L.A. Leather Pride Q&A with Mr. Bullet Leather, Justin Hauser

March 24, 2023
MEATY PANDA

Photo by Ziv Safe. THE FIGHT.

Justin Hauser is the current Mr. Bullet Leather and one of six contestants in tomorrow's Mr. LA Leather, where the winner will go on to represent Los Angeles at International Mr. Leather (IML) in Chicago this May. The Bullet Bar is one of the oldest gay bars in Southern California. It has been around since the '70s and owned by Michael Lara for the past 25 years. The local leather watering hole hosts a variety of events including karaoke happy hours and Chewi's Kennel party for pups, but the focal point is the back alley to cruise for guys with parties like Cocksock.

Read on for Justin's mini Q&A.

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What does it mean to you to be this year's Mr. Bullet Leather?

It is a very close-knit family environment that is a really important part of this community for 40 years now.

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What has your journey through the leather scene been from introduction to being a Title Holder?

My intro to leather was about 12 years ago in Virginia. I went through New Orleans and now out to Southern California. I was trying to get somebody else to run for Mr. Bullet Leather and he kind of decided that he wasn't ready for it yet at the last moment, so I stepped in.

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What do you plan to do beyond this weekend's Mr. LA Leather contest?

Win or lose, I want to be able to hopefully start a legacy fund for queer artists in Los Angeles that are falling on hard times. This idea spawned from Hector Silva who does a lot of amazing shading work. He's essentially the Latino Tom of Finland.