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.
About 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.
In addition to the founders, past and current selection committee members have included leather activist V. M. Johnson, researcher Robert Bienvenu, and therapist Guy Baldwin.
Inductees 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.
+Leather Hall of FameNameInductee yearArea of achievement 2009Co-founder with Tony DeBlase of the Leather Archives & Museum, co-founder with Dom Orejudos of the Gold Coast bar and Man's Country bathhouse, and the founder by himself alone of Chicago's August White Party, and the magazines Triumph, Rawhide, and Mars Tom of Finland2009Artist https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/4-john-willie2009Artist 2010Author and designer of the leather pride flag Frank Olson & Don Morrison2010Founders of the first Eagle NYC bar Satyrs Motorcycle Club2010One of the oldest continuously operating gay organizations in the United StatesBob Milne2011"[O]ne of the founders of the gay male SM movement in New York City"The Eulenspiegel Society2011First BDSM organization founded in the United StatesLeonard Burtman2011Publisher of Exotique magazineSamuel Steward2012Tattoo artist and pornographerhttps://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/16-sam-stewardIrving Klaw2012Merchandiser of fetish art imagery and filmsPérez Seves, Eric Stanton & the History of the Bizarre Underground, pp. 44,71.Guy Baldwin2012Psychotherapist, author, and activist Dom Orejudoshttps://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/17-dom-orejudos2012Artist, ballet dancer, and choreographer Alan Selbyhttps://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/18-alan-selby2013Businessman and leader in the San Francisco leather community, known as "the Mayor of Folsom Street"Monique Von Cleefhttps://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/19-mistress-monique-von-cleef2013Dominatrix https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/21-cynthia-slater2014Sex educator, HIV/AIDS activist, dominatrix, and co-founder of the BDSM organization known as the Society of JanusJohn Embryhttps://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/22-john-embry2014Co-founder of DrummerChicago Hellfire Clubhttps://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/20-chicago-hellfire-club2014One of the oldest BDSM leather organizations in the United StatesPat Bond & Terry Kolbhttps://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees.htmlhttps://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/28-bond-kolb.html2015Co-founders of The Eulenspiegel Society, the first BDSM organization founded in the United StatesJeanne C. Barney2015Journalist, co-founder of DrummerFelix Jones2015Co-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"https://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/26-felix-jones.htmlJames (Jim) Kane2016Early leathermanJim Stewart2016Owner of bondage gear company FETTERS, designer of new bondage gear, wrote about bondagehttps://leatherhalloffame.com/images/2016-booklet/index.htmlLarry Townsend2016Wrote about the leather communityMSC Hamburg e. V.https://leatherhalloffame.com/index.php/inductees.html2017Gay leather clubhttps://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/34-msc-hamburg.htmlPeter Fiske2017Leathermanhttps://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8g73ngjDurk Dehner2017Co-founder of the Tom of Finland Foundation and the Tom of Finland Company Black Leather ... In Color2018Leather magazine written by and for people of colorSociety of Janus2018The second BDSM organization founded in the United States (after The Eulenspiegel Society); it is a San Francisco, California-based BDSM education and support groupInternational Mr. Leather2018The world's oldest continuously operating international leather and fetish eventLeather Archives and Museum2019Community archives, library, and museumFakir Musafar2019A performance artist considered to be one of the founders of the modern primitive movementGauntlet – decorating the Modern Primitive Samois2019The first lesbian BDSM group in the United StatesPauline Réage2020Pen name of Anne Desclos, author of the sadistic erotic novel called the Story of Ohttps://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/58-pauline-r%C3%A9age.html Jim Ward2020Body piercerhttps://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/57-jim-ward.htmlMLC Munich2020Gay fetish clubhttps://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/59-mlc-munich.htmlJack McGeorge2021A 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 SexualitiesJack Jackson2021The 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 oneSM Gays2021One of London's first gay men's support groups with a focus on BDSMThe 15 Association2022One of the oldest BDSM clubs, founded in 1980, in San FranciscoGay Male S/M Activists (GMSMA)2022Organization for gay men focused on BDSM in New YorkREX2022Gay fetish artisthttps://leatherhalloffame.com/inductees-list/53-rex.htmlSNC London2023First gay motorcycle/leather club in EuropeJohn Sutcliffe2023Fetish clothing designer and publisher of the fetish magazine AtomAgeRobert Meijer2023Founder (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 Franciscohttps://www.theleatherjournal.com/news/la-leather-getaway-by-claw-third-editionDave Rhodes2024Founder (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 timeshttps://www.theleatherjournal.com/news/dave-rhodes-humpday-july-16-2025Jill Carter2024The first Black International Ms. Leather (in 1996)https://leatherhalloffame.com/selection-committee.htmlConstance Slater2024Author and owner of Dressing for Pleasure Exotic BoutiqueGeoff Mains2025Author of, among other publications, the book Urban Aboriginals: A Celebration of Leather Sexuality (1984)https://leatherhalloffame.com/more/press-releases/63-intro-5.html https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c83b60qkCharles Guyette2025A pioneer of fetish style,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. the first person in the United States to produce and distribute fetish art,Richard Pérez Seves, Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Fetish Art New York: FetHistory, 2017. p. 119. and regarded as the mail-order predecessor of Irving Klaw;J.B. Rund, The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline (Second Edition, Revised & Enlarged) New York: Bélier Press, 1999. p. 92. later known as the "G-String King,"Rachel Shteir, Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Show Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 201 he is best remembered for his fetish photographs, some of which featured sadomasochistic contentRichard Pérez Seves, Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Fetish Art New York: FetHistory, 2017. pp. 119 - 120.Drummer2025A magazine which focuses on “leathersex, leatherwear, leather and rubber gear, S&M, bondage and discipline, erotic styles and techniques” Catherine Robbe-Grillet2026Writer of sadomasochistic writings including The Image, actress, and dominatrixhttps://www.fkawdw.nl/en/review/desk/catherine_robbe_grillet_an_eighty_four_year_old_dominatrix_in_istanbulhttps://web.archive.org/web/20140122075039/https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/02/catherine-robbe-grillet-french-dominatrixRace Bannon2026Leather, LGBTQ, polyamory, and HIV/STI prevention organizer, educator, writer, speaker, and activistMaster Taíno2026Leather organizer
See also Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame LGBTQ culture
References