In 2008 Paul and Richard, the owners and operators of Mannhaus, encouraged Brett and Mark from The Laird to start up the Laird Leatherman Competition. That comp had so many contestants, it had to be run over 3 nights with two heats and a grand final!

 

Of course, we needed a party to help celebrate each new Laird Leatherman every year, and thus Code Black was born. A party celebrating leathermen in all their glory with in an atmosphere befitting what it means to be a Leatherman.

 

Today Code Black is so sort after, that tickets sell-out in minutes, with the event held on the second Saturday of February and August ach year. With COVID safe restrictions still in place and ever-changing, The Laird and Mannhaus agreed that it isn’t viable to put on Code Black for this year. But rest assured, we are still planning a leather/geared up event for Saturday 14th August, just less dance, more Hustle!

 

As the years went by more events were added around the competition, including workshops on Wednesdays (Laurie Lane’s Get Knotted, Eagle Sessions and new for 2021, Mannhaus Sessions). We also introduced High Shine on Thursday taking the Lairds weekly fetish night to a whole new down n dirty level. From there it was only logical to turn things into a week-long celebration, thus AWOL : A Week of Leather was born. With the Jock Party as the official opening event the rest fell into place, and year after year more events have been added to the calendar, including exhibitions and social gatherings that have led to AWOL as we know it today - a true week of leather and fetish.

 

In 2021, after over a year of missed events due to lockdowns, we’re planning more events than ever, adding more diversity and options to AWOL for the community to enjoy.

 

Both the Laird Leatherman Competition and Code Black are still proudly co-produced by Mannhaus and The Laird, but we’d also like to shout out to our annual sponsors and supporters Down An’ Dirty, Eagle Leather, DEANation and our web providers Matrix Arts.

 

AWOL would not be possible without the year-round support of our family of Laird Leathermen, Boot Blacks, Ropers, Buzz Cutters and all the kinksters, who make The Laird a haven for guys into gear, both at the Lairds regular weekly Spit and Polish and monthly events.

 

For AWOL enquiries including sponsorship, media or volunteering, please email us at awol@lairdhotel.com

 

 

Cheers,

Brett and Mark, The Laird

Dean, DEANation

 

 

All AWOL events at the Laird are for male-only identifying patrons, 18+ of course!