TDV: Hi Trail Master, first off, could you tell us a little about yourself? Your interest in BDSM? Length of time in this lifestyle?
Trail Master: Hi Kayla. I'm a 47 year old male Dominant who lives in Vancouver BC. I am the father of 3 grow sons and am involved in a wide range of things outside of the BDSM community. I have lived in a 24/7 Master/slave relationship with "dia" for the last 5 years. My nickname "Trail Master" was given to me many years ago and alludes to my love of hiking, mountaineering and the great outdoors. My length of time involved with BDSM? Well… hmmm… digging back into the ancient archives…LOL

I attended my first BDSM "event" in Calgary, about 26 years ago, after discovering that there were others that not only had fantasies about Domination and submission, but actually did more than just think about it. I use the term "public" rather generously here, for things were a lot different back then and those involved in BDSM were no where near as public as we enjoy today. Until that time I had thought I had some rather wild fantasies…LOL but seeing live BDSM in Germany confirmed that I was not alone.

Once I moved to Calgary I went in search of people with similar interests and was lucky enough to find some very experienced practitioners who took me under their wing and taught me the basic skills, as well as the philosophies, behind what was to become a very large part of my life. I then moved to the interior of BC and, due to locations, primarily enjoyed BDSM in a much more private manner. I moved back to my hometown of Vancouver in early 1997 and went in search of the public scene again. Frankly, it was one of my prime motivations behind moving to Vancouver and the Internet made it a hell of a lot easier to find the second time around.

To make a long story short, I reached out and embraced my new Vancouver community and became very involved in munches, play parties and making a lot of new and wonderful friends. I made a decision at that time that I was no longer going to hide this side of myself.

The rest, as they say, is history. I am very involved in the local "scene" and have been involved in putting on numerous events including hosting a few play parties. I've delivered workshops and have participated in the making of a full-length documentary on BDSM. Along the way I have come out to my family and most of my vanilla friends. Frankly, I have never been happier. BDSM and this community is a very, very large part of my life.

TDV: You are involved in a project called The Vancouver Dungeon Monitor Team. What motivated you to start the group?
Trail Master: Shortly after a local club called Purgatory closed it's doors, three of us were sitting around talking about the what, where, who and how's of opening a new BDSM club here in Vancouver. The issue of DM's came up and we all agreed that there was a lot of room for improvement over the way it had been done in the past. The DM'ing needed to be a lot more consistent and the folks that attended parties needed to have much more confidence in the capabilities of the DM's. The DM's also needed to be generally more visible and easier to find in an emergency. Safety in BDSM is an issue that is very important to both the individuals that go to events and to the community as a whole. The proposed new BDSM "Club" did not open, but the need for BDSM events was recognized by a number of people/groups who now put on a range of events every month. We are very lucky here in Vancouver to have a total of four BDSM events to choose from every month.

Two of us, "The Captain" and myself, felt very strongly that this was a way that we could both put our experience to use and give back to a community that had given us so much. We did not want to be front and center in actually running a club or hosting events, but felt that we could assist those that did by taking care of the DM responsibilities. We set out to create a DM Team that would be available to anyone in the area that wished to put on a BDSM based event. We talked to numerous people in the community about their experiences with DM's and what they felt were areas that could be improved upon. We did a lot of on-line research and found that there were a number of "Dungeon Monitor" groups around North America and they were willing to share their experiences and training manuals. This became the foundation of our building a DM training program, establishing consistent rules and protocols. We simply took the very generously offered information from other areas and adapted it to the needs of the Vancouver community as well as the local legal requirements. Before we knew it we had produced a 30 page training manual, had the support of some of the local event hosts and had many people volunteering to take the training and DM parties!

The Vancouver DM Team has really taken on a life of it's own. We currently have 3 DM Coordinators, one Level 3 First Aid Attendant and 25 DM's. 10 of these DM's have current first aid tickets and we are soon to host a first aid training day for another 12. We are a pansexual group that supports any and all groups requiring DM's.

TDV: How did you choose the people who trained the first group of DM's?
Trail Master: Four of us taught the original course based upon the training materials we had garnered from other communities and the almost 100 years of practical experience we brought to the group. As much as it is a "training program", each person that joins us adds their experiences to the Team and we all teach each other. I am a very firm believer in a "Team" approach.

TDV: What do you look for in your volunteers? By that I mean experience, personality traits, things they might bring from outside their BDSM experience?
Trail Master: Experience in BDSM is not the first thing we look for. Frankly, common sense, solid people skills and personal integrity, combined with a solid commitment to the community, are the key factors we look for. A DM does not have to know how to "do" every type of BDSM to be able to DM. A DM simply needs to know what to look for, what should NOT be done and the difference between what makes a scene safe and un-safe. The most important skill is to be able to determine what NEEDS to be done and what is the best, and least intrusive manner to handle any situation that may come up. We are not the BDSM Police. We are simply there to ensure that people play in a safe manner, have fun and stay within the rules of an event. First aid skills are always good to have and conflict resolution skills are a real asset. We also have a fully equipped Level # 3 First Aid attendant are every event.

TDV: Do you require your DM's to have refresher courses in their training or to further their experience in BDSM techniques?
Trail Master: No, we do not put on formal refresher courses. Yet, DM training, like learning anything, is a never-ending endeavor. We all learn by doing, seeing new things and dealing with new situations. Each DM is a little bit better at the end of each shift. The more experienced DM's share their knowledge with the less experienced and we all keep learning.

TDV: How do you base your decision on the number of DM's to provide to a specific event?
Trail Master: It really depends on the floor space to be covered, the number of play stations and the number of players in the dungeon area at any given time. We usually run with two DM's per shift. Shifts run from one hour to a maximum of an hour and a half. We always work in pairs, as two sets of eyes are better than one and so are two opinions about what may or may not be taking place. Much of what we do falls under the category of "judgement calls" and, unless it is an emergency, we always discuss things amongst ourselves before taking action.

TDV: Have you, or would you consider, helping other communities develop their own Dungeon Monitor Program?
Trail Master: We are always open to sharing our experiences with other communities. We have worked with the Vancouver Island community in the past and look forward to working with the Interior community in the near future.

TDV: With the wide variety of experience that participants bring into a venue, how do deal with players who consider their play mundane, when others might consider it edge play?
Trail Master: Like anything else, edge play is in the eyes of the beholder. One person's chocolate is another person's vanilla. We have a policy of NOT DM'ing to the lowest common denominator. If some folks are squicked out by other's play, yet that play is safe and within the rules of the event, we simply suggest that they not watch/look away. However, we are always careful to make sure that anyone with a question understands that the play IS safe and, although it may not be right for them, is fine for others to enjoy at they events.

TDV: Are people generally cooperative with DM's? Is there a difference in how male versus female DM's are treated?
Trail Master: We have very, very few problems with folks not cooperating fully with DM's. Frankly, I cannot remember the last time that was an issue. Our red sashes make us very visible. This works in two ways. One, we are very easy to find in an emergency. Two, it is much like cop car parked on the side of the highway. People know what the event rules are. They each get a copy when they walk in the door and they sign a waiver saying they will follow the rules. They also sign that they will follow the instructions of a DM. They are very unlikely to break a rule or do something intentionally un-safe with a very visible DM in the room. That, combined with a persons concern for their reputation in the community, keeps 99.9 percent of the people attending the events well within the rules. No one wants to screw up in front of his or her piers.

Over the last 2.5 years we have had less than one incident for every three parties we have DM'ed. We have not had any "Major" incidents. The DM Team members are very well trained to deal with just about any situation. The fact that we have to intervene in so few scenes speaks very highly of our community members. We have also found that the red sashes worn by our DM's virtually eliminate any difference in how a male or female DM is responded to.

TDV: What are some of the challenges you find in managing volunteers?
Trail Master: Just like any other organization that relies on volunteers, we have the challenges people finding the time to commit to shifts. We usually find that the newer DM's are very eager to volunteer, while people who have been part of our team for a long time have other obligations that may prevent them from volunteering as often.

TDV: Is there a fee of some kind for venues to access your services?
Trail Master: We do not charge a set fee for DM'ing any events. We do accept a small honorarium to help offset our training, printing and first aid supply costs. This is greatly affected by how well an event does financially. We have always found that event hosts so appreciate our work that they willingly contribute to our financial needs.

TDV: For venues or communities just starting out, how would you suggest they monitor play areas at their parties?
Trail Master: It is generally accepted that any "public" event has DM's due to rule enforcement and liability issues. I would also suggest that the event host's NOT DM their own events as there is simply too much potential for accusations of conflict of interest or favoritism. The usual course is for the more experienced players to assume the roll of DM's. Any community that has events on a continual basis will soon find that they will burn out those few that always DM. By organizing a DM Team and having the more experienced players take on the training we have found the load is spread out, there is more willingness to volunteer and the general level of knowledge in the community has increased with more people have a better understanding of what DM'ing is all about what constitutes safe play. Generally, there is also an increased understanding as to "why" certain rules are in place.

TDV: Is there anything else you would care to add?
Trail Master: Thank you for the opportunity to talk about the Vancouver DM Team. I think that any time there is an opportunity us to gain a better understanding of some aspect of our community it benefits us all. This has also been a great opportunity to recognize all those who do volunteer their time to make events safer and more fun for the rest of us.