Master Michael
Age: 52
Profession: Nightclub owner

“There was only one SM/ fetish club in New York City in 1984. It was an ‘anything goes’ -- and often did! – dark, intense place in a very bad neighborhood. I opened Paddlesnyc as an alternative on October 12, 1984, when I was still a firefighter.

There have been too many horror stories in 25 years, mostly about people meeting others through personal ads and 1900 phone lines, and now over the internet. I tell people to think about this: Where are you safer meeting someone? Alone, at their home/hotel/motel, or at a clean, safe, monitored public space like Paddlesnyc?

From the beginning our logo has been: Paddlesnyc – the friendly, safe S and M club.”