Cedric's story

As far as I can remember, leather has always attracted me. The smell and touch of the seats in my father’s car, or of the sofa in my mother’s living room, my father’s jackets... I always took pleasure in it, even before I knew it, and certainly before I knew anything about fetishism. Needless to say, I was extremely proud when I received my first leather jacket, when I was a very young teenager. But back then, I couldn’t imagine further expanding my leather wardrobe: this was indeed the period after “Relax”, the international hit of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, was released, with its video full of leathermen. I won’t deny the appeal (though I didn’t realise I was gay yet), but I most of all remember my cousin’s resounding comment: “it’s dirty!” And so dirty it remained for many years, unfortunately.

But life is full of surprises. One day, back in 2017, I met some guys, and one of them, who had a couple of leather harnesses, asked me whether I’d like to try one on. I said, “why not?” … and irremediably fell in love with it! Pandora’s box was open, there was no return. And now I have a huge leather wardrobe – too huge, according to my husband. My fetishist journey even went further: latex, sportswear, neoprene, …

My interest hasn’t changed: I like leather because of its smell and touch, and nothing more. I know a lot of leathermen who say they feel more confident, more masculine, or more powerful when wearing leather, but it’s not my case. Leather is even not specially intertwined with my sexuality – except perhaps for leather harnesses (but that’s rather a question of kink, not of fetishism).

What I also like is sharing my interest in leather, be it during social events, prides, or even my Instagram account. Today, all know about that interest in some degree: family, friends, colleagues, … This has allowed me to meet people with the same interest, including the guy who introduced me to Puppy Play (as a handler) and who is for 5 years my wonderful puppy. I am also an active member of several fetish sub-communities, trying to work against the stigma that is still attached to them.