Fetish Focus showcases the work of creatives around the globe and highlight how fetish has inspired them. With the help of Recon member BlackBoot11, we're providing a platform for artists to highlight how fetish has inspired and influenced them – celebrating what it is that gets you thinking and what gets you off.
Recon Member Gatsbykinbaku by BlackBoot11
Meet Gatsbykinbaku from Sydney. He loves to travel and meet sexy guys from all over. His passion is rope and tying up men willing to be his subjects. Here is what he has to share...
BlackBoot11: You say that there is not much Shibari going on in Oz... which is surprising to me with your (sort of) proximity to the east and Japan. So, how did you get started with this and who were your influences?
Gatsbykinbaku: There is a reasonable rope scene here, but It's mostly heterosexual. In Sydney there aren't many male rope artists tying men and not many who are gay. As for me, my rope bondage education came from both lovers and friends. I was first tied up by a lover in London 15 years ago. He blindfolded me, tied me up and I was hooked. From behind closed doors, I mostly learned by making mischief and having fun. I greatly admire the works of Hajime Kinoko, Hikari Keisho aka Alberto Lisi, Zee Maitri and fellow Sydney artist Garth Knight.
BB11: Did you start with being bound or always as a rope master?
GK: London was the city that I learned about love and kink. The more adventures I had, the more I realised I was more of a rope top. I didn't practice with any masters and don't subscribe to a school or lineage. My style of rope borrows from the ancient and beautiful practice of Japanese Kinbaku/Shibari and Hojojutsu. With the knowledge from these practices, I add rope work that comes from nautical, climbing and Chinese decorative knot work. I'm a climbing arborist and use rope, hardware and knots for work. I have to be confident in these knots. A mistake there can mean life and death. Strangely enough, when I get home I'm back on the rope.
BB11: Where do you find the models for your sessions - friends/clients/locals/travellers/recon???
GK: My rope subjects are a mixture of lovers, friends and models I've met travelling. As a RECON member I have connected with more than a couple on there too...LOL!
BB11: Tell me more about objectification vs. submission role play in your personal style.
GK: With the majority of the rope sessions I've been a part of over the years, the dynamic is mostly an interplay of pain, pleasure, bondage, submission and degradation. In a consensual space held with trust, they all have been fertile and HOT places to play. With time I found my interest moved into more of an obsession with how the rope can be used to do more than restrain. Rope can be used to sculpt the body into shapes, positions and feelings. There is a danger and risk to practicing rope that makes it very special to me. It demands that I am always present, in control and exact in what I am doing. It is a very special thing for a man to give you his body to be tied up. The vulnerability, trust and journey we go on together is sacred to me. With certain sessions, his life is literally in my hands. I never forget this.
With my practice I use the rope to control my sub's breathing, senses and take them from a physical, to an emotional and sometimes a psychological space. My obsession is in how to present the body to be viewed, objectified and then devoured. The big difference between my practice now and when I first started all those years ago, is vast. Now I train my subs to present themselves to me. They are smiling, proud and sometimes laughing. There is a lightness and empowerment to my play now, when it was once very serious. My rope bunny's proudly writhe in my creations, sometimes struggling to be freed, more often than not resisting – simply to add to their pleasure. My creations play with the tension of risk and reward. Pushing backwards may cause ass cheeks to spread further apart but will also tighten the noose on the cock and balls... while bound there is a decision making that takes place. This playfulness is what inspires me. Rope is a beautiful and a very sexy practice.
If you're interested in or want to recommend a fetish and kink-based artist to be featured on Recon, please send your ideas along with a link to: social@recon.com with the subject: Fetish Focus.
