International Mr. Leather 2003, and second-time Thunder presenter, John Pendal, is a 36 year old leatherman and SM player from London, United Kingdom. In May 2003 John became the 25th person (and the first Brit ever) to win the annual "International Mr. Leather" contest in Chicago. He spent his IML year traveling full-time to leather events in 28 cities across America, Europe and Canada. He also raffled off his first prize IML Harley Davidson motorcycle and raised a total of$22,000 which he split equally between the Leather Archives and Museum in Chicago, IL. and the Spanner Trust in the UK. The Spanner Trust is an organization which is lobbying to change archaic laws in the UK tomake consensual SM legal, even when an injury might occur. It also serves to provide assistance to those Brits whose BDSM activities have landed them in legal hot water.

Since stepping down from his IML title at the end of 2003, John has continued to travel to leather events across the world teaching SM classes, giving speeches and workshops on behalf of the Spanner Trust, or serving as an emcee at leather contests. John has taught SM classes at Minnesota Leather Pride, Kinkfest 2 in London, Palm Springs Leather Pride, Leather Camp II in Wichita, Mr Leatherman Toronto and at last year's Thunder in the Mountains. He has been a columnist for www.Leatherpage.com since June 2003 and was the closing keynote speaker at the Leather Leadership Conference in Minneapolis in 2007. He is proud to be an Associate member of the Chicago Hellfire Club and attends Inferno regularly. In May 2004 John became a Trustee of the Spanner Trust, and from September 2005 he served one year as its Chairman. He is an official supporter of the Revise F-65 Project based in Norway, which aims to remove the diagnoses of Fetishism, Fetishistic Transvestitism and Sadomasochism from the International Classification of Diseases published by the World Health Organization.

John has lived with his partner, Dave, for fifteen years, and on May 13, 2006, they registered as Civil Partners, which grants them the same rights as married couples in the UK. It is with great excitement and anticipation that we welcome John Pendal back to Denver all the way from England to join us for our 11th anniversary of Thunder in the Mountains. For more information please visit John's personal website at http://www.iml2003.com

 

 

 

 

 

Rope Bondage for Beginners
 Bottom: TBD

If you have ever wanted to tie up your partner or even a good-looking stranger but have never had the confidence to try, then this is the class for you! In this Bondage 101 class, John Pendal will show you how to make a simple rope gag, handcuffs to be used for quick scenes, and another set of handcuffs to be used for long term sessions. He will demonstrate a basic hogtie and some other simple techniques which you can develop into your own style of play. There will not be lots of knots to learn, but you will receive an abundance of basic information which will start you down that wonderful and exciting road to more elaborate and involved bondage play. But more than that, there will be laughs! John promises to make this seminar as fun and enjoyable as it is informative. All beginners are welcome and encouraged to attend. And if you have a short to medium length piece of rope lying around your room or in your play bag, please bring it along! You will get a chance to use it!
 
The $10 Dungeon
 Bottom: TBD

Many people in the scene think that in order to enjoy great play you have to have lots of equipment, many expensive implements, and a well stocked dungeon in which to entertain your “guests.” Last year at Thunder John taught "Unarmed BDSM” – “things you can do with just the human body"—and stuck a pin in this misconception. He showed us how we can use just our body to enjoy hot, intense play, and this meant spending no money at all. This year in his basic BDSM 101 class, The $10 Dungeon, John will discuss and show how you can have a great play scene with a cheap budget of $10. From boot laces to beef jerky—from chilli peppers to chopsticks—and from “ice sounds” to Mexican Hot sauce, he will inspire your imagination to create some of the most fun and entertaining scenes you have ever experienced spending less money than most bars charge for just one mixed drink. John is a master of drawing upon the most everyday items to satisfy even your elaborate kinks. So, if you want to get the most out of a very cheap date, then this is a seminar you won’t want to miss.