The leather and fetish scene is traditionally very present at CSD Salzburg –and this year was no exception. gaysalzburg.at accompanied the colourful group at the photo shoot in Mirabell Gardens and then had the opportunity to talk to Markus, the reigning Mr Fetish Austria.

gaysalzburg.at: Markus, what made you decide to run for the office of Mr Leather Austria? MFA Markus: To apply for the title of Mr Fetish/Mr Leather Austria, I actually had to go through a second coming out. I was met with a lot of incomprehension and headwind. Fetish was labelled as ‘not normal’ even by friends who were in a relationship with another man. That’s when I realised that there was so little visible and so little public information on the subject of fetish. I wanted to change that and this title was the medium of choice.

“We don’t need to be ashamed“

gaysalzburg.at: How long have you held this title? MFA Markus: I’ve been there since May 2024. There were three primaries, one each in Linz, Salzburg and Graz and the election itself in Vienna. I think I was able to pick people up with the concept of visualisation. In the public perception, fetish belongs in the basement, where you can’t see it. And a safe space like that is also important. But that doesn’t mean you have to be ashamed of it – just because nobody knows anything about it, because people simply aren’t informed.

gaysalzburg.at: What is the difference between a Mister Fetish and a Mr Leather? MFA Markus: Austria is a relatively small country. But even here you need a national title to be able to take part in the election for Mr Leather Europe or International Mr Leather. So in Austria we have found the pragmatic solution that the elected Mr can choose whether he appears as Mr Leather or Mr Fetish. I myself am a leather man. But this grouping with its exclusive focus on leather is perhaps no longer really in keeping with the times. There are so many more fetishes than leather. We should be able to publicly represent everything in the fetish sector, which includes leather.

gaysalzburg.at: How does – after three months – your everyday life as Mr Fetish Austria look like? MFA Markus: I’m actually from Burgenland, but Vienna has been my home for 23 years. Diversity and outgoing are of course much easier there than in the Catholic south. Of course, I have a job that I can make a living from. And in my role as Mr Fetish Austria, I have attended 17 events in 8 cities in just over 3 months, many of them in Vienna. My job is to spread the message of making fetish visible in the country.

gaysalzburg.at: Do you see the Stonewall Riots in New York in 1969 as a political obligation for your office? MFA Markus: That’s a point that is often neglected. Which people were the first to stand up for our rights in New York? They were trans people, drag queens and leathermen. Today – it seems to me – it is precisely these groups that are being marginalised again. This includes all fetishes that fall outside the bourgeois framework. That annoys me. And that’s why I show up at Pride parades all over the country. After Vienna, I’ve been to Graz, Innsbruck, St. Pölten and now Salzburg. And Kufstein is still to come. Education works when you approach people. It’s frightening how little knowledge and how big the prejudices are about fetishes in Austria.

gaysalzburg.at: Markus, good luck with your mission and thank you very much for the interview. The interview was conducted by Peter Goebel.

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Today at lunchtime (7 September), various fetish friends met in Mirabell Gardens for a photo shoot. Among them: leathermen, construction workers, puppies and three sisters of the Perpetual Indulgence.

The Pride Parade continues today at 5pm. From 8pm there will be a meet & greet of the leather and fetish scene in the basement of ARGE Kultur before DJ Ambjörn Söderberg delivers another brilliant set at the fetish clubbing.