Bri Burning - 1

My First Gifted Leather: A Vest, A Journey, A Home

In 2016, after years of dedication, growth, and service that started in 2010, my leather brother, The Facilitator, gifted me my first leather vest. That moment was more than an achievement. It was a recognition of who I had become and an honoring of those who came before me. Through my journey of found family at the SF Citadel, a deep desire bloomed within me to preserve and share the legacy of our leather through storytelling. I earned my leather by living it through service, humility, mistakes, and persistence. I found purpose in community, strength in vulnerability, and power in submission.

The gifting ceremony took place in my small one-bedroom apartment in Concord, CA, tucked out in the far East Bay. That little space transformed into something sacred as it filled with the energy of my leather family and closest friends, including my first Dominant, who had become my chosen family. Their presence surrounded me with care, celebration, and love. Their words wrapped around me like a second skin, reminding me that I was enough. That I had earned this moment. That I belonged. I felt the depth of their belief in me and in all the growth I had fought for.

The vest itself was purchased from Leather Etc. in San Francisco, my home community. Over the years, it has become a living tapestry of my journey. It is adorned with event pins, titleholder pins, club pins, and one of the most meaningful pieces: my first Dominant’s very first pin, an heirloom of her history, gifted to me as a symbol of our bond. It carries the spirit of the communities that held me close and helped me grow, including the Hardpink Sisterhood and the SF girls of Leather.

This vest has been worn during play, in deep late-night discussions, through relationship transitions, and in both the most beautiful and the most difficult moments of my life. It has held my body while my heart was breaking and wrapped around me in moments of joy and connection. It has been a witness to vulnerability, healing, and becoming.

Leather is personal. It is adjustable, both physically and metaphorically. There is no one true way. Each of us builds our path brick by brick, stitch by stitch, with the experiences, choices, and values that speak to our souls. That vest, and the journey behind it, reflects mine.

This vest is more than clothing, and this leather goes deeper than skin. It holds every tear, every scar, every lesson. It honors those who believed in me when I couldn’t believe in myself. It brings people closer together, bearing not just my story, but the stories of others, of their love, laughter, and loss.

I am forever grateful to my leather family, mentors, and community for sharing their histories and hearts with me. I wear this leather not just for myself but for all of us who live and love in the name of leather.