Episode 36 - Rene Herbert

Light up that gar' and sit to get your boots done because it is the Thirty Sixth episode of the Kink Kloset!

Joining us from Canada is the one and only International Mr Leather 2025, Rene! Grew up in Edmonton Canada, well known around Palm Springs, and now residing in Montreal. Rene is not one to shy away from his nerdiness with both Dungeons & Dragons and video games being fond pastimes during his upbringing. While most gamers strive to be the hero, Rene resonated with the power fantasy of just being a "good person" more focusing on support and ensuring everyone was able to succeed. This moral compass was what helped guide Rene along his kink journey. His mentors helped lay the foundations of education, respect, reflection, growth, and most importantly kindness. These core values are present in every aspect of Rene's kink community from his bootblacking, to educational social media, and how he has conducted himself through his time as a titleholder.

Queer communities have been an ever present part of Rene's adult life. The Imperial Court community is where much of Rene's exposure to the queer world began as it introduced him to the local drag scene, amplified his passion for musical theatre, and had crossover with the leather community. Rene describes queer communities as venn diagrams which overlap more than most know. Throughout the years he has heard all of the arguments of why each community is different, yet he believes it is a lot easier to focus on the common threads which bind us together. While traveling the globe as International Mr Leather (IML), he has experienced first hand the harmonious existence of queer communities, especially the various kink subsets, and has been inspired to encourage others to learn from this.

Rene feels very humbled and appreciative of the opportunities he has had to amplify the many voices throughout the community. Now winding down his impressive year as IML, he is excited to see how the future bastions of the kink community forge their own paths.