BDSM Training School | Meet Your New Head Master

What does 'safe play' mean to you? Well, we believe in going one step further than advocating for safety by empowering kinksters and the kink-curious through education. We're incredibly excited to launch the BDSM Training School, a stimulating new learning portal designed for members and non-members alike to master their kinky evolution. So, sharpen your pencil (or paddle) because class is in session! 

This December sees the launch of the BDSM Training School - a spanking new initiative that provides a supportive and inclusive learning experience for anyone looking to deepen their knowledge of fetish & BDSM. Led by vetted and experienced non-risk BDSM instructors, students can expect to find an evolving array of high-quality on-demand courses accessible to all levels. 

Leading the school is Fetish.com's Leocadio, "Our ambition with the BDSM Training School is to create the necessary standards and become the go-to reference in BDSM education, and the launch of the school really levels up our game to becoming a kink education and lifestyle platform." He adds, "We're determined to raise positive awareness of a still widely misunderstood lifestyle to help everyone enrich their sexual experiences and be responsible members of the kink community."

Directing course content and teacher onboarding is Head of Curriculum Master Peter, an experienced educator who boasts more than a decade immersed in London's rich BDSM scene. Not only has Master Peter cultivated a strong reputation as a conscientious and discerning Dominant, but he also received the Best Master Award at the UK Fetish Awards 2020. Talk about mastering your craft. 

Here, we introduce you to the ProDom helping elevate the FET Universe to an educational powerhouse. 
 

BDSM beginnings: get acquainted with Master Peter 

Accidents happen. And some are better than others. Master Peter's voyage into BDSM began with serendipitous encounters while teaching swing dance at masked ball events in London ten years ago. "The event organizers always sent me to teach a dance class in a room with BDSM furniture, which I didn't understand as it wasn't a kink party," Master Peter explains, "It piqued my interest, so I suggested we create a proper dungeon party and host a spectacle. But I had no idea what I was doing!"

Full-time HR specialist, part-time swing dance teacher at the time, Master Peter trained rigorously with a Dominatrix for three months in anticipation of his first kink event. "It started as learning for this event only, but I was fascinated by BDSM and it was a rabbit hole I wanted to jump into," he says, "I went back to this event, and instead of teaching a dance class, I helped people chain themselves to the Saint Andrew's Cross or a spanking bench." The rest is history. 

Master Peter's first hand as a party Dominant snowballed into big business. He began offering private sessions to women and couples (his preference) and curated a Gentle Introduction to Kink and BDSM in London, which upwards of 500 people have attended. Then came more educational courses, such as consent classes, in-depth BDSM exploration, and a training initiative for other monitors called Play Safe, aimed at ensuring consistency in practice. Master Peter also plays the role of trusted House Dominant at several UK kink events and clubs, including Klub Verboten, DVS, Rabbithole, and Klassy. The BDSM Training School will add another string to his already-impressive bow. 

Education, education, education 

Master Peter admits to being a 'bit nerdy' and 'somewhat of an evangelist' about the educational aspect of BDSM play. Why? "There are lots of misconceptions and clichés about what fetish and kink actually is," he says, "Lots of people see it as a fertile hunting ground for superficial engagements with people and simply getting what you want. If people are having bad experiences or enter non-consensual scenarios, then it harms the work I'm doing – and their journey into kink."

At Fetish.com, we too emphasize the power of education to ensure Safe, Sane, and Consensual (SSC) play. Interestingly enough, Master Peter encourages the use of Risk-Aware Consensual Kink (RACK) instead of the commonly-used SSC. He explains that the kink scene has evolved since the conceptualization of SSC, and the word 'safe' in a BDSM context is rather vague. Master Peter adds: "A lot of the things you do in BDSM are not safe, they are intrinsically dangerous things. This is why I don't talk about safe spaces – I talk about safer spaces. Any time you go into a kink environment it is inherently not a safe space."

Furthermore, he questions: what does 'sane' mean? And who is qualified to judge it? Master Peter prompted us to reflect on the use of such words and their meaning here at Fetish.com. While we stand by the initial intent of SSC, we want to learn from our ever-evolving community of kinksters and educators and listen to how we might better serve them. "Ultimately, all you can do is be an exemplar for what you think is right and good practice," says Master Peter, "We want everyone's journey into kink to be wonderful because, ultimately, that protects everyone." 

Making a mark at the UK Fetish Awards 

Master Peter pushed the latex-lined envelope at this year's UK Fetish Awards by winning the first-ever Best Master title. Having been included in the Dominatrix category – a gendered term for a female ProDomme – the previous year, causing an outcry among some women in the category and other male Dominants, the Awards body finally recognized the need for a specific Male ProDom title. For Master Peter, winning was less important than the creation of the category itself. 

"It's real progress because male ProDoms just don't exist in people's minds," he explains, "We're the mythical purple squirrels of the kink world. I see winning Best Master without any false modesty as mold-breaking because it has brought the concept of excellence in male Doming into people's awareness."

Representation of the Dominatrix within the kink scene, as well as pop culture and society-at-large, is well-established. What is less explored is the role of male Dominants serving up sadism on a professional level. Master Peter speaks of a general unwillingness to accept male Doms into a predominantly female space, due to a sense of mistrust or having bad practices. "I get why this is the case" he adds, "I am a feminist and I understand that there should be women-only spaces. In almost every other area of society, women have struggled to gain equity. However, I don't see this as a male or female issue – it's a paid service."

Master Peter has chosen to work with women and couples, his personal preference, and sees that men are well-catered for in the kink scene, and women less so. Although BDSM and fetish lifestyles are slowly shedding some of their stigma in mainstream culture, shame around female sexuality remains pervasive. The honest transaction of services Master Peter offers clients is all about 'giving and receiving, not taking and allowing,' as he puts it. Expectations can be rife in any dynamic – kink or otherwise – and Master Peter removes the implied 'payback' in these kinds of exchanges. 
 

What to expect from the BDSM Training School 

Expect to find a range of classes that vary in length, from short bite-size learning to long feature-length courses, all filmed by kinksters for kinksters. We want to focus on providing different vantage points from a diverse spectrum of educators, ensuring that every kink appetite is fully satisfied.

As Head of Curriculum, Master Peter is responsible for a thorough and rigorous vetting process of educators coming onboard. "There's a very high-quality standard we're going for at the BDSM Training School," he adds, "I am incredibly excited to choose some amazing teachers – there's a lot of bad kink educators out there! I'm also really happy to be working with Fetish.com on the initiative. Here is a business that doesn't need to do anything around BDSM education, but wants to. That really excites me." 

For more about Master Peter, visit his website.  The BDSM Training School is accessible for all Fetish.com users with their existing login. All non-members can easily sign up and create an account.