Leather Hall of Fame
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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.
| Name | Inductee year | Area of achievement |
|---|---|---|
| Chuck Renslow | 2009 | Co-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 Finland | 2009 | Artist |
| John Willie | 2009 | Artist |
| Tony DeBlase | 2010 | Author and designer of the leather pride flag |
| Frank Olson & Don Morrison | 2010 | Founders of the first Eagle NYC bar |
| Satyrs Motorcycle Club | 2010 | One of the oldest continuously operating gay organizations in the United States |
| Bob Milne | 2011 | "[O]ne of the founders of the gay male SM movement in New York City." |
| The Eulenspiegel Society | 2011 | First BDSM organization founded in the United States |
| Leonard Burtman | 2011 | Publisher of Exotique magazine |
| Samuel Steward | 2012 | Tattoo artist and pornographer |
| Irving Klaw | 2012 | Merchandiser of fetish art imagery and films |
| Guy Baldwin | 2012 | Psychotherapist, author, and activist |
| Dom Orejudos | 2012 | Artist, ballet dancer, and choreographer |
| Alan Selby | 2013 | Businessman and leader in the San Francisco leather community. Known as "the Mayor of Folsom Street". |
| Monique Von Cleef | 2013 | Dominatrix and author |
| Cynthia Slater | 2014 | Sex educator, HIV/AIDS activist, dominatrix, and co-founder of the BDSM organization known as the Society of Janus |
| John Embry | 2014 | Co-founder of Drummer |
| Chicago Hellfire Club | 2014 | One of the oldest BDSM leather organizations in the United States |
| Pat Bond & Terry Kolb | 2015 | Co-founders of The Eulenspiegel Society, the first BDSM organization founded in the United States |
| Jeanne C. Barney | 2015 | Author, co-founder of Drummer |
| Felix Jones | 2015 | 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" |
| James (Jim) Kane | 2016 | Early leatherman |
| Jim Stewart | 2016 | Owner of bondage (BDSM) gear company FETTERS, designer of new bondage gear, author about bondage |
| Larry Townsend | 2016 | Author |
| MSC Hamburg e. V. | 2017 | Club |
| Peter Fiske | 2017 | Author |
| Durk Dehner | 2017 | Co-founder of the Tom of Finland Foundation |
| Black Leather ... In Color zine | 2018 | Leather magazine written by and for people of color |
| Society of Janus | 2018 | Nonprofit educating about power exchange |
| International Mr. Leather | 2018 | Leather title competition |
| Leather Archives and Museum | 2019 | Community archives, library, and museum |
| Fakir Musafar | 2019 | Performance artist |
| Samois | 2019 | First lesbian BDSM group in the United States |
| Pauline Réage | 2020 | Author of Story of O |
| Jim Ward | 2020 | Body piercer |
| MLC Munich | 2020 | Club |
| Jack McGeorge | 2021 | BDSM advocate and educator |
| Jack Jackson | 2021 | Founder and president of the Eulenspiegel Society |
| SM Gays | 2021 | One of London's first gay men's support groups with a focus on BDSM |
| The 15 Association | 2022 | One of the oldest BDSM clubs, founded in 1980 |
| Gay Male S/M Activists (GMSMA) | 2022 | Organization for gay men focused on BDSM in New York |
| REX | 2022 | Artist |
| SNC London | 2023 | First gay motorcycle/leather club in Europe |
| John Sutcliffe | 2023 | Fashion designer |
| Robert Meijer | 2023 | Fashion designer |
| Dave Rhodes | 2024 | |
| Jill Carter | 2024 | The first Black International Ms. Leather |
| Constance Slater | 2024 | Author and owner of Dressing for Pleasure Exotic Boutique |
| Geoff Mains | 2025 | Author |
| Charles Guyette | 2025 | Fetish fashion designer |
| Drummer Magazine | 2025 | Leather fetish magazine |
| Catherine Robbe-Grillet | 2026 | Writer and dominatrix |
| Race Bannon | 2026 | Leather organizer and activist |
| Master Taíno | 2026 | Leather organizer |