Hardy Haberman
It all started with a nylon webbing harness that Randy made for his friend Luis. Friends saw it and immediately wanted one for themselves. Soon, Randy and Luis were making harnesses for friends and branched out into leather. And with that, Sir Rat Leather was born.
The catchy name is actually from Randy Surratt’s surname with a little play on the word. He and Luis Bratt set up their first retail outlet in the Iron Bear as a pop-up store. Their line of merchandise expanded as Randy acquired a professional sewing machine capable of sewing leather. He soon began designing and manufacturing custom leather garments.
During COVID, the pair marketed their products online, and the orders kept the store afloat during the shutdown. Afterward, they opened a small permanent shop in Seller’s Underground. Not long after that, business got so brisk they decided to rent a retail space on 6th Street in the middle of Austin’s club scene.
Today, the store is located on Cesar Chavez Blvd., with stores in San Antonio and Houston, as well as pop-up stores at many major leather and kink conferences around the country.
From a webbing harness to custom leatherwear, Sir Rat manufactures leather and fetish apparel both in Texas at their shop and in Brazil, where much of their clothing lines are mass-produced. The brand, Sir Rat, is now on a full line of apparel from T-shirts to jocks and underwear, as well as leather vests, pants, and shorts.
They have launched an additional brand, Slut Monkey, which makes non-leather clothing as well as a private-label lube called Monkey Grease.
The Sir Rat and Slut Monkey brands are now seen in stores from Florida to Arizona and as far away as London.
As Sir Rat has grown, their support for the leather community has not wavered. They have helped several contestants in their title runs, including Goddess Indigo, the current International Ms. Leather. Sir Rat also creates many of the title sashes for local and national contests.
Luis noted, “We hold a lot of educational and community events at our store in Austin, as well as participating in the annual Pride Parade where we invite members of the Austin leather community to march with us.”
Speaking about their deep commitment to the leather community, Randy said, “Without the community, we have no store.”
Their remarkable success shows that even what starts as just a squeak can turn into a roar.
Ann Parker
