Mental Health & Power Exchange AMA

AJ Renard (she/her) has been involved in the BDSM world her entire adult life, although she was a dark little thing far before that. AJ works in the mental health field and has a deep passion for teaching about BDSM and consent. She finds her happy place when there is rope, electricity, knives, boots, fear, and a lot of crying involved. In her limited free time she makes custom chainmaille for her shop, Foxy Feisty Redhead.

AJ teaches a variety of classes about consent, negotiations, perspectives on D/s, bottoming for intense scenes and edgeplay, mental health and BDSM, and behavioral science in PE dynamics. She also loves demo bottoming for Violet Wand demos, and things that make her shy in front of groups of people.

Thank you for your interest and your support of THRIVE! Because THRIVE is 100% free and not accepting donations, we ask that you pay it forward by donating to our speakers. 

AJ accepts support through PayPal (FoxyFeistyRedhead@gmail.com)
If you enjoyed AJ, you can follow her on Fetlife (https://fetlife.com/users/419271) or (http://FoxyFeistyRedhead.com)

If you would like to support THRIVE’s efforts, consider picking up THRIVE swag at https://www.redbubble.com/people/DevynStone/

Goddexx Symphonee is a Black, Bisexual, Non Binary, LeatherFemme who has been active in the Baltimore and DMV community for over 8 years. Her passion for kink and Leather is set in her belief in the spiritual and practical liberation that both practices can bring to those who participate in them, especially members of the African Diaspora. Once she began to get comfortable with her own path, Mx Symphonee served as President of the Mid Atlantic Onyx Pearls and as an organizer for Perverts of Color to fulfill her need to give back. She is currently representing her local community as the Ms DC Eagle titleholder and building her project known as "N.E.S.S.T". Calling on her unique personal experiences and knowledge, she has participated in panels across the country and taught a variety of classes ranging from “Strap On Basics” to “Intersections of Kink and Spirituality”. While she has held a few roles since entering the scene, she currently identifies as a Dominant, Sadist, Top leaning switch, LeatherFemme, and Cat.

Leo (He/ Him) is unapologetically authentic in how he lives his life, that is the cornerstone of his foundation. Embracing it with enthusiasm and a twisty sense of humor. This idea touches every aspect of who he is: Leather, Queer, spiritually focused, sadist, trans-masculine, Master.

Leo entered the BDSM scene in the late 1980s as a Leather Dyke. Self-mastery has always been at the forefront of his passions, of which he has many - including blood play, facilitating hook pulls, energy work and body modification, to name a few.  As the owner of Beyond Piercing, he has more than a passing fancy to all sharp things. He loves sharing his knowledge and skills with others.

He has been mentor, teacher, friend, student, Sir, Daddy and Master (to a select few) and is honored to facilitate spiritual journeys. He’s been an active member of MAsT, COLLAR and a variety of other organizations. Leo is in long-term addiction recovery and has worked as an addiction counselor, victims advocate and in crisis intervention.  He’s been practicing authority exchange relationships since 2005. After an 8-year sabbatical while recovering from a car accident he is thrilled to be back more passionate than ever.

magic is a queer leather slave with a passion for service and education. Their main topics of interest include service, history of the leather community, authority transfer, and neurodivergence and kink.
They first entered the community in May of 2015 and took a hiatus for their undergrad. Despite taking time away from the community their interest in kink continued, and even found its way into their studies.

With the completion of their undergrad and a newfound interest and passion for leather they dove back into the community in May of 2019. Since then they've proudly offered their services to their community on a regular basis.

TBD

Mxstress is an educational consultant, public speaker, and coach with over a decade of facilitation experience. Their work spans disciplines and is rooted in the experiences of individuals with historically marginalized identities, especially queer, transgender, and gender non-conforming people of color. They use humor, empathy, and honesty to empower all in a shared pursuit of justice, liberation, community, and dismantling systemic oppression. They strive to educate and learn in collaboration with those around them. Rowen loves coffee, trying new things, and spending time with loved ones in the sun! Follow them online: https://linktr.ee/mxrowen

Thank you for your interest and your support of THRIVE! Because THRIVE is 100% free and not accepting donations, we ask that you pay it forward by donating to our speakers. 

Mxstress accepts support through CashApp ($RowenThomas) and PayPal (@RowenThomas) and more (https://linktr.ee/mxrowen) 
If you enjoyed Mxstress, you can follow them at https://linktr.ee/mxrowen 

If you would like to support THRIVE’s efforts, consider picking up THRIVE swag at https://www.redbubble.com/people/DevynStone/

Iris “Ire” Mansur (aka Pill) is a Queer radical neurodivergent multiracial feminist activist on a constant journey to achieve his most authentic and transparent self – he/him she/her. Along the way he’s faced himself time and again, eventually coming to celebrate the raw humanity in violence, the empowerment in control, the transcendence in focus, and the overwhelming voracity that can only be evoked by upturned eyes and dirty knees. Fortunate enough to be adored by one very devoted bunny, to everyone else she is simply a loud and lascivious Leatherperson who strives to create an inclusive space within the community and form lasting bonds with other outcasts like herself. Uniquely afforded the ability to be “out” completely, she utilizes her platforms and privilege to advocate for equity, justice, and liberation.

A sadomasochistic Owner-type with a love for 24/7 Authority Transfer relationships, Ire hopes to have a future filled with presenting on topics such as mental health in power exchange, behavior modification, emotional sadism, and all things internal. He is a graduate of the Dallas Mentors Program 2013, an active NLA-Dallas member, volunteer coordinator for Beyond Vanilla 24 & 25, and a Queer youth mentor who has been in the public BDSM community for over 10 years. 

Thank you for your interest and your support of THRIVE! Because THRIVE is 100% free and not accepting donations, we ask that you pay it forward by donating to our speakers. 

Iris accepts support through CashApp ($iristhatscreepy), PayPal (@iristhatscreepy), and Venmo (@iristhatscreepy).
You can find him on Fetlife (https://fetlife.com/users/1488520) 

If you would like to support THRIVE’s efforts, consider picking up THRIVE swag at https://www.redbubble.com/people/DevynStone/

TBD

Born to kink on 6/9, The Rabbi (He/Him) is a Cisgender, Ambimorous, Gynesexual, Sadistic Bratty Daddy Dom. He has been called the "Prince of the Pervertables," "The Pied Piper of Brats," and "The Carrot Top of Kink.” (The last one was a compliment, right?) He creates his own unique toys with a sadistic flair that would make the prop master on Cutthroat Kitchen jealous, including ceiling fan paddles, Lego nipple clamps, and a mop head flogger to name a few, selling them in his online store, SINagogueBDSM on Etsy (and Fetlife). The Rabbi has electrocuted people with slinkys, broken all Ten Commandments (over someone's ass), and hit people with everything he can get his hands on, including a literal kitchen sink. Currently, he's a mental health professional working on certification to be a sex therapist. The Rabbi is hoping to follow in the steps of the early psychological pioneer, William Moulton Marston, who was the creator of both D.I.S.C. Theory (Dominance/Inducement/Submission/Compliance) and Wonder Woman, the latter of which was originally intended to bring BDSM to the masses in a digestible format.