The hot, sweaty, visceral battle for dominance or an inexorable submission to physical power.

Some prefer dominance where a partner is so mentally submissive that no physical restraint is necessary, while some prefer dominance that is physically enforced. Others just love to pretend they are the physical 'winner' or 'loser'.

This evening we’re talking to gay wrestlers about their experiences of domination and submission, where sometimes it is obvious from the start who is going to be the dominant, sometimes it is unclear and sometimes it is an entirely choreographed role play that doesn’t necessarily reflect what would happen if it was a true fight to win.

We’ll talk about the sub / Dom dynamics in wrestling, the degree to which pain plays a part of the fun, how much the physical exertion is part of the satisfaction, and where to begin if you’re nursing an unfulfilled urge to throw down with someone.

BIOS

Damian

Damian grew up watching pro-wrestling and for a very long time he didn’t think he was gay, he just thought he liked wrestling. A lot. Since then, over the course of about 30 years, he has explored numerous forms of fetish fighting and is a regular ringleader at the SF Grapplers, San Francisco’s gay wrestling club. Primarily a heel (the dominant one), Damian enjoys pro, submission wrestling and most forms of physical domination, although he doesn’t have the patience for complicated ropework.

CJ

Damian’s boy, CJ, has been wrestling for about 20 years. Primarily a jobber (the submissive one), he joins us fresh from the Impact Wrestling live Pro Wrestling event in Newark (where he was in the audience, not the ring) to demonstrate the moves you might want to try at home, or at the SF Grapplers.