In the waning hours of 2024, I find myself resisting reflection. Mostly because I’m coming out of a spate of holiday dysthymia. Staring at a darkened Christmas tree, I’m ready to pack the lights and colourful spheres away and begin the business of starting another year.

If I were to characterize 2024, I’d say that it was a year of great things, hard lessons, and remarkable exploration.

Rather than harp on negatives, I strive to view hard experiences as opportunities to learn. Granted, I’m not always successful at this but it’s something I’ve grown accustomed to doing, trying to do. 2024 was a year that allowed me to learn a lot of things about myself. More specifically, I learned how to establish boundaries, assert them, and uphold them.

In 2024, I learned hard lessons in relationships, realizing I needed to figure out how to hold on to my narrative and not allow my story to be commandeered by others no matter how well-meaning the intent. Whereas I learned how to let others in, I learned not to let everyone who showed some form of kindness in. I had to let go of a connection that was wholly nurturing and experimental, exciting and explorative yet majorly one-sided. I’ve never returned a gift but have determined I need to do so to achieve closure.

In 2024, I found new connections and strived to foster them: Washington D.C., Portland, Toronto, Australia. I did a fair amount of traveling stateside with CLAW 24 in Cleveland, Leather Pride in Palm Springs, and GALA in Minneapolis. Each event saw me connecting with familiar folx and forging ties with new ones.

2024 saw me strengthen connections with the Leather Community locally by attending events in Sacramento and San Francisco. Conducting impact/sensation play demos at Sacramento Pride, attending the Leather Invasion, going for cigars at the Bolt and the SF Eagle, cohosting BLUF events, attending play parties with the 15 Association, meetings with MAsT. I have to say that there was not a year as active as 2024 when it came to engaging my Leather Life.

As for Leather, 2024 saw me embracing my Leather Self completely. I’m quite certain I wore some form of Leather nearly everyday of the year. Taking a wise Master’s words to heart, I geared up and showed up and ended up inspiring folx around me to express their Authentic Selves. I wore gear to rehearsals, I wore gear to Sunday brunches, to recovery meetings, to the store to pick up ramen, to visit my Pup’s family. There needn’t’ve been a special reason to wear gear other than to wear what felt right. Leather was my armor, it was my statement to the world that I am a proud gay Leatherman.

I think the biggest achievement in 2024 was taking the big steps in establishing my presence with this website and working to craft it to my liking. To date, it has been a remarkably fulfilling labour of love and I have no immediate plans to stop writing. In fact, I’ve got ideas coming down the pike as far as content goes and am excited to be sharing with you out there.

The catalyst for this Dominant’s diary was to address a need I saw for the Dominant’s narrative to be told from the Dominant’s perspective. Over the course of the year, my focus has honed onto not only telling the Dominant story but to also inject the Indigenous storyline into the Leather collective. I believe there is immense value in representation and am motivated to begin expressing my Indigeneity in the future.

If you’re looking for Sir to list out “resolutions”, you won’t find that here. I’ve never been a proponent of resolutions or age-based “life goals” (i.e., I need to be married with 97 children and own 43 houses by the time I’m 35.). Instead, I strive to look forward with a sense of hope, a deeper sense of caution, and an openness to experiences positive and negative. I leave my mind open to learning, my heart to loving and loss, and my life to those who’s lives I’ve been fortunate to be a part of.

Whatever your end-of-year/new year traditions, I hope you find peace, drive, and purpose to pursue the things your Heart truly desires. Keep your head up, your eyes peeled, and your Life open to all the world has to offer.

Here’s to 2025.

Yours In Leather,
Sir Aaron Wolf