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Helen Vonmott as Giantess.
Many more photos after interview
Pulp Magazine Cover from the 1950's
vonmott@gmail.com
http://www.viragowrestling.com/
Read Helen’s Article Domination
without Pretense along with more hot photos!
SENSUOUS SADIE: A lot of people are familiar with wrestling, but
Virago Wrestling really offers something quite different. Please tell me
about what you do.
HELEN VONMOTT: "I run what I call a ‘Wrestling Agency.’ Clients
who fantasize about various types of combative scenarios contact me,
mainly through my website, and I do my best to make their fantasy come
to life. My wrestling differs from that offered at many dungeons in that
I have been studying various different types of wrestling for about 16
years now, and hold 11 championships in submission wrestling and
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Guys book wrestling and role playing sessions with
me when they want to be ‘manhandled’ (ahem)by a woman who can
legitimately kick their ass, but who won’t actually injure them.
"I currently have 13 female wrestlers/fitness
competitors and two male wrestlers working for me. Most are based here
in San Francisco, but I also have wrestlers in New York, Florida, and
Paris.
"The women who work at my agency are of various different skill
levels and all have unique specialties. Our main focus is what I term
‘combative domination scenarios,’ which can run from 100%
competitive to 100% fantasy, depending on the clients preference.
Role-playing and fantasy scenes always involve some kind of combative
element however. Mere submission just doesn’t do it for me. It’s
only really satisfying after I feel the my victim struggling to free him
or herself.
"Sometimes clients just want to lie there and have me torture them.
That’s okay as far as it goes, but something about that kind of
attitude just goads me, and I do everything I can think of to get them
to fight back. I can get really mean sometimes."
Sadie: Many readers might be surprised that you can out-wrestle a
male opponent who outweighs you by fifty pounds. How is this possible?
Helen: "I’ve studied Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Ralph Gracie for
the past five years now. It really works. Strength and weight are
important don’t get me wrong, but Jiu Jitsu techniques incorporate
leverage and momentum. When used against an untrained opponent, these
little tricks are devastating...almost unbeatable."
Sadie: You offer a joyous expression of strength and sexuality in
your work. How did you come to think of wrestling in this unique way?
Helen: "I think of wrestling this way because that has been my
experience of it. As a teenager I was so ashamed of my muscular,
athletic body. I wanted to look like the women in the magazines or in
the movies. It wasn’t until I discovered wrestling that I found out
that I could be strong and sexy at the same time. That discovery made me
fall in love with my own body. It was a paradigm shift that entirely
changed the way I viewed the world and myself. Virago’s slogan is ‘Redefining
the Feminine.’ Generally speaking, femininity is defined in terms of
weakness. A ‘feminine’ woman is one who is small, delicate,
vulnerable, sensitive and subservient. Strength, tenacity, aggression,
and courage are traditionally ‘masculine’ virtues. Unfair, but true
nonetheless. I have tried to make myself into a ‘sex symbol’ of a
sort in order to show that a strong woman, legitimately capable of
kicking ass need not be ‘masculine.’ I think that the more women see
that men view strong, capable women as sexy, the more women will strive
to be strong and capable."
Sadie: What is your response to people who feel that bringing
sexuality into a wrestling match takes away from the credibility of what
you’re doing?
Helen: "One of my opponents at the Arnold Classic threw this type
of comment in my face before our match. I told her ‘If some guy wants
to look at my ass while I’m kicking yours, I fail to see how that’s
my problem.’ I figure, as long as I keep winning international
tournaments the ‘questionable credibility’ argument falls a bit
flat. If a female competitor wants to be taken seriously as a fighter,
then she should fight seriously. I don’t wear bikinis to sanctioned
tournaments. What I do in my off hours is my own damn business. If
someone doesn’t like what I do, they don’t have to watch."
Sadie: You offer private sessions in wrestling. How does this differ
from the work of a professional dominatrice?
Helen: "I’ve only recently come to realize that I do is in fact
domination. I guess the real difference comes from the focus of the
session. I will flirt with, tease, and taunt a wiggling victim, but my
clients sexual arousal is not really my main concern. Wrestling is a
form of play that every predatory mammal engages in. Like sex, the drive
to physically test ourselves against another human being is almost
integral to our most primal natures.
"Yeah you can live without wrestling...you can live without sex
too, but the palette is so much paler. Dominatrixes rely on props,
restraints, costumes, and scenery in order to achieve their desired
goal, i.e. a heightened state of arousal caused by the infliction of
pain and/or terror. In my sessions I’ve used all of these things, but
they are the garnish rather than the meat of a wrestling match.
"The success of any domination session hinges on the submissives
ability to believe that the dominant has attained total control. In a
wrestling match there is no question of this. Control is not something
that can be realistically surrendered. In order for authentic domination
to occur, control must be taken from you. This is the service I
provide."
Sadie: You’ve received a fair bit of flak about your
"prostitution" of the sport of wrestling. Oddly enough, I tend
to think of commercial wrestling like WWF as selling out. What’s your
take on this? Why do you think that people have such an issue with
wrestling that is "Domination without Pretense?"
Helen: "There’s a time and a place for everything. I’ve
discovered that I have a much higher tolerance for pro-wrestling if I
think of it as the American version of B grade, Chinese martial arts
movies (which I very much enjoy).
"As to why people have a problem with the sensual aspects of
wrestling. I think it’s because they are ashamed about their own
feelings of sexuality. We all live in mental worlds of our own creation.
Very strong judgments always reveal more about what’s going on in the
judges mind than they reveal about objective reality. America in
particular is extremely puritanical with regard to sex, and anything
even remotely left of ‘normal’ starts the subconscious alarm bells
ringing in 95% of the population. Having a drug addiction is more
socially acceptable than being aroused by anything other than your
standard, air-brushed pornographic fare. It’s like only being allowed
to eat at McDonalds. Would you prefer a McBlonde or a McRedhead? Both
come with a side of silicone; lingerie dressing is $1.00 more.
"It’s really a shame since I can’t think of anything more
wonderful than a man who gets aroused by a strong, fit, healthy woman
having a good time. Isn’t that what we’ve been working towards? To
me a man who gets a stiffy from either watching a woman wrestle, or from
loosing to a woman who has just left him gasping and sweating on the
mat, is the evolved product of the feminist revolution. Power
brother!"
Sadie: You say that, "Wrestling isn’t about holds, or moves,
or speed or power...it’s about dominance and control. Consensuality in
wrestling occurs when a match is agreed to and the rules are read out.
The ‘Dominant’ wins that status truly by virtue of physical
superiority." This is radically different than the Safe Sane and
Consensual creed that many of us BDSMers go by. In fact some might say
that domination won this way in a BDSM scene is not consensuality at
all. How do you reconcile these two ideas?
Helen: "I would say that wrestling is a more ‘authentic’ form
of domination specifically because it does wrest control away from the
other person. Consensuality occurs by the agreement of entering into the
match in the first place. The match can end at anytime with the
submission (given either verbally or with a physical cue) of either
opponent. There is a common misconception among non-wrestlers, that the
object of a submission wrestling match is to hurt your opponent. This is
absolutely not the case. The object of a wrestling match is to establish
complete control over the other persons body. This is often done by
using painful holds...but a good Dom doesn’t break her own toys.
"Often after I get a client to submit, I will just loosen the
pressure and hold him in place, so that he knows exactly who is in
control. There is really quite a large bond of trust between me and my
clients, since both of us know that if I wanted to it would be easy for
me to really hurt them. That’s a big part of the thrill actually. This
is why it’s important for clients who want to start having wrestling
sessions, to go to a Dom/wrestler who really knows what she’s
doing...not just some over muscled body builder chick who thinks that
the point of a session is to snap you in half like a twig."
Sadie: You founded Virago Wrestling in 1998. How has your company
changed in the last few years?
Helen: "When I founded Virago, I envisioned it more as a video
company than an agency. I actually didn’t even know about doing
sessions at the time. I started doing sessions myself, and when I found
out how fun they were, I invited the other women who had done videos
with me to do sessions at my space as well. I like doing sessions more
than I ever liked videos, as I all I have to do is be myself; I don’t
have to worry about production. I like that the wrestlers out there have
the option of working with me instead of more...untrustworthy people in
this industry."
Sadie: Where do you think that your type of wrestling fits into the
panorama of BDSM activities?
Helen: "I just went to a Janus Society luncheon the other day, and
they termed what I do ‘Resistance Play.’ I think that because
wrestling is so much about dominance, that there are a lot of
submissives out there who have been searching for something more...’real’,
but just haven’t been able to find it yet. It’s sort of like BDSM
but with the props stripped away; although adding costumes and some
props into wrestling scenarios can sometimes be fun too. I guess it’s
just not as reliant on theatrics as are most forms of dominance. Of
course, the very realism of a wrestling/domination match can be very
scary, and even a turn off for some people, so I understand that it isn’t
for everyone."
Sadie: What is the most satisfying part of your work?
Helen: "I really like it when I can change the way some men think.
Like when I have a guy call me up and say ‘I understand that you’re
a woman so I wont really be able to fight back. Don’t worry, I wont
hurt you.’ It’s very satisfying when I am able to convince these
guys to actually struggle against me...and then wipe the mats with their
sorry asses ;-).
"They always think it’s a fluke though, like ‘I was just having
an ‘off’ day. I’ll do better next time.’ Of course when ‘next
time’ comes around I do it again. After I win a couple of times, it
really seems to change the way they view the world, and of course women
in general. I also like teaching women how to kick ass, especially sex
workers who are used to being exploited. When they start seeing
themselves as powerful, they tend to start taking a lot less shit. I
love that."
Sadie: You describe your wrestler River as "more dominant and
specializes in domination wrestling, verbal taunting, ‘beat downs’
and terror tactics." Can you explain what this means?
Helen: "River is a black belt in Karate, studies Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu, and teaches Philipino stick and knife fighting. She could easily
kill most men with her bare hands, though she doesn’t look terribly
intimidating. In her domination matches she likes to showcase her
martial prowess, by using controlled strikes and pulled punches,
narrowly missing the clients face and/or vital organs. The effect is
truly terrifying. She hates it when clients don’t fight back and will
torment men ceaselessly just trying to get them to defend themselves.
The bitch can be seriously mean."
Sadie: In contrast, you describe your wrestler Yanna as "more
sensual and enjoys more playful, erotic type matches." What would
be different in watching her from River?
Helen: "Her style is completely different from River’s. She will
do somewhat competitive sessions, but Yanna is a dancer as opposed to a
martial artist, and her personality reflects that. Her sessions are more
like forced, full body lap dances, than intense Dom sessions. She has a
very strong, toned, gorgeous physique but her way of being in the world
is more ‘flirtatious’ than ‘demanding.’"
Sadie: You sometimes get turned on during a wrestling match. How do
you channel these feelings? Do you also use wrestling in your intimate
relationships?
Helen: "Of course I sometimes get turned on while I’m wrestling.
Wrestling is about the most sensual thing I know! I channel these
feeling usually by upping the intensity of the session. I like teasing,
trash talking, biting, slapping, nipple pinching, hair-pulling, etc.
Getting turned on makes the session, electric I guess is the best word
for it. I can share the sensual energy with my client without actually
having sex. When you build energy up to that kind of a pitch, actual ‘release’
is almost a let down in a way. As far as whether or not I use wrestling
in my own intimate relationships...at this point it would be impossible
for me to be involved with anyone who didn’t get turned on by
wrestling. It’s just too much a part of my basic sexuality."
Sadie: You wrote that, "All my life men had shied away from my
strength, my confidence, and so I strove to make myself smaller,
more...feminine." Now that you glory in your strength and
confidence, have you found partners who also glory in it?
Helen: "Yes I have, though I’ve found that American men still
seem to be more intimidated by me than South American, European, or
African men. To be fair, I think that American men are shy about
exhibiting their own strength as well, so I guess that it’s not
surprising that mine scares them a little."
Sadie: You add that, "At nights I would lie awake, fantasizing
about being taken, ravished, consumed. I wanted a man to desire me so
much that I could struggle against him, fight him with all my strength,
and still not be able to push him away." Now heck, Helen, this
sounds pretty submissive from a BDSM perspective. Are you a switch? How
do you express these different parts of yourself outside wrestling?
Helen: "I am a ‘switch’ as a matter of fact, but I could never
be submissive with a man who wasn’t legitimately capable of submitting
me in a wrestling match. I would feel like an idiot, submitting to
someone like that, though submitting to a really strong, tough wrestler
guy is a total turn on. To be honest, I don’t really understand what
turns guys on about ‘allowing’ themselves to be controlled. I mean,
what’s the point? (No offense meant to anyone reading this...Just my
personal preference)."
Sadie: How would you describe your interests in the BDSM sphere?
Helen: "I’m not sure yet. It’s something that I’m only just
beginning to investigate. There are many things in the BDSM world that
interest me personally, but I would have no interest in doing
professionally, so it’s difficult to answer this question in an
interview like this, as I don’t want potential clients getting
confused between the two things. I also don’t want clients calling me
up in order to talk to me about my personal BDSM fantasies. I’m sure
you can understand that."
Sadie: Are you involved in your local BDSM community? What is their
response to the work you do?
Helen: "I have a few friends who work as Dominatrixes, in both San
Francisco and New York, and of course a few of my clients see me as well
as other Mistresses. As I mentioned before, I also recently went to a
Janus Society Luncheon. Honestly I don’t think that the BDSM community
really knows what to make of me. What I do is very unlike anything that
many people in this community have ever seen before, and some people
worry that what I do is too dangerous. It’s odd, since I personally
think that some things that are done in the BDSM community are terribly
dangerous (breath play...burning/cutting, C&B torture, etc...). I’m
really hoping that I will be able to reach out to the community more, as
I see both the wrestling world and the BDSM world benefiting from a more
melded consciousness."
Sadie: You were a professional writer before you became a wrestler.
Why did you make this career change? What do you miss about writing?
Helen: "I still spend a lot more hours at my writing desk than I do
on the wrestling mats...I just write about different subjects. I miss
the diversity of the subjects that I used to write about, and I miss the
regular pay checks of course, but I don’t miss having to write
articles from a perspective that I disagree with. I used to write
speeches for one of the Mayors of San Francisco. Not only did I not vote
for the guy, I totally disagreed with most things that he had to say.
Writing speeches in order to clarify his perspective was like some kind
of horrible torture. I liked doing free-lance writing for magazines and
weekly papers, but the time vs. money ratio was terrible. I’m in the
process of writing a book right now, and I’m enjoying that quite a
bit. Now I only write about things that I’m actually interested
in."
Sadie: Thank you very much for chatting with me!
Read Helen’s Article Domination
without Pretense along with more hot photos!
Please click on the thumbnails to
see more photos
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sensuous
Sadie is the author of It's Not
About the Whip: Love, Sex, and Spirituality in the BDSM Scene (http://www.trafford.com/robots/03-0551.html).
She is the founder and leader (1999 - 2001) of
Rose
&
Thorn
,
Vermont
's first BDSM group.
Comments, compliments and complaints, as well as requests for reprinting
can be addressed to her at SensuousSadie@aol.com
or visit her website at www.sensuoussadie.com. Sadie believes the universe is abundant, and that sharing information
freely is part of this abundance, so she allows reprints of her writing
in most venues.
Copyright
2003 Sadie Sez Publications
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