Johnson walked away with the title, with Larry �Trojan� Tucker nabbing first runner-up.

Helping with the festivities was Randy Austin, a former Mr. Gay Cleveland and Mr. Gay Akron, Mr. Ohio Leather 2008 Gregg Lakota, Mr. Cocktails Cleveland Leather 2008 Lekc Zhdanov and Mr. Cleveland Leather 2006-2007 Robert Bess.

On Saturday night, an auction of leather goods was held, and, combined with a 50/50 raffle, raised $836 for the Northern Ohio Coalition, Inc. The money will be used to help people with HIV in the area.

The contest was produced by Ric Scardino and his partner James Foster. Their R & J Leather Productions also produced Mr. Cocktails Cleveland Leather in January. The company plans to put on Ms. Leather of Cleveland, Daddy and Daddy�s boy of Cleveland and Leather Bear of Cleveland competitions this year, in an attempt to raise the profile of the leather community and its interaction with the greater LGBT community.

�With my title, I look to bridge the straight, gay and fetish worlds, to enlighten everyone that we are all part of the brotherhood in this community,� said Johnson. �There are bigger wars to fight than fight each other.�

�So by joining together in unity, we can all work together to achieve the same goals. As a community, we need to have one unified voice in the world, to spread the education and awareness that even though we are all different, we all walk that same path,� he concluded.

For more information about Mr. Rubber Cleveland or their other competitions, go to www.rnjleatherproductions.com.