Meet Montreal-based, body positive kink and fashion shop MistR Bear!

4th June 2021 Kyle Jackson

EveryBODY deserves to look great in their kink and fetish gear, and MistR Bear is here to make sure that they do!

MistR Bear is a Montreal-based LGBTQ + company that makes 90% of its merchandise, with a sewing workshop and boutique located in the heart of the gay village of Montreal! Whether you’re a kinky Bear or a pup in need of a custom hood, MistR Bear has you covered.

The store’s mission is to emphasize that every body is perfect despite its differences and that no one should judge your physical appearance. You are a perfect example of a standard of beauty! No matter if you are XS or 4XL, MistR Bear has something that will suit you just right.

We recently had a chat with MistR Bear co-founder Chris Boudreau to discuss their original creations, their dedication to serving the kink and pup communities, their commitment to promoting body positivity, and their thoughts on whether or not kink should be allowed at Pride.

Kyle Jackson: Can you tell us a bit about your background?

Chris Boudreau: Well, MistR Bear was started by two partners – Me, Chris Boudreau, and my friend Jonathan Grandolfo. I am a business owner and proud defender of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and Jo is the designer. He is doing a wonderful job as a designer for everything that we have.

We are getting some great ideas and Jo, with his talent and magic hands, designs the patterns and manages to get everything done with our wonderful team. We carry sizes XS to 4 XL, because as I say all the time: Beauty come in every size! We are always looking for the best products and quality for our clothing line, both the fashion one and the fetish one.

We are two guys from Montreal that met trough the fetish community. Jo was a well-recognized designer because he has done dresses and costumes for the drag industry and showbusiness industry for years.

I asked him to design my leather clothes because, as a big man, it was hard to find clothes that fit the way I wanted them to. I’m really picky, so that’s where the friendship started.

I’m from an Acadian background and I’m a life coach and therapist during the day. I have always wanted to own a business, and I have had a few successful businesses in the past. But this time I wanted to have something a bit more special; something that involves my community. I knew there was a place for us, and that’s where the idea started to grow.

Chris Boudreau, co-founder of Mistr Bear

KJ: What made you decide that you wanted to create fetish and kink gear?

CB: It all started in 2017 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I was on vacation with Jo and his boyfriend Luca. We had bought swimsuit from another company that does clothing for bears, but the problem was that the colors were fading on mine and was not flattering on me – and neither was Jo’s.

Since we had recently been injured in a little accident, we were taking it easy on the beach. I was people watching on the beach — especially the Bears – And I noticed everyone seemed extremely uncomfortable in their bathing suits. Many were tugging at them, pulling up their shorts or pulling down their tank tops, etc.

I said to Jo: ‘Is it possible to make clothing that’s of good quality, something for us Bears that would fit us just right?’ We talked as I wrote some numbers on a piece of paper and started to think about a pop-up shop. However, we want to do everything. We wanted to create original designs.

When we came back to the idea, we decide to go big and start MistR Bear. It was originally an idea just for Bears, but everyone loved it so much that we had need to make clothes for everyone: Men, women, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming, straight and everyone in between. Everyone is welcome to our shop!

We decided to create a fetish line first before branching out into a fashion line, since I was in the fetish community and Jo was starting to get more into the community as well. We wanted to create nice, original items while exploring new fabrics, such as neoprene.

KJ: When taking a look at your site, you can see that you produce lots of pup gear. Are you a member or advocate for the pup community?

CB: Woof! I’m a pup! Actually, I’m a hybrid between a pup and a Bear so, as a friend of mine once said, I’m just a Beast! Jo and I are both part of the community, so we are always proud defenders of it!

Of course, being a pup myself, I wanted to create stuff for me and my puppy friends. Jo designed some new gear ideas that were fun to create – and the puppies loved them!

So yes, we are innovators in the pet community because we re-invented pet gear. We are the original creator/inventor of the K9 hood, the half hood for puppies. We decided after that to add the K-TY series, for all the kitties of this wonderful pet world! We also added both the K-BEAR and the K-WOLF series.

We are the only business in Canada that provides neoprene fetish clothing and pet play gear. And we always do it the MistR Bear way: by sewing and designing each piece one by one!

KJ: As a company that produces fetish and kink gear, how do you feel about the idea that kink should not be a part of pride?

CB: I’ve always had an inclusive side. Why would we divide what we and the ones before us fought so hard for? The pioneers of pride always fought for inclusivity, respect and love, and so do we at MistR Bear.

Not being inclusive is like saying to your family members ‘We don’t like what you are’ or ‘We are not ok with it so you can’t celebrate diversity.’ Pride is for everyone! No gender, body, orientation, color or religion should be discriminated against. Everyone has the right to be proud of themselves, kinky or not.

The 2SLGBTQ+ needs to be more inclusive because we are fighting for the same thing: Pride! We are proud of who we are and no one as the right to say it is wrong. Together we make a big family, not a divided one. There are plenty of beautiful colors under the rainbow, and everyone needs to have a place under it.

KJ: What makes you passionate about promoting body positivity?

CB: It’s beautiful, no? Sexiness to me is beautiful people that love their body whether big, small, thin, large, man, woman, trans, nonbinary, gender nonconforming — Beauty is in all sizes, shapes, ages and colors, and that what’s make it beautiful!

Sure, black and white was beautiful in the movies of the 1920s, but we are in 2021! Let all the colors of the rainbow shine! Let’s see life in MistR Bearorama! (laughs)

We love to encourage body positivity and all our models are real people sporting their natural body shapes. Not photoshopped, just raw beauty! Like I always say, labels are for clothing only!

KJ: What is your favorite thing about the Bear and fetish gear community/serving the Bear and fetish gear community?

CB: The Bear community is one of the most inclusive communities around. Everyone is welcome and feels loved, and the Bear are all about having fun, don’t you think?

We love to work with our Bears and the Bear lovers. When we see the look on the face of a Bear who is never able to find his size try on something we’ve designed for the first time, or hear someone say, ‘I feel sexy for the first time’, that’s gold to us! We have so many stories like that. Our community loves us and we love them, so there’s love involved, not just business.

We are also planning to go to as many Bear events as we can, while also giving back to charities that are important to our community. So maybe will see each other in an event. Come to say ‘woof’!

KJ: Any new gear or products coming out soon?

CB: Every week we have new stuff! Jo and the team are always working on new items, such as the new PRIDE collection this month! We also have the new K-TY and K-WOLF hoods that will be out this summer!

So, make sure you follow us on all the socials! Instagram: @mistrbearmtl and Facebook: @mistrpupmtl. Also, visit our website at mistrbear.com. All the new stuff is in there!

Also, at the time of this interview, Jo is working on a new photoshoot. So, stay tuned!