Meet Zephyr: The First Trans Winner of The Eagle NYC's Annual Leather Title
How a 29-year-old leather enthusiast is reshaping New York's premiere leather bar and advocating for trans inclusion in kink spaces
All photos by Steven Harwick for Bound Leather Zine
When Zephyr (they/them) stepped into the Eagle NYC for the first time in 2019, they couldn't have imagined that just a few years later, they would make history as the bar's first transgender Mr. Eagle. But on October 6, 2024, that's exactly what happened when they were crowned Mr. Eagle 2025, marking a watershed moment for trans visibility in New York's leather community.
At 29, Zephyr represents a new generation of leather title holders who are reimagining what leadership in the community can look like. Born in Queens and raised in California, their journey into leather began unexpectedly early. "I was like 3 or 4 years old when I got my first leather piece," they recalled. "It was just this leather baseball cap that I saw on vacation. I was crying and begging my parents to get it, and I wore the hell out of that hat."
That early affinity for leather would lay dormant until Zephyr returned to New York as an adult. In 2019, dating a pup led them to their first visit to the Eagle for a "Pup and Handler" event. While that first experience had its challenges ("Some of those pups were bitches," they noted with a laugh), Zephyr found their community through events like INTO, a monthly party that centers trans and gender-expansive people.
Now, as Mr. Eagle, Zephyr is focused on making the space more accessible to trans people while honoring its history. They've taken over hosting INTO on second Sundays and launched "Trans Invasion" nights on fourth Thursdays. "My main thing is I want to make it easier for trans people to check out the Eagle," they explained. "For those who are like, 'this is my space,' I want them to feel very easy. And for those who are like, 'I want to check it out, and I'm not sure if it's for me,' I want to help them figure that out."
Zephyr's approach to inclusion comes from personal experience. "I benefit a lot from passing pretty well," they acknowledged. "People often don't know [I'm trans]. But it does make it easier for me to access these spaces, so using that sort of positionality of like - you don't know who is [trans] - kind of opens it up with like 'we're here, we're cool too.'"
The significance of having a trans person advocate for trans inclusion isn't lost on Zephyr. "As a trans person, I can be a little more passionate about speaking on inclusion because this isn't just theory - this is my lived reality," they explained. "If people were shitty to me about being trans every time I went to the Eagle, I probably wouldn't go."
Beyond trans advocacy, Zephyr works at an HIV/AIDS nonprofit as a testing counselor and plans to organize AIDS Walk fundraisers. They're also preparing to compete at International Mr. Leather (IML) in Chicago, where they could potentially join the ranks of Tyler McCormick and Jack Thompson as trans IML title holders.
Zephyr's win reflects broader changes in the leather community. They note that title holders are getting younger, partly due to greater accessibility through online communities and porn helping people discover their interests earlier. But their philosophy remains grounded in showing up and being present: "You make up the space by being there," they emphasized. "I will belong in this space because I'm going to show up, and by nature of showing up, I belong."
Looking ahead, Zephyr sees their role as building on the work of recent Mr. Eagle winners like Pup Kenzo (2022) and Chris Kelly (2023), who have worked to expand perceptions of what the leather community can be. "I want everyone in because there are things that I wanted to do to make it inclusive," they said. "Winning makes it easier for me to do the things I would like to see at the Eagle."
