For some, it’s therapy. For others, it’s a way to push the boundaries of pain and pleasure. For co-owner and long-time Denver Bound instructor/top Cookie, rope bondage is the purest form of art that can be found in the realm of kink.

And for the last 13 years, he’s been helping to ensure that his “westernized version” of the Japanese art of rope bondage known as Shibari has been kept alive and well in Colorado.

Because of Denver Bound’s longevity, in conjunction with its expanding familiarity in the BDSM community brought about by various “tastings” at events like the Hellraiser Bondage Ball, I reached out to Cookie to learn about his brand of bondage play and what a newbie like myself can expect from the various courses offered at their studio, The Annex.

Under the classes tab on the official website, those who want to begin their journey into the world of rope bondage are given three options: Beginners Class, Intermediate Class, and Advanced Class. When I asked about them, Cookie explained that each one is incredibly detailed.

“Denver Bound has been teaching classes since 1997. What we do here is, we teach Shibari—and I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s ‘true Shibari’ because we’re not Japanese and we don’t necessarily know that art—that’s Westernized to a certain extent. But we have three basic levels; we have our beginning level where we do all the rope work here on the floor. We have our intermediate level that takes it one step further, where we do some more technical ties and we start partial suspensions. And then our advanced class is we take all of those skill sets and then we work on ‘here’s the logistics of actually suspending someone in the air with rope.’”

Yes, these lessons may seem intense, but Cookie assured me that as long as you can tie your own shoes, you have enough of a skill set to excel within the curriculum; you don’t have to be a Boy Scout who broke bad.

With each course lasting roughly 12 weeks, Cookie said that in addition to the instruction itself—which focuses on “a couple of new ties for a couple of weeks, and then we’ll take one week to just go back and review”—a major focus of the curriculum is “The Three Tenets.”

“[Rope bondage] is one of the most dangerous kinks out there. It’s really the only one that’s ever killed anybody. But that’s because people just aren’t following the safeties, not paying attention to what they’re doing.”

He stated that because of this, “we practice three basic tenets: one is Safe, Sane, Consensual (SSC). We don’t like people on drugs or anything like that, it just impairs the mind. The next one is Risk Aware Consensual Kink (RACK), and that’s understanding that whatever kink you’re getting into, you need to understand the risks that are involved potentially in it.”

He explained, “With rope being one of the higher risk possibilities, the training is necessary, more than anything else. The [final tenet] is Personal Responsibility Informed Consent Kink (PRICK); going into this understanding your own personal limitations and what you’re comfortable with and bringing that to the table as well.”

On the night of my visit, I got to watch Cookie and his “bottom” Nile instruct a group of two couples that were at the Intermediate level.

While Cookie demonstrated the proper method for achieving the correct tie to the students, I kept thinking about something he said during the interview when I asked him how much rope bondage is science and how much is art.

“All of it is art, no matter how you look at it. The way you interpret it, the way the rope goes on the body, the way it feels like it needs to go; the rope speaks to you as a top, especially when designing new situations, new looks, and stuff like that.”

Considering he spent the first 45 minutes of the class walking the tops through a single series of knots to achieve something capable of suspension, and then said that by the end of the course all of them would be able to accomplish this series in under four minutes, I fully agreed with bondage’s artistic merit and that Cookie was a maestro.

One thing that stood out to me about Cookie’s teaching style was that after each step, he took the time out to explain the safety reasons why each knot was applied in the manner it was. He told the bottoms where potential pinching could happen, and how certain signs, like arms or hands going numb, should never be ignored.

Given the possibility of nerve damage and/or death, I had to know why people do it?

According to Cookie, “They understand that while they’re giving up all this freedom, so to speak, by being bound and tied, they’re actually doing a lot of release. So, a lot of people will find that through the bondage, that they can let their days go. It’s kind of euphoric, it can be extremely cathartic. And then some people use it for either meditations, getting into a head space that’s kind of floaty and stuff, or some people use it as therapy to work through issues.”

Interestingly enough, I got to see one of these alternative uses earlier in the evening when Cookie lifted Nile into the air before the students arrived, and the stretching helped alleviate some of the pain/pressure Nile was experiencing in their joints. “Who needs Tylenol when you can have ‘tied-all-up?'” They quipped.

So, does this mean everyone in the Centennial State should be signing up for the next available course? Though I would personally answer that question with a resounding “yes,” Cookie made it clear that with bondage being such a singular experience, everyone should really evaluate if it’s for them.

“Rope is not necessarily for everybody, but it is one of those kinks that, if you enjoy being bound, if you ever played as a kid ‘cops and robbers’ or ‘damsel in distress’ or those kinds of things where you tie up someone to a chair for whatever fun reason it is, it [fits] one of those kind of deep-seeded needs.”

If you are just such an individual, I promise the classes offered by Denver Bound will fill all your needs. The chemistry between Cookie and Nile provides for a completely relaxed environment, and I guarantee you will learn something new about the human body at each visit.

And no matter which level of rope mastery you might be at, I can assure you that when you combine the knowledge learned at a Denver Bound session with the goodies found at the handmade leather kink shop next door called Unowned By Bear, you will definitely speedrun your bedroom game.