Torres, in late January, was named Mr. Chicago Leather 2014, beating out five other finalists for the title.
“[I am] humbled and honored to be representing the leather community this year and hoping to work with the rest of the community to show we are all one community,” he said. “The more we learn from each other, the stronger we all become.
“It’s a great responsibility and honor representing [Chicago], a city with such rich leather history, the city that started the International Mr. Leather contest in 1979 and has hosted it ever since.”
Torres has been a leatherman for several years and truly active in the leather world for the past year or so. In late April, he attended the Cleveland Leather Awareness Weekend (CLAW) for the first time.
“I’m looking forward to showcasing the city and why I’m so passionate about Chicago to my fellow IML brothers,” Torres said.
About 22,000 attended IML in 2013.
Torres is hosting a meet and greet at Touché on Wed., May 21, and then on Monday, May 26, he will join other IML attendees—in leather—at Sidetrack. That, Torres said, is “the annual tradition of invading Sidetrack [on] Showtunes Monday, turning it into gear tunes where we all sing along [to] our favorite musicals dressed in leather. It’s always a blast.”
Photos by Anthony Meade
THE STATS
Age: 36
Neighborhood: Edgewater
Nicknames: “In college, I was skinny and used to wear my hair spiky in the front, [so] people called me ‘Tintin,’ from The Adventures of Tintin comic book. Some still call me Tintin.”
Relationship status: Single
Job title: Data storage engineer for a large trading firm. “I make sure I can recover data if there are any accidents or disasters.”
Favorite TV show: Scandal, with his all-time favorite show being Six Feet Under
Favorite movies: Return of the King and Pitch Perfect
Favorite pizza toppings: Pepperoni and pineapple
Preferred drink: “I’ve been on a bourbon kick lately, unless the bar serves craft beers, then I’m inclined to Stouts or IPAs.”
Favorite actor: Kevin Spacey
Hobbies: Computers, sci-fi, biking, eating out, choreographed dancing, and walking through Chicago neighborhoods.
Four people (living or dead) who you’d invite to dinner: Nikola Tesla, Nelson Mandela, Hillary Clinton and Michael Jackson.
Little-known fact: “I secretly enjoy airplane turbulence.”