231 | Enjoying This (Kinky) Human Experience: Cat and Joshua’s Stories

Cat & Joshua (partnered poly couple who have been together five years—she is 59, an educator and minister in training; he is a counselor, consultant, end-of-life Doula, and Professional Dominant—founders of Kink Collective) come on to share how they facilitate deep personal growth, dissolve shame, and help people be their best selves, drawing off their backgrounds in professional Domination to inform their work as counselors.

Joshua reflects on discovering his aunt’s nylons as a kid, growing up Latino in NYC (East Harlem) and realizing throughout his military, law enforcement and private protection careers that he was consistently the go-to guy for sex stuff, he talks about what it was like to work with a Catholic Priest, his own connection to God via BDSM, and why it’s important to him to say hi to everyone in play, kink, and club spaces.

Cat shares wisdom from her past as a professional Dominatrix and club owner, years of sexual freedom before she realized “reputations” were a thing, becoming sober at 29, falling in love with a woman for the first time, and creating kink spaces where people feel comfortable, she outlines the consent overview she used to start each event with, and shares how she has perfected the ability to notice stress and distress in a person and ask questions that get people to open up and drop in.

They discuss punching as a teaching tool, how COVID led to an influx of people ready for a new phase of personal exploration, and how the intensive of their Power Exchange Academy is beautifully designed to facilitate deep transformational work.