John's Corner of the Cave

Click here for my guide to London or here for my guide to Gran Canaria

Physical Appearance

For those of you who haven't met me, I'm 36, 6' tall with cropped blonde hair and blue eyes. I won the title "International Mr Leather" in Chicago in May 2003 and took the year off work to travel to leather events full time. (For more info see www.iml2003.com). In September 2004 I returned to my career in broadcasting by joining a post production company in West London.

I've been lifting weights for 16 years, but due to a food intolerance I still weigh 81 kg (178 lbs). I'm very sociable and love giving bear hugs/ back massages, cooking meals and meeting people at Coffee, Cake and Kink.

John in a white t-shirt and black leather vest, smiling at the camera

April 2007 - Minneapolis
Photo credit: Dave Harris

Home Life

Although I knew where my preferences lay by the age of 5 (as this picture shows) I only came out at 22. These things can take a while to sink in. Who'd have thought that I'd be wearing the same clothes to go clubbing in my twenties and thirties?

Between the ages of 15 and 22 I became involved in fundamentalist religion. If you want to know how I escaped you can read about it here.

I quickly wooed my first and only: David. We've been together since the summer of 1993 and celebrated our 10th anniversary by signing the Mayor of London's Partnerships Register in June 2003. The ceremony lasted half an hour and guests included both our families, work colleagues and leathermen from the U.K., Germany and the Netherlands. There was a strict "black and blue" dress code, and everyone was given a red buttonhole flower to symbolise the red heart in the leather flag. After the ceremony all the guests were taken to the Rotisserie restaurant in Shepherds Bush - also decorated in black and blue - for a celebratory meal.

The London Partnerships Register had no legal significance but its popularity led to the UK's Civil Partnerships Act, which came into force in December 2005 and grants same sex couples the same rights as married couples. We registered as a Civil Partnership on Saturday 13th May 2006, which means that I'm no longer single in the eyes of the law in the UK - and I'm officially a step-dad to Dave's daughter and son!

Our Civil Partnership was held at our local registry office in West London in front of 24 guests. The ceremony began with the overture to Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker", which caused a few smiles. We used the same rings, vows and best men as on our tenth anniversary, followed by a champagne reception in our back garden.

Colour photo of Dave and John, hugging each other and looking delighted

13th May 2006 - Dave and I at our Civil Partnership registration
Photo credit: Ulli Richter

Good Health

I'm in really good health, I promise. However, there was an occasion in January 1997 when I had a headache that turned out to be bacterial meningitis. Don't worry, I've made a full recovery but it was a close call. If you want the full story, click here. I lost a bit of memory as a result, so if we meet and I can't remember you I have a good excuse, okay?!
If you're at all worried about meningitis there's information on The National Meningitis Trust site's website. Alternatively, if you think you might be intolerant to gluten, (found in wheat, rye, barley and oats), there's more information on the Coeliac Society site. I can't eat gluten, which is why I'm more likely to cook you a meal than go to a restaurant and if I'm drinking a pint it will be cider rather than beer.

Other Stuff

There's a leather club in South London called "The Hoist" which runs an annual competition to find "Mr Hoist". Click on the year to see pictures from the first four contests: 2002, 2001, 2000 and 1999. I won the Mr Hoist 2003 contest and went on to win International Mr Leather in May 2003 as well. There's more information about the Hoist on my guide to London's leather and bear scene and more information about my year as IML at www.iml2003.com

Red lights on the bridges in Amsterdam My favourite city is Amsterdam. Where else in the world can gay couples go anywhere from museums to supermarkets and be accepted? My first efforts at a Dutch webpage can be found here.

Weight Lifting

I workout three times a week at a Virgin Active in West London, and on holiday I look for anywhere that has Olympic weights and no queue for the squat rack. If you're travelling to Gran Canaria I recommend Tenis Center Maspalomas in Campo de Golf. In Amsterdam my favourite gym is Barry's Fitness Centre at Lijnbaansgracht 350. (Between Vijzelstraat and Reguliersgracht, tel: 00 31 20 626 1036. In Sept. 2002 the nearest tram lines were 16, 24 and 25) More info at www.barrysfitness.nl

When I'm at home in London I train on a split routine: (1) Back, deadlift and biceps; (2) squats/ legs and shoulders; (3) bench press/ chest and triceps. My maximum bench press is 112.5 kg (248 lbs) at a bodyweight of 81 kg.

John on stage in grey leather jeans and a bare chest

April 2007 - Minneapolis
Photo credit: Dave Harris

For my leather links click here

Comments or questions? Email me at: paws (at) dircon.co.uk

Other pages: Dave's Cave ... my IML website

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