Three Texas leather titles, one stage

The three titles

These are not pageant titles. They are working positions, and the three of them exist because leather has never been one shape.

Mr. Texas Leather is 850 points, built around confidence and leather aesthetic. Three of its eight scored categories happen in front of the room in different clothes: Formal Leather, Pecs & Personality, and Bar Wear. The winner represents Texas at International Mister Leather in Chicago, the same stage that produced Stephen Weber in 2002 and Jeffrey Payne in 2009, both of them as Mr. Texas Leather.

Ms. Texas Leather is 950 points, and storytelling takes the center of it. The Fantasy Scene is worth 200 points, the highest-weighted presentation category in any of the three contests: the full stage, up to three minutes, as many scene partners as the piece needs. The winner represents Texas at International Ms. Leather, where Synn (2012) and The Goddess Indigo (2024) both won as Ms. Texas Leather.

Mx. Texas Leather is 850 points, gender-neutral and expansive. Mx. contestants choose between a Fantasy Performance and a Sexy Wear category, which lets the contest bend toward how you actually express rather than asking you to pick a lane someone else drew. The title exists because Texas leather is bigger than a binary, and the contest should be too.

How the scoring works

Every category is scored by a panel, and the contests use Olympic Scoring: in each category, the highest and the lowest judge score are dropped before the rest are counted. One judge who loves you cannot carry you, and one who does not cannot sink you.

Read the weighting, because it tells you what these titles are actually for. The single heaviest category in all three contests is the Judges' Interview, at 200 points. It happens in a private room with no audience. Add the 100 points for Lifestyle Image, which is scored across the whole weekend rather than in any one moment, and 300 of the points are awarded for who you are when nobody is watching you perform.

The stage rounds matter. They are not what decides it.

Each of the three titleholders carries Texas onto a different international stage:

• Mr. Texas Leather competes at International Mister Leather in Chicago.
• Ms. Texas Leather competes at International Ms. Leather.
• Mx. Texas Leather competes at a designated international leather contest following their step-down.

Beyond that, all three commit to the same year: six public appearances across Texas, at least one fundraiser, and showing up for the next Austin Kink Weekend and the contest that gave them the title. Eligibility and the full title-year commitment are on the Contests page.

Austin Kink Weekend took stewardship of the Texas Title Family in 2023. The titles are older than that, and so is the list.