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Leather Hall of Fame

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Leather Hall of Fame
Formation2009; 17 years ago (2009)
TypeNonprofit
LocationPalm Springs, California
Websiteleatherhalloffame.com

The Leather Hall of Fame is an institution founded in 2009 to honor persons and entities who have made significant contributions to the leather and BDSM communities.[1]

About

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The Leather Hall of Fame was developed by leather community activists Bob Miller, Jeff Willoughby, and Race Bannon in collaboration with anthropologist Gayle Rubin as a way to recognize key figures in leather history. The first induction ceremony was held during Cleveland Leather Annual Weekend in 2009.[2][3]

In addition to the founders,[4][5] past and current selection committee members have included leather activist V. M. Johnson,[6] researcher Robert Bienvenu,[7] and therapist Guy Baldwin.[8]

Inductees

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Inductees of the Hall of Fame can be any individuals, organizations, or institutions that have made contributions to the leather community and the history of kinky subcultures since 1950, with contributions beginning at least 25 years ago.[2][9][10]

Leather Hall of Fame
Name Inductee year Area of achievement
Chuck Renslow[11] 2009[11] Co-founder with Tony DeBlase of the Leather Archives & Museum,[12][13][14] co-founder with Dom Orejudos of the Gold Coast bar and Man's Country bathhouse,[15] and the founder by himself alone of Chicago's August White Party,[16] and the magazines Triumph, Rawhide, and Mars[16]
Tom of Finland[17] 2009[17] Artist[17]
John Willie[18] 2009[18] Artist[18]
Tony DeBlase[19] 2010[19] Author and designer of the leather pride flag[19]
Frank Olson & Don Morrison[20] 2010[20] Founders of the first Eagle NYC bar[21]
Satyrs Motorcycle Club[22] 2010[22] One of the oldest continuously operating gay organizations in the United States[23]
Bob Milne[24] 2011[24] "[O]ne of the founders of the gay male SM movement in New York City"[24]
The Eulenspiegel Society[25] 2011[25] First BDSM organization founded in the United States[26]
Leonard Burtman[27] 2011[27] Publisher of Exotique magazine[28]
Samuel Steward[29] 2012[29] Tattoo artist and pornographer[30]
Irving Klaw[31] 2012[31] Merchandiser of fetish art imagery and films[32]
Guy Baldwin[33] 2012[33] Psychotherapist, author, and activist[33]
Dom Orejudos[34] 2012[34] Artist, ballet dancer, and choreographer[34]
Alan Selby[35] 2013[35] Businessman and leader in the San Francisco leather community,[36] known as "the Mayor of Folsom Street"[36]
Monique Von Cleef[37] 2013[37] Dominatrix[37]
Cynthia Slater[38] 2014[38] Sex educator, HIV/AIDS activist, dominatrix, and co-founder of the BDSM organization known as the Society of Janus[38][39]
John Embry[40] 2014[40] Co-founder of Drummer[40]
Chicago Hellfire Club[41] 2014[41] One of the oldest BDSM leather organizations in the United States[42]
Pat Bond & Terry Kolb[43][44] 2015[43][44] Co-founders of The Eulenspiegel Society, the first BDSM organization founded in the United States[44][26]
Jeanne C. Barney[43] 2015[43] Journalist, co-founder of Drummer[40]
Felix Jones[43] 2015[43] Co-founder of the Sixty Nine Club, a motorcycle and social club for gay leathermen, and co-founder of the first gay men's rubber club in Europe, the Rubber Man‘s Club, and co-founder of ECMC, a schedule coordinator and clearing house for all such clubs; "Pioneer of the European Leatherscene"[45]
James (Jim) Kane[43] 2016[43] Early leatherman[46][47]
Jim Stewart[43] 2016[43] Owner of bondage gear company FETTERS, designer of new bondage gear, wrote about bondage[48]
Larry Townsend[49] 2016[49] Wrote about the leather community[48]
MSC Hamburg e. V.[50] 2017[50] Gay leather club[50][51]
Peter Fiske[50] 2017[50] Leatherman[52]
Durk Dehner[50] 2017[50] Co-founder of the Tom of Finland Foundation and the Tom of Finland Company[53][54]
Black Leather ... In Color[50] 2018[50] Leather magazine written by and for people of color[55]
Society of Janus[43] 2018[43] The second BDSM organization founded in the United States (after The Eulenspiegel Society);[26] it is a San Francisco, California-based BDSM education and support group[56]
International Mr. Leather[43] 2018[43] The world's oldest continuously operating international leather and fetish event[57]
Leather Archives and Museum[43] 2019[43] Community archives, library, and museum[58]
Fakir Musafar[43] 2019[43] A performance artist considered to be one of the founders of the modern primitive movement[59][60]
Samois[43] 2019[43] The first lesbian BDSM group in the United States[61]
Pauline Réage[43] 2020[43] Pen name of Anne Desclos, author of the sadistic erotic novel called the Story of O[62][63]
Jim Ward[43] 2020[43] Body piercer[64]
MLC Munich[43] 2020[43] Gay fetish club[65]
Jack McGeorge[43] 2021[43] A founder of Black Rose, an officer of the Leather Leadership Conference, a Director of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, and a Chairman of the Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities[66]
Jack Jackson[43] 2021[43] The first president of The Eulenspiegel Society; to “signal that he was forever one with the title”, The Eulenspiegel Society has not had a president since, leaving him as its only one[67]
SM Gays[43] 2021[43] One of London's first gay men's support groups with a focus on BDSM[68]
The 15 Association[43] 2022[43] One of the oldest BDSM clubs, founded in 1980, in San Francisco[69]
Gay Male S/M Activists (GMSMA)[43] 2022[43] Organization for gay men focused on BDSM in New York[70]
REX[43] 2022[43] Gay fetish artist[71]
SNC London[43] 2023[43] First gay motorcycle/leather club in Europe[72]
John Sutcliffe[43] 2023[43] Fetish clothing designer and publisher of the fetish magazine AtomAge[73]
Robert Meijer[43] 2023[43] Founder (in 1974) of RoB brand, a brand of gear for leather and other kink, first sold in Amsterdam; RoB stores expanded to Berlin, London, Paris, New York City, and San Francisco[74]
Dave Rhodes[43] 2024[43] Founder (in 1987) of The Leather Journal, a publication about the leather community, and judge of over 450 leather contests, including judging International Mr. Leather four times[75]
Jill Carter[43] 2024[43] The first Black International Ms. Leather (in 1996)[76]
Constance Slater[43] 2024[43] Author and owner of Dressing for Pleasure Exotic Boutique[77]
Geoff Mains[43] 2025[43] Author of, among other publications, the book Urban Aboriginals: A Celebration of Leather Sexuality (1984)[78][79]
Charles Guyette[43] 2025[43] A pioneer of fetish style,[80] the first person in the United States to produce and distribute fetish art,[81] and regarded as the mail-order predecessor of Irving Klaw;[82] later known as the "G-String King,"[83] he is best remembered for his fetish photographs, some of which featured sadomasochistic content[84]
Drummer[43] 2025[43] A magazine which focuses on “leathersex, leatherwear, leather and rubber gear, S&M, bondage and discipline, erotic styles and techniques”[85]
Catherine Robbe-Grillet[43] 2026[43] Writer of sadomasochistic writings including The Image, actress, and dominatrix[86][87][88]
Race Bannon[43] 2026[43] Leather, LGBTQ, polyamory, and HIV/STI prevention organizer, educator, writer, speaker, and activist[89]
Master Taíno[43] 2026[43] Leather organizer[90]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Rhodes, Dave (December 11, 2017). "Leather Hall of Fame 2018 Inductee List". The Leather Journal. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 Nomis, Anne O (January 28, 2023). "My first "Leather Hall of Fame" Selection Committee meeting". The History & Arts of the Dominatrix. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  3. ↑ Miller, Bob (October 15, 2020). "The Leather Hall of Fame in 14 Dates". Permanent Marks. 1. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "Meet The Board". Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District. SOMArts. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  5. ↑ ""Is Leather Dead? Does It Need to Die?"". San Francisco Leathermen's Discussion Group. July 27, 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  6. ↑ Johnson, Ruby B. (February 10, 2022). "Viola Johnson: Interview with Ruby B. Johnson, LCSW". National Coalition for Sexual Freedom. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "The Carter-Johnson Library & Collection". Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities (CARAS). July 1, 2025. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "Selection Committee". Leather Hall of Fame. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  9. ↑ Rhodes, Dave (December 14, 2014). "Leather Hall of Fame announces inductees". The Leather Journal. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "Inductees". Leather Hall of Fame. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Charles Renslow - Leather Hall of Fame". leatherhalloffame.com.
  12. ↑ Shapiro, Gregg. (2011). "Leatherman's man: an interview with Chuck Renslow's biographer Owen Keehmen". Outlook: Columbus. 16 (1). LGBT Life with Full Text, EBSCOhost: 48. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
  13. ↑ "About the LA&M - Leather Archives & Museum". Leatherarchives.org. Archived from the original on 2023-07-03. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  14. ↑ Ridinger, Robert (2005). "Founding of the Leather Archives & Museum". LGBT History, 1988-1992 [serial online]. LGBT Life with Full Text, EBSCOhost: 33–36.
  15. ↑ "Gay Influence". gayinfluence.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
  16. 1 2 Baim, Tracy; Ehemann, Ron (2008). Out and Proud in Chicago: An Overview of the City's Gay Community. Chicago: Agate Publishing. p. 73. ISBN 978-1572841000.
  17. 1 2 3 "Tom Of Finland - Leather Hall of Fame". leatherhalloffame.com.
  18. 1 2 3 https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/4-john-willie
  19. 1 2 3 "Tony DeBlase - Leather Hall of Fame". leatherhalloffame.com.
  20. 1 2 "Frank Olson and Don Morrison - Leather Hall of Fame". leatherhalloffame.com.
  21. ↑ "Interview with New York's original leather daddies: Frank Olson and Don Morrison". Fire Island Pines Historical Society. January 7, 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  22. 1 2 "The Satyrs MC - Leather Hall of Fame". leatherhalloffame.com.
  23. ↑ Sacher, Andy; De Simone, Tom; Wang, Teresa; Lopez, Melissa; Tran, Diem (2011). Lavender Los Angeles. Arcadia Publishing. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-7385-7490-5.
  24. 1 2 3 "Bob Milne - Leather Hall of Fame". leatherhalloffame.com.
  25. 1 2 "The Eulenspiegel Society ("TES") - Leather Hall of Fame". leatherhalloffame.com.
  26. 1 2 3 Margot Weiss (20 December 2011). Techniques of Pleasure: BDSM and the Circuits of Sexuality. Duke University Press. pp. 8–. ISBN 978-0-8223-5159-7.
  27. 1 2 "Leonard Burtman - Leather Hall of Fame". leatherhalloffame.com.
  28. ↑ Stein, Stephen K. (2021). "Chapter 1: Building BDSM Networks, 1946–69". Sadomasochism and the BDSM Community in the United States: Kinky People Unite. Routledge. ISBN 9781000346077.
  29. 1 2 "Sam Steward - Leather Hall of Fame". leatherhalloffame.com.
  30. ↑ https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/16-sam-steward
  31. 1 2 "Irving Klaw - Leather Hall of Fame". leatherhalloffame.com.
  32. ↑ Pérez Seves, Eric Stanton & the History of the Bizarre Underground, pp. 44,71.
  33. 1 2 3 "Guy Baldwin - Leather Hall of Fame". leatherhalloffame.com.
  34. 1 2 3 https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/17-dom-orejudos
  35. 1 2 https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/18-alan-selby
  36. 1 2 Guthrie, Julian (2004-05-11). "Alan Selby -- beloved leader in leather community / 'Daddy Alan' is remembered for gregarious, generous spirit". SFGate. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  37. 1 2 3 https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/19-mistress-monique-von-cleef
  38. 1 2 3 https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/21-cynthia-slater
  39. ↑ Happening Out Television Network (April 20, 2026). "Queer God Squad Remembers BDSM & HIV Advocate Cynthia Slater". Hot Spots Magazine. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  40. 1 2 3 4 https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/22-john-embry
  41. 1 2 https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/20-chicago-hellfire-club
  42. ↑ Forman, Ross (July 14, 2010). "The Chicago Hellfire Club: A closer look". Windy City Times. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  43. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees.html
  44. 1 2 3 https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/28-bond-kolb.html
  45. ↑ https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/26-felix-jones.html
  46. ↑ "KANE, "DRUMMER," AND DEBLASE — Rick Storer, Leather Archives & Museum". San Francisco Leathermen's Discussion Group. October 22, 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  47. ↑ "Leathersex Underground & the Formation of a Subculture: The Michele Buchanan and Jim Kane Digitization Project". CLIR Hidden Collections registry. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  48. 1 2 https://leatherhalloffame.com/images/2016-booklet/index.html
  49. 1 2 "Inductees". Leatherhalloffame.com. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  50. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 https://leatherhalloffame.com/index.php/inductees.html
  51. ↑ https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/34-msc-hamburg.html
  52. ↑ https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8g73ngj
  53. ↑ "About Foundation : Tom of Finland Foundation". Tom of Finland Foundation. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  54. ↑ Chiaverina, John (2020-07-23). "Eight Artists on the Influence of Tom of Finland". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  55. ↑ Street, Mikelle (February 12, 2021). "We Submit: 4 Queer People Diversifying the Leather Scene". Them. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  56. ↑ "About – Society of Janus". Soj.org. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  57. ↑ Peregrin, Tony (2012-05-21). "International Mr. Leather competition to include two gay weddings in 34th year". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2025-09-28. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  58. ↑ Clingenpeel, Zachary (February 13, 2020). "Museum works to smash stigma against BDSM, kink culture". The Columbia Chronicle. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  59. ↑ Gauntlet – decorating the Modern Primitive Archived 2005-04-13 at the Wayback Machine
  60. ↑ Wilson, Stephen (2002). Information Arts: Intersections of Art, Science, and Technology - Stephen Wilson - Google Books. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262731584. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  61. ↑ Jeffreys, Sheila (1993). The Lesbian Heresy. North Melbourne, Vic., Australia: Spinifex. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-875559-17-6.
  62. ↑ De St. Jorre, John (1 August 1994). "The Unmasking of O". The New Yorker. pp. 42–43.
  63. ↑ https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/58-pauline-r%C3%A9age.html
  64. ↑ https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/57-jim-ward.html
  65. ↑ https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/59-mlc-munich.html
  66. ↑ "Obituaries: Harvey J. McGeorge II". The Washington Post. 2009-08-22.
  67. ↑ "Press Releases - Leather Hall of Fame". leatherhalloffame.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2020.
  68. ↑ Jepson, Chris (September 22, 2011). "SM GAYS TURNS 30". QX Men. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  69. ↑ Bannon, Race (February 18, 2015). "The 15 Association". The Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  70. ↑ "Brian O'Dell Papers". LGBT Community Center National History Archive. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  71. ↑ https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/53-rex.html
  72. ↑ Rhodes, Dave (December 14, 2014). "Leather Hall of Fame announces inductees". The Leather Journal. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  73. ↑ Hodgkinson, Will (10 September 2010). "King of kinky". The Guardian.
  74. ↑ https://www.theleatherjournal.com/news/la-leather-getaway-by-claw-third-edition
  75. ↑ https://www.theleatherjournal.com/news/dave-rhodes-humpday-july-16-2025
  76. ↑ https://leatherhalloffame.com/selection-committee.html
  77. ↑ "Kaleidoscope: Sex, Healing and S&M". Between the Covers Rare Books Inc. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  78. ↑ https://leatherhalloffame.com/more/press-releases/63-intro-5.html
  79. ↑ https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c83b60qk
  80. ↑ Robert V. Bienvenu II, The Development of Sadomasochism as a Cultural Style in the Twentieth-Century United States (PhD dissertation) Indiana: Indiana University, 1998. p.72.
  81. ↑ Richard Pérez Seves, Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Fetish Art New York: FetHistory, 2017. p. 119.
  82. ↑ J.B. Rund, The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline (Second Edition, Revised & Enlarged) New York: Bélier Press, 1999. p. 92.
  83. ↑ Rachel Shteir, Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Show Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 201
  84. ↑ Richard Pérez Seves, Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Fetish Art New York: FetHistory, 2017. pp. 119 - 120.
  85. ↑ "About Us". Drummer. Archived from the original on 2020-01-14. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  86. ↑ https://www.fkawdw.nl/en/review/desk/catherine_robbe_grillet_an_eighty_four_year_old_dominatrix_in_istanbul
  87. ↑ Vanity Fair (January 10, 2014). "An Exclusive Interview with France's Most Famous Dominatrix, Catherine Robbe-Grillet". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  88. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140122075039/https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/02/catherine-robbe-grillet-french-dominatrix
  89. ↑ "Race Bannon, Producer". Center for Independent Documentary. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  90. ↑ Najafi, Yusef (July 25, 2007). "Slave Masters". Metro Weekly. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
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