We are ROSS & ross
Master Phil Ross & slaveboi rodtney ross.

We are two men on a Spiritual journey and this is our path.

We understand that we are called to do this. We have been preparing all our lives for this opportunity. We are free from guilt and shame because we know it’s all about Love and Caring. Our fetish rituals serve to balance Sex, Love & Spirit.

We exorcise limitations of the past; we neither condemn nor condone. We simply accept that this is where we and others are at this time on our life paths. We are NOT here to debate the existence of LeatherFetish. We live among the Shamans and Healers of LeatherFetish which is one of the most pan-sexual of cultures in the world today.

Why Master/slave? This is one of the most highly charged myths of our society. For us, it’s very natural. We are complete; fully employed, and self actualizing in our union. We live together, we work together, and we worship together. Our sexuality is also our spirituality. Our Love is in Spirit.

Our association is much closer to the traditional marriage myth than one might expect.

We are united for ever and ever. We are monogamous. We are happy.

There are many myths to explode about Master/slave or Dominant/submissive. The primary one is that slavery by consent is slavery by conscription. It is not the same thing. The Master/slave dynamic is simply a structured and consensual exchange of power which is constantly modulated up and down by sexual arousal. If it feels good, (and to us it does) do it. Communication in this relationship is supurb!

What’s beautiful about Leather/Fetish is that it transits all strata of society worldwide: Class, race, gender and religion. It is a self regulating community who apply the test: Safe, Sane and Consensual to themselves and others

Why Public? When you’re different, you stand out. We are minorities among minorities among minorities. We are sexual minorities, lifestyle minorities, racial minorities; but you know what? When you combine minorities, you get a majority. We are truly individuals working collectively to express life fully as spiritual beings. We practice what we call “First Mind”; which is to say, living by intuition or ‘knowing’. We trust in ourselves, each other, and Spirit, to guide our way together as one.

There are as many ways to live out the Master/slave lifestyle as there are people in it. Truly, the number is small and it’s not for everyone. We are not recruiters. We do not need or intend to shout. But like anything that’s good, we want to spread our joy. We do this to share and not to flaunt. What you see is the result of our commitment to each in our chosen roles. If you are interested, there are groups, workshops and gatherings - world-wide, both open and closed. Tradition says we tend to represent the higher strata of IQ. This is because SM is 80% mental and we all know it all begins and ends in the mind.

We probably don’t have sex more or less than whatever is the norm. Actually for us, it follows the moon phases - about every 2-1/2 days. The rest of the time, our power exchange is like a radio in the background. The volume goes up and down; in and out, of primary consciousness. This is how we live, and for us it’s absolutely wonderful. Imagine your own lifestyle being a constant state of foreplay.

RATIONALE:

The interracial aspect of our relationship gives it a remarkable edge, most especially because it happens to be the slave who is Black and male. There are many ways to look at this. The most provocative is that freedom includes the choice to belong to another person. To understand that this is not about superior/inferior; or exploitation, we must expose the illusion of Master/slave. It is the submissive who is in control This is because at any time he/she can walk away and end the union. But this would break the bond and that is the last thing either partner wants. All of my life has been lived to foster equality and justice for all. This was not something I planned. Rather, it’s something I just discovered. I guess I bought into this when we said “The Pledge of Allegiance” in the third grade in Bellville, Ohio. What I am saying is that equality of choice is our sensibility. The fact is that I am from what is known as ‘Old School Leather’, where the best Master is a former slave. And my Master just happened to be Black.

I have also lived a lifestyle of "Exploring the outer boundaries of behavior and culture". What I’ve learned from this is that we all need to learn to live life on a human scale. Whatever it means, whatever it takes, to feel balanced. Knowing when enough is enough. Actually feeling satisfied. In the past several years, I’ve been experiencing being confident, secure, stable and committed. At some point it became equally important to love, as it is to be loved.

“It is and it isn’t choice”, says boi rodtney. “Just as individuals are born male or female; gay or straight, black or white; boi believes that souls chose their life experience before physical incarnation. Therefore, certain beings are born to be slaves or Masters. Our soul is incomplete without its counterpart. That’s the way it is with me. So I ‘chose’ to fulfill my soul’s destiny and I’m so very fortunate to have found one with whom I can fully self-actualize. I call him Master/Daddy/Friend and Lover. He calls me slave/boi/friend and lover. This is our completeness. And so it is”. (boi is used as the familiar of boy.) If there is such a thing as “Heart of a Master, Heart of a slave”, this is it.

OUR TALENTS RESOURCES AND BACKGROUND:

My background is in Organizational Development, Marketing/Communication and start-ups of all kinds; both profit and not-for-profit. rodtney worked in Technical Support for the Railroad for 21 years. rodt also was a principal male belly dancer for seventeen years in San Francisco. His husband of eleven years was a Tunisian Jew who practiced traditional Dominant/submissive rituals as part of their lifestyle rodtney is also a healer using crystals, intuitive massage and a positive belief system and trust based philosophy to center in Universal Spirit We met September 29, 1996 at Folsom Street Leather Fair in San Francisco, and have been together 24/7 from the first moment.

Our calling seems to go well beyond preaching to the choir. It reaches from our birth families to the Gay & Lesbian community, to the People of Color Communities, and on into society at large. What we’ve realized is that when you are yourself, most people will find that OK and feel good in themselves too; because of our acceptance of ourselves and all other positive lifestyles as well.

We’re not rich or poor. We’re average middle-class, middle-age, gay men; comfortable in who and what we are - and that’s no small accomplishment having been born before civil rights; gay rights, or new age accomplishments.

Our Message is clear: Free yourself, be yourself.

Don’t take second choice. Do what scares you the most which means: Do the first thing on your mind.

Celebrate and give thanks to Spirit. For all our wonderful Blessings. We call it being: Success Blessed. And this is truly what we are.

WHAT WE DO

We signify: Better ways of doing all kinds of things in life come from trial and error. In relationships this takes courage and bravery. Our expression is that of Unconditional Love and open acknowledgment of the power dynamic implicit in all associations. We live openly 24/7 which means day to day exposure and interaction with everyone from the clergy to the grocer. We council individually and together. We maintain a zine and marketplace on the internet called LeatherWeb, The Global Leather Village which includes news, classifieds, calendar, education, an interactive town council, and shopping.

Our role seems to overshadow our sexuality, and our glow makes the role just fine. We have never received a derogatory response. We have had people come to our workshops and say they were shocked in a way that caused them to pause and examine their own reactions. We now socialize with some of these same people who found us an open and loving couple after getting to know us..

We network. As an interracial couple we have opportunity to network with other LeatherFolk of Color and their friends by way of an unofficial network called LeatherAti Partners/Posse/People of All ColorsTogether (L.A./P.A.C.T.). We maintain an ambitious correspondence globally through e-mail and in print.

We write. rodtney is published this year in Whazzup, Collars and Black Leather In Color, Magazines. rodtney is a computer technition par-excellence. Ross & ross were recently featured in International Leatherman Issue #14. Master Ross has appeared in California publications: Update, Frontiers, Night Life, and Compass; and Nationally in Metropolitan slave and the Leather Journal during the last year. Ross co-produced House of Noir, the first leather fashion show at Catch I in L.A. and also co-produced LeatherFest, L.A. We also helped to co-ordinate the Minorities in SM/ People of Color panels at LeatherFest VIII & IX / San Diego. Phil operated the ‘Master’s Inn’, in Pasadena for eight years where, “People of Color are Welcome and Appreciated”. This was the site of the Master/slave vows of Master Paul Beyerl and gerryboy in 1994 (Publisher, Collars Magazine.). Ross was co-founder of Black & White Men Together (B.W.M.T./L.A.), Amber-Gold Media, a full service advertising boutique, and Moonfire Inn in Topanga, California.

What’s common in all of these ventures is their purpose of creating environments for free-exchange between diverse peoples. Ross has been endowed with the title “Griot” by his peers, “Brothers In Leather”. (Griot is the tribal Storyteller, who’s task it is to hand down the myths and traditions to the next generations.) Rodtney Ross, as Healer, is now The Leather Shaman with the passing of OBAlata.

TOGETHER:

Together we are a powerful and loving couple living a philosophy of Self Actualization while maintaining a balance of Spirit, Heart and Sexuality. During the last year we drove well over 10,000 miles around North America and we are doing the same again this year making appearances wherever we are called to publicly signify our Leather LoveStyle. We hope to educate and facilitate those interested to come out and be themselves; whatever the form. We're also planning a European Leather tour.

This is our effort to reach out and let you know who we are. We’d love to get to know you too. We invite your participation, encouragement and support. This is our primary focus for as long as Spirit directs us. We’re available to council, speak, do workshops and help with fund-raisers. We offer the services of LeatherWeb to promote worthy causes, events, products and programs.
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