Nice to meet you
When I was 16 I watched Exit To Eden. My parents rented it thinking it was a nice comedy for movie night because it had Dan Aykroyd and Rosie O'Donnell in it, but boy were we all in for a surprise. A couple of weeks later I had to fill out my information for the yearbook at the Catholic high school I attended, and under "career goals" I wrote, "professional Dominatrix". I couldn't imagine a more perfect job than spanking rich business men for money. I should have realized that there was no way they would print that, which is why my senior yearbook says that I was hoping for a career in the fast food industry.
Fast forward a few years, to the early aughts. I was in my early 20s and a girlfriend was at my apartment telling me about a BDSM chatroom on yahoo geocities. We invented a character called "Countess Sasha", set up a profile, and included some "racy" photos of her. We put her in heavy makeup and a cheap wig thinking no one could possibly recognize her, and improvised a photoshoot with crap we found in my house. I had no sex toys, so I took a picture of her trying to deepthroat one of the dried cobs of corn I fed to the squirrels.
We went in the chat room and would get men with webcams to do some pretty heavy CBT to themselves while we watched. Before we'd let them cum we'd make them hold up a sign that read, "Owned By The Countess" and we'd take a screenshot which I'd upload onto a webpage, and then we'd send them the link and laugh when they'd beg us to take it down.
She quickly lost interest, as she was very submissive and didn't enjoy topping, but I was hooked. The thrill of making a silly older man do anything I said if I got him horny enough was addictive. I made my own profile, and when I eventually found sites like FetLife and Collarme I started playing in person. I had a couple of serious partners over the years, as well as numerous casual play partners, eventually renting a dungeon space from a friend and working as a pro for a few years before I burned out and stepped away entirely.
I missed it though. I missed the way it made me feel to be in control, I missed the throb between my legs when my subs moaned my name and begged me to let them cum, I missed the satisfaction of knowing exactly what buttons to press to get exactly reaction I wanted... I missed the power.
I discovered Findom Twitter and was instantly drawn back in. The dynamic is definitely different now that it's become so mainstream. Subs are spoiled for choice now with beautiful women looking to make easy cash, and the BDSM has become watered down. But I love thrill of the hunt, the way it feels to be so desired that they become obsessed... and ultimately the power high during a great session still feels incredible.