Xanthine

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 Kinkfest, Conception, Fapcon, Westcoast Bound, Dark Odyssey 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, connection, and sincerity in the dungeon.

Xanthine's Workshops

A Rush of Blood

Pokey, stabby, bleedy. Needle play is intoxicating - shiny, visceral, methodical. This class is part energy work, part bloody bad ideas mayhem. 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. 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.

Type of workshop: Discussion, Demo

Bad Ideas

If "what the hell is wrong with you?" is your idea of seduction, you'll get along just fine in this class. Rapid fire demonstrations (with audience participation!) of one terrible idea after another, that can help push a a scene from intense to terrifying, or serious to ridiculous. Xanthine will go over bad ideas that turned out to be actually bad ideas, and bad ideas that have become favourites. +10 to creativity, -10 to sanity.

Type of workshop: Lecture, Discussion

Inside the Crucible: Playing with Ordeals

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.

Type of workshop: Lecture, Discussion