Bayowolf and Wolfspearl have been married for 42 years and partners in kink for the last 13. Shibari has become a central part of their journey over the past six years, deepening both their connection and their creativity. About a year and a half ago, with open communication and a deep commitment to their marriage, they chose to begin tying with other people—an experience that has expanded their skills and enriched the bond they share. Both live with autoimmune diseases and actively pursue health and strength through clean eating and an intense fitness regimen, showing that resilience, love, and rope can go hand in hand. In the episode Mya and Fox explore with this delightful couple: • Why they decided to tie with other tops and bottoms • How they explored and agreed what rope with others would look like • Their limits and boundaries to ensure they protect their relationship • What the most challenging topics of discussion were in that conversation • The ways in which they built trust in each other and relaxed some of their boundaries over time • The benefits gained and learnings through tying outside their marriage • Differences between tying with each other versus other people • Being each others’ cheerleaders • Integrating into the rope community as a rope top and rope bottom in their sixties • ‘Onboarding’ new rope bottoms safely • Their perspective on why there are so few rope bottoms over 35 in the community • Tips for older rope bottoms and tops integrating into a new rope community • And plenty more

Pearl began her rope bottoming journey in 2019 at the age of 57, attending Bondage Expo Dallas with her husband, Bayowolf. In preparation for Beach Bind 2021, they dove into the local rope scene, attending education-focused meetups to grow their skills. Despite her commitment, Pearl found rope bottoming challenging and noticed a lack of education directed at bottoms in her community, leading her to question whether rope was truly for her. That changed dramatically during an intensive at Beach Bind, where she received her first formal bottoming education from an experienced rope bottom. Learning how to process pain, distinguish between “good” pain and harmful pain, and care for herself during rope scenes transformed her experience. Since then, Pearl has been passionate about sharing what she’s learned, offering her insight and support to help others find empowerment and understanding in rope bottoming. The podcast hosts - both in their forties - are very invested in the topic, and discuss with Pearl: • Her rope journey • What she loves about rope • Why she nearly gave up at the start and how she learned to ‘manage the suck’ • Dealing with psychological hurdles about her age • How her life experiences have influenced her rope bottoming • How she keeps her body and mind healthy for rope • Her autoimmune disease and how it affects her rope bottoming • What it really means to ‘listen to your body’ • Handling the vasovagal response successfully • How rope has changed the way she views her body • Adaptations she uses • And finally the benefits of being an older rope bottom

In this episode Fox and Mya discuss how you might successfully combine rope play with a very popular form of BDSM activity, wax play! This is usually pouring or dripping molten wax over the skin of a play partner, in this case, while they are also tied up. The hosts explore in the episode: • Wax and rope aesthetics • Types of scene you can use wax within • Safety and risks and possible mitigations for these • Considerations for choice of position and tie • Wax removal • Challenges of clean up • Plus hear all about one of Fox’s ‘hottest’ ever scenes…

One of our lovely listeners left this comment for us with the following questions: 1. When it comes to being a rope educator, what are the essential skills someone should have? 2. How do you know if you're ready to teach rope to others? 3. How do you ensure you're not teaching above your own skill level? 4. How do you develop a rope curriculum? In this episode the rope podcast hosts explore these questions, sharing their own opinions and ideas on them, touching on: • Three essential skills before you think about teaching rope • Whether you are really the best person to decide if you’re ready to teach rope • Why being great at doing rope isn’t the same as being great as teaching rope • The skills that matter more than technical • Creating the right physical and psychological container for your class • Pre-requisites and how to position them • Why switches might not always make the best teachers • The difference between creating a rope curriculum and a rope class • Creating coherence in rope curriculums • What the difference is between a community leader and a rope educator • And plenty more.

BondageOtter(he/they) is the founder of Rope Burn SF, the USA’s first ongoing masc-of-center, rope-specific play party + skill share, with his remaining energy spent volunteering for numerous gay organizations. A queer leatherman and rope switch, he maintains a private S/M practice while organizing public education and play programs for the community of people who want to tie masc-of-center bodies. He commits a huge amount of his free time to successfully creating gay rope events and community, and in this episode shares some of his learnings on his journey in this area. In the episode, hear about: • The structure of Rope Burn • Logistics of large rope parties with 50-70 people • Using rope events to invest back in the community • Founding the men tying men conference in 2024 • What the conference experience looks like for participants • Choosing the right educators for the conference • Learnings from year one • Managing safety at this type of big, complex event • What public versus private play looks like for him • And more! Listen now on all podcast platforms. You can alsogo back to Episode 201 to hear part 1 of the interview. BondageOtter (he/they) is a queer leatherman and rope switch who maintains a private S/M practice while organizing public education and play programs for the community of people who want to tie masc-of-center bodies. He is particularly devoted to adapting Eastern aesthetic principles to the tying of larger bodies, honoring the history and feel of Japanese tying while opening it up to the erotic scenarios of the leather bar. While he has studied with many official and unofficial teachers in Japan, Europe, and the Americas, he has primarily focused on the styles of Naka Akira, Akechi Kanna, and Yoroï Nicolas. He He enjoys sharing his style of play with others, aiming for scenes to be both hot and hurty, where the progressive restriction of freedom encourages creative forms of expression for both top and bottom.

BondageOtter (he/they) is a queer leatherman and rope switch who maintains a private S/M practice while organizing public education and play programs for the community of people who want to tie masc-of-center bodies. His education seeks to fuse Japanese aesthetics with the erotics of gay leather culture. The podcast hosts talked to him about how his rope experience in that culture is different from the cis-het/pansexual community, and the unique perspective that, along with hie experience living in Japan and running events, gives him. He also shares some of the implications for tops and bottoms when you primarily tie men. With huge energy, a refreshingly direct and open perspective on rope and sexuality, and strong self-reflection, Bondage Otter is a delight to listen to. In the episode you can hear more about: • His rope journey • A great tip to break into the kink community • Three things he loves about rope • How shame and embarrassment figure in his play • What he does to blend Japanese aesthetics and gay leather culture • How he adapts Eastern aesthetic principles to be sustainable for larger body types • How he ‘reads’ a new partner for pick-up play • Tips for tying cut versus uncut penises • Suggestions for tying men from the perspective of both bottom and top • How to broaden your sources of inspiration for tying • Making the experience of suspending male bodies better for all parties • And plenty more. BondageOtter is the founder of Rope Burn SF, the USA’s first ongoing masc-of-center, rope-specific play party + skill share, with his remaining energy spent volunteering for numerous gay organizations. Listen now on all podcast platforms, and look out for Episode 202 to hear part 2 of the interview.

It’s hard for us to believe, but this episode is number 200 of the Rope Podcast. That’s a lot of ropey goodness! Starting back in 2017, we’ve somehow managed to produce episodes every two weeks on a regular basis. This fun episode celebrates our story so far - a story that in many ways echoes the growth of rope bondage in society at large. We hear updates from some of our guests, including Shay Tizano, Wooden Tiger, Faviola Llervu, RopuNawa, Violet Rain, MistressJ, Chrisian Red, Voudou Ropes, Ebi McKnotty and MarcyVQ, on how the podcast has impacted them personally and their communities. We also share some behind the scenes glimpses that will draw back the curtain on some of our ways of working (think, a lot of blushing for Mya, mostly!). Sit back and enjoy this jam-packed episode now, and use our reminiscences to find new angles on the topic of Rope Bondage once more.

Mistress J is an Australian switch known internationally for her gorgeous decorative rope. In our last episode we explored some fundamentals of the art, as well as getting to know Mistress J and her rope practice. In this episode, we go deeper, and talk to her about: • Pros and cons of mixing decorative rope with other forms of rope • Her inner sadist! • A top tip for performances (that Fox and Mya also implement) • Skills and qualities that a bottom can bring to decorative rope • What she needs to know from her bottom when tying this kind of rope • How tying artistic rope differs from other forms of rope • The starter kit you might need for trying out this rope • The rope gear she started with • Her go-to rope for decorative rope • Practical tips for people who want to tie in this style • What’s challenging about this type of rope • How she engages her creativity in artistic rope • Which ties are her favourite and why • Her fabulous ‘Tie July Challenge’ and why you want to join!

Mistress J, best known internationally for the decorative rope designs she creates, particularly beautiful, wearable rope art has been part of her local scene in Melbourne, Australia, for eleven years. She has been teaching skillshares in her community for nine years, drawing on her background in design and education, and she facilitates a group called ‘The Art of Rope’. Identifying as a Sensualist, she loves touch, and always tries to incorporate it in her scenes. She also enjoys learning, most recently focusing on chaos rope and more strenuous and torturous types of tie, continually expanding her skills. Fox and Mya enjoyed hearing her thoughts about decorative rope and authentic perspective, along with her very thorough approach to whatever she’s doing. Listen to the episode to hear the hosts explore with her: • How she was first introduced to rope bondage • What attracted her to rope even though initially it didn’t make se • How she initially fit in rope around looking after her two kids • What is decorative rope or ‘wearable art’ • How she integrates other crafting techniques into her ropework • Her collection of mannequins (including their names - we love this so hard!) • How a variety types of mannequins help with practicing different ties • Examples of some of her decorative ties • Complimentary skills that support her abilities in rope • How her neurodivergence is an asset in rope • How she enjoys a broad skillset - including other rope practices such as circus rope • Why decorative rope is so appealing to a wide variety of people • Tying her suitcase when travelling • And more… Listen now on all podcast platforms! Ps - Fun crossover: Mistress J talks about devouring the excellent book Shibari you can use by Lee Harrington (@passionandsoul) - who was our last interviewee in episodes 193-4 <3 Listen to those next!

Having lived in a number of condos and had a number of rope spaces, the podcast hosts have a lot of empathy for this question! The episode looks at what hard points are used for, what that means in terms of which hard points might work or not, and how those hard points do - or don’t - work in terms of a suspended ceiling (and why). In this episode, hear more about: • What actually is a suspended ceiling • Why you can’t use it for your hardpoint • Why we might want hard points for our rope • What the hosts *don’t* recommend (but is done a lot) • Some examples of free-standing frames and their pros and cons • Fox’s bespoke chain system attached to the condo walls • Lots of safety and risk discussion, and the need for rope bottoms to educate themselves in this area • And more! PS - Mya can’t remember who asked this Listener Question, so if it was you, let us know! She apologises profusely!

Last year, Fox and Mya learned the gorgeous Marquise harnesses from the one of the creators, @HwG-Paris. Fox was thrilled to learn a ‘French’ tie and the hosts of the podcast have experimented with it a number of times since. Fox has also had great positive feedback from some of the other rope bottoms who he’s tied it on, so this episode shares the harness more widely with listeners! In this episode, hear about: • What these decorative harnesses (chest and butt) look like • A rough idea of how the ties work • Pros/cons of learning a tie online 1:1 versus in-person • Safety pros, cons and cautions of the ties • What the harnesses feel like to wear • The importance of discussing your bottom’s gender identity or preferences in relation to how they want this to be tied on them • Examples of how using this in photoshoots and scenes • When you might/might not want to wear clothes under these harnesses • How the tie works with s3xy times • And more!

This is a new type of episode for the Rope Podcast, where Fox and Mya discuss how you might combine rope with other forms of play! Here they start with a classic pairing, ‘impact play’, which is very common for kinksters to integrate into rope scenes. In this episode they talk about using everything from pevertables to body parts to items made-for-play, as well as: • Why people like this kind of play • What kinds of toys you might use • The benefits of combining rope and impact • The psychological consequences of being tied for impact play • Aesthetics of this kind of scene • Safety concerns and suggestions • Practicalities of how you might combine these two types of play • Toys we especially like to combine with rope and why • Creating impact toys FROM rope! • Important things to know when bottoming for impact in rope • How rope influences the marks made during impact • Some examples from Fox and Mya’s own play • Ideas for positions you might use • And more!

As well as writing the extremely influential “Shibari You Can Use: Japanese Rope Bondage and Erotic Macramé”, Lee Harrington has taught over 1100 classes. Fox and Mya asked him about his experiences as a rope educator, focusing particularly on on classes that explore tying non-cisgender men and women. In this interview, hear them discuss: • How he got into education - reluctantly! • Education and tips on being a better rope educator • His best and worst education moments • How he avoids rope educator burn out • Modelling vulnerability as a teacher • How he keeps his (extensive!) class list fresh for him and his students • Using rope to emphasise (and deemphasise) different parts of the body • How the rope community can do better for transgender people • What makes a good genderqueer tie • Ideas on how to use rope to masculinise and feminise • And more!

You wouldn’t believe the number of times our guests and listeners share that their introduction to Shibari was the book “Shibari You Can Use: Japanese Rope Bondage and Erotic Macramé”. We are thus thrilled to share the first of two episodes with the author, another OG of US rope, Lee Harrington. Lee Harrington (he/they) is a spiritual and erotic authenticity educator, gender explorer, eclectic artist, and award-winning author and editor on erotic and sacred experience. As a rigger, self-binder, and rope bottom he has been teaching ropework and other topics since 2001 across 50 states and 6 other countries. In this super interview with him Fox and Mya discuss: • His jam-packed rope journey • Types of rope fibers he uses (and why) • Pros and cons of established partners versus new partners in rope • The challenges of working in the adult film industry • The impact of surgery, including top surgery, on how you get tied • Useful language to ensure we’re inclusive when tying • Tips on navigating the rope community when you’re new • How the rope community has evolved over time • Thoughts on ‘one-true-wayism’ in rope • How Lee integrates rope with all the many other gifts and interests he brings to the world • And more!

This episode was recorded in July 2024. The second part of our interview with the lovely Kink Name Pending and Petite Pretzel focuses on tying male bodies, as well as bodies with ‘out-y’ bits (which are sometimes the same, sometimes not!). The two rope switches share wise advice (and they, and the podcast, note that some of this will apply to tying genders of all types), including: • Risks you might not have thought of • P3nis predicaments • Handling size differences • Body hair • And plenty more. NB: The alternative title for this episode would be ‘How to wrestle an octopus’ (IYKYK) Pen (KinkNamePending) is a UK-based rope switch who loves the connections that shibari inspires and the wide range of experiences with vulnerability and trust it has brought him. Outside of rope, he is keenly interested in anatomy and physiology and has studied these topics extensively; he brings his perspective and understanding of the human body into rope. He has performed in the UK and abroad. Petite Pretzel is a rope switch from New York City. She has been teaching shibari since 2019 at Anatomie Studio, London, as well as teaching and performing elsewhere in the UK and internationally. Her commercial rigging includes music video credits (Charli XCX, Christine + the Queens), art gallery installation (Elizabeth Xi Bauer gallery), fashion photography and full-length film. She lives in Bethnal Green with her cat, who loves ropes just as much as she does. Tune in to Episode 191 to hear part 1 of the episode.

This episode was recorded in July 2024 Two guests for the price of one! After enjoying very much a performance by rope switches Petite Pretzel and Kink Name Pending in Thailand last year, we invited them on the podcast to talk about their perspectives on rope. In this first part of the interview, hear about how they enjoy inverting some of the normal rope tropes, their love of predicaments, and the positive side of being set up to fail as a rope bottom! Petite Pretzel is a rope switch from New York City. She has been teaching shibari since 2019 at Anatomie Studio, London, as well as teaching and performing elsewhere in the UK and internationally. Her commercial rigging includes music video credits (Charli XCX, Christine + the Queens), art gallery installation (Elizabeth Xi Bauer gallery), fashion photography and full-length film. She lives in Bethnal Green with her cat, who loves ropes just as much as she does. Pen (KinkNamePending) is a UK-based rope switch who loves the connections that shibari inspires and the wide range of experiences with vulnerability and trust it has brought him. Outside of rope, he is keenly interested in anatomy and physiology and has studied these topics extensively; he brings his perspective and understanding of the human body into rope. He has performed in the UK and abroad.

Happy New Year dear listeners! Our second end of year episode where we pull together favorite rope experiences from our guests across the year. We find it super inspiring for our own play, and hope your imagination (and maybe more!) is also stimulated. The episode includes scenes from • Gorgone • Knotty Devil • vahavta • Anna Noctuelle • FoxofBangkok Click to listen now!

Woo hoo! It’s one of our most popular episodes of the year - where our amazing guests from throughout 2024 share the details of one of their favourite rope scenes. In this episode, you can hear about one of the favourite rope bondage scenes of these rope susperstars: • Anna Bones • Knothead • Voudou Ropes • Ceci Ferox • and Mya! As well as providing a diversity of fascinating insights into others’ play, the episode can inspire you to new types of rope and creativity.

Mya shares her new erotica shorts book- which may or may not be inspired by some of her earlier adventures with Fox. In the episode Fox asks her what the book is about and why she chose to write BDSM erotica. They also discuss some of the constraints on writing this kind of work. Mya then reads a short excerpt from one of the stories in the collection. Finally listen to Fox announce the next book he’s working on!

Stuck for a Christmas, Hanukah or Thanksgiving gift idea? The Rope Podcast has you covered! Listen to the episode to hear Fox and Mya talk through 50 - yes, 50! - different present ideas for all occasions that you can buy your play partner, lover, polycule member, friend, or local rope studio. They cover the range from a few dollars to a thousand so plenty of range for a variety of budgets. They own many items themselves and share stories of how they use them, and make suggestions for how you should choose the item that will suit your giftee. They discuss where you might get some of these products, and also introduce their new rope merch in case you want to share with someone a Rope Podcast gift! Finally they discuss why you might want a rope-related gift, and the sorts of reasons items that telegraph your interests might be useful.