Tag: leather

  • How Collars Shape Our Dom/sub dynamic

    How Collars Shape Our Dom/sub dynamic

    “A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.” – Lucias Seneca

    boy s37

    The work day for Your boy is over for today -may Your boy wear Your chain collar Sir?

    (s37 approaches Sir Zuegi with collar in hand and presents for Him)

    Sir Zuegi

    Yes boy.

    (Sir Zuegi reaches for the collar to lock it on His boy)

    Recently, we had a detailed conversation about collaring and what it means to Sir Zuegi and His boy s37.  In this blog entry, we will describe how collars are used in our D/s (Dom/sub) dynamic, the meaning behind them, and how that is evolving over time.

    What does the collar mean to Sir and His boy?

    Sir Zuegi: For Me, the collar represents my domination over my boy. It is both a physical and psychological item that transforms my headspace. When I see my boy in his collar it is a visual representation of our dynamic. I enjoy being asked at events if he is collared for Me, which I excitedly reply yes. The collar is both a tangible item that is our dynamic and also portrays that to others as well.

    boy s37: For this boy, the collar represents my commitment to Sir Zuegi as His leatherboy, and so long as I am allowed to wear His collar, then this boy is dedicated to all He expects of me.  The collar gives me an incredible sense of security and belonging.  When in Sir’s collar, this boy feels part of something much larger and is compelled to be a more obedient boy focused on improving for Him.  

    What are the collar types in our D/s dynamic?

    In our D/s relationship, Sir has defined four physical collar types and one virtual collar type:

    Physical Types:

    Daily Collar – This collar is a thin piece of leather with a handmade glass pendant of the leatherboy flag.  This collar represents Sir’s boy’s will to serve and uphold the values of the leathermen lifestyle.  This boy is often in this collar and wears it throughout the day when at work.  This collar is more easily disguisable as most would see it as art and wouldn’t understand the significance of it.  Sir has a matching BDSM glass flag pendant, which He sometimes wears.

    Chain Collar – This collar is a heavy chain and lock that can only be removed with a key.  This collar is more substantial and harder to disguise as it is tight enough around the neck to not be easily hidden under a shirt.  This collar carries more significance for public protocol that Sir requires.

    Training Collar – This is a leather locking collar with a simple D ring in the front for a leash attachment.  This collar is worn when Sir expects a high level of communication protocol from His boy.  This collar carries a number of service requirements that establish a more formal setting between Sir and His boy.

    Bondage Collar – This is a leather or rubber locking collar with many bondage D rings for attachment.  Leather or rubber is used depending on the context the collar is being used in.  These collars have the highest level communication protocol requirement.  The collars are generally used in the dungeon playspace or when Sir requires absolute control and obedience from His boy.

    Virtual Type:

    No-Collar: The no-collar is a virtual collar type that Sir’s boy can wear when Sir tells His boy he is to be in no-collar mode or when His boy uses the safeword and requests to be in no-collar mode.  The no-collar effectively turns off all protocols and expectations that a physical collar carries and symbolizes.  This collar can be used during certain travel scenarios or when visiting family in order to shut off our D/s protocol and ritual requirements.  We have found that this prevents having D/s expectations during times when it is difficult to maintain the lifestyle, however this gets used very infrequently.

    What are our current collar rituals and protocols?

    This is where things get interesting and differ in our D/s dynamic.  Many of the protocols and service expectations in our D/s are dependent and tied to the usage of the various collar types.  Each collar represents a level of protocol and service requirement that Sir expects.  

    The following are examples:

    • Daily Collar: When wearing this collar, this boy must always perform the AM ritual, which informs Sir of this boy’s chastity status and days since last allowed release.  
    • Chain Collar: This boy walks slightly behind Sir’s right heel when in public.
    • Training Collar: This boy must provide AM coffee service to Sir, ensuring Sir has His coffee the way He likes it right out of bed.
    • Bondage Collar: This boy should be in a kneeling present position and awaiting any order from Sir.  If kneeling is not appropriate then this boy will be in standing present.

    This is only a sampling – as each collar has numerous protocols and service expectations.  Each collar inherits the protocols before it, so as an example, the bondage collar represents all the controls for bondage, training, chain and daily collar types.  This makes it so that the collars build on each other.

    The collar types with associated protocols, rituals and services has been a great tool to structure our BDSM dynamic.  What this boy most appreciates about this structure is that he can clearly understand what is expected of him based on what collar Sir has placed him in.  

    How is collaring evolving in our relationship?

     Both Sir and His boy agree that collaring has been a significant part of our D/s dynamic, and therefore we continue to grow with this and be clear with each other on expectations and challenges.  During a recent conversation about collaring, a number of areas were identified for growth and improvement.  We continue to work through these as a means to strengthen our commitment.

    Sir identified a challenge where it sometimes isn’t clear to Him when His boy is done with work and able to be in a more service mindset.  While this boy always aims to serve, there are challenges during the work week, especially since this boy works from home which blurs any boundaries.  We are working to solve this through collaring, and this boy is now requesting Sir’s permission to wear His chain collar after the workday is done.  This has created a clear delineation in the day and feels like a much more natural transition.  Also, this boy has noticed that his stress levels go down immediately when Sir places the chain around His boy’s neck.

    Sir is often gone for business, and this leaves His boy to figure out collar changes on his own.  Our current collaring protocols do not define this well, and His boy identified this as a challenge area.  This boy wants to honor Sir’s collars and His expectations for them, and feels he needs more structure to know when to collar and change collars for Sir.

    The current daily-collar isn’t shower or workout friendly, which requires this boy to remove it at times throughout the day.  Sir’s collar gives this boy such an incredible sense of security that removing it, even for a brief period, interrupts this boy’s sense of connectedness.  Therefore, a more durable daily-collar could reduce and/or eliminate the need for most removals.

    Lastly, protocols, rituals and services tied to each collar continue to evolve as Sir sees fit to help with His boy’s growth and development.  This is a constant evolution that will continue to morph and change as Sir’s needs and expectations change.  

    This boy is grateful to wear Sir’s collars, and wears each of them with a sense of pride and gratitude.  This boy looks forward to this continued evolution as we work to make our D/s dynamic stronger and more resilient.

    What role does collaring play in your relationship? How have your collaring expectations changed over time and where do you see them going?

    Approved for posting by Sir Zuegi.

  • Navigating My Kink Journey: Finding Authenticity

    Navigating My Kink Journey: Finding Authenticity

    Success comes from curiosity, concentration, perseverance and self-criticism. – Albert Einstein

    I have had many new experiences in the last 60 days, each of which could be its own blog entry.  I appeared in full formal leather uniform in public with Sir for the very first time in March!  I volunteered for a local Avatar leather club BDSM play party – which was my first time ever volunteering for a leather event or attending a public play party!  My Sir and I participated in a local community leather social get together to meet folks in our local community.  And, we attended CLAW 25 in Cleveland, where I saw a spectacular presentation on boxing which absolutely blew my mind (who knew there were others that shared a boxing/fight kink)! I even learned some new fast and quick rope tie bondage techniques which really piqued my bondage interests.

    And, you ask, how do I feel about all of this?  OVERWHELMED!

    Let’s start back at the beginning…. back in mid 2024, I joined a book club hosted by the Chicago Leather Archive & Museum, and I committed to reading and reviewing three books – Real Service by Raven Kaldera & Joshua Tenpenny, Protocols – A Variety of View: A Power Exchange Resource Book by Bob Rubel & L.C. Morgynn and The Deep Psychology of BDSM and Kink by Douglas Thomas.  What transpired after this new learning has been a rapid pace and aggressive growth journey that I still find myself on to this day.  From all of this new learning, I concluded that I need to be more authentic with myself and that I need to pursue my full identity by embracing leather.

    I have been kink-positive my entire adult life.  I’d pull out my kink identity just long enough to fulfill a need and then quickly retreat back to my socially acceptable buttoned-up adult self.  I think a lot of younger kinksters probably identify with this – it is what many of us do to maintain an interest in kink while keeping it neatly compartmentalized.  But, what characteristic traits are we shutting out by repeatedly denying ourselves the freedom of expression and an ability to live authentically?

    Flash forward to CLAW 25, and I had the pleasure to attend a talk titled, History and Legacy of Leather Clubs in the United States by Jake Woods and Dr. X-Ray.  Their presentation covered leather club history from 1885 to present.  This was a damn good presentation, and what stuck out for me was the repeating themes – the need for belonging, brotherhood and camaraderie.  140 years have passed, but little has changed as far as the same basic human needs – a sense of belonging and a need for self expression and camaraderie.

    The journey that I am on to find my leather self is presenting me with many complex challenges and emotions.  I have put a lot of pressure on myself to make this transformation real and to get results.  There is also a sense of urgency brought on by our ever changing politically charged world.  But, as much as I like to be in control of things – I am not in control of when or how this is going to happen.  During the leather club presentation at CLAW, Jake Woods asked the audience, “Where are you on your leather journey?” – and a giant light bulb went on in my head!  I am on this journey – I am seeking new learning – I am building new connections – I am in the struggle working hard at making change!

    So, what have I learned, you ask?  Sometimes you have to slow down to speed up.  I need to take more time to feel, to sense and to let these new experiences wash over.  As much as I want to control this journey – that’s just not the way this works.  This journey controls you.  You make yourself vulnerable enough and open enough – and the change happens.  Trust in the process 🙂

  • Bootblacking: Elevating the Experience

    Bootblacking: Elevating the Experience

    “Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced.” – John Keats

    Both my Dom and I enjoy boots and boot worship a lot! He likes to wear them, and I like to be under them 😉 So much so that I have taken up bootblacking and have been learning new skills by caring for all of Sir’s boots and leathers.

    Recently, I came across this fun cigar sex post on bsky, and it got me thinking about equivalents for boot worship…

    … what would a similar list look like for boot worship? I decided that deserved some time and attention 😈. I wrote this list of ideas from a submissive bootblack perspective (me) – serving Sir’s boots as His bootblack in training – enjoy ~

    1. Your bootblack making You a drink or providing You with beers or whiskey during a bootblack session.
    2. A bootblack fetching Sir a smoke or lighting His cigar during a session.
    3. Your bootblack acting as Sir’s footstool before or after a bootblacking session.
    4. Your bootblack tied up or restrained and required to beg to clean Sir’s boots.
    5. Allowing my bootblack to unlock his cage and edge himself from time to time during a bootblacking session. (perhaps using shoe grease?)
    6. Allowing and encouraging my boy to smell Sir’s boots during a bootblack session.
    7. My boy wearing a gas mask and taking in the must/scent of one of Sir’s boots while he cleans them.
    8. Sir stroking His cock in front of His boy during a bootblack session. (preferably while His boy is locked in chastity)
    9. Allowing boy to worship Sir’s cock and/or balls during a bootblacking session.
    10. Spitting on my boy during a bootblacking session.
    11. Spitting in my boy’s mouth so he can spit polish Sir’s boots with the saliva.
    12. Allowing my boy to stimulate himself by riding a dildo during a bootblack session.
    13. Using restraints on a bootblack to make the job more difficult or impossible to complete.
    14. Timing a bootblack session as a means to determine the length of an activity or punishment. (perhaps without the boy knowing he is being timed?)
    15. Forcing a boy to apply conditioner or grease with his tongue. (with edible non-toxic product)
    16. Branding my boy with a footprint (tattoo, sticker, or with a boot print w/ black ink)
    17. Writing bootboy/bootblack/bootslut on my boy with a permanent marker.
    18. Plugging my boy before, during or after a bootblack session.
    19. Fucking my boy during or after a bootblack session.
    20. Beating my boy with my newly cleaned boots.
    21. Telling my boy he might get fucked depending on the quality of the shine or some other session parameter.
    22. Having my boy act as my urinal during a bootblack session.
    23. Taking pictures of my boy during a bootblacking session.
    24. Having my boy post a pic of my cleaned boots on social media upon completion.
    25. Requiring my boy to take Sir to dinner after a bootblacking session with Sir in His newly shined boots.
    26. Requiring my boy to do pushups at random times during a bootblack session.
    27. Allowing my boy to hump my boots until he orgasms after a bootblack session 😈. <yeah, that happened – TY Sir!>
    28. …and the list goes on…

    What other ideas do you have – post them in the comments! Have you tried some of these? Share your experience in the comments!

  • Exploring the Art of Bootblacking: A Journey of Connection

    Exploring the Art of Bootblacking: A Journey of Connection

    Your connections to all the things around you literally define who you are.” – Aaron O’Connell

    My interest with bootblacking is a pretty recent development. I decided I wanted to try my hand at bootblacking after reading the Leatherboy Handbook by Vincent L. Andrews. I felt that leather care and the art of bootblacking would be a good way for me to connect with my need to serve. 

    I am a pretty geeky guy, and I love anything technical that requires a fair bit of detail. Flash back 20 years and you’d find me in my home darkroom developing film and making photography prints. I love working with my hands, and being part of the process of creating something. Bootblacking satisfies this part of my brain and given me needed focus. 

    Serving as my Dom’s bootblack has been a deeply rewarding experience. I love connecting with Him through His boots and leathers, and it has created many deeply intimate experiences between us.

    I do wish to expand beyond Sir’s boots and try my hand at blacking boots at an event someday. I’m not in a rush to do that, because I have a lot to learn, and I do not wish to short circuit the process – as it is the journey and not the destination. I want to continue working with the products and develop better technique. I also want to meet others in the community that share the same love of service. 

    My greatest desire is to learn to connect – spiritually – through bootblacking. Not just the application, the buffing and the rubbing – but the emotional and spiritual connection you make with someone while you are caring for them. The feeling through your fingers, the scent of the product mixing with their leathers, and the sensation you feel in that moment while you practice this craft. 

    Blacking Sir’s boots is often a very erotic experience for me, it is definitely one of the ways I emotionally and sexually connect with Sir. This process makes me want to be my very best for Him – and this gets reflected in the final shine. 

    I have developed an erotic fixation for Huberd’s shoe grease – Sir knows this well, and He has applied it to my body during scenes – it almost immediately draws out the most amazing sexual endorphins. This is one of my favorite products, and the one I enjoy using the most. 

    I want to grow as a bootblack.  I want to keep connecting with Sir, and I wish to be allowed to eventually take this practice beyond His boots. I also want to try my hand at leathercraft – I have repaired one of His uniform items, and I want to grow that and be able to craft other things from scratch. 

    Growing as a bootblack has been a fantastic way for me to develop as a service submissive.  I also like that bootblacks come in many forms, both sub and Dom. I believe that this practice has given me better discipline, and it is an outlet for my need to serve in some capacity. I feel a deep sense of pride when I have my shine box and Sir sits for this service.  The connection we create through this process is really quite special and something I greatly look forward to. Perhaps one day you too will sit before me, and when you do, I will be sure to give it my best – so that you can look your best!

    What are your interests in bootblacking – and have you sat for a bootblack? What has the experience been like for you?