It’s ‘Pecs ‘n’ Personality Day at International Mr Gay Leather in Chicago, Ireland’s representative, Conor Vaughan-Buggy is a bundle of nerves.

Mmmmm! Tic Tacs and water are the order of the day! I’m having a Ru Pauls Drag Race feast for my breakfast because it’s Pecs and Personality day, the day all my leather brothers have been pretty much dreading. You know that dream where you suddenly realise you are on-stage and naked? Well, that’s pretty much what we’ll all feel like today, but instead of pure nakedness we’ll have the added luxury of a jockstrap.

We’ll get marched onto stage and asked a random question by the compere, based on something from our application. You are supposed to attempt to show your personality, humour and grace with your answer!

I hope I don’t get asked anything about my profession. I have no idea how to turn environmental health and safety into a funny topic! Maybe I can distract them by stuffing a sock down my jock. Or by doing what my good friend Q Ellis Lee, Mr. New York Eagle plans on doing – a deathdrop!

Suffice it to say we are all pretty nervous about this, but it’s part of the fun. Whenever in my life will I get the opportunity to prance around on stage pretty much naked in front of hundreds of men? I can guarantee I will be exhausted tonight, mostly from nervous tension. But tomorrow is the big big day, the finals. So I better get some sleep!

Pictured above: The European contestants