Whole health
for leathermen.
Leathermen Health is a community-based initiative advancing the physical, mental, and social health of men in the leather and fetish communities — rooted in South Florida, connected nationally, and built by men who belong to the community it serves.
The health system wasn’t built for us.
So we’re building for ourselves.
Leather is not a diagnosis. It is a culture, a brotherhood, an aesthetic, an ethic of consent and care that generations of gay, bisexual, and queer men have built — often while the institutions around them looked away, or worse, looked down.
The modern research is unambiguous on the first point: kink-involved people are, as a population, psychologically healthy. What harms us is not who we are. It is what we navigate — stigma in the exam room, silence in the therapy office, a sexual health burden our community carries disproportionately, substance-use cultures that deserve honest, nonjudgmental support, and the isolation that comes when men have nowhere to bring their whole selves.
Leathermen Health exists to close that gap: to make competent, affirming care findable; to make connection between leathermen structured, safe, and regular; to educate the clinicians who serve us; and to put our community’s health needs on the record — in research, in funding rooms, and in public.
What the science says
Large controlled and national-survey studies find kink practitioners score comparably or favorably on well-being and psychological health — leading researchers to frame kink as recreational leisure, not pathology. Our starting premise is affirmation, because that is where the evidence points.
What the system does
Fewer than half of kink-oriented patients are out to their providers. Men delay or avoid care, edit their histories, and brace for judgment — a textbook minority-stress pattern. Meanwhile, leather-identified men shoulder a heavier HIV burden and are nearly invisible in health research. That is the gap we work in.
Grounded in peer-reviewed research
We are led by a clinician-researcher, and we hold ourselves to a clinician’s standard: claims backed by published literature. Six findings shape everything we build.
Kink is not psychopathology.
A study comparing 902 BDSM practitioners with 434 controls found practitioners were less neurotic, more extraverted, more open to experience, more conscientious, less rejection-sensitive, and reported higher subjective well-being — leading the authors to describe BDSM as recreational leisure rather than an expression of psychopathology. National Australian survey data likewise found no association between BDSM participation and elevated psychological distress.
Wismeijer & van Assen, 2013 · Richters et al., 2008 · Journal of Sexual MedicineThe harm concentrates in the exam room.
The landmark Kink Health Project found that kink-oriented patients have genuine health care needs connected to their practices and social context, and that most would prefer to be out to their providers in order to receive individualized care — yet fewer than half were, with anticipated stigma the most common barrier, including fear that clinicians would mistake consensual kink for intimate partner violence.
Waldura, Arora, Randall, Farala & Sprott, 2016 · “Fifty Shades of Stigma”Minority stress applies to our community.
Researchers documenting patterns of anticipated stigma, concealment, and delayed or avoided care conclude that kink-identified people fit the Minority Stress Model and should be understood as a sexual minority for health care purposes. Minority stress is treatable at the community level — through belonging, affirmation, and competent care. That is our program logic.
The Alternative Sexualities Health Research Alliance (TASHRA) · International Kink Health StudyLeathermen carry a heavier sexual-health burden.
In a survey of 1,554 men attending community events, leather-identified men were 61% more likely to be living with HIV than non-leather-identified men. Findings like this call for prevention, testing, and treatment support delivered inside community spaces, by trusted faces, without judgment — alongside honest, harm-reduction-oriented engagement with sexualized substance use documented across MSM communities.
Moskowitz et al., 2010 · AIDS and BehaviorBelonging is protective — and leather identity is a health asset.
Qualitative research on leather identity development finds that leathermen build a distinctive masculinity integrating care and vulnerability with strength — a process bound up with community, sexual identity formation, and the undoing of internalized shame. Researchers have also begun documenting kink-related injuries and health care utilization, showing that practical, community-specific health education has a real audience and real stakes.
Mosher, Levitt & Manley, 2006 · Sprott, Randall, Smith & Woo, 2021Almost no one is studying us. We intend to change that.
A 2026 scoping review of research on gay male subcultures found leathermen nearly absent from the health literature — a handful of studies in a field dominated by work on other communities. Leathermen Health treats that silence as a mandate: our programs collect outcome data from day one, and our long-term agenda includes community-based participatory research conducted with, not on, leathermen.
Psychology & Sexuality, 2026 · scoping review of MSM subcultural identity groupsReferences
- Wismeijer, A. A. J., & van Assen, M. A. L. M. (2013). Psychological characteristics of BDSM practitioners. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10(8), 1943–1952.
- Richters, J., de Visser, R. O., Rissel, C. E., Grulich, A. E., & Smith, A. M. A. (2008). Demographic and psychosocial features of participants in BDSM: Data from a national survey. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 5(7), 1660–1668.
- Waldura, J. F., Arora, I., Randall, A. M., Farala, J. P., & Sprott, R. A. (2016). Fifty Shades of Stigma: Exploring the health care experiences of kink-oriented patients. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 13(12), 1918–1929.
- Sprott, R. A., Randall, A., Smith, K., & Woo, L. (2021). Rates of injury and healthcare utilization for kink-identified patients. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 18(10), 1721–1734.
- Moskowitz, D. A., et al. (2010). HIV in the leather community: Rates and risk-related behaviors. AIDS and Behavior.
- Mosher, C. M., Levitt, H. M., & Manley, E. (2006). Layers of leather: The identity formation of leathermen as a process of transforming meanings of masculinity. Journal of Homosexuality, 51(3), 93–123.
- Bears, leathermen, drag queens, twinks, and more! A scoping review of subcultural identity groups of men who have sex with men. (2026). Psychology & Sexuality.
Five programs. One mission.
Everything we run is designed against the evidence: build belonging, lower barriers to competent care, meet the community where it already gathers, and measure what we do.
Leathermen Connection Groups
Small, closed-cohort virtual groups — six to nine men meeting weekly by video for ten to twelve weeks — built for real talk about identity, connection, masculinity, health, and life in and out of the scene. Every member is individually screened, every group runs on written agreements covering confidentiality, respect, and privacy, and cohorts are offered both nationally and Florida-anchored. Facilitated community programming — not group therapy, and we are precise about that distinction.
Founding cohorts forming now · FreeCommunity & Clinician Education
Workshops for the community on health, wellness, consent culture, and navigating care as a leatherman — and training for clinicians on kink-affirming, leather-literate practice, developed under the leadership of our founder, a licensed psychologist and psychoanalyst. Our goal: more providers who never make a leatherman explain himself before he can be helped.
Workshops from [MONTH 2026] · CE pathway in developmentCare Navigation & Referral
A vetted referral pathway to kink-affirming therapists, physicians, and sexual health services — including HIV/STI testing, PrEP and DoxyPEP navigation, and vaccination resources through established South Florida health partners. We help men find the right door; licensed professionals provide the care behind it.
Referral network building · Clinicians: join belowThe Joy Ride Team & Events
Our founding public act: fielding a leathermen’s team — riding under Team Pridelines — in The Joy Ride, Florida’s 165-mile charity cycling weekend, plus training rides, fundraiser nights, and community gatherings that turn visibility into belonging. Sober-inclusive and consent-forward, always.
November 20–21, 2026 · Riders & crew wantedResearch & Advocacy
We collect outcome and community data from day one, pursue community-based participatory research partnerships, and represent leathermen’s health needs to funders, health systems, and the public. When decisions get made about our community’s health, our community will be in the room.
Community needs assessment: [YEAR]What we are — and what we are not
Trust is built on clarity. Four distinctions we will always be direct about:
Not therapy
Connection groups are structured community programming, not psychotherapy or medical treatment, and no provider–patient relationship is formed. When men need clinical care, we help them find licensed, affirming professionals — that separation protects you and keeps us honest.
Not a play or hookup space
We are a health and community organization. Our programs and events are about connection, wellness, and brotherhood — welcoming to the whole community, and appropriate for any public setting.
Adults only
All programming is limited to adults aged 18 and over, verified at registration. No exceptions.
Not a crisis service
We are not equipped for emergencies. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) in the U.S., or contact the LGBT National Help Center at lgbthotline.org.
Built from inside the community,
run to a professional standard
Leathermen Health was founded in Miami in 2026 on a simple conviction: the men best positioned to care for this community are the men who belong to it — held to the highest standards of the professions they bring with them.
Dr. Daniel Sheridan
Founder & DirectorDr. Sheridan is a licensed psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice since 2018, PSYPACT-authorized to provide telepsychology across participating states. His clinical focus — trauma, authenticity, LGBTQ+ identity, and grief and loss — maps directly onto the terrain this community navigates: minority stress, the work of living openly, and the losses, personal and generational, that leathermen carry. As team captain of the Leathermen Health Joy Ride team, he leads the organization’s founding event, and he designs Leathermen Health’s programs to clinical-grade standards of screening, structure, privacy, and evaluation — while his own clinical practice remains separate from the organization’s community programming.
Rev. Dr. Harold Marrero
Chief Executive Officer, Pridelines · Founding SupporterRev. Dr. Marrero leads Pridelines, South Florida’s oldest LGBTQ+ community center, and stands as Leathermen Health’s founding institutional champion. Under his leadership, Pridelines serves as the initiative’s fiscal sponsor and has dedicated its resources, infrastructure, and four decades of community trust to Leathermen Health’s success and growth — from financial stewardship to the founding Joy Ride team. His support anchors the organization’s commitment to the social dimensions of health: belonging, dignity, and care between men.
Our fiscal sponsor: Pridelines
Leathermen Health operates as a sponsored project of Pridelines, South Florida’s oldest LGBTQ+ community center, which has served Miami’s LGBTQ+ community for more than four decades. Pridelines provides fiscal sponsorship, financial oversight, and organizational accountability — meaning contributions to Leathermen Health are received and administered by an established 501(c)(3) with audited controls while our community-led team runs the programs. It is the governance structure serious new initiatives use to launch responsibly.
Advisory Circle — now forming. We are seating a founding advisory circle of community leaders, titleholders, clinicians, attorneys, finance professionals, and public health experts to guide the organization and form the pipeline for our future independent board. If that could be you, raise your hand.
What we stand on
Affirming by default
We start from the evidence: leather and kink identities are healthy expressions of human sexuality and community. Nothing about our work pathologizes who you are.
Radically inclusive
Leathermen Health welcomes all men aged 18 and over, inclusive of transgender men, of every race, ethnicity, body, HIV status, experience level, and background. Old guard, new guard, no guard — if you identify as a man and this community calls to you, you belong here.
Consent culture
Consent is the leather community’s great ethical contribution, and it governs everything we do — from how groups run to how we handle your data to how our events operate.
Privacy as a promise
Association with this community is sensitive. Participant identities and information are held in confidence, stored securely, never sold, and never shared without your consent, except as required by law.
Sober-inclusive
Our spaces are built so that men in recovery, men who don’t drink or use, and men who do can all participate fully. Health support around substances is offered without judgment — harm reduction, not shame.
Evidence & accountability
Programs are designed against published research, measured with real outcome data, and operated under the financial oversight of an established 501(c)(3). We publish what we learn.
The Joy Ride 2026
Every movement needs a founding act. Ours is 165 miles long. This November, the first Leathermen Health team rides under Team Pridelines in The Joy Ride — the two-day Florida charity cycling weekend that carries forward a 20-year, $16-million legacy of funding HIV and LGBTQ+ services. One hundred percent of rider fundraising goes to five Florida agencies, including Pridelines.
Ride it. Crew it. Sponsor a rider. Training rides begin in September, veteran riders will coach you to the start line, and every level of cyclist — and non-cyclist — has a place on this team.
Six ways in
Join a connection group
Founding cohorts are forming now — national and Florida-based. Add your name and we’ll schedule a private screening conversation.
Join the interest list →Ride or crew
Be part of the founding Joy Ride team this November — as a rider, or as crew with no fundraising minimum.
Sign up →Volunteer
Events, outreach, design, logistics, translation — there is a job for every skill set as we build.
Raise your hand →Advisory Circle
Community leaders and professionals: help govern what we’re building and shape the future board.
Introduce yourself →Clinicians & providers
Kink-affirming therapists, physicians, and health workers: join our referral network and training community.
Join the network →Give
Tax-deductible gifts, made through our fiscal sponsor Pridelines and designated for Leathermen Health, build every program on this page.
Support the mission →FAQ
Is a connection group the same as therapy?
No, and we’re careful about the difference. Connection groups are structured, facilitated community programming: screened membership, written agreements, consistent cohorts, real depth — but not psychotherapy, and joining one does not create a provider–patient relationship. If what you need is clinical care, we’ll say so plainly and help you find a licensed, kink-affirming professional through our referral pathway. Our founder is a licensed psychologist, which is exactly why we draw this line clearly: his clinical practice and this organization’s community programming are kept separate.
Who can join? Do I need to be “in the scene”?
Leathermen Health welcomes all men aged 18 and over, inclusive of transgender men, of every race, ethnicity, and background. You don’t need a title, a vest, or a club patch. Curious, new, decades deep, partnered, single, in recovery, living with HIV, negative on PrEP — if you identify as a man and the leather and fetish world is part of your life or your curiosity, you belong here.
Is this a kink event, a play space, or a hookup network?
No. We are a health and community organization. Our groups and events are about wellness, connection, and brotherhood; they are appropriate for any public setting, and our community standards — consent-forward, sober-inclusive, respectful — apply everywhere we gather.
What does it cost?
Founding programs are free. As we grow, we intend to keep core programming free or low-cost, funded by donations, grants, and community fundraising rather than fees that keep men out.
What happens to my information?
We treat association with this community as sensitive by definition. Your name, contact information, and anything you share in our programs are held in confidence, stored securely, used only for Leathermen Health purposes, and never sold or shared with third parties without your consent, except where the law requires. Group members also sign shared confidentiality agreements — and we’re honest that in any group setting, confidentiality is a mutual commitment, not a legal guarantee.
Is Leathermen Health a religious organization?
No. Leathermen Health is a secular organization. Ordained clergy stand among our founding supporters, and we take the spiritual dimension of men’s health seriously — belonging, meaning, care — but our programming is non-religious, and men of every faith and none are equally welcome.
I’m a clinician. How do I get involved?
Two ways: join our referral network of kink-affirming, leather-literate providers, or join our training community as we develop continuing-education programming on affirming care. Start with the clinician form above — we’ll follow up personally.
How is Leathermen Health funded, and are donations tax-deductible?
We operate as a fiscally sponsored project of Pridelines, an established 501(c)(3). Contributions designated for Leathermen Health are made to Pridelines, administered under its financial controls for our programs, and are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. As we grow, we’ll pursue independent 501(c)(3) status with our community’s advisory circle guiding the way.
I need help right now. What should I do?
We’re not a crisis or emergency service, and we’d never want you to wait on us in a moment that matters. In the U.S., call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, contact the LGBT National Help Center at lgbthotline.org, or go to your nearest emergency room. Then, when you’re ready, we’re here — and we can help you find ongoing, affirming care.