11 June 2015 Marks the 25th anniversary of the very first BootCo. event – a party downstairs at Fortitude Valley’s Terminus nightclub. The evening was billed as a recovery party at the end of the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, and featured live music supplied by DJ Les Smith, and a raunchy show.
In the 25 years that have passed since this first event, BootCo. has become one of the most popular and visible leather groups in Australia. This could only have happened with the continued support of the club’s membership, who has always ensured the club has moved from strength to strength.
For example, when BootCo. struck hard ground in the mid-1990s that could have resulted in the club’s collapse, it was the members who banded together to restructure the club and give it another chance to grow. Again in the late 2000s when the club’s executive saw the opportunity to expand the club’s focus to include fetish and kink, it was our members who welcomed first-timers into the space and fostered a safe and encouraging environment for men to express themselves. As a first-time visitor to the club’s pub nights only a year ago, I can certainly vouch that despite the many things that intrigued me, it was the welcoming, unpretentious atmosphere that ultimately gave me the confidence to return time and time again.
In this month (and year) of celebration, it is important to remember how each and every one of us has shaped the club’s growth. Since 1990, we have donated nearly $60,000 to charitable causes, rallied and celebrated at the Brisbane Pride Fair and Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and played an active part in demystifying leather and fetish culture to the wider community. All these things would not have been possible without the dedicated support of members throughout the years.
I look forward to seeing you at Attention and the very special 25th anniversary Leather Dinner this month. Why not bring someone new along, and show them what BootCo. really is about?
Tim Roberts.
Committee Member
