With the invention of his waterproof Maine Hunting Shoe, Leon revolutionized footwear. He promoted his own creations as well as those of others, including hunting decoys and other tools, which created a sales platform for other outdoor goods manufacturers and brought outdoor gear to a larger audience.

Leon was born in 1872 in Maine, USA. The son of a farmer and horse trader, Leon exhibited an early interest in entrepreneurship. He started earning money at nine years old, selling steel traps. After his parents both passed away when he was 12, he and his five siblings were sent to live with an aunt and uncle. He continued to make his own money, however, selling his first deer at age 13. He was able to pay his own way through private school, including a commercial course at Kent’s Hill Academy and one semester at Hebron Academy.

As he got older and continued his passion for hunting and fishing, Leon created his first product—waterproof boots—out of sheer necessity. He’d become frustrated when his boots would flood with water during outdoor activities. Tired of wet, sore feet, Leon set to work to create waterproof boots. Through trial and error, in 1912 he created his design of leather uppers and rubber bottoms, which he called the Maine Hunting Shoe.

To sell his product, Leon launched an advertising campaign. Geared toward Maine hunters, the marketing brochure guaranteed the quality of the shoe, promising a refund on any unsatisfactory product. In total, he sold 100 pairs, 90 of which were returned due to cracks in the shoes. Undeterred, Leon took out a US$400 loan and traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, USA, where he worked with the United States Rubber Manufacturer to improve the quality and usefulness of the shoe.

In 1917, Leon had made enough money to move his company to Freeport, Maine, where he employed local people to cut and stitch the shoes. In 1918, he applied for and was granted patents for his design in both the U.S. and Canada.

Leon’s initial marketing brochure eventually grew to become a 12-page catalog. By his death in 1967, the catalog included 100 pages and over 400 items. He authored two books, Hunting, Fishing and Camping in 1942 and My Story: The Autobiography of a Down-East Merchant in 1960, and was the subject of another written by his grandson, L.L. Bean: The Making of an American Icon. Today, the L.L. Bean store lives on in retail locations and online, as well as its print catalog. It is still based in Freeport, Maine. Leon was inducted into the Global Business Hall of Fame in 1993.