Terrell - September 2007

Name: Terrell

Age: 39

Orientation: Behavior Control Technician

Marital status: Married and Poly

Do you currently have a sub or play partner:  I have a few play partners

You were the first openly identified heterosexual to compete for the International Mr. Leather title. Why do you believe so few heterosexuals compete in leather contests?
Several reasons: the economy, awareness and lack of interest.  The gay social scene is based primarily in the bar scene and many of the leather titles were used to promote bars in addition to a positive image of gay leather. The het and Pansexual communities are based around play parties, munches and dungeons (not many, however) aren't based on scenes that aren't looking for promotion and therefore there is no need for hets to compete.  Even though there is a lot of pansexual play there are still many people in the het communities who aren't aware of the leather title circuit and if they are, it is a very basic understanding.  Lastly there are people who aren't interested because they are not community service oriented and they just want to play and contribute to their groups.  Also lets look at the numbers there are hets who compete and don't win, but you don't hear about them.  Since 98 I am aware of about 16 het identified leather titleholders, and some who are bi-sexual.   Some of them (including myself - either bi or het) have held national or international titles from systems such as Olympus, International Master/slave, International Ms.  Bootblack and International Ms. Leather.  Eight years ago, when I became the first  het-identified titleholder in Oklahoma, I found it interesting that  being  the first African American to hold this title was overshadowed by my  sexual  preference.  

Do you think there is a need in our community for title contests created specifically for bdsm lifestylers who do NOT identify themselves as leathermen/women?
There already is an International Pansexual title - Mr. and Ms. Olympus Leather its open to anyone who wants to promote a positive image of the lifestyle according to how they live it.  There is also the International Master and slave title where many hets compete and have won.  I would like to see more BDSMers, fetishists and kinky furries compete for Olympus.  It gives the individual a global perspective about what is happening out in various communities.  It gives you the opportunity to share ideas, and possible solutions to problems that your local community may be having. Back in 2003 me and Michael - Ann, International Ms Bootblack, 2000 would kid around and say we should become the first International Mr. and Ms Het Leather and we'd go the International Mr.  Leather with the back patches on and people would say "I've never heard of that title" and we'd say, "what? where have you been?" 

Explain to our readers what the difference between Western and Nawa shibari is, and what type of rope a shibari newbie should invest in. The primary differences that I see is history, aesthetics and purpose (to varying degrees).  The purpose is to bind, facilitate a sense of freedom through helplessness Japanese style bondage is historically rooted in pulp art   called Ukiyoe and Hojojutsu (loosely quoting Fetish Diva Midori, Mark Yu and Numinous).  Each style has their own sense of aesthetics, and this part is relative to what your personal tastes may be.  There is also a lot of integration of various styles, from nautical ties, to celtic knot work.   According to people who've mentored me the purpose of Kinbaku and Nawa Shibari is kink or fetish play.  It’s about making a connection by using   rope. There are techniques that are rooted in hojojutsu, but the purpose of hojojutsu was to bind criminals and such.  But, hojojutsu is becoming a   growing interest in the kinky community.  I always recommend that the beginners get either cotton or nylon rope.  It should be about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch thick.  If it is nylon make sure that it is braided and has no core.  For those interested in shibari, I recommend cotton or nylon at first, but if you want to invest in natural fibers then get 6-8mm jute or hemp that should be cut into 7-8 meters in length.  Opinions vary, so ask the rope venders questions and the best resources for natural fibers (that I personally use) are: Twisted Monk, Japanrope.com.  Others to look into are:  Bossbondage.com, shop.http://fesseltrieb.de (German based site that has good quality and is relatively cheap), I'm also keeping my eye on www.illicitropes.com.  

We recently discovered that you are an accomplished author with articles published on several prominent websites. What do you like to write about, and where can we find your articles?
I've written over 70 articles on various topics, poems and essays. I initially started off writing about the Oklahoma scene and then I branched out to various topics.  I googled  myself  a few years ago and found one of my articles on Old Guard Leather was  listed  with Vi, Joseph Bean, Jack Rinella, and Guy Baldwin.  I just about shit my pants.  I've written pieces for the Leatherpage.com, The Leather Journal, “Pain" (a compilation where the proceeds go for Vi Johnson's Welcome  Home),  fetbot.com and the Dom's View.  I currently write for leatherweb.com.   I used to write weekly, now I produce three or four articles a year.  I have also had the opportunity to interview leather and fetish icons such as Jill Carter, Viola Johnson, Queen Cougar, Thom Dombkowski (former head judge of IML - recently deceased) and Fetish Diva Midori.  

So, what's the scene like in Oklahoma?
Pretty nice, I kind of float  around  from group to group (Oklahoma Leather Guard, Tulsa Dungeon Society,  OKCKink,  Dominion and Oklahoma Fetish Factory) we have a major event Tribal Fire  that  NLA-OKC produces; we have about 8 BDSM and Leather organizations, and  I'm  not sure how many swing clubs exist.  We're seeing a growing trend where swing and BDSM parties are combined and we have cross membership in the   Leather and BDSM clubs like the Oklahoma Fetish Factory and OKCKink are making significant strides to bring those communities together.  There, just like any other community, tons of private parties that integrate the two lifestyles. There is also a significant leather and fetish cross  over  where the leather community will attend and support bdsm munches and  play  parties and the fetish groups will in turn attend leather bar nights  and  contests (TULSA, Tulsa Dungeon Society, The Dominion and NLA-OKC are  great  examples of this

I think this is due to the economy - there is cross membership and participation that lends to a stronger economic support  system.  I think that makes Oklahoma original, because there is so much  cross membership - it also reflects in the number of hets and people who are bi who compete for leather titles in this state. We have 6 people who identify as het either who currently hold or have held leather titles - more than any other place that I can think of.  To sum it up, I think we are   pretty diverse. I am very aware that this is now happening in other regions of the country, but this has been going on in the state of Oklahoma for   almost 10 years.  Tell us about the work you've done for NCSF (National Coalition for Sexual Freedom) and why the organization is so important to the bdsm community. I was the Outreach coordinator.  I created a list of top tier events to attend. I initiated contact with event coordinators and promoters in order to get NCSF presence in capacities such as tabling, negotiating classes and microphone time.  The NCSF is pretty much doing many things to protect individuals’ civil liberties.  They have merged with the Institute of 21st Century Relationships and have partnered with the Free Speech Coalition.  They have also recently acquired Kink Aware Professionals (KAP) which is a professional referral service for alternative lifestylers.  The NCSF is the only organization that I am aware of who's purpose is the protect the civil liberties of people who are in the BDSM communities.  There are other organizations who do this as well, but their primary mission is first amendment freedoms - which includes alternative sexual expression.  The NCSF is the only organization whose specific mission is to support people who participate in alternative lifestyles such as BDSM, swing and polyamory.

Body punching has become an increasingly popular scene at the local dungeons these days. Why do you believe some forms of edge-play are viewed as socially acceptable during public play, while others (such as face slapping, body punching) are often shied away from?
Because it has a negative social connotation.  It is something that you really can't say without getting a look.  However, when people do examine this activity deeper (as virtually any other activity), they discover that there are many advantages of playing like this such as primal expression and an intense Top and bottom space.  Since edge play covers a spectrum of activities, there are varied opinions about the activities too.  I personally see a lot of people across the   country participating in this activity and that's because there have been people such as Mark Frazier, Mr. Dawson, Hardy Haberman and Joe Gallagher (all who are either well respected leathermen and or former International Leather titleholders) who were playing like this in and out of dungeons as well as conducting seminars on it.  I picked up on it about 8 years ago.  It didn’t become a regular part of what I do until 2002, I think.  

Give us a few pointers on the finer aspects of body punching and deep tissue bruising. Which areas of the body should we avoid hitting, and which areas can we go buck wild on?
One of the things that I see is that people think that you're hauling off and decking people.  For me it isn't like that, I am actually measuring each blow.  The biggest problem that I see is that people playing where the muscle tissue is not as dense which can cause fractures.  I stay with the meaty areas. (Deltoids, Quadracepts, Hamstrings, biceps and triceps for the most part) A couple of years ago Jay Wisemen gave me  some  good advice about staying away from the chest or impacting the sternum  (not  that I have done it or even condone it) but he made me aware of  Commotio  Cordis.  Commotio cordis can be caused by a moderate blunt impact to the chest. It is a rare event, however very possible.  Since then I avoid the pectoral area completely.  Other things that you also want to be aware of is prior medical history or any injuries that may have occurred which may cause problems to the individual if an impact should occur in that area. You should also be aware of bruising in their various degrees from skin to skeletal and the result of each.  In addition have a good idea about both the vascular and nervous system in order to avoid where not to hit. It takes one bad experience to mess it up - trust me. What I generally do is more percussive play and my objective is to have a thuddy impact that will send energy through someone.  My favorite scenes are when I play with two people and I deliver blows to one person and the other person can feel the reverberations - kind of like sharing energy.  At times things get pretty base and primal and we're all growling and grabbing, and biting each other - it gets really HOT!!!  

So what does your wife of eight years think about all this?
Good question lemme go ask :) she supports what I do and puts up with me and what I do.  We met at a play party and she asked me to flog her because she liked the way I played while I was giving my Julia Childs impersonation.  I  thought  she was stuck up, and I was kinda intimidated to contact her and ask  her  out, but I found her online and asked her out, she said yes and the  rest is  history, that was in 1998.   

Due to a mechanical issue, you are suddenly trapped in a cable-car suspended over a deep chasm. The only other person in the car  with  you is a beautiful female submissive holding a plate of gingersnap  cookies  in one hand and a 20 foot length of rope in the other. What do you do?  
Hmmmm I'd save the beautiful submissive woman in a rather heroic and Errol Flynnesque manner.  Out of gratitude should would supply me with an obscene amount of ginger snap cookies and let me put her in my ropes.