Robert Valin
Robert Valin is a born and bred New Yorker. He won the title of Mr. Eagle NYC 2005, moving on to compete at IML and finishing in the top 10 of his class - an experience that has profoundly changed his life. Following his title year, Robert created Leather Invasion: Social Events for the Kink Community, to bring about new and alternative ways for those interested in the lifestyle to socialize, while making our presence known to mainstream society – “out of the confines of a dark bar environment and into the public light.” Described by many as a "Kinky Critical Mass," past invasions have included NYC's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), ice skating in Central Park, IKEA, Top of the Rock, the lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, Six Flags, Starbucks and The Smithsonian in Washington DC, to name a few.
In February 2007 Robert was awarded the Pantheon of Leather Award for Excellence in Community Service. As an advocate for the advancement of queer youth empowerment, Robert has worked alongside such organizations as Teen's Prepared for Life, Live Out Loud, The Harvey Milk School and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force. He has been a committee member of NYC's annual Leather Pride Night, is a returning panel member at The Eulenspiegel Society (TES), a contributor to The BDSM Community Forum. Robert is also the founder of East Coast Leather Town Hall and is "Head Honcho" and creative director of New York Leather Weekend (newyorkleatherweekend.com). A self-proclaimed Leather Bear, Robert runs Truck Stop (truckstopparty.com), the popular monthly party catering to the Leather & Bear crowd as well as Urban Bear Weekend NYC (urbanbearweekend.com), celebrating it's second year this May.
As a graphic artist, in 2009 Robert launched URSA Creative (ursacreative.com), which aims to bring together creative artists to offer services that cater to the unique and specialized needs of our community. A professional voice-over artist for radio, film and television, his work can be heard worldwide (robertvalin.com). He served as judge for Mr. New Jersey Leather 2006 and Mr. Leatherman Toronto 2009, and is humbled and speechless (a rare feat) to have the honor of judging International Mr. Leather 2010.
Best of luck to all the contestants and enjoy the ride!
