What made you decide to go from being a fan to a producer of a bondage site?

I owe it all to Kim.

Back when Kimberly Marvel was still called Marvel Girl and was relatively new, I was really just a lurker.  I’d run across her profile on Model Mayhem and being an old comic book geek and a fan of redheads I was … smitten I guess would be the right word.  Anyway, I kept my eye on her profile hoping against hope she would have some bondage pictures posted which she ended up doing courtesy of Tolstoy Tony.  I sent her an email asking if I could start a Yahoo Fan Group in her honor (they were all the rage back then) hoping it would allow me to get more pictures of her.  She agreed but then took that group and turned it into a marketing machine for herself and took me on the biggest ride of my life.  Soon I was “rubbing elbows” with industry folks like Moraxian, Jerry the Bad Man, Tolstoy Tony as well as models like Kordelia Devonshire, Stacie Snow, Tomiko and the immortal Darla Crane!

Then I want to say it was the spring of 2010 (although that could be wrong) Kim was on one of her nationwide tours and was coming through St Louis.  She asked if I’d be interested in doing a shoot and I couldn’t say yes fast enough.  After that first shoot I knew I wanted to keep shooting.

And how did you make that happen?

On our 2^nd shoot, Kim told me that Kordelia Devonshire actually lived only a few hours away from me and suggested I get in touch with her.  I did and we shot together and we became very good friends – a friendship that’s still going strong these several years later.  Then I had the opportunity to shoot with Tomiko and all of a sudden, I had a decent amount of content!  People started suggesting I start a website and I toyed with the idea although not very seriously.  Within a week of each other I got emails from both Brooke of the Unlimited Bondage family of sites (I think it was called Sweet Ties back then) and Sandra Silvers of Xsiteabilty asking if I’d be interested in joining them.  I decided to go with Sandra just because I liked her setup a bit better and Bondage by MCH was born!

How much work goes into running your bondage site? What does it entail?

I have since transferred my content away from XSA in favor Clips4Sale and Bondage Tokens.  Moraxian has been kind enough to put the picture sets in place for me in the tokens store (I have a freaking college degree and I’m still not smart enough to figure out how to do that) so all I need to do is take & edit the pictures and send them to him and then upload my video clips to C4S.  Editing the pictures is the biggest chore because my computer doesn’t have a lot of RAM and Photo Shop uses quite a bit.  My editing is really pretty basic but still takes a while due to that RAM issue.  I could just buy more RAM I suppose but whenever I have the extra money, I find myself shooting with somebody instead.

How much work goes into preparing for your typical bondage shoot? 

Most of the work comes in scheduling the shoot.  We have to find a time that fits my schedule (I’m currently working two jobs) as well as the model’s schedule and then we have to find a place to shoot.  I often times end up renting a hotel room for it.  Once all of that is in place, I make sure my outfits and gags are all washed and dried from the previous shoot.  Sometimes I’ll just go buy more handkerchiefs though.  I kid myself into thinking I’m going to get my rope all untangled and sorted in plenty of time but usually I find myself doing that during the shoot itself.

How do you decide what outfits or positions will be used for your shoots?

I’m nothing if not predictable.  I tell my models ahead of time I’m a bare leg fan and the outfits that get us there are up to them and their comfort level – bikinis, lingerie, short shorts, etc.  If they’re comfortable going topless or nude then I’m all for that as well.  As for positions, I almost always do the classic “hands behind, legs together) pose although recently I’ve been doing more spread-eagle when the model is willing.

Kobe Lee

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

I was shooting with a new model and we had about an hour or so left in our scheduled time.  I had just finished tying her to a chair with a pretty significant amount of rope when I got a text from my college student son – he’d injured himself walking back to his dorm from class and managed to dislocate both knees.  He got himself to a bench but couldn’t go any farther.  Of course, it was only about 20 degrees outside and the school is a good 45 minutes away.  I kept thinking “You have got to be kidding me!” as I rushed frantically to get my model untied as quickly as possible so I could go to him. 

What is your policy about models bringing escorts or chaperones to your bondage photo shoots? 

I’m escort friendly so long as the escort stays out of the way and helps when asked.  And I have a solid rule that if the escort and model have a Dom/Sub relationship, that gets put on hold for the duration of my shoot.  Twice the escort has herself been a beautiful young lady and she’s found herself tied and gagged for some two girl sets.  Defeats the purpose of the escort but I’m certainly not going to complain!

And this should go without saying but apparently it needs to be said – escorts must also be of legal age!  I had one model show up with her 13 year old cousin!  Needless to say, that shoot didn’t happen.

What is the dream shoot you have not yet done?

Railroad tracks.  I’ve always wanted to have the girl tied to the tracks in a classic melodrama situation but I live in a railroad hub so finding dead tracks is very hard to do.  Plus it can’t be too hot or too cold outside due to the metal tracks and I’m paranoid the cops will come by during the shoot.

As for a dream shoot with models, Carrisa Montgomery is at the top of my wish list along with Darla Crane, Ashley Renee, Christina Carter, Chrissy Marie,  Sexy Pandora and a few others.

Icey

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

Cleave gags (thin and tight) are my favorite gags hands down.  I prefer working with rope but I love the look of belt bondage.  Chains are a pain in the ass to work with.  I mentioned above about bare leg outfits but also with very few exceptions, the skimpier the outfit the better.  One time I shot with Icey and she didn’t have any clothes with her.  She did the entire shoot fully nude. 

And I’m a huge proponent of the classic Western Style position of hands behind and legs together.  A couple of pro models I’ve worked with told me they loved working with me because I didn’t tie them in weird positions, they only had to sit there!

How did you develop your technique for rigging and photography?

Kim taught me the basics of rigging during our first shoot but other than that I am pretty much self-taught.  As for photography, I refuse to call myself a photographer because I’m not one.  I’m just a guy with a semi-decent digital camera.  I’m also far sighted so I let the camera do all the work since I can’t see a damn thing in the little window and I hope like hell the pictures are coming out ok.

I actually prefer the term “Guy With Camera” but unfortunately the industry has attached that label to a specific type of person (and not in a good way) so I was dragged kicking and screaming into the title “Bondage Producer.”  My model Red keeps telling people I’m her photographer but I’ve long since stopped correcting her.

Describe your very first bondage shoot and then describe how you’ve seen your work evolve since that first shoot?

It was a dream come true as far as the experience is concerned but the results sucked!  I didn’t know one end of the camera from the other and I was so mesmerized by the sight of Kim in that tiny gold bikini that I couldn’t focus anyway.  Since then I’ve upgraded my camera and got the settings set to where I get good results more often than not.  I’ve also gotten better at not being fixated on the beautiful, scantily clad, tied up girl and instead thinking of camera angles and stuff like that.

Who are the riggers/producers who have influenced you over the years? And how did they influence you?

Tony and Moraxian were probably most instrumental in my getting started in the first place and various others such as Jerry the Bad Man and DizDat have offered up helpful suggestions as well but I’d have to say the three most influential producers have been Mr Ogre, JB Roper and Lorelei from Bedroom Bondage.  Ogre used to let me shoot at his house when he was still in St Louis and JB hosted me once as well; I love JB’s work and if I had the ability to mimic somebody’s rigging, he’d be my first and only choice. 

Lorelei is in a class all by herself – I have never known anybody to be so selfless and giving to others in the industry.  When I was first getting my site pulled together, she and I messaged back and forth for a couple of hours figuring out some of the complications involved.  Whenever I decide to tackle something new in my rigging, she’s the first one there with suggestions or tutorials and I trust her judgment without question.

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

It goes in phases.  St Louis isn’t on the beaten path for most of the pro models and it’s even less so now that Ogre has moved to Florida.  For a while I relied on Model Mayhem and FetLife but lately I’ve been getting a lot of models out of Facebook.  Red has been very open on her Facebook page about our shooting (something I never recommend) and as a result, I have a lot of 18 & 19 year old girls message me about shooting with them as well.  Sometimes it’s just for private shoots but others want to be on the site.  I do warn them about the possibilities of being recognized and all of that of course.  All of this has helped me carve out my own little spot in the industry though – you’ll find models on my sites that you literally will never see on any other bondage website.

Sahrye

What has been the hardest, toughest or most difficult aspect for you in your journey to becoming a producer of bondage content?

Getting past a very fragile ego.  I tend to take offense too easily when none is intended and I act on impulse when that happens.  I also tend to being too trusting with some of my models and more than a few have looked at me with puppy dog eyes, asked to be paid in advance for the next shoot and then cut off all contact.  I’m a sucker for a pretty face.

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

Decide why it is you’re wanting to do it.  If you’re wanting to do it for the money, forget it. Do something else instead.  I don’t know that I’d say the market is saturated but … yeah, it’s saturated.  Some of my peers manage to make a living by producing but they are all A LOT better at this than I am.  For me it’s a hobby and realistically that’s all it’ll ever be.  I briefly had this idea I’d be making enough to have the shoots pay for themselves as well as pay off some debts but that idea was quickly dismissed.  Every dime I get from my payouts goes to models as well as a crap ton of dimes that don’t come from the payouts.

I do this because I love it.  I’ve had the pleasure of receiving emails from both Ashley Renee and Christina Carter with their personal phone numbers and “Call me” included in the emails.  I’ve gone grocery shopping with Kimberly Marvel, gone to a wedding reception with Kordelia Devonshire, traded text messages with Darla Crane and eaten Subway with Kobe Lee.  I have met and tied up some of the most beautiful women in the world and when it’s my turn to go, I will die a happy man.

I’m doing this because to me, living the dream is worth the expense.  You can decide for yourself what your reasons are.

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

I just want my fans to know that I’m deeply honored and privileged to have fans in the first place.  There are a lot of options out there as far as satisfying your bondage needs and to have you decide to put your hard earned money down on my work means more to me than you will ever know.  I also want you to know that I will never stop looking for that next beautiful young lady to tie up and gag and whenever I find her, you will be the first to know!  Keep your seatbelts fastened, folks, because this ride is far from over!