Gorgone seems born to be on camera. Watching their Shibari Study tutorials , their perfect posture and graceful gestures made me wonder if they’d ever had dance training. I asked about it when we spoke on the phone, and the reply came back as a laugh. They’re asked this question often, and the answer is unexpected.
“I’m actually very clumsy!” Gorgone insists, calling me this spring from a work trip in Shenzhen. “But the second I tie, or get tied, I become really fluid and focused. It’s always been a mystery to me.”
The beginning: rooted in ropes
For Gorgone, Shibari Study co-founder and a seasoned rope switch , the craft arrived in their life as a pleasant surprise. They discovered shibari 15 years ago at a photoshoot they’d booked as an art model. Gorgone was posing as a bottom, and was bound for the very first time.
They describe that moment as a “sudden incarnation,” where they instantly felt grounded in their body. Growing up, they’d struggled with the dissociative effects of ADHD and hypermobility. Now, at age 19, this new practice seemed like an ideal way to feel more rooted.
“Although one is neurological and the other more physical, both conditions make it very hard to feel yourself,” says Gorgone. “Bottoming and being tied, it literally keeps my body together. I feel like I can relax without actually collapsing.”
Model: Gorgone They’d had cool hobbies before, like yoga and acrobatics, but this time something was different. In addition to the somatic benefits, Gorgone could see the political implications of such a movement practice. With rich Western countries yielding to smartphones and autocracy, chronic disembodiment has become a cultural norm.
…Gorgone could see the political implications of such a movement practice. With rich Western countries yielding to smartphones and autocracy, chronic disembodiment has become a cultural norm.
“Capitalism benefits when people are disconnected from their bodies, not feeling pain, exhaustion, desires, or boundaries,” they explain. “A disconnected body is easier to extract from and to control.” Gorgone’s weapon of choice? Twenty-five feet of natural jute rope .
From passion to profession
Being introduced to this vibrant new passion was fate. The decision to pursue it was a unique blend of instinct and impulse. Right away, Gorgone upended everything: dropping out of school, breaking a lease, and even leaving a boyfriend to build a life around rope.
But at the time, professional shibari practitioners were still a rare breed, and bottoms were often unpaid. There wasn’t exactly a game plan, but this didn’t deter them at all.
“Either I believe in something 100 percent and I’m delusionally enthusiastic about it, or I’m crippled by relentless anxiety and won’t do it,” Gorgone says now. “So if I did it, it means I had zero afterthought.” So they built the plane as they flew it.
Gorgone got started with FetLife and attended rope events around their native France. Next, they traveled with the rigger from that first photo shoot, which led to more modeling gigs. Soon came opportunities to perform and run meet-ups and eventually teach, throughout Western Europe and beyond.
By the time they worked in Japan with renowned kinbakushi
Gorgone sets the record straight: “I’m not actually a rigger, I’m just a bottom who ties.” In other words, creating a bottom’s desired experience is all that determines their approach. No strong preferences, no one school of thought, just deploying their eclectic tastes and influences as appropriate.
Gorgone sets the record straight: “I’m not actually a rigger, I’m just a bottom who ties.” In other words, creating a bottom’s desired experience is all that determines their approach.
Model: Alma It was easy to overlook how unsustainable it was all getting. Passion and dedication were great fuel at first. But years of solo touring took a toll on Gorgone, both physically and psychologically. Sexual assault was rife in the rope community, and for Gorgone, not even a “successful” professional shibari career was a safeguard against exploitation and falling victim to repeat consent violations.
This accumulation of personal trauma, plus the proliferation of abuse cases in the rope scene, left them shaken and disillusioned. And then their manager at the time became embroiled in scandal too – something that hit Gorgone especially hard... Had all of this just been a huge mistake?
The seeds of Shibari Study
Gorgone was seriously considering retirement, but with little other work experience, they weren’t sure what else to do. So they started plotting less grueling ways to monetize their rope skills. Maybe they could post some tutorials online, instead of doing endless live demos? It would certainly be easier on the body.
The tutorial archive was just starting to grow when the specter of burnout was looming again. This time from the work that was meant as relief! Luckily, there’d be some support this time, thanks to the fateful meeting with a barista Gorgone went on to befriend at their local café.
Model: Gorgone That’s how Gorgone first met Anton , Shibari Study’s other co-founder. Soon a romance would flourish between the two – the start of what would go on to be a partnership beyond what either of them had imagined. But while their relationship solidified, Gorgone’s commitment to their shibari project had begun to waver…
“At some point, I was like ‘This is too much work now. I’m just going to throw this away,’” says Gorgone. “And [Anton] said to me, ‘Instead of throwing it away, maybe we can just do it together.’” Inspired and eager to help, Anton dove in, picking up more and more of the operational tasks. It meant the world to Gorgone.
Everything got serious all at once: with Gorgone’s vision and Anton’s execution, the company became unstoppable.
“I’m not actually an entrepreneur…. I only end up in entrepreneurial processes because the partners I meet along the way have that mindset.”
“I’m not actually an entrepreneur,” Gorgone offers, with hindsight’s clarity. “I’m just a person with random ideas and outbursts of creative energy. I only end up in entrepreneurial processes because the partners I meet along the way have that mindset, and tell me, ‘Oh, that should be a business.’”
The rope world is lucky they listened. As 2020 dawned, the rope education platform from a self-proclaimed “25-year-old exhausted person trying to recover” had become a serious enterprise. Everyone knows what happened next…
The arrival of Covid did scramble production, but for customers, the moment was ripe for new at-home hobbies. Gorgone and Anton found themselves navigating a swath of new growth while the community’s status quo – uniquely dependent on physical contact – had collapsed.
They went out of their way to stay connected with the IRL community: the instructors, the studio owners and, of course, the students. To Gorgone, the rope community is a “fragile ecosystem” and one reliant on interdependence. There was definitely a bit of survivor’s guilt.
“It was a strange position to be in, very bittersweet. There was gratitude and joy in realizing our timing helped make our project successful,” Gorgone reflects, though unfortunately it did “cost us a few relationships”. And more painful changes were coming.
After three years as a couple, Gorgone and Anton saw their stellar synchronicity wane. They made the wrenching decision to split, despite a host of uncertainties for their professional futures. A clean break would, of course, be impossible. Instead, they “shared custody” of Shibari Study, giving each other space and delegating duties as their roster of collaborators grew.
It was a delicate balance, but not one a few rope aficionados couldn’t handle. As the emotional charge of the breakup receded, a still-intact part of their bond was revealed. Things were more fraternal this time, but with plenty of care and trust. Their old cohesion came crawling back.
For Gorgone, that was so much more satisfying than breaking up in the way that turns you back into strangers, even though the transition was tough at times. Once again, patience and adaptability were key assets in an against-all-odds endeavor. Shibari Study has only kept growing with this new equilibrium, and reaches new heights all the time.
Shibari for everybody
When we spoke, Gorgone was on tour again, this time outside Europe entirely. They’ve been in Southeast Asia for a seven-week stretch, hitting Thailand, Malaysia, and currently China – a triumphant return to form. If touring more sustainably wasn’t thrilling enough, there’s also the feedback they're fielding about the site.
Model: Mio “I keep hearing people say things like, ‘Before Shibari Study, I was interested in the practice but had no way to learn for myself,’” Gorgone says, full of pride. It’s been music to their ears. The motivation for starting the platform may have been deeply personal, but the mission was always about everyone else.
Democratizing access to the craft, and also the profession – once the near-exclusive domain of older, moneyed men – is a main success metric for Shibari Study. Gorgone always chafed at the same privileged players taking space in the scene. Now they can earnestly say that they’re part of the solution.
“It’s not that people learn everything from the site, but that’s where they get started. And I just find that so fucking cool.”
