Edgeplay with Trussed UK

 

Interview with Master Chris & slave michelle

Master Chris & Michelle have for many years supplied the fetish scene with a wide range of clever and innovative bondage and sm play accessories, kinky kits and implements of correction. Trussed UK has been with London Fetish Fair for well over 6 years. We wondered, is leading a full time fetish lifestyle easy?

H: How did you two get started with your Trussed UK stand?

Tuk: There were a few factors, which led us to start the business. As a couple into BDSM with many outside demands on our finances, we had a tight budget. We found that, on the whole, buying S&M toys was a costly thing, so I started to make things that I knew would please Master. We then felt that perhaps we could make things for others, who like us, only had a few quid to spare on such things and so we did. We have a low profit margin and keep our pieces practical and useable. Master has decades of market experience and was looking for an additional outlet for his talents so forming Trussed UK fitted well in the scheme of things. Another factor was that we felt it unfair to take money from the family budgets to pay for travel, hotels, toys and fund our deviancies in general, so the money we make through Trussed UK goes some way to cover these things.

H: When did you both become active in the fetish scene and what roads drew you both together?

Tuk: Master has been around S&M a lot longer than me. He used to run a massage parlour in Soho and found playmates through contact mags and people he knew around that part of London. He settled into wanting a Master/sub S&M relationship rather than ad hoc playmates. He had one long term submissive before me but sadly she died in a car crash.

For me sado-masochism has always been there in some form or another but nothing I could grasp fully or claim to be active in. I felt I was always searching for "it" and was perhaps a bit frightened of what "it" was. It wasn't until my 40s that I reached a point where I felt I owned control of all aspects of my life and thus had the right to hand that control over to someone in a formal and committed way. After a couple of false starts I met Master. We had mutual friends and chatted online and on the phone, then decided to meet for a drink before going to the London Fetish Fair. The searching ended there for me. That was back in 2000 and the same intensity and frisson exists between us now as it did back then.

H: What do you like about the fetish scene/ doing fetish markets?

Tuk: We have never regarded ourselves as scene folk because we never really frequented the clubs or looked to do public play. We used to go to The Gate at The Fringe in Vauxhall way back but more as a social thing. We weren't ones for dressing up and we found playing in public was just that, playing. It didn't have the painful intensity or levels of distress that private activities produced, and Master needs that to sate his sadism. As visitors to the London Fetish Fair back then we were able to meet up with friends in the fetish-loaded environment. My first ever visit, which I (Michelle) made on my own having arranged to meet folk in there, was wonderfully overwhelming. Oh brave new world that has such people in it!

Now as traders we enjoy meeting visitors to our stall, the regulars and the new folk. We are happy to take the time to demonstrate and explain items as needed. We love the variety of people and interests that all come together to make the market and the scene what it is.

H: What exasperates you?

Tuk: Oh heck, how long have you got?? I suppose our biggest exasperation is the so-called community. We hear the term shouted from the rooftops in places but see little actual evidence of it there. We think community spirit does exist but at a quieter, more un-assuming level. Another niggle is the blurring between fetish and BDSM. Put on a pair of leather trousers and you are a Dominant, give a girlfriend a collar and she's a submissive.

H: Michelle, you have been a very devoted slave to Master Chris for many years now. We hardly know anyone who has been such a devoted submissive to their Master for so long. What is the secret of your success as a slave?

Tuk: Master says I am a sub not a slave because I gave myself freely into his hands but yes; I do fit what a lot of folk describe as being a slave. It works for me, and for him, because we both believe in it. He says he owns me, I truly believe that. His word is law. That doesn't mean I cannot put forward opinions or suggestions, or make requests. I can do all that. What it means is that his decisions are final. I can be me, (that is after all the person he accepted into submission) but there is a line drawn. The line between being submissive and being a regular female partner to him. I will not cross that line. The balance of power is clearly marked and the whole relationship would become a sham if the balance were nudged in the slightest degree

H: I love the new needle and fireplay kits you have introduced at the fair. Speaking for myself: a professional Dominatrix would surely find that an incredibly useful piece of kit to keep her sessions more interesting and varied. These kits are a relatively new concept. How are they doing?

Tuk: The Edge Play sets are getting a lot of interest though we would say that the needleplay ones are certainly more popular. This is possibly because people have needle play workshops more readily available to them than fireplay ones. With edge play it's extremely important to learn as much as you can about techniques and dealing with unwanted consequences etc and workshops are valuable for this. Fireplay is perhaps a less popular activity though a lot of customers have mused over the sets and said they have always wanted to do fireplay. The sets allow folk to store all sharp or flammable objects neatly, which make them convenient for transporting and storing. The fireplay sets cater for people who like heatplay, i.e. running a flaming baton close to the skin, to fireplay where the flame is actually ignited on the body. It also contains safety items such as a fire extinguisher; the needleplay sets contain such things as hypo needles and skin cleansing items through to a sharps disposal tub and body stapler.

H: Sometimes I look at your stand and am overwhelmed by the range of different SM play gear you have. Can you give me a basic breakdown of what you specialise in and where a beginner is best to start out sampling your equipment?

Tuk: In general terms I suppose we specialise in the S&M aspect of BDSM. In specific terms we specialise in cats and in play accessories for violet wands. We do try to have a little of everything to cater for people's tastes, yes we even do "erotic" with our suction cups and clit cups & pumps! More recently Master has turned his hand to making economical furniture using soft woods and vinyl rather than hardwoods and leather. For someone just starting out we'd recommend our bungee floggers. They are easy to handle and you can vary the feel from mild through to stingy and then to thuddy. It's all in the wrist as they say!

H: I know you and Chris are very active souls on the internet bdsm chatrooms. How do you feel the internet has affected the fetish scene?

Tuk: The internet has brought together people who would probably never had met because of distance and has made event info and advertising easily accessible so the clubs and markets get more visitors. But at the same time we feel it has brought in a lot of moderate people who perhaps mistake the normal kinky vanilla stuff that most long-term relationships have, for BDSM. It has watered BDSM down almost to the point where doing S&M as we do is considered iffy and extreme. It has created a feeding trough for predators and abusers and a haven for the forlorn and abused. Yeah I know that all sounds a bit harsh. Maybe we have become jaded and sceptical over the years, but we have seen too many hurt, in the bad way, by pairing off with people they have "met" online before having met them in real life. They then find out that their "Master" has never help a crop in his life and hits them badly, or he was just a guy who wanted a blow job from a girl who can't say no 'cause she wears his collar. Or that their new collared sub thinks she can run the show because she sees anything else as being abusive.

H: How would you like to move forward in the future?

Tuk: We love putting our heads together and coming up with new ideas for toys and we would like to continue with the same verve and excitement into the future. We look forward to meeting new visitors to our stall as well as continuing to welcome our regulars back.

We have a lot of fun with our life and our business. I know I am a serious soul at times but Master has enough devilment in him for the both of us. We enjoy what we do and we hope we pass some of that enjoyment on to our customers.

Master Chris and Michelle. I would like to thank for the time you have taken to let us get an insight into how you put the personal touch in Trussed UK.

© London Fetish Fair 2007