Rope Podcast

Ep160: Together in the Dark - Creating an erotic rope bondage book: an interview with Fox The one where Fox makes a book… Fox’s latest creative project is a book of erotic rope bondage, called ‘Together in the Dark’. Here Mya interviews him about the background to this gorgeous artefact, and tries not to blush when talking about the subject matter. Mya and Fox even get to surprise each other with some of their questions and answers! Listen to the episode now to hear more about: • The ‘why’ behind the book • What the exploration of the physical medium brings over digital photos • The focus of the book and what makes it unique • Why those ties? Why those pictures? Why that order? • Which is Fox’s favourite photo? • How the creation process worked • The inspiration behind the erotic art in the book • How to go from no book to a book! • What Fox learned about himself through the rope book’s creation • The beliefs he challenged with the book - of his own, and those he hopes to challenge of others • His learnings and what surprised him when making the book

This is a rope focus episode, chosen by our lovely Patrons! In this episode, Fox and Mya discuss a tie that Fox created, that involves a lot of bamboo, and a sense of entombment…perfect for Halloween! Listen to the episode and discover plenty of information about this innovative tie, and even enter a competition to win a copy of Fox’s new rope erotica photo book, which is in (very) limited run right in its current format. Hear the podcast hosts discuss: • What this tie actually is • Risks and safety considerations to be aware of • Where the bamboo comes in and alternatives you could use • What it feels like to experience as a bottom • Who might enjoy this kind of tie • Thoughts on suspending a Hitsugi

Listener gggwolverine asks on behalf of a friend, what do rope bottoms do while the rope is going on, especially if the person is naturally a little self-conscious. To someone new to rope, the rope top has a more ‘obvious’ role in terms of the scene, but it can be intimidating as the bottom in the scene to know what to do. The most important thing is ‘there is no should’ - it’s very personal as to what works for one rope bottom, one rope top, and also that specific combination of rope bottom and top, on any particular day. However, in this episode the hosts give some suggestions to choose from, and discuss: • The pros and cons of watching others for ideas on how to behave • How what you see outside (‘rope face’!) might differ from what’s happening inside the bottom • The importance of context in terms of influencing behaviour • Intent and scene purpose • Active bottoming and anticipating • Changing your behaviour according to different types of scene or people • Examples of how you *could* behave in rope • Outcome versus process orientated tying • Managing anxiety in rope As ever there are plenty of ideas and practical tips for bottoms and tops, so listen now!

In this episode, Fox and Mya discuss mummification with rope - the Mummy Tie! The podcast hosts discuss what it means to mummify a (live!) person and how you can do it with rope. They offer tips and tricks from their experience. Listen to the episode to hear them discuss: • Body placement • Characteristics and aesthetics of a Mummification Tie • How it feels to be in a Mummy Tie • Safety and risk considerations of this tie • Different positions of the bottom while tying and how these work • Pros and cons of forward versus reverse tension • Likely pain points in the tie and possible adjustments to help • Ways for the top to avoid RSI • What kind of top and bottom might enjoy this kind of tie • How to (or not to) include sexytimes in this tie • Extra considerations if you want to suspend the Mummy Tie

Rope bondage can be thrilling, and part of that thrill comes from the risk. However, we all have different risk profiles, and it’s best to go into a scene really understanding what the risks might be. In this episode, fox and Mya consider some of the risks of rope bondage, and ways one could mitigate these. They also discuss: • Definitions of key terms like Risk, Risk:Reward ratio, mitigation • The two dimensions along which one can classify risk to understand it better • Exploring and understanding risk and how something like the ‘Five Why’s game can help • Key areas of knowledge that help us mitigate risk in rope bondage • Planning for risk, and using ‘if this, then this’ in your plans • The critical role of trusted or validated resources in considering risk • Fox’s big five risks in rope bondage and suggestions on how you might mitigate for them

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.