L.A. Leather Pride Q&A with Mr. Sister Leather, Victor Ongpin

Photo by Ziv Safe. THE FIGHT.

Victor Ongpin is a Seattle native who lived in the Evergreen State throughout most of his adulthood with a few stints touring the globe, meeting compelling men along the way. Shortly after coming out of the closet in his mid-twenties, Victor found community with like-minded individuals through the sport of rugby, where he learned not only about brotherhood and camaraderie, but about bear culture and the leather community, as well.

Through sports (including rugby, soccer, and flag football, to name a few), Victor learned the depths of his own physical and mental toughness, paving the way for channeling his sexual aggression through a kinky disposition and a bit of exhibitionism.

Victor would later found and launch JAKE Talks, an empowering TED-style talk series by and for the LGBTQ2+/queer community, including noteworthy leathermen and community organizations, such as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Serving the community through this program later fueled his desire to run for and be named Mr. Sister Leather 2023 in Los Angeles.

Among other community involvement, Victor is a member of the Team Beefcake cycling team, fundraising for AIDS/LifeCycle, during which he will make the 545-mile journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles in June.

As a collared pup, Victor finds his way to the next rendezvous by sniffing pits and crotches knowing that eye contact, body language, and physical touch are all he needs to get the evening started. Come the weekends, you can catch him at one of LA’s local leather bars or warehouse parties. He’ll be clad simply in a jockstrap and harness (or sports gear) working his way through the darkroom play areas, where he flags red or dark pink on the left, or gray, navy blue, or magenta on the right.

Read on below for our interview with Mr. LA Leather contestant, Victor Ongpin.

 

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What does it mean to you to be this year's Mr. Sister Leather?

Being Mr Sister Leather 2023, means a lot to me because the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have had a big impact on me since my days in Seattle. I’ve hosted TED-style talks called JAKE Talks for the queer community featuring one of the Sisters on the stage who gave a talk on how being of service in the guise of a Nun gave rise to authenticity, and how her journeys through in-between places taught her where to find her center. The organization also believed in my vision and the value of putting on these talks for the community where I had previously featured my leather mentor to speak on stage about the history of leather and they directly funded a grant I wrote so that we might further the work I led with my team, which was giving a voice to others - complimenting the Sisters’ charge of “amplify voices needing a power lift.”

Bringing this work to Los Angeles is a continuation of this charter and the impact I want to make in the community.

 

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Tell us about The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

They are an organization dedicated to making people happy, stamping out guilt brought on by a judgmental society and helping various organizations and charities through support and philanthropy. I especially resonate with the Sisters’ light-hearted philosophy where they manifest, womynifest, and nonbinarifest at public & private events as activists, as performers, and as fundraisers. To that end, I feel that both the masculine and feminine can co-exist in harmony and I can express myself as a leatherman in ways that are as diverse as the LGBTQ2+ community.

 

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What has your journey through the leather scene been from introduction to being a Title Holder?

In the past I had been more at the perimeter of the leather community rather than directly in it as more of my extracurricular activities were involved in LGBT recreational league sports. What was probably the biggest impact for me was when I was in the midst of launching JAKE Talks and gaining a leather mentor in Daddy Jeff Henness, whom I asked to speak on stage as I wanted to include voices from a variety of communities including the leather community. He believed in my ideas and appreciated that I was trying new things. I learned a great deal about the history of leather and the values of trust, honor and respect from him in addition to community-building. I knew that Seattle held leather contests, but I had not ever participated. It wasn’t until moving to Los Angeles that I made a friend in my kickball team who preceded me as Mr Sister Leather 2020 where I learned about the upcoming MSL contest towards the end of the summer and I decided to throw my name in the hat as I was familiar with the Sisters from my time in Seattle.

 

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What do you plan to do beyond this weekend's Mr. LA Leather contest?

Shortly after the contest, I plan to make a visit to San Francisco to attend the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’s Easter Celebration which is their anniversary event from when they first made their appearance in SF during Easter in 1979. I haven’t attended the celebration before, though I’m sure it would be a great privilege to see where it all started alongside all the festivities.

I’ll continue to fundraise for charities, particularly the one close to my heart is that of the AIDS Lifecycle, which is a joint collaboration between the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the SF AIDS Foundation where I plan to make the 545-mile ride with my cycling team, Team Beefcake, from San Francisco to Los Angeles in June. I already hosted an event on January 22 and am planning for another one in the spring.

Next, it’s my intention to bring JAKE Talks to Los Angeles starting with TED-inspired talks and fireside chats with key members of the leather community in Los Angeles delving into relevant topics of today starting with history/traditions with a nod to the future and what’s for the leather/kink community.

Finally, alongside my commitment to men’s health & wellness as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP) with a specialty in sports nutrition and anti-aging, I will endeavor to grow my practice persevering in educating both prospective and seasoned LGBTQ2+ athletes and as well as prospective leather contest participants in best practices for optimal health through nutrition. It takes a lot of work and energy to prepare for a tournament and/or contest and I want to be a resource for those communities.

Support Victor's AIDS/LifeCycle fundraiser.

 

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Follow Victor Ongpin on Instagram and Facebook.
Follow Jake Talks on YouTube and Facebook.
Follow Los Angeles Leather Pride on Instagram and Twitter.
Follow The Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence on Instagram.

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