Bootblacking 101

Andrew McDiarmid has two big passions in his life. He explored the first in his book, the fictional collection Smoke: Cigars and the Men That Enjoy Them. In this book, he explains his second. You see bootblacks everywhere at leather events, setting up their kits, snapping their towels and getting intimate with those black leather erogonous zones that cover the feet of leatherfolk. McDiarmid may even have buffed your gear at sometime or another. He competed in the International Mr. Bootblack Contest at IML in 1997 and 1998, coming in third in 1997. In his Bootblacking 101, McDiarmid goes through not just the how, but the why. Step by step, you'll hear from the blacker's box not just what you need to do to make that leather shine, but why you feel that magnetic attraction to the scent of the polish and the sweat. Step inside. Discover the Tao of the Bootblack.