Meet the Educators of EiK 2026
Click a presenter’s name or the + to view their bio and classes
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Since the mid-1970s, Hardy has been active in the leather community as a gay activist, author, and speaker on various aspects of the SM/leather scene.
He is the author of several books, including Playing with the Family Jewels, Soul of a Second Skin, and Shouts in the Wilderness. He has also contributed to the Dallas Voice newspaper and Drummer magazine. His documentary, LEATHER, has received numerous awards and has been featured at film festivals around the world.
Hardy is the recipient of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Leather Leadership Award, NLAI’s Man of the Year Award (1999), and the National Leather Association International’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2007). His additional honors include the Marcus Hernandez Lifetime Achievement Award from Pantheon of Leather and the Jack McGeorge Educator Award from MsC.
Hardy serves as Chair of the Board of the Woodhull Action Fund in Washington, DC. Since April 1995, he and his boy, Patrick, have lived together in Dallas.
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Traveling Fool is a master at the sensuous art of Electric Play, Tens, EMS, and violet wand. He enjoys giving violet wand orgasms, and the smiles and sighs of pleasure from slow, sensual violet wand play. If you're not into pain, and prefer the squeals of pleasure, his style is for you. He loves to teach and demonstrate how to maximize your play.
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Since 2005, Daniel Belum has been creating interactive workshop experiences that truly engage participants across alternative communities. He’s taught at hundreds of events, won multiple awards including MAsT International’s Member’s Choice Presenter of the Year, and co-authored several books. Today, he directs Echoes Within, a nonprofit focused on mental wellness for alternative and marginalized communities.
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From the Marines to the fire service and from the dojo to the dungeon, I'm honored to be given the opportunity to share what I have learned with anyone willing to listen. It's easy to cause pain by injuring someone, but it's a finer art to hurt without harming. I will share as much as I can to help you establish the groundwork necessary to build a safe & enjoyable scene. The more we know, the safer we play!
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Nicole (she/her) first picked up rope in 2016 and immediately gave up when she couldn't figure out how to tie a single column. Luckily, she picked up rope again in 2020 and hasn't put it down since. A recent graduate of Kinbaku KCMO's cohort, an engaged member of the Kansas City Rope Collective, and an associate member of ONYX Great Plains, Nicole is a fan of creating art with rope and was surprised to learn that being suspended in rope hurts…because it doesn't hurt her at all!
Frankie (she/they/trash) has been active in the local kink and leather community for nine years, with a focus on education through the bottom’s perspective. For the past four years, they have had the privilege of co-teaching at local venues as well as out-of-state BDSM, kink, and leather conferences. They are an active member of the Kansas City Rope Collective and an associate member of ONYX Great Plains. They have co-taught extensively and traveled to teach alongside NoFunNicole in local rope spaces, dungeon environments, and conference settings.
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Cecilia T. Winters ('CTW' - She/Her) is your typical queer Millennial. Born at the start of the internet age, she has always benefited from information at her fingertips. She identifies as bisexual and ethically non-monogamous. She has served as a dungeon and playspace monitor, a demo top for a number of local and national kink events, and as a presenter. Her non-kink interests include reading, making lists, watching early 2000s crime dramas, and learning about ancient human cultures. Fischer Garrett ('Mister' - He/Him) is a bisexual, polyamorous top. His time spent in the lifestyle has led him through a journey of self discovery, from once being totally monogamous to being a relationship anarchist; from wanting nothing to do with bondage to developing a way to practice bondage in a relatively unperformed and under-documented fashion. In the past several years he has volunteered for larger kink events as a member of a consent incident response team, a dungeon/playspace monitor, and recently as a presenter. He is a huge fan of costumes and masks, and it is not unusual to know that he is around but often in clever and sometimes strange disguises. Together they are coauthors of the first book on chain bondage, The Art of Chain: A Guide to Steel Restraint (Mystic Productions, 2022). www.theartofchain.com
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Over a decade deep in the Indianapolis kink community and still raising eyebrows. Pansexual, polyamorous, P.O.C. leather service top with a reputation for giving back just as hard as he plays. Volunteer, event builder, educator, and current VP for ILC, plus co-leader of Indy Buzz, the local electric crew. He thrives on edge play, electricity, fire, impact, and keeping you guessing. This daddy somehow still finds time for anime, cult classics, and all things deliciously weird from the 80s and 90s. If it’s strange, intense, or just a little dangerous… Sir Synister Tokin probably knows where to start.
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Amy, known as candid_fire, is a switch and kink educator whose work sits at the intersection of intensity, intention, and emotional truth. A sexually processing masochist with a distinctly sadistic streak, she teaches from lived experience-both the surrender and the strike-bringing a grounded, embodied understanding to every room she steps into.
Her approach is direct, unfiltered, and rooted in the belief that kink reveals who we are long before it shapes what we do. Amy focuses on the deeper layers of play: the patterns we carry, the power we exchange, and the choices that turn raw sensation into meaningful connection. She teaches with clarity, presence, and a steady confidence that invites people to meet themselves honestly.
Driven by continuous growth and the discipline of self-awareness, Amy brings both fire and precision to her classes. Her guiding philosophy is simple: progress over perfection, awareness over impulse, and intention over bravado.
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Mz Locs is a Queer, bratty, sadistic Dominant, educator and community leader with over seven years of experience in the BDSM community. Mentored by Master Bear, her journey has been shaped by a commitment to education, personal growth, and creating spaces where people can explore the lifestyle with greater knowledge, confidence, and connection.
Mz Locs is one of the founders of UnSinXored and Odyssey Leather Society. She formerly led CTX TNG & Beyond, intentionally stepping back and transitioning the group to new leadership to support its continued growth. Currently, Mz Locs serves as Co-Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Vision.
That same commitment to education and community led to the creation of The Perversion Project, an educational initiative and extension of her mission to make BDSM education accessible, engaging, and relevant. Through classes, resources, and community conversations, The Perversion Project creates space for people to ask questions, challenge assumptions, develop greater self-awareness, and gain practical tools for navigating BDSM and community.
Her work explores consent, relationships and dynamics, safer community practices, identity, neurodivergence, service, vetting, boundaries, self-awareness, and personal development. Mz Locs believes education should go beyond simply teaching people how to participate in BDSM; it should help people better understand themselves and how they connect with others.
At the heart of her work is a desire to cultivate communities grounded in consent, accountability, mutual respect, inclusion, meaningful connection, curiosity, and lifelong learning, while supporting newcomers and experienced practitioners alike throughout their individual journeys.
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Miss Mel (Melancholy Ghost)has been active in the kink and Leather community for more than 20 years and has been educating since 2016. Passionate about community building, Leather history, and creating spaces rooted in communication and consent, she approaches teaching with authenticity, creativity, and a commitment to lifelong learning. Her scenes blend artistry, emotion, and playfulness, using music and intentional negotiation to create experiences that are collaborative and deeply personal. Beyond presenting, Miss Mel continues to expand her knowledge through travel, historical research, mentorship, and service to the community, bringing that curiosity and passion into every class she teaches.
We are honored to announce that Melancholy Ghost is this year's Local Presenter Spotlight.