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Another Day At The Office
Testing products at Mister-S hard work - but someone's gotta do it
09 Mar, 2006 - Text and photos by Mark
ome people dread going to work each day, but for Richard Hunter, president of the popular Mister-S store in San Francisco, going to work is always a
pleasure. His days are exciting and unpredictable, filled with over-the-top bondage play and cutting-edge kinkery, so for Richard it's not just another day at the office.
Seriously though, overseeing three large stores, on-line sales and a manufacturing team is quite a demanding job. However, as you will see in this article, the perks of Richard's job far outweigh the demands, and then some!
The Mister-S store has been in operation since 1979 and during that time has grown by leaps and bounds, moving to successively bigger buildings in the process. The last

Richard Hunter's days are filled with kinky customers and continuous, uninterrupted, bondage mayhem.
move was in the summer of 2005 when Richard combined the Mister-S store and the women's Madame-S store into one big building and showroom. His manufacturing department also expanded, and so did his notorious bondage testing laboratory. (An article about the store's previous location and secret testing laboratory can be viewed by clicking HERE)
I recently asked Richard if I could have a tour of his new laboratory, and as luck would have it he was evaluating some new gear the following morning and invited me to join him with my camera.
Richard takes pride in personally testing all the bondage gear his company sells before the products are made available to customers. He rigorously tests their safety, functionality, and craftsmanship, and makes sure the products will stand up to continued use. As impressive as this sounds, let's not forget that Richard likes to play with bondage gear, so testing new toys isn't as much of a chore as he may lead you to believe!
I arrived the following morning, and because the store hadn't opened yet, I decided to take some photos before they opened the doors. As you will see, the size of the showroom is simply amazing.
As I mentioned above, the Mister-S and Madame-S stores have been combined into one big area of this new building. A simple partition separates the showrooms, so customers can easily walk between the two. The photo below shows the entrance and check out area of the store, including a real jail cell wall to get you "into the mood."
All of the bondage gear is on display, and the salespeople encourage you to try something on before you buy it. Naturally, this encourages some customers to go overboard and conduct a full-blown bondage scene utilizing lots of gear, so you never know what to expect when you visit the store. Now that the showroom is bigger, all the various bondage products are on display for you to touch and feel which only adds to their allure.
Leather sleepsacks and straitjackets can be purchased "off the rack" or custom made to your size for an additional charge. Off the rack gear is great for customers who are visiting from out of town because they can try on gear and purchase it without waiting for custom items to be made and shipped.
The Madame-S showroom has an equally impressive selection for the discerning kinky woman. Stylish and unique leather and latex clothing fill the racks, plus a great selection of fetish shoes. Another room is filled with traditional black BDSM wear, cages, and tons of cool bondage gear in women's sizes and colors. It's not very often you find both men's and women's sizes of bondage gear in one store location.
Once I had finished photographing the showroom, Richard introduced me to a friend of his - a tall, slender man by the name of Tom who had a big canvas bag under his arm. As I shook his hand, he said "So you're the person behind seriousbondage.com. Good to meet you!" With that, I followed Richard and his friend up a steep stairway to the bondage inner sanctum on the second floor.
Richard explained that although his laboratory wasn't fully completed, it was far enough along to allow him to evaluate bondage gear in the same way he had been doing in the previous store location. As we entered Richard's playroom - I mean laboratory - my heart skipped a beat. The early morning sunshine beamed through the open curtains and illuminated a beautiful wood floor and a vast array of bondage gear. The room looked like something from a science fiction movie. If this room wasn't complete, I would sure like to see it when it IS complete!
In the corner of the room stood a large wooden enclosure which I recognized as the isolation chamber from his previous location. "The carpenters are still working on the chamber " Richard commented, "Another few weeks and it'll be ready to go."
Richard's friend Tom had brought a new latex armbinder to demonstrate, and Richard had a new latex sleepsack to test as well. Without wasting any time, the two of them got right into it. I was surprised to see that Tom had brought a complete latex catsuit, two Studio Gum hoods, and a fantastic pair of high-heel black patent boots.
Richard adjusted the hood to his head, then tested it for an air-tight fit by covering the end of the intake host with his hand. Sure enough, we could see the front of the hood suck down against Tom's face, and at the same time an alarming look appeared in his eyes behind the oval lenses. These were two indicators that a seal had been fully achieved.
Richard wanted to take some photos of Tom standing in front of the chamber's metal door, which, as you can see, made an interesting background.
In case you have never been involved in a kinky photo shoot, there's always a certain amount of humor involved. In the following two photos you will see what it looks like when Tom started to laugh. His hood is so thick that you can't hear his giggling, but if you look into his eyes you might start laughing yourself.
For those who are unfamiliar with armbinders, they are a particularly fiendish device designed specifically to pin your arms behind your back. Since the full length of both of your arms are caught up in the armbinder sack, there is absolutely no way for you to escape - no less grab anything. Your arms have no leverage because your elbows and upper-arms are held in a position where they can't get any traction, and your muscles don't have much strength in this position anyway.
Tom's latex armbinder is quite comfortable and can be worn for long periods of time without fatigue because it wraps around the top and front of the shoulders. Imagine yourself being fully encased in latex and rubber - unable to escape its warm and clammy feeling and heady aroma.
Tom's spike heeled thigh-high black patent boots add another dimension to this latex play. Not only are his feet encased in tight restrictive footwear, but he's being feminized against his will. To make matters worse, he can't run or escape because it's too hard to move quickly in high heel boots. At this point we could say that Tom is literally at the effect of his own doing - and loving every minute of it!
At the end of this armbinder evaluation Richard and Tom prepared for another test, using a custom latex sleepsack which had just been completed by the manufacturing department on the first floor. This would require the use of another Studio Gum hood which you can see below, the one on the right with no eye ports. These Studio Gum hoods are available for purchase at the Mister-S store, where you can try one on before you buy it.
Since 1987, Mister-S has manufactured most of their own leather and latex products in-house. Currently, the store employs a staff of 20 in their manufacturing department, creating everything from chaps and straitjackets to sleepsacks and men's and women's latex clothing. The manager of the department is an extremely knowledgeable and friendly person by the name of Skeeter (below).
Maria is another knowledgeable person in the Mister-S manufacturing department, whose specialty is working with latex. She was just putting the final touches on a custom red and green latex sleepsack for Tom, so I was able to get some photos of her as she worked her magic (below).
Manufacturing with latex is nothing less than an art form. It's a delicate material even when working with the heavier weight rubber. Unlike leather which can be sewn and riveted, latex seams are glued together with a special process known only by those who are in the business.
You can see the amount of work that Maria put into creating this special sleepsack. The colors and unique ribbing will look quite bizarre once someone is confined within it's erotic folds.
We took the sleepsack upstairs to Richard's laboratory and spread it out on the rubber-covered bondage bed. This sleepsack is unique because it's entry is from the back, not the front like traditional leather and latex sacks. With no opening in the front (except for the cock opening), the visual impact of this bag is much more intense for the person viewing from the outside. however, as you will see, the person on the inside of the sack will only have their mental images to watch because they will be wearing the eye-less Studio Gum hood.
The four photos below show the back of the sleepsack with the zipper opened. Notice how Maria's ribbing detail wraps around the bag from front to back. She did a fantastic job creating this piece of gear.
While Richard and I were chatting, Tom took it upon himself to begin climbing into the sleepsack. First, he wanted to put the Studio Gum hood on himself so he could line up the internal mouth sock. This hood has what looks like an open mouth, only it's really a cavity of rubber that fills the mouth of the wearer like a big gag. Tom can close his mouth around the sock and chew on it, but it always forces his mouth open again. Breathing is achieved through two small holes at the nose, and one small hole in the back of the mouth sock. As you can see, the visual impact of this hood is very intimidating, and the back of the hood hasn't even been closed yet.
While we were watching, Tom started to slip into the sleepsack by guiding his arms down into the internal arm sheaths. For those who are unfamiliar with sleepsacks, there are internal sleeves which hold the arms to the sides of the person bound inside. So, once the sack is closed there is no way the subject can use their arms or hands. Their arms are held at their sides, and the internal sleeves make it impossible for the subject to reach their own genitals for self gratification. They are completely helpless and unable to free themselves.
Naturally, once he had both arms down inside the internal sleeves he was unable to proceed any farther without Richard's help.
Once Richard had the straps of the hood fully cinched, he closed the zipper on the back of the sack which sealed Tom inside. For Tom this was the moment of truth, the moment when he feels a rush and excitement, adrenaline and pure helplessness.
At this point care must be taken to make sure Tom doesn't fall over. He's standing in the sleepsack but unable to see because of the hood, and if he starts to lose his balance he can't prevent his own fall.
Richard works his cock through the front opening.
Skeeter came in from the manufacturing department to see how we were doing. As you can see, it took 4 hands to get Tom's cock into position and strapped to the outside of the sack. Obviously this sack doesn't lend itself to self-bondage.
The next step was to lie Tom on Richard's rubber-covered bed and watch him struggle, moan, and pretend to try to free himself. I suppose that the problem with this part of the test is that maybe TOM doesn't want to escape.
Clearly, the durability of this new sleepsack is great, and its erotic appeal is beyond words. The bug-like appearance of the sleepsack and the expressionless hood create an unbeatable combination. This is the type of scene that fuels our sexual fantasies and keeps our obsession for kinky experiences alive.
Alas, Richard gives him a good swat on the butt and then rolls him over so he's face down and able to stimulate himself by rubbing against the lube-covered bed. Hummm... I knew there was a good reason to have a rubber sheet over the bed!
All in all, both tests were quite a success, and the new sleepsack was amazing to see in action. A big thank you goes to Richard for inviting us to see his new laboratory in action and for the photos of his daily routine. As Richard will tell you, this is just another day at the office. But for us, the play we just saw will not likely fade from our minds for quite some time. It's all in a day's work at Mister-S.
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