I've developed a kink for boot worship and leather that I feel embarrassed about. Is this considered respectable within the community or is it seen as too out there?

Leather fetishism and boot worship are among the oldest and most institutionally embedded interests in organised BDSM. The leather community, which has its roots in post-war gay male biker and military culture, built an entire culture around leather as a material, a symbol, and an erotic focus. Boot worship specifically has been part of leather community ritual and practice for decades.

The International Mr. Leather competition, one of the most prominent events in kink culture, is explicitly built around leather identity. Leather bars, leather clubs, and leather cultural organisations exist in most major cities. The gear itself, boots, harnesses, chaps, caps, and all associated objects, carries extensive symbolic and erotic weight that the community takes seriously rather than dismissing.

Within this context, your interest in boot worship and leather is not only unremarkable but directly aligned with one of the most historically significant currents in BDSM culture. The embarrassment you feel is likely a product of how these interests are represented outside the community rather than how they are received inside it.

Finding that community is straightforward: leather clubs, leather events, and the leather sections of kink social platforms are all populated by people who share your interests. Fetlife in particular has extensive leather community activity.

The specific act of boot worship, caring for, shining, kissing, or otherwise venerating a partner's boots, is a well-established service and submission practice that intersects with leather gear fetish and is understood within community contexts as a meaningful expression of dynamics rather than something to be embarrassed about.