Hard beginnings
In Poland, of course, there is also a community of leather fetishists. In 2011, in cooperation with the Bears of Poland Association, the election of the first Mr. Leather Poland.
Two years later, the Leather Poland Association was established in Poznań (date of registration in the National Court Register (KRS) – May 21, 2013, date of deletion from the Register – July 19, 2019).
On March 15, 2017, by the decision of the District Court of Poznań-Nowe Miasto and Wilda, a court guardian was appointed to the Leather Poland Association, which initiated the liquidation procedure of the Leather Poland Association.
The liquidation of the Association led to deep divisions among the Polish leather community, especially since in the last period of operation of the Leather Poland Association there were allegations of irregularities in the election of the association’s authorities, violation of the statute, and even misappropriation of the organization’s funds. Additional concern may have been caused by the lack of legally required data update in the National Court Register (the association only completed the data upon request of the Court).
It is also worth mentioning that the Mister Leather Poland sash was auctioned to satisfy the claims of creditors of the Leather Poland Association, and in 2018 there was an attempt to register the Mister Leather Poland trademark by a private person involved in the events that led to the liquidation of the association.
For over two years, the Polish leather community has been brought together by the Polish Leather Uniform Group fb group, and in November 2022 its members decided to create a new Polish Leather Uniform Group Association. In 2022, the first Mister Leatherman Poland was also elected, succeeding the previously elected Mister Leather Poland.
The new association created from scratch, the new title of Mister and clearly defined rules for the functioning of the organization and the election of its authorities symbolically emphasize the separation from the controversial past and the willingness to cooperate with everyone who cares about a better future of the leather community.
Fetish: controversy and stereoptypes
The terms fetish and fetishist may have clearly negative connotations for most people, which results from a direct understanding of the dictionary definitions of these concepts originating from psychiatry. In fact, unconditionally combining issues related to sex and sexuality and the passion for leather as an element of clothing is too much of a simplification and has little to do with reality – we encourage you to read this text. Most people who call themselves leather fetish fans state directly that “having sex in a full leather outfit, or even its elements, is simply uncomfortable.”.

Łukasz, Mr Fetish Germany 2022 & Mister Leather Berlin 2022
Another stereotype connects leather fetish lovers with the world of BDSM practices. The source of this association is primarily pop culture and the early history of the leather movement. Leather has been and is a common element of the stage image of many music stars, and in video clips and during live performances, these performers willingly refer to promiscuous sexuality. Similar images could also be seen in many movies.
In reality, leather fetishists – as a collective – turn out to be neither sex maniacs nor dominant masters looking for people to enslave. The preference for leather is not associated with any specific sexual orientation, although stereotypically the leather fetish is also associated with homosexuality.
Concluding this topic, it is worth mentioning equality parades and other, mainly foreign, events gathering the gay and fetish community. Many critics focus only on the elements related to sexuality that appear there. However, it should be remembered that all these behaviors eagerly shown in the media and their entire surroundings are often a deliberate demonstration, or even a provocation, intended to convey a specific message.
The leather community and the LGBTQ+ community
The Polish Leather Uniform Group Association leaves issues related to sexuality to the individual discretion of its members, believing that every person, regardless of their sexual orientation, religion, skin color, nationality and other features, has the same rights and deserves the same respect.