Xposed Toronto

1 – I finally popped Becca’s cherry with her first Bear night at the Black Eagle. I once said to my friend Robbie, sitting at the Black Eagle on a weeknight so he could get passes to Steamworks for ordering a beer (some promo), that it smelled faintly like a nutsack inside, to which Robbie replied, “I know, isn’t it awesome?” Becca came out with the same enthusiasm for the bear community and some fantastic pics — like this one of Brandon and Gilbert cold maxin’ at Underbear.

2 – James and Brad are so deliciously cute that it hurts to look at their utter joy at having their snap taken. The Underbear party was part leather/bear/denim party for aficionados of the hairy-chested ones, but it was also a fundraiser for the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation. One of the best parts of our community is how much fun we have with community outreach. Breast Cancer fundraisers, take note.

3 – Becca asked what’s the difference between a bear and a cub other than age. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say size also factors. General size, that is. But there’s also this leather side of things where I often see men in leather with their big, burly bear boyfriends. I would definitely call them bear cubs. Here are three men who have defo cubbed a tone time or another: Randy, Paul and Josh, dipping cocktails and wearing their colours with pride.

4 – Now that Krudar, the Muay Thai gym, has settled into the market, they’re starting to throw parties. Fights are called demos in Toronto because the governing body tries as hard as possible to take all the fun out of the fights (unless, of course, they’re making money from it). But really, we know what’s up. Janice (right), pictured here with Sophia, was one of the organizers of the recent *cough* demos at Krudar. She also fought. No winner was announced, but judging by the smiles, there were a lot of wins there that night.

5 – Jaana and Sarah are members at Krudar as well, wearing their club shirts, which is oh so popular among fight-sport enthusiasts. Side bar: notice how Sarah looks a lot like a young Drew Barrymore. The next event for Krudar is Oct 26, and it’s called Fright Night. After, there’s a costume party for that old Halloween thing.

6 – So Elizabeth is pretty damn hot. Like whoa, when do you see sparkly headbands and leather high-waisted skirts at fight night in Toronto? If I were being crass, I’d say this: I’d hit it.

7 – These two jerks, Mikka and Erin, are friends of mine. They are smart and fun and don’t take any shit. In media we call women like this “battleaxes,” but in my heart we call them “lovely.” Long live tough ladies; they are the sexiest ones out there.