Mentor

A mentor is a person who is considered a veteran in BDSM as a lifestyle, has agreed to take on the guidance (mentoring) of a pupil into the lifestyle and has earned the trust of the pupil. The mentor will answer questions, help the pupil find resources, console them on possible internal struggles or give them resources for such help. A mentor will be sure to listen, understand and answer questions in regards to BDSM as well as help guide the pupil towards beneficial information and experiences.

Best Practices

A mentor ideally has a lot of real world experience with BDSM and can be an s-type or D-type though generally it is best to learn from someone who is walking a similar path to the pupil. The role of a mentor does not equate to being someone's dominant or submissive, play partner, trainer, or sex partner. It is important to determine that attaining one of these positions is not a hidden motive of a potential mentor as it is not entirely uncommon to have predatory individuals offer to mentor new explorers of BDSM as a ruse to gain access to the uneducated and vulnerable.