Fourteen years ago, Woodie Barnes saw Jeff McWhirter at the Suncoast Resort during the Drummer contest and knew he wanted to meet the man who, at the time, lived in Pasco County.
“I was with a bunch of other boys cruising daddies, and saw him,” Barnes remembers.
Ever since then, the two men have been a couple, and an extremely active part in Tampa Bay’s leather community and run a Drummer regional feeder contest at the Flamingo Resort.
They may be one of the most recognized couples in the leather community, and both are very willing to explain the dynamics of their relationship and the roles they play among their peers.
McWhirter, 60, is the dominant member of the couple while Barnes, 49, is more submissive. But that doesn’t mean Boy Woodie can’t speak his mind.
“He’s dominant in and out of the house,” Barnes explains. “But I can speak my mind, share my thoughts freely and serve as a title holder.”
Barnes won the title of Mr. Code in March of 2014 and is International Drummer Boy 1999 and Pantheon’s Man of the Year 2001.
For McWhirter, the role of Daddy is a natural fit, and it should be. He is the father of two from a previous marriage to a woman. When he first stepped into the leather community he quickly identified with the title of “Sir.” His protective instincts made the transition to “Daddy” that much easier.
“I support marriage equality because if something happened to me, I’d want [Boy Woodie] to be protected,” says McWhirter, who adds that the two have a living will. “That is extremely important to me.
Woodie says his role as “boy” developed over several years. Long before he met McWhirter, he was in a Master/Slave relationship and he escaped that role after a play session turned too dark.
“I was gang raped in a play scene after I spoke out about something,” Barnes recalls. “He punished me by letting his friends go at me. It was nasty and abusive.”
Today, Daddy Jeff and Boy Woodie happily live in St. Petersburg and both are on disability. Barnes, however, is a co-host of a leather-themed show on GSH Radio, which broadcasts from the Flamingo Resort every Wednesday. Both men are focused on their new contest, North Florida Drummer, which will take place in the spring of 2015.
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