Biography

Riley Johnson is a Chicago-based educator, scholar, and bootblack. His scholarly work focuses largely on health care disparities within gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and queer (GLBTQ) communities. He is the proud founder of the Queer People's Health Collective, which seeks to educate patients about their bodies and their options while working with healthcare providers to better meet the needs of their GLBTQ clients.

As an apprentice to Leslie Anderson (IMsBB 1999) and Suka Malone (IMsBB 2005), Riley honed his bootblacking skills and later competed for the International Mr. Bootblack 2006 title. He returned this year to serve on staff at both IML and International Mr. Bootblack contests. Riley is a volunteer and voting member of the Leather Archives and Museum, where he is currently overseeing their vast collection of pins and buttons. In the future, Riley hopes to create a leather mentorship and skillshare program, creating better connections between the generations of our global leather family.

He is greatly honored to be a part of Mama's Family as Mama's Switch Hitter and was recently awarded the Great Lakes Bootblack 2007 title.