Spotlight

Spotlight of the Month: Nikki A. glaze, Ms. SouthEast LeatherFest 2025

Nikki A. glaze (she/her/femme), widely known as babyglaze, is a proud Black, Queer-Femme, Leather-being. she walks through the world as a babygirl, slayv, and sacred servant — blending kink, clinical care, and community-rooted leadership into a lifestyle of intentional impact.

With over a decade of experience in the BDSM, Kink, and Leather communities, glaze is a nationally recognized organizer, presenter, and educator who curates alternative-affirming spaces where people of color and marginalized identities are not only welcomed but centered. Since 2012, her work has included producing munches, classes, and immersive rituals that uplift intersectional voices in Leather and Kink, with an emphasis on spirituality, consent, healing, and erotic freedom.

As a Clinical Mental Health Counselor and NBCC-certified Counselor, glaze specializes in trauma-informed care, addictions, and co-occurring disorders. she weaves therapeutic knowledge into her kink leadership by anchoring her service in ethical engagement, spiritual affirmation, and deep respect for power exchange. her unique lens draws from Black Studies, Sociology, systems thinking, and diverse therapeutic modalities — offering layered insight into the psychology of submission, service, shadow work, and communal liberation.

From Brooklyn to Seattle, Philly to Atlanta, glaze has rooted herself in spaces that demand courage, tenderness, and complexity. she has presented at international conferences like MsC Worldwide, and THRIVE and has cultivated community through groups like MAsT Philadelphia, Black Atlanta Munch (BAM), and MAsT Thomson. she is also founder of The Black Kink Network and a featured leader within her common spaces.

In June 2025, glaze was honored with the title of Ms. SouthEast Leather Fest 2025, representing the Southeast region with a theme of self-actualization, communal liberation, and affirmation through kink, Leather, and spirituality. her title year centers on championing trauma-aware practices, creating protected spaces for healing and joy, and celebrating identity through rituals of devotion, submission, and resistance.

Known for her signature presence — both playful and reverent — babyglaze is a rites-of-passage offering in motion. Through her work, she reminds us that Leather is not just about pain or protocol, but about the sacred responsibility to witness, uplift, and transform.