In her project Celtic Leathermen, Welsh photographer Ocean Elani documents leather-clad guys hanging out in the post-industrial areas of the Welsh Valleys, Cardiff, and Glasgow. The leather community is normally reduced to fetish and sexuality, but I think there’s a much bigger story in the identity, resilience, and belonging of being a part of a community like the leathermen. Yeah, it sort of came from this idea of people in the [gay] community wanting to appear hyper-masculine. That’s when I got the idea of making the link between industrial heritage and the leather community, and about how the leather community has had to be quite underground—like mining in Wales, which was also underground. Follow Ocean Elani on Instagram @oceanelani.photosFollow Nick Thompson on Instagram @niche_t_The post All-Weather Celtic Leathermen appeared first on VICE.