xposed 2022 presenters and classes

xposed 2022 presenters AND CLASSES

INDIGEO VOLO • XPOSED 2022 Kink Conference

OCTOBER 28-30, 2022
Featuring presenters from Victoria, Vancouver, and Seattle;
Classes, dungeon parties, vendors, and more!

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19+ ONLY

XANTHINE (they/them)

Xanthine identifies as a queer, sadomasochistic science nerd with a fondness for rope, ridiculousness, agony, and release. They focus their community efforts on education and promotion of responsible edge play with a goal of safer, more accessible spaces and a more diverse and welcoming crowd of weirdos. They have taught at Fusion, Winter Wickedness, Ropecraft, Kinky Kollege, Westcoast Bound, Dark Odyssey Summer Camp, WinterFire, Surrender, and other conferences.

As a massage therapist and energy worker, they focus their play style towards channeling pain into healing, transformation, and empowerment for both bottom and top. As a clown and activist, they seek to smash the patriarchy by dismantling ego and promoting laughter, vulnerability, and sincerity in the dungeon.

XANTHINE’S CLASSES

INSIDE THE CRUCIBLE: PLAYING WITH ORDEALS

Class Type *advanced*: Lecture and Demonstration – audience participation encouraged!

We often call BDSM ‘play’, and shy away from exposing the therapeutic and cathartic side of what we do. But what about when you want to push the boundaries of where you think you can go as a bottom or as a top? If you’ve ever wanted to integrate spiritual and emotional release and transformation into a scene, this class aims to give you tools to arm yourself for a journey into the dark part of play.

We will learn to use tools, psychology, and environmental factors to induce altered states and push past limitations, to surprise ourselves with what the human mind, body, and connection is capable of achieving.

We will be conducting an ordeal during the class, and will ask for but not expect audience participation. Please don’t arrive more than fifteen minutes late.

A RUSH OF BLOOD

Class Type *advanced*: Lecture and Demonstration

Pokey, stabby, bleedy. Needle play is intoxicating – shiny, visceral, methodical.

This class is part energy work, part Gandalf. Why do we put needles where we do? How can needle placement change the feeling in our bodies, aside from just the pain?

Learn how to use just a few needles to create an intense scene, and how a lightweight needle bottom can take hundreds, if given the right environment and attention. Learn to place needles in places to help chronic pain and mental fatigue, and to bring forth emotion and energy. Then watch how to tie these things together with some advanced needle play sure to get the blood rushing.

DEVIL'S SNARE

Class Type *all levels*: Demonstrations and Hands-on

An all-levels mean rope class from the depths of Xanthine’s witchy dyke heart. Minimal knots, rough textures, chemical assists, tension, compression, and attention to reaction and rhythm layer on a slowly encroaching, encompassing, snarly, sexy, woo-soaked blossoming onion of pain and sensation that capture and snare sadist, masochist, and rope partners together.

Bring rope (ideally sisal, manilla, coconut, and other scratchy fibres if you have them. Xanthine will have some on hand for cheap), twine if you have some, gloves if you need them, and a partner to tie with.

CARTER BRULEE (he/him)

Carter is a switchy, pansexual, polyamorous, trans boy passionate about education and dessert. He walked into his first munch at 18 years old, before he had even graduated high school, and has been hooked on the community ever since. Carter is a service oriented-submissive and occasional silly sadist. He has a bubbly personality and an enthusiasm for education that he brings into all of his teaching endeavors. In addition to teaching for location and national kink and leather organizations, Carter has taught various sexuality-related topics (including polyamory, kink, consent, and negotiation) for academic institutions.

CARTER’S CLASSES

FUCKING WITH GENDER

Class Type: Lecture and Discussion

Let’s be real, gender is a complex and multifaceted construct. There are so many aspects from gender identity, to gender presentation, and gender expression, before we even get into the societal contributions and gender roles and expectations. This class focuses on the many diverse ways you can play with gender in kink. Whether you are hoping to explore alternative presentations, affirm someone’s identity, embarrass them, or play with darker things like gender dysphoria, this discussion-based class explores the many facets of gender play and discusses negotiation considerations, strategies for fucking with gender in your play.

INVISIBLE BRUISES: EMOTIONAL FIRST AID

Class Type: Lecture, Discussion, and Demonstration

When considering risk profiles and preparedness people often consider the physical risks of their play; less time goes into the emotional risks of play. Sometimes we have done everything “right” and yet a person is somehow triggered by something unexpected or drops hard (be they a top or a bottom). This workshop focuses on strategies for preparing in advance for negative emotional outcomes (expected or unexpected) and will walk through practical skills for managing distress. Skills learned in this class can be applied to yourself or your partners and loved ones. (Carter holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology).

THIS SUCKS, WHY AM I TURNED ON? SUFFERING FETISH

Class Type: Discussion and Demonstration

Have you ever felt like “masochist” as a label just didn’t quite resonate with you, despite playing with pain? Or you’ve been aroused by doing that one thing you hate for a partner and just couldn’t find the words for why. Then maybe your fetish is for suffering. Suffering can include more than just pain play, maybe you really hate being forced to stand still, or use self-degrading language, or folding laundry. In this class, Carter discusses various types of suffering, negotiation, aftercare, and exploring your boundaries with this type of play. Let’s talk about navigating through what can be painful, nasty, bitter, miserable, and ultimately, incredibly hot.

GLORIA JACKSON-NEFERTITI (She/Her)

Gloria Jackson-Nefertiti is a writer, public speaker, presenter, panelist, and a frequent podcast guest. She is also a breast cancer survivor. In fact, it was her cancer diagnosis in 2013 that helped her realize how short life is and served as the catalyst to her coming out as sex-positive, bisexual, and polyamorous. Gloria has participated in panel discussions and has done presentations on shame, polyamory, intersectionality, and autism at various schools, colleges, and conferences all over the United States and parts of Canada, including West Coast Bound Kink Conference (Coquitlam, BC), Center for Sex Positive Culture (Seattle, WA), and The Gathering NW (Issaquah, WA - VIRTUAL) and is currently working on a memoir.

GLORIA’S CLASS

TRANSCENDING SHAME

Do you experience guilt, shame, and feelings of inferiority around your kinks, sexuality/sexual expression, gender identity, and/or race? Do you constantly compare yourself to others? Do you see yourself as defective?

This interactive workshop tackles the topic of personal shame and the damage that it causes when left unchecked. It also gives participants the opportunity to understand the meaning of shame, learn the difference between guilt and shame, gain awareness of shaming phrases and behaviors, and recognize when someone is shaming them.

POLY 101

As recently as 10 or 15 years ago, the idea of Polyamory was still unfamiliar to a lot of people. Today, thanks to TV shows, movies and podcasts, practically everyone knows what Polyamory is now — or do they?

In this interactive class, Gloria Jackson-Nefertiti will cover everything you always wanted to know about Polyamory (but were afraid to ask), through personal examples from her own life, as well as the lives of her partners and friends. She’ll define terminology and acronyms. (What the heck is a “throuple,” anyway? And what does NRE stand for?) She’ll work with you to clear up misconceptions about Polyamory. (“Do all of you have to live together?” “Where does everyone sleep?”)

She’ll provide you with helpful resources (lists of books, events, articles, podcasts). Most importantly, there will be plenty of opportunities for questions. (“What’s the difference between Polyamory and Open Relationships?” “How do you find partners?” “Your boyfriend is married? Does his wife know about you?”)

CameoStrange (He/Him)

Cameo is a wordsmith, ritual artist and chaos orchestrator. He takes pleasure in absurdity, seeks transcendence in pain, and loves to play at the nebulous intersection of these experiences.

CAMEO’S CLASS

NEEDLE DRIFTING - PIERCING PLAY AND RITUAL

Class type: Lecture and demonstration, followed by Q&A.

It’s not mind over matter, rather mind in synergy with matter. How do we prepare the mind and the body to have their containers punctured, and what pathways do we leave open in the wake of these messy and primal acts? Join me for an indulgent presentation of ritual piercing in theory and practice. Lecture and demo, followed by Q&A.

PAIN HALOS - SYNTHESIZING BDSM AND SPIRITUALITY

Why stop on the material plane when it comes to exploring kink’s possibilities? Please join us for a facilitated discussion on enriching scenes, dynamics, and the significance of their outcomes through ritual, symbolism, and invocation. Topics for exploration may include sigil craft, blood pacts, incantations, devotion and worship, and any other rabbit holes into which the pursuit of occult pleasures may lead us.

Barkas (They/Them) and Addie (She/her)

Barkas and Addie are Vancouver-based rope educators. Their style is characterized by a focus on the process, interaction, and emotion of a rope scene. Together, they spent several (pre-Covid) years running TheSpace2, a dedicated rope space in Vancouver, as well as teaching all over the world.

Barkas (they/them) is a bondage educator, writer, and researcher. Their contributions to Kinbaku include the Interview Metaphor as a way of placing focus on the person in ropes, Ranboo which is a highly dynamic and stormy way of tying, and the City of Kinbaku framework for both teaching and for individual rope growth.

Addie (she/her) is a Vancouver-based rope switch, self-suspender, educator, and performer. She loves digging into how and why things work the way they do, whether those things are rope patterns, body mechanics, interpersonal interactions, or social dynamics. When co-teaching, she usually focuses on providing insight from/for the perspective of the person in ropes.

BARKAS AND ADDIE’S CLASSES

INTRO TO SUSPENSION

This introduction to suspension class utilizes an easily adaptable suspension that can be tied on any upper body harness and adjusted to accommodate any level of suspension experience. The class focuses on solid fundamentals – what a suspension line is, how it works, and what makes it more (or less) safe. We will look at line management, body mechanics and balance, gauging intensity and play, all with the goal of facilitating a positive and fulfilling experience for everyone involved.

(Those with more experience are welcome! We will also point out where the suspension can be expanded upon to create more challenging sequences, up to a multi-transition sequence with several options for exiting.)

Pre-requisites – a suspension-worthy upper body harness, ability to tie a single column tie reliably and smoothly, supportive and positive dynamic between tying partners. Switching, trios, and observers welcome.

RANBOO

Barkas began developing Ranboo in 2011 as a way to inject movement, surprise, and dynamics into (often unfortunately static) tying. Eventually this style was named Ranboo, which means stormy or overwhelming. Ranboo uses changes in tempo and intensity to maintain suspense, engagement, and momentum. This highly dynamic style can appear rough but has a heavy focus on safety.

Prerequisites: Single column tie.

FOR THOSE IN ROPES

This class will focus on the experiences of those who like to be tied, particularly on developing an understanding of what we like/need/want in ropes, how we can explore safely and positively, and what options and resources we have to influence and contribute to our environment in healthy and fulfilling ways. We will look at a combination of physical and emotional factors when being tied, as well as social/political dynamics that affect and inform the spaces in which we practice ropes.

This is a lecture-based class. Those who are not tied are welcome (encouraged!) to observe but are asked not to interject.

River Dark (She/Her) and domenique (she/her)

River Dark is a Leatherdyke hailing from Vancouver, Canada. In 1982 she realized she was a lesbian and in 1991 she admitted to herself that she was a kinky - but with hindsight was both queer and a pervert as far back as she can remember.

In 1995 she started writing (& publishing) porn for the pleasure of her Master; and started teaching in 2005 spurred by her frustration with the quality of the classes she was attending at the time. Now, when not engaged in her Muggle life, she travels with domenique, her slave of 12 years, presenting workshops and creating scenes.

Born and raised in California, River's slave discovered the BDSM community when it was 19 and immediately embraced it with mind body and soul. Thirsty for intensity, connection, and sexual liberation DESIRE became the perfect place for it to explore and experience these things at a level it had always yearned for. It is both terrified and passionately interested in things involving the human heart and the power it holds, and is a bit obsessed with ideas around attachment, pain, and the healing process. It is a brat, a stray dog, a boi, a girl, and a sex slave who submits only to her Owner.

Over the years they have presented at many local, regional and international events & organizations. River dreams of finally finishing the anthology of erotic fiction and essay that she has been working on, and of a world where her dyke, poly, kinky, M/s heart is not incongruent with her Muggle life.

RIVER AND DOMENIQUE’S CLASSES

THE CARE AND FEEDING OF THE TOP: NOW THAT YOU'VE CAUGHT ONE, HOW DO YOU KEEP IT?

We all want to think of our Tops/Dominants as invincible gods, but the fact is they are very human. It takes two to maintain the power and the confidence of a good Top. This workshop is aimed primarily at bottoms who do not switch, but is not a workshop on how to be a good submissive/bottom. Instead we look at the psychological pressures of being a Top, and how to support and encourage our Tops, while still taking care of ourselves. We look at how to get our needs met without moving out of bottom space and without injuring our Tops. Lecture/ Facilitated

THE TOP AND THE ART OF TOPPING: THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS

What is a bottom looking for in a Top? Why do bottoms complain that there is a shortage of good Tops? It is a rare bottom who will bemoan the fact that they can’t find a Top who will flog them like so, use needles like so, or tie them up like so. Instead they talk about the characteristics of the Tops themselves. It is the flavor of the Top, not the specific skills, that is the main drawing power – and the glue that holds all the Top’s talents together. Drawing on a theatre background and her experience in D/s the instructor looks at the many verbal and non-verbal ways that a Top can present/create/re-create her/himself. Archetypes, voice, body language, basic NLP patterning, pacing, and scene construction are some of the things that will be explored.

FLOGGING FOR PAIN AND PLEASURE

This class has nothing to do with how to flog beautifully. There are no fancy swings in this class. In this class we will teach you how to hit strong and hard. How to bring someone to tears and beyond using just a flogger. How to use a flogger to create a journey.

If you have never picked up a flogger then this class is for you. If you just want to learn how to hit harder, this class is also for you.

Bring a flogger and someone to hit for the hands on portion of this class. Limited access to my floggers and slave will be available on a last come, first served basis.

GEARHEAD357 (He/Him)

Gearhead357 dove headfirst into the kink community when he realized that it was the perfect environment not only to play out his twisted fantasies but to share them. Who’d have guessed that feeding an interest in martial arts with a violent imagination could end so well? His love for learning and understanding all the great ways to break people fed his personal research into the human body: Gearhead has attended workshops throughout Canada and the U.S. for the past twelve years.

Through expanding his repertoire for violence, power-exchange, edgeplay, and rope, this sadistic top is always growing. Gearhead has presented in the United States and Canada for Renegades Rendezvous, the Bellingham Sex-Positive Centre, Rose and Thorn, Freyja’s Fling, and Leather Reign.

GEARHEAD’S CLASSES

HOW DO EDGEPLAYERS SLEEP AT NIGHT?

In this class we are going to sit down and talk about being mean, cruel and sadistic in a way that’s sustainable for us. Edge players are known for pushing the limits, but this evolution of self doesn’t happen overnight; and it doesn’t always come with instructions for being okay with it afterwards. In fact, society teaches us to play nice and not to hit or be too bossy. Well, I say fuck that! I want to cover how to get past those social norms, embrace your inner sadist and still be able to sleep great at night.

THE SHORT END OF THE STICK

Some of us don’t play fair. Others don’t want to be played fair with. Making unfair situations with people often involves manipulation, advantage, and leverage – which is also some of the building blocks of coercion. How can we embrace imbalances of power, and still maintain consent that looks and feels good to everyone involved?

HEYDEN (He/Him)

Hailing from the Seattle Area, Heyden is a Sadist and Dominant -- his play revolves around those facts. He’s been kicking (and hitting) around the local Seattle community for over 15 years. While specific tools matter less to him than the journey itself, he’s a big fan of rope, bondage, hypnosis, and needles. He has a penchant for people and enjoys finding different ways to connect and deepen said connection. The best current description of his play would be “moderately competent and safety adjacent.”

HEYDEN’S CLASSES

HYPNOSIS 101: THE ELMAN INDUCTION

Are you wanting to get into hypnosis, but don’t know where to start? This class is for you! Heyden will cover the Elman induction, which is a basic hypnotic induction that works for most folks. Further, he’ll talk about consent as it relates to hypnosis, as well as the basic theory behind how and why hypnosis works. With demos, and plenty of time to practice if you are so inclined to— come with a partner, or pair up during the class. This class is for all levels, genders, orientations and assumes no prior experience with hypnosis and BDSM.

LONG TERM MEMORY PLAY IN HYPNOTIC RELATIONSHIPS

Memory play in hypnotic scenes can be incredibly hot, both causing things to be forgotten and creating false memories and scenarios. Long term memory play in a relationship adds another level of risk and reward. We’ll talk about how to negotiate and get consent for something that could be considered irreversible as well as making sure things are as reversible as possible. Advice on how to structure long term suggestions and how to leverage the skills in both hypnotist and subject for best success will be addressed as well as sample negotiations and a simple demonstration.

STAY TUNED AS WE REVEAL MORE PRESENTERS.

We will be updating our presenter lineup every week- keep watching this space!