2025 MENTORING PROGRAM BEGINS JANUARY 18, 2025 - DEADLINE TO APPLY IS JANUARY 12, 2025

The application window closes on January 12. You can access the application here. 

We will have room for 19 mentees this coming cycle. You will be informed if you have been accepted for this cycle by January 14.

Please contact the Mentoring Program director Richard Sprott if you have any particular questions.

2025 Schedule of Mentoring Events and Programs

• Sat., 1/18, 1:00-4:30 pm, Mentee Orientation and Mentoring Matching (Transform 1060)

• Thur. 2/6, 7-9 pm, History and Landscape of the SF Leather Community (Zoom)

• Sat., 2/15, 1-4 pm, Mentoring Meeting – Show & Tell (Transform 1060)

• Thurs., 3/13, 7-9 pm, Mentoring Meeting – Negotiation, Safewords, & Aftercare (Zoom)

• Sat., 4/26, 1-3 pm, Mentoring Meeting – Peer Check In & Eagle (Transform 1060)

• Thur., 5/8, 7-9 pm, Mentoring Meeting – Peer Check In (Zoom)

• Thur. 5/29, 7-9 pm, Mentoring Meeting – Leather Families (Zoom)

• Thur., 6/12, 7-9 pm, Mentoring Meeting – Psychobiology & Psych First Aid (Zoom)

• Sun., 7/13,  1-3 pm, Mentoring Meeting – Peer Check In & Eagle (Transform 1060)

• Sat., 8/2,  1-3 pm, Mentoring Meeting – Peer Check In & Eagle (Transform 1060)

• Thur., 8/28,  7-9 pm, Mentoring Meeting – Peer Check In (Zoom)

• Thur., 9/18,  7-9 pm, Mentoring Meeting – Peer Check In – Leather Week (Zoom)

• Sat., 10/4, 1-3 pm, Mentoring Closing & Eagle (Transform 1060)

Learn More

The video below (Filmed Nov 28, 2018) features Mentoring Program director Richard Sprott and several mentors and mentees from a previous cycle. You can also join SF LDG’s January 2024 program to hear directly from the most recent cycle of mentors and mentees.

The LDG Mentor Program

LDG has been an educational and social hub of the San Francisco Leather Community since 1996. Come to one of our programs or events and you’ll find friendly, smart, hot men who experience dominance and submission in pup play, leather, rubber, kink, BDSM, gear, Master/slave protocols, bondage, and more... and they can help you figure that out for yourself.

The LDG Mentor Program helps pair up newer, curious, men seeking experiences with men who have been there and can help. This program isn’t dating, hooking up with, playing with, or fucking the person you’re paired with: It’s about networking with the community and learning from others how to examine your desires and experiences so you can. Example: You want to experience flogging. Your mentor won’t flog you, but he can help you learn how to find, approach, and negotiate a hot scene with an experienced flogging top in the community.

Are you right for The LDG Mentor Program?

This program isn’t for everyone. You will need to commit to follow through and meet with your mentor at least twice per month for the entire 9 month program length. At each meeting YOU will drive the conversation with your mentor, bring him questions and topics to explore. You’ve been around for a year or so, attending contests, Gearup events, play parties, LDG programs, club or Folsom events, etc.). And of course, this is for folks who identify primarily as gay/bisexual men and are at least 18 years old.  Transmen are welcome.

How do we choose our mentors?

Our mentors generally have at least 10 years of kink experience. They’re active members of the leather and kink community in the bay area and have a social network. They embody authenticity, integrity, commitment to the health of the men’s leather/kink community, creativity, openness to experience, open-mindedness, perseverance, compassion, loyalty, fairness, humility, self-control, optimism, and playfulness.

How does it work?

At the start of the mentoring cycle, we set up a “speed dating” event for folks to socialize and evaluate each other. Based on your notes and application, our coordinator will match you with a mentor and introduce you so you can begin meeting. You set up a schedule and some goals, and you’re off! Our coordinator checks in frequently to keep things on track.

Some guys might not get matched with an individual mentor.  They are encouraged to stay in the program and join all events, meetings, and group activities, and to talk with our mentors and peers at these events.  We do a lot of mentoring in groups, not just individually.

Is it safe?

Yep. You can vet any member of our board of directors or mentors to understand who we are and how seriously we take this. Sometimes “big stuff” comes up when you explore edgier sex play, and we know how to handle that too: we have a handful of kink-aware and friendly mental health pros and resources ready to help out if things get heavy. All of our board is on our facebook group. You may ask openly about us to get a idea of who we are and how we run things.

ARE YOU LOOKING TO BE A MENTOR?

If you would like to be considered to be a mentor in the program, please contact Richard Sprott for further details and consideration.