Rope Podcast

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.

Fox and Mya, the hosts of the podcast, met doing rope, and so when it came to planning their wedding, it seemed a no-brainer to include it. In this episode, they discuss their recent rope wedding, choices they made, and the creative compromise they made to enable them to tie their harnesses before the ceremony whilst also keeping the tradition of the groom not seeing the bride before the ceremony! Listen to hear them discuss: • What it means to have a rope wedding • Why they chose the venue • How they catered to vanilla and kinky friends • What the ceremony looked like • Content they wrote for their vows • How they incorporated rope into their clothing • Balancing tradition and kink • Deciding what kind of rope to include in the ceremony • Considerations for tying over a wedding dress • Honeymoon rope Would you/have you included rope in a wedding? We’d love to hear your experiences in the comments below!

Vahavta has created some amazing resources, in particular, the Risk Evaluation Database, which curates possible risks for various BDSM activities (like rope bondage!) we might engage in - from the common (bruising) to the ones you’re unlikely to think of (retina detachment), even the very rare ones.  In this second part of Fox and Mya’s interview with her, they discuss: • Why she put together the Risk Evaluation Database (RED) • What is a risk profile and why might you need one for rope bondage • How to use RED to create your own risk profile • Tips for kinkies with chronic health issues • What skills can chronic health issues bring • How she processed the impact of her health condition on her choices • The impact of fitness on rope bondage • How we can make the conversation about fitness and rope bottoming more useful • Tips for rope bottoms on pain processing • And more! Vahavta writes, teaches, and speaks on CNC, emotional S/m, kink + chronic illness/disability, pain processing, and negotiation and communication on the edge. Feel free to share your thoughts on the topic in the comments <3

Vahavta writes, teaches, and speaks on CNC, emotional S/m, kink + chronic illness/disability, pain processing, and negotiation and communication on the edge. She is also a creator of some wonderful resources, such as the Risk Evaluation Database, and the ‘Kink Beyond Limits’ power exchange workbooks. We wanted to talk to her about all these, along with her choice to give up being a rope bottom, as this is a story that often happens, but is rarely talked about. Listen to this episode to hear about: • Her rope journey • Her health background and why she gave up rope • Reasons for the rope scene skewing young • EDS and why it might be more common in the rope scene • How being flexible in rope might not always be a good thing • Why many people with hyper-mobile EDS are drawn to rope • How rope bottoms can build longevity in rope • Balancing strength and flexibility • How the Beighton Score might help you know if you might have EDS • Why active bottoming is critical for those with EDS • How she views her time in rope bondage with the benefit of hindsight • And more! Feel free to share your thoughts on the topic in the comments <3