About Cléo Dubois

My journey into SM play started in 1980. There I found the link that connects my sexuality and my spirituality. I learned that negotiated sadomasochism is a valid path to self-discovery, intimacy and healing. I became a Domina and ritualist. Leather Conferences and community groups such as Outcasts, Janus, Exiles, QSM first gave me a voice as an ethical and informed kink presenter. I traveled throughout the year to conferences like Thunder in the Mountains, as well as to other BDSM groups around the country. I continue to travel with my life partner, Fakir Musafar, conducting "Spirit + Flesh" body-based shamanic community all day workshop/rituals.

In 1995 I founded the Academy of SM arts and shifted my work towards couples offering consultations in my office as well as private guided play in the dungeon. Desiring to reach more individuals and couples attracted to BDSM, I created and produced my first docu-play video "The Pain Game" in 2000. The response was magical. My film screened in San Francisco, Paris, New York, Amsterdam and Minneapolis as well as many alternative film festivals. I received an award from the Society of Scientific Study of Sexuality for true depiction of loving and conscious SM. Folks asked me to make another film focusing on bondage. "Tie Me Up" was released in 2002.

By now, there were many informative books on the Leather Scene including one written by my long time friend Sybil Holiday , "Consensual Sadomasochism." However, no comprehensive course spanning the continuum from negotiation and communication skills to play techniques and scene dynamics was offered in the community. I invited Sybil to collaborate with me in creating such a course in SM Arts and Sensual Dominance. We had a wonderful three years of presenting these workshops together.

My Academy of SM Arts is now in its sixth year of offering Erotic Dominance Intensive Weekends for Women and its fourth year of offering Dominance Intensive Weekends for Men. Based on the awareness and refinement of erotic energy exchange, these intimate workshops focus on personal empowerment and play skills, while maintaining the overall theme of dominance and relationship. I am assisted in teaching by premier Chicago based Domina, Eve Minax, a talented and versatile D/s trainer and Selina Raven, a rising star in the San Francisco BDSM community. Community SM educators such as JD of Two Knotty Boys are also invited All share my enthusiasm for BDSM as a path to making your play sexier and more connected.

Of course, I continue to coach bondage and SM play to couples and individuals through private consultations and guided play training in the privacy of my dungeon. I also present at national conferences such as Thunder In The Mountains, local venues such as the Society of Janus, SM Odyssey, the Journeyman 3 Academy and Good Vibrations. I am an invited speaker at San Francisco State University, the University of California, The Learning Annex and the Department of Psychiatry at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco I am honored to be a Distinguished Lecturer at the Institute of the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco and an affiliate teacher at One Taste SF.

As a writer, I have been published in Different Loving (1993) by Gloria Brame, Bitch Goddess by Pat Califia (1997), Sex Tips and Tales from Women Who Dare by Jo-Anne Baker (2001), in On Our Backs and on-line publications such Sensous Sadie whose website features guest writers on BDSM and spirituality topics. Most recently I am featured in Reclaiming Eros by Blackburn-Wade, 2007.

I currently write a monthly leather column for Alt.com Magazine reflecting my sense of humanity and respect for others’ erotic sensibilities. I share what I have learned through 25 years of shameless, consensual and fulfilling erotic play. I believe in the magic of SM and in keeping a sense of humor about it all!