Rope Podcast

A ‘value’ is simply something that is important to those within a context - for example, we might have individual values, couple values, organisational values, community values or, in the case of this episode, rope values! So how might we apply this concept of values in rope? How can they be useful to us and how we make decisions or chose our behaviours? The podcast hosts discuss this interesting topic, including: • How many values might be useful to focus on at a time? • What might you use values for? • The Rope Podcast’s values, what they mean and why we chose them • Aspirational values, implicit values, expliciti values, lived values • Practical applications of values in rope • fox and Mya talk through our personal rope values and what they mean to us • How our personal rope values might inform whether someone is a good match to tie together

Mel, known as the Accidental Rigger, is a rope switch with a lot of experience handling and maintaining large amounts of rope. A neurodiverse, queer, rope customisation professional from the Middle East who laid down roots in London, she began by treating ropes for Anatomie’s Shibari Store, modelling for classes, and as a teaching assistant for rope bottoms. In this second part of our interview with her, focusing more on the practicalities of looking after your rope and making sure it’s as safe as possible for as long as possible, she shares: • Her preferences for the types and customisation of rope she uses as a bottom and as a top • How should we store regularly-used-rope v rarely-used-rope • Can you clean rope that’s been in contact with bodily fluids, including blood? • The challenges you need to handle when rope gets wet and risk implications • Keeping an eye on your rope for potential breakages • The secret behind her name, the Accidental Rigger! After dedicating years to learning from a variety of practitioners, Mel has become a teacher for both riggers and bottoms. She has been offering rope customisations services and education, and rigging services for productions and events since 2021. As a teacher, she finds joy in introducing people to rope, working with them to encourage curiosity and to teach them in the best way possible for them as individuals. Mel’s style is often described as ‘meeting bottom’s where they’re at and seeking to give them what they need”. She is committed to her growth in her rope practice and developing her style.

Mel, known as the Accidental Rigger, has a great deal of hands on practice in rope - rigging, bottoming and handling and maintaining large quantities of rope. A neurodiverse, queer, rope customisation professional from the Middle East who laid down roots in London, she began by treating ropes for Anatomie’s Shibari Store, modelling for classes, and as a teaching assistant for rope bottoms. After dedicating years to learning from a variety of practitioners, she has become a teacher for both riggers and bottoms. She has been offering rope customisations services and education, and rigging services for productions and events since 2021. As a teacher, she finds joy in introducing people to rope, working with them to encourage curiosity and to teach them in the best way possible for them as individuals. Mel’s style is often described as ‘meeting bottom’s where they’re at and seeking to give them what they need”. She is committed to her growth in her rope practice and developing her style. In this interview, she shares: • How she discovered rope bondage • Her relationship and connection with Anatomie Studio • What place rope holds in her life now • Her background as a circus performer • Being a House Rigger and other rope activities through which she earns a living • What a House Rigger is and what they do • Pros, cons, risks, discomforts and challenges of House Riggers • What she has learned from being a House Rigger • How being a House Rigger has helped her develop her more subby service side through topping • Her journey into rope maintenance • Why is rope maintenance is an important topic for rope tops and bottoms • Unusual types of customisation/personalisation you can do to your rope kit

Both fox (as a rope top) and Mya (as a rope bottom) live with chronic pain in different ways, and exploring the topic in rope bondage is very important to them. In this episode, they address the idea that the activity of rope bondage can impact physical chronic pain, and some of the ways it might do this. They note they’re not Doctors, and pain is *always* a subjective experience, but however you manage it - with props or processing - pain is something in rope bondage you are almost certain to have to deal with in some sense, both as a top and a bottom. The episode focuses on the importance of a more nuanced conversation about pain in rope bondage, and the hosts would love to hear about your experiences in the area. The team discuss: • The difference between chronic pain and acute pain • Where chronic pain comes from and what is it • ‘Good pain’ versus ‘bad pain’ and when these concepts are and aren’t helpful • Variability in humans of altered headspace in rope and how they might impact on chronic pain • New / different pain in rope and how it can change your experience of chronic pain • Trading off different types of pain in rope • Locus of control and how it affects our experience of pain • How rope bondage can help us change our body’s story and reclaim our pain • Increasing our self-knowledge through the experience of pain in rope bondage • How physical touch and connection can decrease pain • Therapeutic rope, what is it, and what it isn’t • Pressure and compression and pain gate theory • Recovery from rope bondage scenes • Realism about the constant trade offs with chronic pain (spoons)

In our last episode we enjoyed the first part of our lovely interview with JP the Pope (find the first part of the conversation at Ep:150). With 20+ years in professional rope bondage adult videos, he has a wealth of interesting experiences to talk about, plus his shoots are some of the most interesting and creative rope bondage positions for sex the podcast team has seen. In this episode discover: • When he’s gotten it wrong, accidents and injuries he’s been involved with in rope bondage and how he’s dealt with them • Discussing limits and consent before starting to shoot • How ego kills talent • The benefits of working with an empowered, trusted crew • Continuous improvement and learning, and how he does this • How he comes up with positions for his shoots • Aftercare off-camera (and the critical place of hugs!) • Working with his wife on set and the roles they take • Blooper moments over the years The Pope has been practicing bondage professionally since 2004. He is a bondage rigger, but also a director and performer. The Pope recently has been added to the AVN Hall of Fame, which is the first bondage director/performer ever recognized in that capacity.  Hopefully this paves the way for future bondage/fetish performers and directors to be more accepted and recognized by mainstream media.  NB: Apologies, we had some problems with the sound at fox and Mya’s end, so bear with us. Luckily no issue with the Pope’s! Catch episode 150 for the first half of the interview.

The Pope has been practicing bondage professionally since 2004. He is a bondage rigger, but also a director and performer. The Pope recently has been added to the AVN Hall of Fame, which is the first bondage director/performer ever recognized in that capacity.  Hopefully this paves the way for future bondage/fetish performers and directors to be more accepted and recognized by mainstream media.  fox’s rope has been heavily influenced by JP’s work over the years, and the podcast team have watched many of his videos (for research! ;)), so they were thrilled to talk to him here. In this episode discover: • His journey to discovering rope bondage • How he got into the adult entertainment industry • Taking inspiration from other rope practitioners around him • Rope’s place in his life personally and professionally now • His influences from Western freestyle to Shibari (via Midori’s book!) • Using rope bondage in a personal versus a professional context • Sadism versus sustainability • Tips for sustainability in rope bondage (fox has been using one of them since the interview!) • Why JP doesn’t have intercourse on camera • Some of the biggest challenges he has faced on shoots NB: Apologies, we had some problems with the sound at fox and Mya’s end, so bear with us. Luckily no issue with the Pope’s! Catch episode 151 for the second half of the interview.

What is a ritual, and why might it be something we include in our rope? fox and Mya discuss the topic and how it might add magic and sparkle to our rope practice, including some examples of what it might look like. They also discuss: • A definition of what a ritual is, and how we might apply that to our rope • Pros and cons of ritual • The importance of education and accessibility in creating your rituals • Common elements of ritual in rope • Different levers to create more ritual in rope • Why ‘intention’ is critical in creating ritual • Concrete examples of ritual from the rope world • Aspects of ritual and how you might play with them in your scenes **What’s your favourite rope ritual?**

The Silence is a California based photographer who specializes in boudoir and kink photography, including shibari and kinbaku. When he started, everyone was photographing their rope work with flip phones - and the he thought to himself, why not learn to take better pictures. Five years of practice later, he has discovered a deep love of photography, enjoying experimenting with lighting and posing to create striking images. In developing his art and passion he’s shot with people around the world, and here at the podcast we find his work very inspiring, and him talented - yet in person he’s humble and genuine. We loved hearing about his passion for photography and behind the scenes experiences. In this episode he shares: • His rope origin story • How he got into rope photography • His 3Ps in rope • The background to his kink name • The rope he likes for a scene versus a photoshoot • His negotiation process • How he collaborates with models for photoshoots • His postproduction process • Tips he gives rope bottoms when modelling • Great advice for new rope photographers • His current and future focus in rope and photography

There’s no such thing as perfect, there’s always things we can improve, no matter who we are, and what level, type and role in rope we are at. Feedback can help us with that - but it’s a delicate topic that we need to approach with kindness and a gentle touch. The podcast hosts firmly believe in feedback (outside and inside the world of rope!) for us to be better not just in terms of rope, but also as rope partners, people, and just as a life skill in general. In this episode, Mya brings some of her professional experience as a psychologist to the episode, and the podcast hosts discuss: • What feedback is, and why it might be important in rope • A guide to how you might structure feedback • Warm feedback versus cold feedback • Why ego kills talent • The difference between criticism and talent • More and less effective ways to give feedback in rope • Why it’s important to focus on the behaviour not the person when sharing feedback • “I” versus “you” statements • Non-Violent Communication and how it might inspire our feedback • Why you shouldn’t use the ‘sandwich’ approach when giving feedback • Examples of feedback the top and bottom can give each other • Tips on how to receive feedback more easily • The importance of discussing ‘what good looks like’ before your rope, and how that relates to feedback Get ready - this episode goes deep!

Assistant is a large language model trained by OpenAI, and fox and Mya were interested to see how they could help provide information and insights on rope bondage, and how accurate it might be. The results surprised them both… In this episode hear Assistant’s thoughts on: • What rope bondage is, and if shibari and rope bondage are the same thing • How AI can be useful to those interested in rope bondage • The risks of rope bondage, and what people like about it • How we can improve our rope bondage skills • Advice for newcomers in rope bondage • How to find a partner to do rope bondage with • Some creative writing from Assistant - a William-Gibson-style cyberpunk novel with a central theme of rope bondage and a poem about rope bondage in the style of Byron! Finally, we checked with Assistant that they were ok with publishing their answers and this is what they said: You are welcome to use some of my answers as quotes in your podcast episode. However, please be aware that I am a large language model trained by OpenAI, and the answers I provide are not my own thoughts or opinions. My responses are generated based on the data and training materials that I have been given, and do not necessarily reflect the views of any individual or organization. If you do use my answers as quotes in your podcast, I would appreciate it if you would attribute them to me as a large language model trained by OpenAI.