General
Blue Max promotes Leather-Levi traditions throughout the Greater St. Louis area and offers educational, social, and charitable activities serving the LGBT+ community.
Blue Max sponsors club nights and events monthly and actively works with other St. Louis LGBT organizations, bars, and venues to promote the leather community.
Events often have a leather, fetish, kink, or BDSM theme. The club assists with various charitable causes in the area that assist families affected by HIV/AIDS.
All Blue Max members promote, manage, and further the goals and activities of the club. Anyone is invited to attend meetings, club nights, or any event to learn more of have fun.
Blue Max Cycle Club, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations that is eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contribution.
History
Blue Max Cycle Club was founded in 1975 by a group led by Jerry Wickham and later reorganized by Bob Garrett. The club’s original home bar was the Red Bull in East St. Louis, Illinois. In 1978, Blue Max moved to the Mine Shaft, located downstairs at Faces in East St. Louis, followed by Clementines in St. Louis in 1980. In 1993, the club made the Outpost in St. Louis its home bar
During the late 1990s, the Outpost closed and later reopened as the Eagle. The Outpost/Eagle closed again in December 1999 and reopened six months later under new management as the Eagle in Exile, becoming Blue Max’s home bar on June 1, 2000. That same year, JJ’s Clubhouse opened in June 2000 in The Grove neighborhood of St. Louis and later became Blue Max’s home bar, serving as such from 2000 until its closure in 2021. Today, Blue Max rotates among LGBTQ+ owned and affirming businesses throughout the St. Louis area as a way to better support and strengthen the community.
In the club’s early years, Blue Max joined other local clubs in holding joint runs, including Gateway M.C., Spirits of St. Louis, and Bacchus. By mid-1982, each club began hosting its own individual runs. Now, more than five decades later, Blue Max is proud to be the longest surviving leather club in St. Louis.
Blue Max has a long history of inclusivity and leadership within the leather community. In 1992, the club became the first St. Louis leather club to admit women and trans members. In 2020, Blue Max again led by example, becoming the first club in the region to establish an official puppy membership with the formation of the Blue Max Kennel Club.
In March 2020, just days after the annual Blue Max Kilt Night and Best Legs Contest, the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As clubs and organizations across the globe faced unprecedented challenges, then-President Adam Shaw helped guide Blue Max through a difficult period with innovation and resilience. Virtual socials and club nights kept members connected and strengthened ties with clubs across the region. When in-person gatherings slowly returned, socially distanced patio cigar nights became the new norm.
Now, in 2025, Blue Max has grown to include more than 40 full, auxiliary, associate, honorary, and alumni members. We proudly welcome back our predecessors, honor those we have lost, and continue building on the foundation they created.
Blue Max Cycle Club promotes Leather-Levi traditions throughout the Greater St. Louis area and offers educational, social, and charitable activities in service to the LGBTQ+ community. We are proud members of the Mid-America Conference of Clubs and remain committed to brotherhood, inclusion, and giving back.
