Best Selling Author, Columnist, Educator and Famous Leatherman
Jack Rinella

For more than fourteen years Jack Rinella has been writing LeatherViews a weekly, column about his favorite topic: kinky sex. The acclaimed author of the best-selling book, The Master's Manual, The Compleat Slave, Partners in Power, Toybag Guide to Clips and Clamps, Becoming a Slave, and his most recent Philosophy In the Dungeon, the Magic of Sex & Spirit, is a free-lance writer and college instructor. A sought-after lecturer, Jack has presented seminars on BDSM history, techniques, and
relationships across the country including the Leather Leadership Conference, Black Rose, Bash at the Beach, Beat Me in St. Louis, TES, Headspace in Bloomington, IN, Kinky Kollege, and the Arizona Power Exchange.

Born in Albany, New York of Italian-American parents, he's been a high school and college teacher, a drug rehabilitation counselor, a cook, a computer salesman, a Catholic seminarian, a Pentecostal minister, an advertising copy writer, a graphic designer, and has done stints at printing, publishing, telemarketing, head-hunting, and computer consulting. He has a Bachelor degree in Philosophy and a Master Degree in Business Administration.

He has been active in the Leather scene since 1983, is a founding member of MAsT-Chicago, an associate member of the Chicago Hellfire Club, and serves as a director on the board of the Leather Leadership Conference. He has written extensively about our lifestyle as a weekly columnist for Gay Chicago Magazine. His writing has also appeared in Drummer, in The (San Francisco) Sentinel, and in Philadelphia Gay News, and is available on-line at his website at http://www.LeatherViews.com and through his free weekly newsletter which can be subscribed to on his website.

He lives on the North side of Chicago with his partner of ten years, Patrick, and his boy Matthew where he passes the time writing, cruising, and falling in love whenever he can. You can contact Jack at mrjackr@Leathermail.com.

Top Drop & Top Flop: Mastering The Bad Times As Well As The Good: (Course overview)

We often fail to address the fact that tops sometimes need after-care too.This seminar will look at the causes for such neglect and offer ways for tops and dominant players to find healing and solace when things don't go as one thinks they should. Whether it is a matter of failure in a scene, in a relationship, or simply part of life, Jack will consider how each of us can deal effectively with rejection, with error, with misunderstanding, and with the expectations that often hinder and distance a top, preventing him or her from being nurtured and understood.

Dealing With Change In A Long Term Relationship: (Course overview)

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus taught that "The only constant is change." It is therefore important that we find ways to deal with change if a relationship is going to weather the inevitable turmoil that change entails. Whether the changes are financial, physical (and therefore sexual), psychological or relational, this seminar will consider the various ways that we can better insure a lasting relationship.

Based on observing his parents' 64 year marriage and living in a relationship with Patrick for more than 14 years, Jack will present strategies that keep the "long" in long term relationships, including how to deal with boredom, aging, infidelity, and the dynamic of D/s. Suggestions will also be made as to how to negotiate a relationship so that you increase its probability of being long term