Fitness
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday February 18, 2004
Role-playing can jazz up your exercise class, especially with a bit of Slap and Tickle.
Fitness instructor Master Brutus sporadically hits his two black-clad "slaves", Martin and Jezebel*, with a riding crop as they perform their exercises.
When Martin lags behind his classmate, Master Brutus handcuffs the two together and orders them to keep up.
"Not the handcuffs, Master Brutus!" they say in unison - but they're enjoying the theatrics. As they go through the routine, there's a mixed element of fun and seriousness.
Master Brutus tells the slaves to take a seat and hold still while he's interviewed. This uncomfortable position involves a semi-squat with arms folded at chest-height.
Brutus has been running Slap and Tickle personal fitness classes for the past eight months and has built a clientele of
12 slaves.
"Quite a few are bosses during the day and want to be told what to do for a change," says Master Brutus, who has worked as a personal trainer for the past four years, mainly teaching circuit classes at gyms. He developed his latest program after seeing similar classes in New York.
"This is for people who are into role-playing," Master Brutus says. "There's no touching - it's not sexual."
Each session costs $120, compared with $70 for a regular class.
"The clients tell me how far they want to go - if they want to be hit harder because they've 'been bad today'. I feed off them."
Sometimes a client cries "Mercy!", usually when he or she can't hold a position. "I tell them to stop and stretch. There's no punishment if they genuinely can't do something."
Once a month he holds a session with all the slaves in Centennial Park.
Private school teacher Jezebel says she likes to compete with the other slaves to be Master Brutus's teacher's pet. "I work 50 per cent harder with him. I like to be the best. Though I'm in a submissive role, I feel strong. It feels like an honest partnership when we're working together."
Each week she has to face Master Brutus's inquisition about her diet. "When I'm out at a restaurant I like saying to friends: 'Master Brutus said no bread rolls!'
"The role play makes it fun to avoid doing the things I shouldn't do."
As a teacher, Jezebel's used to being the boss. "Obviously I don't treat my students like that, but it's wonderful to feel what it's like to be in a submissive role. In a good way, I think more about what I say and the impact it has."
Martin works in a dominant role as an advertising executive and has been "slavercising" weekly for the past six months. "It's good to switch roles," he says. "I come along to get fit and the theatrical element makes it more fun. I've tried other methods, but this is the best way for me to stay motivated."
Don't expect to see a B&D fitness routine in your local gym any time soon, however. Ian Grainger, boss of Fitness NSW, which has 4500 members, says: "It's an extreme form of exercise and we don't normally support fads."
Contact Brutus at masterbrutus4u@hotmail.com
* Not their real names.
© 2004 Sydney Morning Herald