Tony Buff

Don’t let the youthful appearance and disarming smile fool you because when it comes to BDSM, this handsome 37-year-old Italian-American is recognized as one of the heaviest players on the national scene. While he considers himself a power switch, it is his skill set as a performing top that brought him to the attention of both the producers of Thunder in the Mountains and the folks at TITAN. As the vice president of Titan Media, Keith Webb, says, “Tony is one of the world’s hottest and most experienced BDSM tops and brings a new level of performance to this genre.”

Born in Pittsburg, PA. in 1970, Tony was raised in southern California. After graduating high school joined the Marine Corps at age 17, and upon discharge, he then studied philosophy and political science at California State University, Long Beach. Tony now lives in Seattle, WA where he works as a Personal Trainer and Pro Dom with the occasional break to travel and perform in what he refers to as, “art films.”

But it is his passion for the Sadomasochistic arts that has made him a recognized activist and leader in his local community. In addition to teaching workshops, performing demos, and helping out with various fundraising events, Tony also served as Washington State Mr. Leather in 2002. He now servers as a member at large on the board of Generic Leather Productions of Washington and as a board bember and producer for the Washington Sate Mr|Ms Leather Organization. He is also a member of Seattle Men in Leather and an associate member of the Chicago Hellfire Club. Tony’s deepest connections are with the members of his leather family, the Dragon Clan and his collared boys. To recognize and honor his involvement in the larger community, Tony has been twice knighted by the Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle, received the Leather Emerald Award in 2003, has been sainted by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Abbey of St Joan, and was most recently adopted by Sandy Reinhardt into Mama’s Family as “Mama’s Big Screen.”

It is with great excitement and pleasure that we welcome Tony Buff to Thunder in the Mountains, and we hope he will return many years into the future.

To find out more about Tony, go to www.tonybuff.com

 

 

 

Derek Da Silva

Just like his Dad, Tony Buff, the beautiful demeanor and gentle spirit of Derek Da Silva belies the tough, heavy player underneath. There are very few men playing in the gay male BDSM scene today who have not either seen or heard of the extremely difficult and sometimes brutal scenes in which Derek has participated. Although Derek routinely tops willing subs, he is best known for his skills and stamina as a BDSM bottom, and in fact, it was only a few years ago that he met Tony Buff at the Hellfire Club’s Inferno world reknowned men’s only event. And Derek remains an associate member of Hellfire today. His looks and his skill soon garnered the attention of gay male movie producers, and he was hired to star in many films for companies such as Titan Media, Shotgun Videos, Zeus, and Steel Mill. Although Derek remains a boy to his Dad, Tony, he is also in the process of getting his own boy. “It looks really promising,” he comments with a smile.

In his life away from the scene, Derek splits his time between two diverse careers as a music producer of vinyl records and a computer systerms architect. He lives happily in Chicago, IL. with his partner, Doug, of twelve years. We are very honored that Derek has chosen to teach at Thunder 2008!

 

 

Shibari with Male subs
Bottom: TBD

In our experience at various BDSM events around the country, most of us have seen Shibari taught and performed in its many variations. This year, however, we are adding a new twist. Tony Buff, along with his teaching and lifestyle sub, Derek Da Silva, is teaching this fascinating seminar on how to perform the most effective Shibari specifically on male subjects. Because the body weight and musculature of males is so different from that of females, Tony wants to show us that there are also very different issues to consider your your Shibari bottom is male. In this seminar Tony will explore & illuminate the nuances of eastern style rope bondage as it applies to male subs as well as guiding us through an interactive examination of the physical, aesthetic and motivational elements that drives such scenes with men and boys. Topics will include equipment variants, quick binders, tie downs and particular suspension used both for torment and/or punishment. If you are a bondage afficianado and one or more of your bottoms is male, then this is a seminar you will not want to miss!
 
Full Suspension for Display & Play
 Bottom: TBD

During the past ten years of producing Thunder it has become apparent that one of the favorite subjects and pastimes of our attendees is bondage. And it seems that no matter how many times we have seen seminars taught on this subject, each presenter brings new and fascinating perspectives to this old art. In this suspension seminar Tony Buff will bring his personal expertise to teach us about performance rigging for public and private adventures in bondage. In this presentation Tony will teach us the ins and outs of running rope with confidence and he will enhance our abilities to improvise, adapt, and overcome various challenges that may occur in any scene. As part of this class, Tony encourages open discussion while framing his lessons with examples of static and dynamic full suspensions. If you have been looking for a suspension course geared toward teaching simply bondage and suspension techniques that you can use in our own scenes and in your own dungeons, then you will certainly want to attend this seminar.