I just found this thread - so here goes.

I'm just past 60, and have been dominating the people around me for as long as I can remember - but I suppose my Rubicon was just after my 16th birthday, when I took dominating to a new level and administered my first spanking to a girl. I didn't know about BDSM back then - I'd read pot-boilers about slavery (the early Gor novels come to mind, as well as those Mens magazines with stories of Nazi love-camps), had wet dreams about owning willing slaves - but it was just something I liked.

I met others in the lifestyle much later, but had been merrily spanking bottoms all along. Meeting others who were already in the lifestyle was an eye-opener for me - I learned some shibari from those folks, and the use of gags and different forms of restraints (I'd always been good with knots - but discovered there's more than just typing wrists and ankles to bedposts - and of some delightful toys).

My second awakening came through a relationship with a Domme who was submissive to me. Through her I learned a lot - both about submission and the use of pain. Through her I also met a Dom who mentored me and helped me refine my approach.

I've had odd breaks when I stepped back from the lifestyle a little - the loss of a sub in a traffic accident made me step back for almost two years - I didn't play or even look for a play partner, never mind anyone to get serious about in that time, though I continued to socialize with some of my friends in the community. The last break happened recently. Through a variety of reasons I found myself moving half-way round the world. Finding work was difficult (over-educated, over-qualified, nothing in my field available) and I ended up in a job that required a lot of travel. I didn't feel it fair for a girl (I prefer a 24/7 total ownership relationship) to subject her to my schedule, so I contented myself with play partners - all of whom were delightful, but none of whom lit that extra spark.

Recently my situation changed again, and I found myself in a position to take on a slave once more. I recently acquired a an absolutely wonderful girl, and we are in the process of settling into a Master/slave relationship. And so the saga continues...

I've been around a lot (from back in the bad old days when no-one talked about the lifestyle openly) in North America and Europe both. I consider myself old-school, give pain for pleasure (hers and mine), have moved on from rope to chain, and enjoy the sound of a whip at work. I have an extremely active imagination, and use it a lot in concocting scenes and scenarios to play out with my girls. I'm always willing to learn something new, and to pass on what I know. I don't mince my words, and don't accept bullshit in any form. And I love a good joke or prank.