Early in 2006, Eric Lawrence and his partner, Ira C. Smith, brainstormed on how they could endeavor to bring the leather/fetish community together. The result was the creation of Bound South, a leather community service organization which produced The Leather Masked Ball.

The name Bound South was created as a representation of the love between the two for each other and the cities they called home. The first year's tag line which was on the T shirts was "Leather Pride from New York to Fort Lauderdale".

Lambda Men's Brotherhood, Inc. acquired The Leather Masked Ball in 2009 and is committed to continuing the tradition of supporting the community.

Beneficiaries of the Leather Masked Ball have included Care Resources, Stonewall Library, and Tuesday’s Angels. This year we are proud to announce Equality Florida and once again The Leather Archive & Museum as our beneficiaries.