Quite fittingly, 54-year-old Steelcollar (he/him) was born behind the Iron Curtain in Leipzig, East Germany. In his now hometown Berlin, he is renowned for his self-images of public bondage and servitude. WINGS sat down with him for a drink and a chat.
So, from Leipzig to Berlin. Did you move for the wild and extraordinary lifestyle?
“I grew up in Leipzig, which is a relatively big city, so it even had a good, little leather scene in the late 1980s, still the days of socialist East Germany. I started coming to Berlin every weekend in my early twenties, so it was just a matter of time before I moved here in 1994. I’ve been living in Schöneberg since then. I’m lucky enough to have a relationship with two boyfriends: a non-fetish relationship with my partner of sixteen years and a master-slave relationship with another guy.”
In your social media images there’s often a mix of leather and rubber gear. What’s your go-to fetish?
“That’s hard to say. Leather is good for everyday wear. With T-shirts and sneakers, it works perfectly on the streets of Berlin. But I love my rubber gear, especially when I go to parties or out in the evening, and I’d really like to wear it more often but it’s always a hassle to put on. I also find various military uniforms really hot, even if I sometimes feel a bit too old for them. For my bondage sessions, padded leather is good when the restraints are tight, but rubber is also good because it’s sweaty and great for mummification. I like both, also in combination, but it always depends on the individual session.“
What was your first fetish experience? And how did it lead to bondage?
“I was about 14 or 15 when I met a guy in fake leather jeans in a park in Leipzig. In hindsight, they looked cheap and weren’t really sexy, but the implication of leather turned me on. As a teenager, my bedroom was full of posters of rock stars in tight leather jeans, so I was somehow already into leather without really realizing it. Although there wasn’t much to choose from in those days, I soon had my own leather gear. But when the Berlin Wall fell and I started going to real leather bars in West Berlin, I found it humiliating to be wearing that cheap fake leather from East Germany while being surrounded by guys in real leather. I must have looked terrible! In the same way, I guess my taste for bondage also started in my youth. Even as a child, when I was playing outdoor games like ‘Cops & Robbers’ or ‘Cowboys & Indians’ with my friends, I always wanted to be the one who got caught by the others and pinned down or tied to a tree and left there all night. I enjoyed things like that. So, it developed from a childhood thing into an adult fetish.”
What’s your favourite type of bondage? And how do you meet people to play with?
“That’s simple: the more bondage, the better! I enjoy all types of bondage, whether it’s tape, steel, ropes, straightjackets, belts, or whatever. The main thing for me is that it must be inescapable. But it’s not easy finding experienced bondage tops, so if someone catches my eye on the gay platforms, I get in touch to find out if he’s serious. There is no typical bondage session. It might last only a couple of hours or even overnight, for example if I’m in a sleeping sack. Some forms of bondage, such as using ropes, take a long time to prepare and are uncomfortable for longer periods. I was once encased in a full-body plaster cast and placed like a statue in the middle of the room, balancing a serving tray. That was my most special bondage session, and I loved it! You have to be careful though. Bondage is based on trust and mutual understanding. Guys who do it well are sensitive to the situation and know when it’s time to stop. They’re aware that the body can go numb, and breathing can become difficult. But, because I’m always careful, nothing has ever gone seriously wrong.”
Does it turn you on to be tied up in public?
“Yes, I live my life openly and see no reason to keep big secrets. I love being submissive and abused, and I don’t care if I’m in public or not. I’m old enough to know what I want, and I don’t care what people think. This is my life, nobody else’s. Before I get tied up and gagged, I ask other people to take the photos, but my friends know me and are often already at hand with a camera. However, posting pictures on social media is becoming an issue; our fight for equal rights is not yet over. Homosexuality might be widely accepted in the Western world, but the fetish community is not. We’re still marginalized and looked at as dirty and perverted. The whole discussion about fetish at Pride is just one example, and social media is the other. A lot of fetish accounts get removed from Instagram every day without any warning. It has happened to me too. Some people have a third or fourth account as a backup because of META’s purge policy, which is that once you get deleted for whatever reason, you’re never allowed to return. In other words, the fight for visibility and accepting gay fetish and bondage is far from over.”
Any tips for someone interested in getting into bondage?
“There are some clubs that offer group bondage sessions, which is generally safe because there are other people there. Otherwise, you need to take time to do your homework first. If a guy claims to be active in bondage, but he’s only got two bondage photos on his profile, then that could mean that he doesn’t have much experience. Cross-check his various profiles and get in touch with his follower-friends to find out their experiences with him. When you feel comfortable to get in touch, then spend some time chatting and getting to know him. You need to establish trust, talk things through carefully, and find out what he does and how he does it. I never play on the first date. And if you don’t feel right about someone, then don’t do it.”
