St. Louis’ Leather Society Rudis Is Building a Kinky Community

When St. Louis Police crashed an SUV into LGBTQ hotspot Bar:PM last December, it horrified many locals — but especially the leather group that has long considered the bar its home base: Rudis.

The leather scene is believed to have grown in part out of World War II biker culture. Rudis President Nathan Shepard says leather clubs historically offered a safe place for men to wear leather, and they remain a way for the community to gather. For the past 8 years, Rudis has provided fellowship for people interested in leather, whether they’re gay or allies, as well as education and support for those interested in kinks and fetishes. In addition to regular gatherings at Bar:PM, the group hosts board game nights and regular FetTalks where different educators provide information on fetishes. The latest of these was “April Showers,” a conversation about piss play. They also raise money for charity.

Shepard spoke with the RFT about the group’s goals and how they mobilized after the Bar:PM crash. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 

What does it mean to be part of the leather community?

Rudis was kind of established as a gay leather group, but we have since moved on to queer and ally and questioning and just the whole spectrum of orientations. Whereas when people usually talk about leather with a capital L in terms of the community, it's kind of an umbrella term for people that have a wide range of interests in either fetishes or kinks. Things like that. And when I say fetishes, I mean you like the feeling or the look of wearing leather, or you like wearing rubber, or you like wearing human pup or pet play gear. And kinks would be bondage or impact play, just to name a very, very, very small amount of all that there is out there.

What is the mission of Rudis?

So Rudis was founded to expand the number and type of people that could have access to the leather community. Leather clubs were founded in the post-war period as places for gay men to find protection at that time, so it's kind of been a little bit of an exclusive group up until I'd say probably about the past 20 years. Rudis really leans into making sure different types of people can explore leather. And we do that by making people feel welcome, being as inclusive as we possibly can, and just just trying to let people know that if they have any sort of interest or inkling or, or curiosity, they can come to one of our events, and they'll have a friendly face to talk to or kind of peel back the curtain a little bit and see that we're all just normal people. We're not these scary big leather folk or anything like that. We're just regular people that enjoy each other's company. 

What did you do to help Bar: PM after the St. Louis cops ran into it?

It definitely came as a shock to us, as it came to probably everyone involved. We did help set up a GoFundMe for them, because we wanted to make sure that the owners and the staff were taking care of while they sorted things out, because we knew that that was going to be a lengthy process. They definitely showed us that we were very lucky to have a supportive bar that lets us do all of these events. And they've been very generous in allowing us to have these FetTalks and have our big fundraising events like Hell on Heels. 

What should people know in general about coming to events and getting involved with Rudis?

If you show up with an open mind, with some curiosity, and just a willingness to talk to people and get a little bit out of your comfort zone, we have a membership committee that is always at our socials. They usually have buttons that say that they're on membership. And they're on the lookout for people that might have a little bit of a deer in the headlights look, and they'll come over and talk to you.

 We do want to really strive to make sure that our socials and our events are welcoming and open. So if anyone has any curiosity just show up. And we'll make sure you feel at home and answer any questions you might have.

What are some of the best parts about the St. Louis leather community?

I love that the St. Louis leather community is growing, and it's growing incredibly fast. Rudis itself has over 60 members right now and that’s pretty big for a leather club. I think that it just shows that Rudis and the St. Louis community as a whole is really embracing progress and innovation. 

 I think it's really impressive to see. St. Louis is probably going to be a leather city to look out for.

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