Chris “Lunatic Bound” Cartee refers to himself as a GDI—a god damn independent. Meaning, of course, that the Orlando resident doesn’t follow any prescribed path, and that goes for his everyday life and for his role in the leather community.
Cartee stepped into the leather community almost four years but has practiced the lifestyle for 11 years.
“I came to the leather community out of a leather fetishism,” Cartee says. “I had several friends who kept referring to me as a leatherman or leatherperson, and I had no idea what they were talking about. About three or four years ago, I started looking into it.”
In August last year, Cartee was approached by a lady who wanted to start up a local chapter of the National Leather Association. There was the National Leather Association of Central Florida, but that’s located in Tampa. She wanted something specifically for Orlando to help expand and solidify the community. The woman asked for Cartee’s support in forming a local chapter, so he helped gather signatures. He managed to get 13 signatures in two days.
He eventually helped form the chapter. At the first meeting to discuss bylaws, the charter and officers, he was elected as the co-chair of the National Leather Association Orlando.
“What we are trying to do with NLA-O is try to bring some cohesion to the Orlando area and the Orlando leatherfolk,” Cartee says.
Cartee never saw himself as a leader, but has loved the opportunity that being the outgoing co-chair of NLA-O has given him.
“To me, it’s about service to something greater than yourself, leaving this world a little better a place for the next group to come through,” says Cartee.
Cartee’s girlfriend of two year is also involved in the leather community, and he describes their relationship as a very powerful one.
“We have a dominant-submissive relationship with power exchange,” Cartee says. “It’s not always apparent because she’s a cheeky brat, so that’s fun. We’re growing into a master-slave relationship and continuing to deepen our power exchange in our relationship.”
Cartee says when there were many misconceptions and conclusions drawn about him in the leather community as a heterosexual male. Today, he says it’s easier to educate about the community and tries to have them see beyond their expectations.
“There’s a misunderstanding of what the leather community is even inside the leather community,” Cartee says. “If you ask three leather people what the leather community is, you’re going to have five or six different opinions. I think I rattled off two or three already.”
He hopes that through the creation and growth of NLA-O, the Orlando leather community will become more like a brotherhood and the community will become more cohesive instead of being very private.
“It is, in many ways, your leather is not necessarily my leather,” says Cartee. “But your leather is okay.”
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