An Interview with Mature Metal

How they got started and where they're going.

I wanted to share with the community a Q&A I had with William and Mistress Mature Metal about Mature Metal, its history and where it's going.

Many of you know I’m a big Mature Metal fan. I bought my first Mature Metal cage, the venerable Jail Bird, fairly early in my chastity journey. It was that purchase that solved all of my comfort and fit issues, not because there is some secret to its construction that no other cage manufacturer has mastered. No, it’s because Mistress Mature Metal told me, in her very Texas accent, “hon, you don’t need a ring that big, you just need a bigger ball gap”. Ever since then, every custom cage I’ve ordered has been perfectly comfortable, be it from Mature Metal or from some of the other custom cage artisans out there.

How did Mistress Mature Metal, almost flippantly, diagnose my fit and comfort issues when everyone else was still telling me things like “your body will adjust”, or “try coconut oil”? Because over the years, William has made 20,000 custom cages and Mistress Mature Metal has been by his side that entire time serving as the face of Mature Metal.

There are few businesses out there, chastity or otherwise, like Mature Metal and I thought it would be wonderful if I could find out more about them and share with the community. So a few days ago, I sent them an email and asked if they’d be willing to share with me and all of you a little bit about the journey they have been on over their twenty years. They generously agreed. Below is our conversation.

[The questions and answers have been (mildly) edited for clarity. Unless otherwise noted, William is the one responding.]

William, how did you personally get into chastity?

I have always been the kinky one and one day I saw a used custom chastity cage online selling for $300 on eBay. I thought this is cool and I could make them. So I started tinkering with building cages in my spare time until I came up with a pretty cool design. It was the Jail Bird. I began building them and selling them on eBay but it wasn’t until I started making them out of stainless steel [as opposed to mild steel] that I decided to wear one. I tried to hand over the key to Mistress Mature Metal but she was very vanilla at the time and told me I was crazy! I sat the key on the counter and did not touch it again to see what happens. Well, I got hornier and hornier. I found myself paying more attention to her and not arguing. Finally, I did something after about a week and she asked me what had gotten into me and why was I being so nice. I just looked down below my waist and back up at her. She said “Go get me that key”. That was about 20 years ago and we have not looked back since.

Mistress Mature Metal, following on to this, any words of advice for potential keyholders?

[Mistress Mature Metal]

I think everyone should enter this with an open mind. Give it a chance and look for changes in the sub[missive]. It can take a few weeks, some less.

A must to make this work is open communication. Do not be afraid to talk about anything. Beware, things you said “ABSOLUTELY NO” to before could become something fun now.

William, what chastity options were out there when Mistress Mature Metal took the key?

Back in the day there were only three custom cage makers and a handful of cheap knock offs. The CB series was the big kid on the block. I never wore any other manufacturers' cages, only my own.

And what happened after you made your first cage? How did that evolve into what you have today?

After the first one I was hooked. I made a lot of different types of cages over the years and only a select few made the cut. They had to be comfortable, pretty, and secure. I am not sure how many different designs I came up with but I never threw any of them away. I still have a box full of original designs that never made it.

What did Mistress Mature Metal think about you out in the shop or garage cutting and welding steel for cages?

It wasn’t her as much as it was family and friends. The in-laws lived two doors down from us but I was able to keep it hidden for a few years as I was tinkering. But eventually we had to tell them. They took it well and were very supportive. Put yourself in our shoes and picture yourself telling everyone what you plan on doing for a living. We now enjoy seeing people’s faces when we tell them.

At what point did you think this was something you could sell? How did you reach your first customers?

I sold the first few on eBay that were made of regular mild steel [a low carbon steel easy to work with]. That is when I knew I was on to something. I was selling six a week in my spare time.

What kind of feedback did you get from your early customers? Was there a point when you decided this could be a full-time business?

I sent out emails to clients that I sold to on eBay to ask what changes they would make. I took all of the responses seriously and did the best I could to make the cages better. After I began building the cages in stainless steel, I knew I could make a living from it. In 2009 I started a GoDaddy store and within nine months I was quitting my jobs. I had two other jobs at the time and was putting in about 80 hours a week between them all.

Can you tell me a bit about the challenges in making the Jail Bird?

It was the most difficult cage to figure out how to build. Making the ring, drilling the holes straight and even and making the two ring the exact same was the biggest challenge. All the rings were and are still handmade and all the holes are drilled by hand on a drill press.

When I first contacted you guys, I was going down the Pansy Tart sizing method, largely based on the Jail Bird. Mistress Mature Metal told me that your ideas on sizing had evolved since then. Can you explain a bit on how you came to your current sizing instructions?

When Pansy Tart wrote those instructions, I was still struggling with how to find the best fit for a device. They seemed to be better than what anyone else had at the time. I finally introduced the sizing kit. At the time it was a large expense as I had to pay for the mold plates to be made [for the sizing rings]. It is never a good idea to use a string or tailor’s tape to measure. Or have someone else do it. The reason is that you will find it hard to be at your normal flaccid state. And that is the most important thing. I have made changes to the instructions of the years but for the most part they have stayed the same for the last 10 years.

In ‘09 you launched your website. When did you start introducing other cages?

When I started the website, I had three designs: the Jail Bird, the Watchful Mistress, and the Pet Trap. About a year or so later, I added the Queens Keep, then the Spyder.

All of the smaller micro and mini cages were just variations of cages that I would build on special requests. So, two years ago we launched a new site with all the variations and lots of new accessories and cock rings and base rings.

How did you come up with those names?

I came up with the name for the Jail Bird. The owners of Chastity Mansion back in the day went by Mistress Watchful and Pet. They gave me a big break when I started by putting a link on their site. And the names made a lot of sense to me. We had an online contest to name the Queen’s Keep and as soon as we heard it we loved it.

The Spyder kinda looks like Spider legs so thus the name.

At some point, you start to see inexpensive Chinese cages enter the market. How did you respond?

Mistress Mature Metal collects purses. So, I asked her one day why would anyone pay hundreds of dollars for a purse when you can pick one up at Walmart for under $20? The answer is quality and service. Chinese cages are just cheap purses.

What do you think about all the composite cages?

Composite cages are fine. Eventually they buy stainless. It actually gives the client a chance to try out sizes.

The barrel lock was introduced at some point and it has been everyone’s favorite. What are your thoughts?

There are drawbacks to the Barrel lock. The biggest issue is that you can’t adjust the gap between the ring and the cage. I can adjust any gap to any size for a small fee. If you have ever had scrotum burn or an ache in your stomach you know how important it is to have a gap that fits you correctly.

So, against the background of all these changes, can you describe how this has affected your business?

Chastity is getting more and more popular every year. I don’t worry about the changes all that much and don’t worry about what others are doing. I just concentrate on our own business.

Kind of moving away from the history, you guys are known for a few things: Your customer service and your knowledge on fit and comfort. I saw a comment on Chastity Mansion once: “go against Mistress MM’s advice at your own peril”. When I first contacted you guys, I was expecting it to be William who offered the sizing advice because, well, obvious reasons. How did Mistress Mature Metal become the primary person guiding customers with their fit and comfort issues? Despite this being a very kink-oriented community, have you ever had any customers who shied away from talking with Mistress Mature Metal? I know I personally blushed a bit when I was describing over the phone how my cage was riding when aroused.

[Mistress Mature Metal]

I get one of two reactions:

1. OMG, I am talking to Mistress Mature Metal.

2. Is there a guy I can talk to?

Trust me, I never thought this would be my future. I take back all the doubtful thoughts I ever had about running this business. It has changed us both forever. We have made the best lifelong friends. I would not change my “job” (hate that word) for anything!

You guys offer a consultative experience. Do you frequently get orders out of the blue without any contact up front? Do you just go straight to making the cage or do you talk to them about their measurements first? How do you react when you see a order for a 3” ring and a 2” ID cage?

I think a lot of our orders do not consult with us. But a lot do and we are happy to help out. When we see an order that is way outside the norm we will normally ask the client to confirm. Then if they have questions, we can help them work it out.

I know you both publish your cell phone numbers on your website. And I’ve heard that you’ll be at the grocery store and someone will call about their measurements or whatever. What was the thinking around having that kind of customer service experience?

We both come from retail store management in big box stores. We know what customer service should look like. We treat our clients how we would like to be treated. Great customer service is so VERY hard to find these days, but being able to call the owner of the business when you need them is the place where we want to be.

Can you give me a rough order-of-magnitude number for how many cages you’ve made over your 20 years. And how often you see people like me that start off with the Jail Bird and then come back for something else?

I believe I have built over 20,000 cages. We probably get about 40% of our business from repeat clients. We had one client that purchased about 18 devices. He just kept ordering smaller and smaller devices.

I don’t know what kind of custom requests you’ve had and without violating client confidentiality, do any stick out as especially difficult to accommodate, especially fun to try to solve for, or as ok, wow, that’s strange but whatever?

There have been many times when I truly enjoy building a cage when the client wants something different. It gets my creative juices flowing. If I am able to do it, I will be happy to try. I made a set of Keyholder keys where one had a cat head and the other had rabbit head instead of the heart key.

Another recently wanted punishment pins that screwed in. I was able to order ¼” thick security screws and thread them to insert them into the cage but you still need the security key to remove them.

Another was a PA chain. It is a small chain with a loop at each end. One attaches to a capture ring and the other attaches to the base ring post. It is very secure and very comfortable.

What advice do you have for someone interested in investing in a custom cage or getting into chastity for the first time? Also, what do you think about the rapid increase in chastity’s popularity? I hear Cosmopolitan named chastity as “The Kink of the Year” (whatever the hell that means).

I would absolutely recommend the sizing kit [sizing rings with Mature Metal-specific instructions]. It will save so much time and money to help you get your correct sizes.

I have always said that not only is chastity its own kink but it ties into so many different kinks. Most don’t even realize that there are even male doms out there that like to be locked up to prevent their sub from getting to it.

I think there are a lot of couples out there that are always looking for something new or to add to their current kink. So with that in mind it doesn’t surprise me at all that it is continuing to go mainstream.

Finally, would you care to talk about what you’re working on now?

I am always trying to think of new innovative ways to enhance chastity. I have been working on a full belt and am just not happy with the models I have produced so far. That is still a work in progress.

And one final question if you don’t mind. Why the pseudonym for Mistress Mature Metal and not you?

I have always used my real name. But when Mistress Mature Metal quit her job to spend all her time on the family business, we decided that we wanted her to be the face of Mature Metal. And what better way than to have her name reflective of the relationship of male chastity and the real life role she has in our home.

Thank you both!