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

In part 2 of this listener question episode, Mya and Fox discuss the challenge of making rope sustainable. Whether you want to have s3xy times in rope, are taking photos, or just want to stay up longer, the podcast hosts have plenty of ideas on how both tops and bottoms can help rope be more sustainable. Hear them talk about: • Change over time • Acceptance of what our body needs • Vulnerable parts of the body in rope for most people • The importance of discussing how to communicate what is and isn’t sustainable up front • Why how you communicate about sustainability is so critical • How some active bottoming can help • Ideas on how you can increase sustainability • Why self-care outside rope is critical to staying up longer, more comfortably • The importance of labbing • How distraction can play its part • Individuality in pain and sustainability • And more! As always, if you know more or want to add to the conversation, share your thoughts in the comments!

A listener recently wrote in to ask us to discuss sustainability in rope bondage. As “Sustainable” is literally one of Fox’s rope values, we were more than happy to explore this topic. In the episode they discuss: • When might you want more sustainability in rope • Things that haven’t worked for them • Ties that might be more sustainable • A great question to ask to build sustainability • What makes Mya tap out, and how they manage this • Factors to play with to make your rope more sustainable • And more! As always, if you know more or want to add to the conversation, share your thoughts in the comments! Next up in the podcast stream will be part 2 of this great episode, make sure you follow us so you don’t miss it :)

Earlier this year, Mya ran a rope bottoming workshop for the local community. We’ve had many requests from listeners to share more about rope bottoming education, so in this episode, Fox and Mya discuss the event. Listen to hear them explore: • Why Mya decided to run the workshop • Topics the workshop covered • Why we need more rope bottoming education • What was important to Mya in the session • Fox’s rope as a demo rope top • The format of the workshop • Sharing tips between bottoms • How Mya prepared • How the workshop went • Forming a rope bottoming peer discussion group • And more! As always, if you know more or want to add to the conversation, share your thoughts in the comments!

In this second part of our interview with the very accomplished rope switch Gorgone, Fox and May delve into many of her learnings from her teaching practice. Listen to this episode to hear them discuss: • What is ‘conscious rope’, and how can we do it? • Questions to ask ourselves in rope • Ego and rope • Kink as theatre • How our expectations impact our rope • Bringing authenticity to rope partnerships • The most important question in rope • Common rope intentions • How styles of rope partnerships bring different dynamics and pitfalls • Using rescue horses as a practical metaphor for rope bondage • The origins of Shibari Study • Why Shibari Study has so much variety • What she’s currently doing with Shibari Study • How they are improving the usability of Shibari Study • And much more! As always, if you want to add to the conversation, share your thoughts in the comments!

Gorgone (Marika Leila Roux) is one of the OGs of the European rope scene, a French rope switch who co-founded Shibari Study. Fox and Mya were excited to discuss rope bondage with her, and in this episode, discuss her journey. Highly self-aware, they share how they threw themselves into rope, up to where they are today - a very different place. Gogone discovered rope 13 years ago, and dove into the underground world of traditional Japanese rope bondage. They have been a professional Shibari model and rigger since then, performing world wide. They bring this experience, along with their personal practice of yoga and conscious movement, to their approach to teaching. Listen to this episode to hear them discuss: • Her first experience of rope and its powerful impact on her • How she upended her life for rope • Turning a passion into a job • Can bottoms make money in rope? • What she gets from shibari now • The last time she was tied (and why it might be her last time) • Her journey through bottoming, topping and self-tying • The incredible environment in which she learned • Why her teaching of rope is bottom-centric • The downside of intense D/s rope partnerships • Her advice for new bottoms, and how they can learn from her mistakes • How she became the first foreign bottom photographed by Norio Sugiura and what it was like to work with him (and Naka!) • And much more! As always, if you want to add to the conversation, share your thoughts in the comments!