How did you get to do what you’re doing?The concept for Shibari Study was born from a need to learn to tie. I wanted to learn shibari but didn’t find any good online resources. Gorgone (Shibari Study’s co-founder) brought the necessary shibari know-how and contacts, while I brought the vision and planning.
Does your daddy know? (Seriously, do your parents know what you do and how did you explain it?) The family was skeptical at first as it’s still a heavily stigmatized practice but with a deeper understanding of shibari and what we are building here came acceptance and even a sense of pride. Now they're just happy I am able to work with what I love and burn for.
What’s your secret talent in the Shibari Study team? I make the best office coffees!
What’s one thing you’ve done while working at Shibari Study that you never expected to do? I never expected Shibari Study to have such a profound impact on how the world learns and practices rope. The positive feedback we receive daily is deeply touching and motivates me to continue pouring my heart and energy into this project. The team is very special to me too. I feel very privileged to be working with such passionate and inspired people.
I never expected Shibari Study to have such a profound impact on how the world learns and practices rope. What are you currently most excited about at Shibari Study? I’m mostly excited about the website revamp, which is still going to take at least a year of hard work to complete but it will change everything (for the better!).
Instagram: @anton.mrtn How did you get to do what you’re doing? Serendipity, I guess? I was an active member on the Discord and saw a call-out for a community manager. It just so happens that I spent five years doing exactly that at a tech company and have an unbridled passion for rope bondage, so it seemed a perfect fit. Thankfully, Sage, Anton and the team seemed to like me, so I feel really lucky.
Does your mom know? During the UK Covid lockdown, my mom was living with my wife and I for three months. One day, she came home while I was dyeing a 200-meter reel of rope and asked me what it was for. I was honest (she didn't believe me at first) that it was for bondage. Since then, she’s been super supportive of our lifestyle and is actually proud that I am able to work doing something I love.
What’s your secret talent in the Shibari Study team? Secret talent? I don't really consider myself talented but I do love learning, so I’m currently teaching myself Japanese and Welsh, and I cook some pretty good Mexican food.
What’s one thing you’ve done while working at Shibari Study that you never expected to do? Genuinely, meeting the team in person earlier this year. I've got so used to working remotely, both in my vanilla job and with Shibari Study, that meeting everyone for the first time was quite unexpected and a little overwhelming but it felt super natural. Everyone is so unique and different, yet we all work really well together trying to create something special. Oh and Wren asking me to do a podcast – that one was totally unexpected!
Everyone is so unique and different, yet we all work really well together trying to create something special. What are you currently most excited about at Shibari Study? I’m personally really excited about the blog being launched. This has been planned since before I joined the team and I know there’s been so much work going into bringing this together. It’s also a great opportunity for us to provide information that doesn't quite fit within a video format, but is still a super important part of the learning experience. I also really enjoy writing about rope, so I’m hoping to be able to contribute to this as it develops.
Instagram: @mobights Sage How did you get to do what you’re doing? I started my rope journey in 2013 and became deeply invested in education around rope. After years of teaching and guiding others in rope with a focus on creating more inclusive spaces, I was invited to join the team to help support our belief that rope is for everybody.
After years of teaching and guiding others in rope with a focus on creating more inclusive spaces, I was invited to join the team to help support our belief that rope is for everybody. Does your daddy know? Yes, my parents know. I spoke to them openly about it and shared that this is work I'm passionate about.
What’s your secret talent in the Shibari Study team? Being the person who can convert time zones the fastest.
What’s one thing you’ve done while working at Shibari Study that you never expected to do? Leading the Discord launch event!
What are you currently most excited about at Shibari Study? All of the exciting feedback we are getting about how to make the platform better!
Instagram: @butterfly.priestess Kahrin How did you get to do what you’re doing? Working a marketing job that I didn’t really enjoy or feel connected to, I had been hoping to find a job that requires more creativity. I heard that Shibari Study was looking for a social media manager and being half Japanese, I felt called to apply! Now I feel very happy to have a job where I can apply my knowledge from business school while also tapping into my creative instincts.
Do your parents know what you do and how did you explain it? I actually went home to Japan for the first time in three years recently and showed my parents what I do at Shibari Study. To my surprise, it turns out that my grandpa has a friend he used to work with really closely who is a well-known shibari/kink photographer, so they were already quite familiar with the shibari world! I guess my interest in kink is something I inherited.
It turns out that my grandpa has a friend he used to work with really closely who is a well-known shibari/kink photographer… I guess my interest in kink is something I inherited. What’s your secret talent in the Shibari Study team? Staying connected with our online community of over 370,000 rope lovers!
What’s one thing you’ve done while working at Shibari Study that you never expected to do? Getting tied by hua hua for one of her classes that we shot recently! But also editing videos on a day-to-day basis is something I didn’t expect to do but really enjoy.
What are you currently most excited about at Shibari Study? The Kinoko content that we’ve been working really hard on! I’m also excited for our catalog revamp where we’ll be introducing new categories, and for the pedagogy that we’re working to incorporate.
Instagram: @leone_knight
Annie How did you get to do what you’re doing? Being outspoken about kink and my interest in rope – back then, mostly as a bottom – and, well, also being a professional writer. A fellow writer friend asked me if I knew Shibari Study (‘obviously yes’) and told that I was a 'no brainer fit' for a role they were looking to fill. Guess she was right – four years and still going strong and making my dream of starting a Shibari Study blog come true.
Four years and still going strong and making my dream of starting a Shibari Study blog come true. Does your mom know? My mom is pretty open and cool about stuff but I think that when talking about my work, I capitalized on the fact that she had no idea what ‘shibari’ actually means and probably thought it was something else entirely. I did finally clarify that it’s rope bondage but leaned heavily into explaining the communication, connection and intent aspect of it all, lest she think it's only a weird sex thing.
What’s your secret talent in the Shibari Study team? As somebody inspired by Shibari Study to finally start learning how to tie after many years of only being tied, I think my complete lack of talent might be my secret talent. I get to engage with a lot of our content exactly as a member would – that is, a member with zero coordination and no aptitude for remembering patterns. So far, I think I'm doing pretty well!
What’s one thing you’ve done while working at Shibari Study that you never expected to do? Made Kinoko a cup of tea. Extremely grateful that the language barrier prevented me from going full fangirl...
What are you currently most excited about at Shibari Study? If you've made it to our blog, you're reading it!
Enna How did you get to do what you’re doing? I started doing rope in 2020 as a bottom with Anton. We talked frequently about Shibari Study and once I finished my Masters in March 2021, I asked if I could work for him. I started as a PA and now I’m the director of admin and operations.
Do your parents know what you do and how did you explain it? My parents don’t know the details other than that I work for an education subscription platform. It’s difficult with their culture and background to have space for understanding what I’m doing, so I decided against telling them for now.
What’s your secret talent in the Shibari Study team? Apart from management, I also modeled for Shibari Study, so some of you have seen my face too. Other than that, turning 24 hours into a hundred in a day – I’m always here for everyone and their needs.
What’s one thing you’ve done while working at Shibari Study that you never expected to do? I never expected to model for Shibari Study and be public about shibari, as it was more of a low-key and private hobby of mine.
I never expected to model for Shibari Study and be public about shibari… What are you currently most excited about at Shibari Study? So much! There’s new content from diverse instructors like hua hua and Reemah. There’s more bottom-centered content with Fuoco. We’re updating our pedagogy with a site overhaul. And the blog, of course.
Instagram: @bbitterbliss Max How did you get to do what you’re doing? My love for building beautiful and functional software products. Anton and I have been close friends since childhood, and he’s someone who I can talk to about anything. As soon as he told me he was working on Shibari Study with Gorgone and that they needed someone trusted to develop the product, I jumped in and have been part of the team ever since.
Does your daddy know? Yes, my whole family knows and they’re more intrigued than anything else.
My whole family knows and they’re more intrigued than anything else. What’s your secret talent in the Shibari Study team? I know the product in and out.
What’s one thing you’ve done while working at Shibari Study that you never expected to do? Being onboarded as a vanilla person to shibari basics.
What are you currently most excited about at Shibari Study? Stay tuned for a big platform update later this year.
How did you get to do what you’re doing? It’s so funny how life works out. I started doing shibari 11 years ago but it became a big part of my life in 2013 when I was living in London completing my MA degree. This was when I met Gorgone and we became friends and collaborators. I’ve spent the last 10 years wondering if I made a terrible mistake taking out bunches of loans to pay for that MA degree that I never used but if I hadn’t moved to London for school, I don’t think I’d be here today working for Shibari Study in such an exciting role. Sometimes it just takes a decade for your life choices to make sense.
Do your parents know what you do and how did you explain it? Yes! I’ve come out to my parents about this a number of times but it probably first came to their attention when my little brother and I both accidentally showed up at the same fetish event – an event I attended to do a bondage performance. He told my mom that he saw me there and what I was up to… But truly, my parents are incredibly supportive, and I’m really grateful for it.
What’s your secret talent in the Shibari Study team? I’m new enough to the team right now that probably all of my talents are secret, and I’ve yet to discover everyone else’s secrets! But I’m a good cook and I love to darn socks.
What’s one thing you’ve done while working at Shibari Study that you never expected to do? Directed a video shoot! I’ve had a few chances recently to be working behind the scenes on video and photo sets, and it’s thrilling to understand content production from this new viewpoint.
What are you currently most excited about at Shibari Study? There are some really exciting projects in the works, and I’m getting the opportunity to think really deeply about bondage education and dream really big.
Instagram: @fuocofet 
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