1.         What made you decide to create a bondage site?

In late 1997 I got on the internet for the first time. One of the first websites I regularly visited was Lorelei’s Bedroom Bondage. Soon afterwards she started up a chat program within her website. That first night in the chatroom I met quite a few bondage friends.  Many of whom went on to do greater things. One of those members was Monica and her husband Hog from Archway-to-Monica.com. They lived 4 or so hours away from me so they invited me up to visit and to help them with some rigging for their website. I enjoyed working with them and we became good friends. I learned a lot from them as well.  I kept telling myself that someday I would like to do my own website in order to present my own vision of what I wanted to see in a bondage website. In fall of 2001 a friend from Peoria wrote to me to let me know that one of his “ex-submissives” wanted to do some modeling for me. So she and her friend Stormy were my first two models. And my first website was born.

2.         How much work goes into running a bondage site? What does it entail?

Well every website is different and every producer has a different method of making their website work. I originally had no experience with photography or how to build a website. So to start, I simply bought the same camera that my friends Monica and Hog were using. It was a Kodak DC280. At the time this 2 megapixel camera was considered to be a decent point and shoot camera. As far as building the website, I had two friends in Iowa who had their own leather website. She told me that learning HTML was easy and that she could teach me over the phone in one night. And true to her word, she called me and gave me the basics.  I think I started building my website that weekend.

So there is a bit of work in starting a website but it is something that anyone can do. I built the website on my PC first using basic HTML. I figured out what I considered to be a structure that I could continue to build upon. Then I got a webhost to host my site, and a billing company to add members and monitor payments, etc. Then all I had to do was continue doing what I was doing. I do the photoshoots for stills and video. I then have to edit pictures and video. I have to upload them to the server and make sure that the new links are coded correctly to allow members to view them.  

One of JB's most well-known regular models is Christina Carter.

Another model on JB's site is Cali Logan, who I've already interviewed (check the Interviews folder in my Gallery).

6.    What has been the most memorable moment for you out of all the shoots you’ve done? 

Oh Lord!!  There are so many moments. Like the spontaneous outdoor shoot with an impromptu model on the Metra train platform in front of the Chicago Board of Trade at night. Or the River Shoot at my friend’s property with Christina Carter, Serene Isley, AJ Marion, and Mr Ogre. The medieval shoot was memorable and EXPENSIVE. I also adored meeting Cobie. That was a dream shoot that I thought could never happen. Then there was the time Sir Wallter and I worked 13 hours in a row with 3 models. Darn we were exhausted afterwards. There are just too many moments to count or even recall.  Sometimes it is not just about the circumstances of the shoot, sometimes it is all about the model. The majority of the models that I work with are just the sweetest ladies you could possibly meet. But some are just so surprisingly sweet and amazing that it just takes your breath away. 
 
7.    What is your policy about models bringing escorts or chaperones to your bondage photoshoots?

I have mixed emotions on this. I believe it is the right of every model to ask if they can bring an escort as much as it is the right of every photographer to refuse it. I always accept escorts if the model wants to bring them, but I want them to be sure that I expect certain things of them as a model and I expect certain things of their escort as well. The first thing is that I am in charge of the shoot. So I try to set that tone right away in the nicest way possible. So there will be no trying to micromanage what I am trying to accomplish, and no jealousy is allowed. The escorts need to know that I am not interested in, or have any ulterior motives toward their wife or girlfriend. My only motive is to get some great bondage images and video.  And once they realize that we can become good friends. I generally put escorts to work. If the model wants to bring an escort that’s fine.  But he/she will either have to stay totally out of the way or he/she will have to help out. I usually ask them to help with running one of the video cameras. I have been fortunate in that almost all of the escorts that I have met have been great and very helpful as well. The scariest escort I ever came across was a small but fierce looking young lady, all punked out with safety pins, punk makeup, and big scowl on her face the entire time.  She made every set rather tense from just looking like she was ready to jump up and attack me at any minute. The model was just fine, but I decided not to work with her again simply because of her escort.

8.    What is the dream shoot you have not yet done during your career as a rigger and site producer?

I suppose that the dream shoot would be a massive fairy tale, superheroine, or action/adventure shoot with lots of props, dialogue, camera angles etc. I would also like to do a mainstream low budget movie but with an obvious nod (lots of bondage) to us bondage folk.  I just don’t have that kind of budget or access to that kind of distribution network to make it happen. So it will just have to remain a dream. 

But there are also many models who I have not had the ability to work with yet and that is also a big dream. Often when a model is traveling through the area, I am not able to work with them at that time. It could be because I have already committed to other shoots, or because I have limited financial resources at the time due to over shooting. I got a taste of what it would be like to work with Candle Boxxx, but I have not had the opportunity to do a full scale shoot with her yet. There are several others who I have been longing to work with but have not yet had the chance. I was fortunate recently that Hannah Perez was in the area at a time when I was ready to shoot. She was one that I had been waiting a long time to work with. I also want to get to Isobel Wren before she retires. Timing is everything.

9.      What are your favorites:  gags, type of restraint, bondage position for the model?

I love ballgags and I like them to be sized appropriately for the models mouth. Not too small and not too big.  I like cleave gags and knotted cleave gags too. I also like to roll a practice plastic golf ball up in cloth and make that into a cleave ballgag.  For restraint rope is the best. But I also like leather straps and steel handcuffs. I use mostly cotton rope as it is easy to care for and cheap. So if I have to cut it there is no big loss. But I also use and love the look of jute, hemp, and linen ropes. The best bondage position of all time is the hogtie. But I often find myself doing chair ties. Mostly because I don’t want a hogtie to hide the model’s awesome outfit. Or because I don’t want them to have the discomfort of lying on a hard wooden floor. The most important thing is that I love tying elbows.  That is the most fun for me.

Meet KylieJo, another of JB's models. Her interview will appear next week. JB introduced me to her and she readily agreed to be interviewed.

10.   How did you acquire your technique for rigging and photography? 

I tend to be very bad at following instructions. I guess I just don’t have the patience for it. So everything that I learn tends to be from a grass roots level. I just learn slowly by trial and error until all of a sudden it all makes sense to me. It was that way for rope initially. There are many bondage pioneers that came before us and there was a lot to learn just from watching them work. I saw many interesting techniques. I learned and borrowed from them until somehow it worked its way into my own style. I learned a bit from watching John Savage, but most of what I learned was from watching Jay Edwards videos. He was amazing to watch as he did his on screen rigging.

Photography was a bit more difficult for me. The problem was that I had a friend who was a professional photographer. And often when we would talk, the conversations would eventually lead into some obscure photographic principle or technique. But because his conversations never followed any kind of rational order, his words were mostly confusing and made no sense to me. So I stuck to my point and shoot cameras for the first 4 years or so. Then I eventually decided that I needed to learn manual DSLR photography the right way. I started with a Canon 30d. I started slow with plenty of trial and error again. Then all of a sudden, it all made sense. It was as if all of the tidbits of information just came together in the blink of an eye. I realize now that learning photography well needs to come in a specific order. The Exposure Triangle is the first thing a budding photographer needs to learn. Unfortunately I learned it last.

11.       Can you describe your very first bondage shoot and then describe how you’ve seen your style/technique evolve since that first shoot?

Well my first experience with a bondage shoot was working with Monica and it was a great experience. But all I did for her was rig. I didn’t do any photos or videos for her.  But the first shoot that was for my own site was even more amazing because it all up to me. The decisions on costuming, rigging, photography was all on me. It seemed a big responsibility at the time. As stated earlier, the first photo shoot for my site was done at a friend’s house/dungeon. The first model was Sandy (obviously not her real name) and she invited her friend Stormy (also not her real name) to join us. So it was a two girl shoot. It was a blast and I was very excited to embark on this journey. The ropework was not bad, but by my standards of today, I would say that it was too loose for my liking. Over the years I have grown to tie tighter and tighter. To me good bondage implies helplessness and vulnerability. And if the ropes aren’t tight and if she has too much movement, she is obviously not helpless enough. So my rigging technique is usually much tougher than when I first started.

12.       Are there any riggers/producers who have influenced you over the years? And, if so, how?

Obviously I have been influenced by the early pioneers. Some of whose names I forget.  But I would first start in the 70s with Barbara Behr who produced the House of Milan magazines. And the many riggers and artists who worked for her like John Savage, Frank Campbell, Robert Bishop, etc. I would also include the nameless Lyndon Publishing Co. riggers who were their main competition for HOM. But then onto Harmony Communications staff in the 80s with Lorelei and Jon Woods, Mark Mar and Jason Cord, Phil Carson, Dominic Wolfe, Julie Simone, Bryan Davis and Simone Devon. But Jay Edwards was undoubtedly the most influential of all. Today there are many great riggers out there to learn from. Ropexpert, Jim Weathers, Jim Hunter, Dave Annis, Tolstoy Tony, Jerry Badman, DizDat, David Andrews, JJ Plush, and on and on. But today’s toughest riggers would appear to be Eric Cain and Master Les. They both tie extremely tight bondage. All of the above will exert a somewhat subtle influence as opposed to a direct influence. When you just start out rigging, you are not sure where the inspiration comes from. Only that you have watched many people do their rope work and you know it has rubbed off on you.

There are also a great many Shibari riggers out there today. Many on the international scene like WykD_Dave, Esinem, Douglas Kent, EM, etc. There are quite a few local Shibari experts too, who shall remain nameless here simply because they are not nationally public. I don’t really do much Shibari since it is not my rope style, but I have learned a little bit about it from a well known St Louis rigger.

13.       How do you find the models who appear on your site?

Initially I searched for models on One Model Place and then on Model Mayhem. Back in 2001, and 2002 I had to go looking for models. But once you get established as a producer, the models will seek you out instead. When they go on tour, they check in with all the producers along their tour route to see about their availability. So I don’t really go looking for models anymore because they are all around us and they are usually in contact with us.

For my Midwest site, however, I just keep it confined to the local models within a 100 to 200 mile radius from me. They are mostly from Peoria, Bloomington, or St Louis. But some come from Chicago, Indianapolis, and even some right here in Springfield. These are usually glamour/lingerie models who want to try out some bondage work. And I have a couple of great local photographer friends who send many of them my way.

14.       What are your thoughts on the piracy of bondage content on the Internet where your work is posted elsewhere without your permission?

I very much dislike piracy on the internet when it is done without permission, but I feel powerless to stop it. Some of my stuff has ended up in the most inappropriate places.  In fact one of my pictures was used in an offensive meme.  Some idiot used it in one of those fake motivational posters with despicable words attached to it. But they didn’t even bother to remove my watermark from my picture first. So now everyone thinks that I am the one that created the poster. I recently got a death threat because of it. That poster will haunt me for the rest of my days. When I see it pop up I try to get it removed, and for every time I am successful getting one removed, two or three more will pop up someplace else. I have more or less given up on trying to fight this piracy. People do these things for Lord knows what reasons. I occasionally get a request from someone to post one of my pictures and I am almost happy to know that there are still some people left with enough honor to ask first.

Rachel Adams is another of JB's models. Look for her interview in the not-too-distant future (hopefully). She agreed to do one with me last week!

15.       How do you respond to this statement:  BDSM equals abuse of women?

I know that an uninformed society can see this as abuse of women. But that is because people cannot see past their emotional reactions and responses to the sight of a female in restraint or pain. Our biological imperative has always been designed to protect the female above all else. So when they see a woman in bondage or being spanked, whipped etc., all they can see it as is an abuse of women. Despite the fact that in the BDSM community the women have not only agreed to, but wholeheartedly sought out the restraint or pain that they desire. Those who make these abuse claims seem to have no problems with seeing men in bondage or pain. They have no empathy for men in that predicament. They do not consider that to be abuse. In fact, they will either agree with it, laugh at it, or just blow it off. No cries of injustice or that it is an abuse of men. Since most people cannot see beyond their emotional response, logic not only takes a back seat, it is usually nowhere in sight.

The fact is that people involved in BDSM are doing this in a Safe, Sane, and Consensual environment as well as a Risk Aware environment. And the fact is that there are both men and women involved in BDSM. There are more submissives than dominants in BDSM. And there are more male submissives than any other group within BDSM. So why are there no calls to label this as abusive to men? Do they believe that women cannot decide for themselves that this is something they want to do or not? Are only men capable of making that decision? This is not to say that there is never any abuse within the BDSM community because sometimes it does happen. And it can happen to both men and women. But when it does happen, the community is usually quickly made aware of it.  And the person who perpetuates the abuse can quickly become a pariah within their community. 

16.       What advice would you give to a person who wants to begin a bondage website as a producer/photographer/rigger?

I would say that it was much easier to get a website started in the early days of the internet as there were not that many producers or models around. Those were good ole days. In this day and age there is so much competition out there and so much free/stolen material on the web that it is tough to make a buck these days. The bondage pie has been divided too many times. That said if it is something that you really want to do, you should still give it a go. It sucks to let a dream slip through your fingers. I don’t want anyone to have any regrets. So if this is your dream, you should go for it. Just be prepared for the expenses. Webhosting, bandwidth, billing companies all need to be paid for. If you are lucky enough to have a spouse or loved one who will work with you, you can save a ton of money on model expenses. Try to come up with something slightly different from everyone else that is out there. Develop your niche, and do a lot of marketing,

17.       What else do you want your fans to know about you and your work?

I am not sure, other than the fact that as lazy as I am, I still enjoy this work. It takes a lot of my energy to get through a 5 or 6 hour shoot. I have a bad back and it is usually killing me by the time I am done. I am usually sore for a couple of days afterwards too. It’s not like years ago when I had the energy to do my regular day job and still do my bondage work on nights and weekends. I don’t have that kind of energy anymore.  But still there is a certain thrill I get when I know that a shoot worked out the way I had hoped, and when I feel that I have gotten some unique pictures or video.

Most of all, it is the people that I enjoy the most. I sing the praises of my models so often that I am sure most people find it hard to believe. But the fact is that the overwhelming majority of models that I work with are very sweet ladies. They are fun, energetic, and happy positive people. I also enjoy the company of fellow producers. They are very happy to be in this business as well. I am also very thankful to all of the people who have joined my website and all the other websites.You keep the bondage world alive with your support and participation. You are the ones that make it all happen. Because it CAN’T work without you.

 Thank you, Rob, for this opportunity.