Leatherman Will wasn’t the first choice to be Mr. Ramrod, but he’s turning out to be the right choice. He finds himself in the odd position of ascending to the title well after the contest banners were taken down and the crowd dispersed.

The original winner, Scott Jordan, has elected not to fulfill the duties. Sources inside the contest told Out South Florida that he abruptly left a promotional event and resigned the title shortly thereafter.

While he was shocked that he now holds the title, he says not winning the first time around was a positive.

“When I am open and willing to identify the weaknesses I have, I have the opportunity to become better. That is the gift!”

During contest weekend in October, one of the tasks was to curate a gift basket and sell raffle tickets. Will did not create one basket – he created 12.

“I met with different people in the community from each of our leather segments,” he said. “The 12 baskets I gathered you saw on the pool table were from the different segments of the community to show inclusion for everyone.”

He was 22 years old and visiting Fort Lauderdale when Ramrod became the first leather bar he ever visited. Will’s goal for his reign as the bar’s signature titleholder is to increase inclusivity in the leather community.

That’s a message he’ll carry with him when he represents Ramrod at International Mister Leather (IML) in Chicago this spring. He attended IML this past May and left more inspired than ever.

“After IML this year, I left there with what the last speech said by Marcus Barele, the new International Mister Leather ‘become a superhero in your community’ and that’s what I’m trying to do!”

“I am a dreamer, and I am a realist. The dreamer in me hopes to unite us all as one. The realist in me realizes you cannot make everyone happy, but I will do my best to make sure that everyone feels that they can belong if they chose.”