HOME
ABOUT US
PLAY?
PLAYROOM
GALLERY
LINKS
EMAIL
BLOG

                            

LTHRBOUND GUIDE FOR THE NEWCOMER

New to the leather world?  First... let us say "Welcome!"  You're among friends and I hope your journey is filled with self-discovery and experiences to remember.  Hopefully that little black cloud of social mores, shame, self-doubt, and fear will just blow away. Second...  those who know us will undoubtedly agree that we have a lot to say about everything and are not shy about it in the least bit.  We have put together a resource to help those seeking a place to start in pursuing their kinks, caring for their gear, and grabbing the attention of that hot top lurking in the corner of the bar.  No doubt, there will be many who disagree with us - and you may, too - but now you're in a community that should be based on respect... so here it is:

Click here to visit the LTHR101 guide

 

NEWSWORTHY

  • Guy Baldwin's LAL Speech, (originally delivered at the lecture series at Los Angeles Leather Weekend 2004 -- now transcribed and online at leatherpage.com) Guy has always been known to stir the pot and tell it like it is. No exception here. Powerful reading. Frightening to many, comforting to some. Whether you agree or not, this is on the required reading list...

KINKY LINKS

These links reflect nothing more than the personal opinions and often-used resources of LAlthrbound. I have no commercial ties to any of these businesses, people or organizations.

BARS

  • The Faultline, Los Angeles (Silverlake) Friday nights and Sunday afternoon beer busts are quite popular. I hate the lines and the large number of twink boys that go slumming there. The most popular leather bar in town, though.
  • The Eagle LA, Los Angeles (Silverlake) Excellent special events and a hot leather-only backroom night. My favorite bar.
  • The Bullet, Los Angeles (North Hollywood) The neighborhood leather bar, although we're usually the only ones there in leather. Free BBQ on Sundays.
  • Pistons, Los Angeles (Long Beach) The friendliest leather bar and patrons with the least attitude. However, people stare at us like we're freaks when we take boys there in bondage.

EVENTS

  • Los Angeles Leather Weekend, Los Angeles  Centered around the Mr. LA Leather contest - this is a series of events which was new for 2004 and a huge success.  Destined to grow exponentially each year.  We hope to see you all there in 2005 and beyond!
  • Folsom Street Fair / Dore Alley, San Francisco  The premiere outdoor street fair held in the west coast leather mecca. You gotta do at least one of these. Almost anything goes - demos, vendors, guys walking around in full gear (or some naked), just a fun time overall. The best part is the days leading up to these events - lots of bar parties, dungeon parties, and some great sightseeing in a fabulous city. Dore (now known as UP YOUR ALLEY) is the more gay-male-leather centric of the two while FOLSOM is much more pansexual and full of straight families with babies in strollers.
  • IML, Chicago  The International Mr. Leather Contest. Nothing compares.. nothing! 4 days of sexy leather MEN all in one hotel, all the vendors, and a contest, too. The place to meet and play hard.

ORGANIZATIONS

  • Chicago Hellfire Club We are proudly both associate members of the CHC.  The CHC is a brotherhood of SM practitioners and leathermen.  Their goal is to provide education, outreach and play opportunities in gay male SM. They host the premiere leather play event known as Inferno.  Attendance at Inferno is by sponsorship/invitation only.  We would be glad to talk to you about the CHC should you have any questions - or go to the link above.
  • Avatar An organization promoting safe, sane and consensual SM. Hosts a monthly presentation, hands-on workshops and many bar events and pride demos. I am currently a board member.
  • LA Boys of Leather An organization supporting a common brotherhood amongst leather boys of all types. We know a handful of the LABOL - they're generally great guys and a good club. LAlthrbondage is convinced they meet solely to secretly talk smack about our topping skills ;-)
  • National Coalition for Sexual Freedom The amount of sexual repression, censorship, and 1st amendment violations should be of high concern to any American - but especially those involved in BDSM. The NCSF is looking out for YOUR sexual freedom and deserves your support. If you are a victim of persecution, harassment or politcal extremism related to alternative sexual expression - please contact them.

SEX CLUBS

  • Slammer, Los Angeles Hot and sweaty guys and pounding music. 6 slings and a wetroom. Like a kinky bathhouse without the baths. I go there often to get blown! However, an alarming number of guys there play unsafe.

GOODS

  • Mr. S, Los Angeles and San Francisco(Silverlake) They've got just about everything you need - and a staff of real players and knowledgeable folk. The LA store is great for off-the-rack gear and minor tailoring/alterations. I recommend going to the SF store for custom work.
  • 665, Los Angeles (West Hollywood) This place does all of my custom leather work. Excellent craftsmanship and design
  • Syren, Los Angeles Excellent custom latex wear. Limited off-the-rack men's selection. Unique latex material and tailoring which is different than the typical Euro stuff.
  • BDG Sales, PA Very well designed and built dungeon furniture. Lots of BDSM accessories and supplies. Owned by two very kinky guys.

BOOKS

  • boyroger recommends:
  • Mr.Benson by John Preston. A classic SM novel. A must read for all slaves and boys. John Preston got it!
  • Lthrbound recommends:
  • Slavecraft by Guy Baldwin. The words of a true submissive beautifully captured and edited by Guy.

FRIENDS

  • Well, we have a lot of local kinky friends but none of them have much of an online presence. Below are some of our friends outside of CA.
  • BNDNRUBNMD A very hot bottom in Maryland. Woof!
  • RBBRLTHR A very woofy couple
  • BostonCuir Our soul brother - and one twisted fuck!
  • RubberStudPup Sexy pup with some twists

ONLINE

  • WorldRubberMen, Free online service. Sister sites are worldleathermen.com and slave4master.com. We are on this service as Lthrbound and Lthrbondage. The chat system sucks. You only have to sign up with one and you can cross-link to the others.  Another quality service. You can upgrade to the premium membership whcih gives you unlimited access and the ability to look at extended gallery pics. Worth it.
  • Leather Navigator, Excellent online service. No tourists, no commercial ads. Costs money but is worth it.   The tone of the site is one of brotherhood and congeniality.  Worth the membership but it unfortunately seems to be dying a slow death. (this site is temporarily down due to the same new govt. bullshit that applies to my gallery)
  • Mr. S Dungeon, One of the newer services and seems to be catching on.(this site is temporarily down due to the same new govt. bullshit that applies to my gallery)
  • GearFetish.com, both free and premium memberships. This is the place for guys into gear - lycra, superhero, cycle, boots, sports and more - there's someone into everything imaginable.
  • Gay.com, definitely the cruisiest hookup site of them all. But way too many phonies, freaks and ad-bots.  Both free and premium memberships.  The leather and discipline chat rooms are what you want.  Infuriatingly slow and confusing web interface.  I highly recommend going to www.gayboi.org and downloading their chat client - written by family for family - it makes the gay.com chat experience fast and tolerable and you can hammer into rooms that are full.
  • Leather Dog. Excellent online resource for dog trainers and pups. These guys are great people, too.

LTHRBOUND'S NOT-SO-HAPPY LIST

  • Leathermensdungeon.com, It is my personal opinion that this site sucks. I was a member for almost a year and it was nothing but frustration for me.  Most of my beefs revolved around the owner (Jeep) who treated me condescendingly.  Your membership will be suspended if you decline to accept the endless SPAM from them promoting their other sites - however he claims it isn't spam.   IMHO I think the site borders on megalomania for Jeep who wants us all to admire him and his slaves and pay for and accept his somewhat un-sportsmanlike treatment.  IMHO, there is just no comparison between this site and WorldLeatherMenr UPDATE: Since letting my subscription run out the junk SPAM continues to hit my inbox from this and many of his affiliate sites (beartrappings.com, jpsjocks, etc.). I have sent no less than 10 requests for it to stop and each request seems to bring on more. He provides an "opt-out" option which in my case does nothing to curb the crap mail. Think twice before signing up or you might experience the same ordeal I am currently in.

KUDOS

  • Earthlink.  They are the ISP hosting this site.  Their level of technical support helping me through technical hurdles has been extraordinary.  They are also Mac savvy. 
  • Apple Computer and the stalwart Macintosh.  I have often been accused of being a Mac zealot but this site would not be where it is now if I had to edit the thousands of images and assemble/administer these pages on a Windows machine.  Their products are well-designed, friendly, stable and they are responsive to the changing needs of their customers.  Software creators know they have to deliver exceptional products to gain a foothold in this 10% share of the the computer world.  I firmly believe it is just easier on a Mac...period!

 

| about us | want to play? | the playroom | kink gallery | links | email | home | blog |