Chuck Renslow (August 26, 1929 – June 29, 2017) was an openly gay American businessperson, known for pioneering homoerotic photography in the mid-20th-century US, and establishing many landmarks of late-20th-century gay male culture, especially in the Chicago area. His accomplishments included the cofounding with Tony DeBlase of the Leather Archives and Museum, the cofounding with Dom Orejudos of the Gold Coast bar, Man's Country Baths, and the International Mr. Leather competition, and the founding by himself alone of Chicago's August White Party, and the magazines ''Triumph'', ''Rawhide'', and ''Mars''. He was the romantic partner of Dom Orejudos (who was an

erotica Erotica is literature or art that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use ...

artist better known by his pen names ''Etienne'' and ''Stephen'') and later Ron Ehemann.

Career

Renslow was a photographer, and in 1952 met Dom Orejudos on Chicago's Oak Street Beach, asking him to model for him. They founded Kris Studios, a

physique photography Physique photography is a tradition of photography of nude or semi-nude (usually muscular) men which was largely popular between the early 20th century and the 1960s. Physique photography originated with the physical culture and bodybuilding movem ...

studio that took photos for gay magazines they published. The studio was named in part to honor transgender pioneer

Christine Jorgensen Christine Jorgensen (May 30, 1926 – May 3, 1989) was an American trans woman who was the first person to become widely known in the United States for having sex reassignment surgery. She had a career as a successful actress, singer and re ...

. In 1958, they bought a gym which they renamed Triumph Gymnasium and Health Studio. That same year Renslow and Orejudos bought Gold Coast Show Lounge, and transformed it into the country's first gay leather bar, called the Gold Coast bar, with a uniform/western/leather dress code, a backroom, and homoerotic art (by Orejudos) on the walls. In 1965, Renslow helped found the Second City Motorcycle Club. Renslow founded Chicago's August White Party on August 8, 1974, when he hosted a party to celebrate his birthday and thank his patrons. It was then held for the next 36 years until 2010. The largest party was held in 1979 at

Navy Pier Navy Pier is a pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Navy Pier encompasses over of parks, gardens, shops, restaurants, family ...

with 5,000 participants. The forerunner of the International Mr. Leather competition was the 1970s "Mr. Gold Coast" bar contest held at the Gold Coast bar owned by Renslow and Orejudos. The "Mr. Gold Coast" contest became one of the bar's most popular promotions causing the need to locate the competition to a larger venue (in 1979), upon which the title was changed to International Mr. Leather. In 1991 Renslow and Tony DeBlase founded the Leather Archives and Museum “as a community archives, library, and museum of

Leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...

kink Kink or KINK may refer to: Common uses * Kink (sexuality), a colloquial term for non-normative sexual behavior * Kink, a curvature, bend, or twist Geography * Kink, Iran, a village in Iran * The Kink, a man-made geographic feature in remote ea ...

, fetish, and

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...

history and culture.”

Honors and legacy

In 1990, Renslow received the Steve Maidhof Award for National or International Work from the

National Leather Association International National Leather Association International (NLA-I) is a BDSM organization, based in the United States with chapters in various cities in the United States and Canada. It was founded in 1986 as the "National Leather Association" (NLA), as a national ...

. In 1991, Renslow was inducted into the

Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame (formerly Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame) is an institution founded in 1991 to honor persons and entities who have made significant contributions to the quality of life or well-being of the LGBT community in Chic ...

. In 1992, he received the President's Award as part of the

Pantheon of Leather Awards Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...

. In 1993, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards. In 1995, “Chuck Renslow – IML” was one of the recipients of the International Deaf Leather Recognition Award. In 1996, he and Jim McGlade received the Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards, and in 2007 Renslow received it alone. In 1998, he received the Forebear Award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards. In 2009, he was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame. In June 2019, Renslow was one of the inaugural fifty American “pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes” inducted on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor within the

Stonewall National Monument Stonewall National Monument is a U.S. national monument in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The designated area includes the Stonewall Inn, the Christopher Park, and nearby streets including ...

(SNM) in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

’s

Stonewall Inn The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall, is a gay bar and recreational tavern in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which is widely considered to be the sin ...

. The SNM is the first

U.S. national monument In the United States, a national monument is a protected area that can be created from any land owned or controlled by the federal government by proclamation of the President of the United States or an act of Congress. National monuments prot ...

dedicated to LGBTQ rights and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, and the wall's unveiling was timed to take place during the 50th anniversary of the

Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of ...

. Renslow is listed as the Chairman In Memoriam of the Leather Archives and Museum. The museum also gives out the Chuck Renslow President's Award to honor individuals and organizations for their contributions to it.

References

External links

Chuck Renslow Dance Photographs
a
the Newberry Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renslow, Chuck 1929 births 2017 deaths Physique photography Businesspeople from Chicago American LGBT businesspeople Leather subculture Gay men 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century LGBT people Inductees of the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame

Career

Honors and legacy

Further reading

References

External links