Jon Brittain (4-29-2006)
by John Prather
as part of the Oral History Project.

Interviewer is Rick Storer
Saturday, April 29th, 2006
Cleveland Ohio
At Cleveland Leather Awareness Weekend (CLAW)
At the Wyndham Playhouse Square Hotel in Downtown Cleveland

Synopsis of Interview with Jon Brittain

Father had a Chevrolet Dealership. He grew up in a small town of 5,000 people.

His father was killed when Jon was in 7^th grade. However, his mother is still living and will be 88 years old in a couple of months.

Jon went to Michigan State University and got an Associates Degree in Horticulture, to be a florist.

Then after working a few years, he went to Kent State University and got a Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree in Theater.

Jon is gay, and is a switch. He describes himself as versatile according to the situation.

 Jon is a leather man, enjoys fisting and has a fully stocked playroom at home.

He recognized that he was gay at the age of 11. He didn’t know it was gay, but that he liked men.

First sexual experience was at Boy Scout Camp. 

When did you come out as gay? It wasn’t until he was in college the first time. The first bar he went to was in Toledo, and called the Scenic. 

When did you start realizing that you were kinky or like leather sex?

He was living in New York City at the time and was working on the Stonewall Parade.  While attending a meeting of the parade organizers, he went to the bathroom and another person came back and asked him “What would you like me to do Sir” and Jon just started into it. He took Jon home to meet his lover and he was the middle and they taught him a lot. This happened in the early 1970’s.

Jon currently lives in Cleveland, and moved there in 1977.

He was integrated into the leather scene of Cleveland from the beginning. The first bar he went to was the Leather Stallion and has been his home bar since then. Now his home bar is shared between there and the Crossover.

He belonged to the Stallions Club and joined in the late 70’s. Most of people that went to the Leather Stallion belonged to the club.  Other people were afraid to go there.

To be in the leather scene you really had to belong to a club.  Jon was an officer of the Stallions at one point.  The Stallions run was called Autumn Stampede.

The club started out with a group of quiet guys as a social club.  After a few years the newer members changed it to a charity fund raising club.  However, most of the original members left because they didn’t want their name out there in public.  He left at that time also. That is the only club he has ever belonged to. He has been asked by other clubs but never joined.  He is too busy with two major charities he works with: Cleveland Leather Awareness Weekend (CLAW) and a food drive for the Aids Food Bank.  He is on the board of CLAW, and has done the food drive for 20 years. He ran the food drive all by himself up until this past year.  The time of the drive is at Christmas, which is the best and worst possible time.  It’s the best because people are in a giving spirit, and it’s the worst because as a florist because he is very busy with work. He started this fundraiser shortly after the epidemic came about. He also served on other Aids related organizations through those years.

Rick asked him what it was like for him in the scene in the early 80’s when Aids came about.

He lost a lot of his friends during that time.  Like other people you stop counting the number of funeral you’ve attended once you hit the amount of 30. He was diagnosed positive in 1987, and full blown in 1989.  He lost his lover in 1991. He then says: “There but the grace of God go I.”

Rick mentioned that the history of the Cleveland leather community shows an enormous amount of activity and IML contestants up until 1990. Then there seems to be a gap in the early and mid 90’s.  Then in the late 90’s there’s resurgence in the community. 

Jon felt that the gap was definitely was related to the epidemic.  We lost so many.  People stopped going to the bars or going out. Everyone was scared and then they started to rebuild themselves as a community.

The resurgence started to build before CLAW, but CLAW really was a big part of the leather community coming into its own in Cleveland.

Rick asked him to speak of bit about how CLAW got started from his perspective.

Jon said it definitely got started with Dennis and Bob with a little bit of push from the late Thom Domkowski. They decided to have a leather event without a contest just for fun and charity.  They ran it alone the first 2 years, and then they put a board together. Jon has served on the board since there was a board.  It is amazing about how it has groan.  They cleared in the first year $20,000 for the charities. Since then they have created more and more various aspects of the weekend. The nice thing is that they incorporate the activities of the city into the weekend.

Rick asked about some of the missing history at the Archives about the Power City Corp and Excalibur.  He always supported the clubs and attended their runs.  He affectionately nicknamed Power City as Sour Tittie. Power City was in existence for a just a few years.  Excalibur was very active for a few years also, and then wilted away. Now the big one is NAIL, New Age In Leather. It’s relatively new. It’s large and very active.  They do a lot for the community. Unicorn MC is the oldest one in Ohio is still existence.  He has never gone to that run.  Being a florist at the time, he couldn’t go in the summer because of all the big parties he worked.

Rick asked Jon about him being a florist.

Jon had his own shop.  It was in Lakewood across from the hospital.

Rick asks him about his opinion of all the changes he has seen over the years in the leather community.  Jon feels that they are good changes. It’s all about evolution.  Guys come out as effeminate.  They get a little older and change, and change a little more.  They cross over to the leather community.

Rick asked him about his mentoring of newbies in the leather community.  Jon feels that mentoring is always needed.  Unlike vanilla sex where it is wham, bam, thank you ma'am, leather sex is longer, you do more, and you get to know the person more, more into the head.  You watch their face for reactions to find limits and who’s controlling.  They are both controlling really.

Rick asks: What advice would you give the leather community as it moves forward?  Are there danger signs?

Jon feels that barebacking and the conversion parties that go on is what he doesn’t like.  He said that this is where being creative keeps it going.  There are other ways to enjoy and enhance a sexual experience.

He said the younger generations are young and immortal. You don’t become mortal until you are a little older.

Rick asked Jon if he is single.  He says yes.  He has not had any lovers since his lover passed away in 1991.  He has had some boyfriend, but not lovers.

Rick asks: Today, how to do you go about finding sexual partners?

Jon says by attending functions and stay active in the community.  Being older it is harder, but is also less important. There’s not as much sexual drive as there was before.

At 62 he’s still going to do it, but with more time between experiences. “There was a time when I would go to the bars in Chicago and I’d cum 21 times in one night.  No way, I could do that today.  I have an original membership card for Man’s Country.”

Rick said that he has covered most of what he wanted to talk about.  However, he asks Jon if there is anything he would like to add.

Jon said that he enjoys leather sex because you do get to know the person more. You get to know him inside: figuratively and literally.  Especially in fisting.

Rick asked him how he got to know how to do fisting.  Jon said he went to a party in New York and was introduced to it.  He has done both ways, but now mostly a top.

Rick thanked Jon for his time and him sharing his experiences with us.

Jon assured Rick that there was nothing that was said on tape that needs to have a restricted access to.