I only really spoke to friends who were into BDSM in their personal lives, not as part of an interaction with those outside their immediate significant others.

I see that you do it for more than a "need", but I'd like to note I think the word "need" is much vaster than we often treat it as. Not just a sexual desire, or a craving for food. The need to be ourselves, and to be recognized as ourselves, is one of the most important ones.

I've got quite a few transgender friends, or friends of friends, in the anime circle. And it seems a lot of sadness came from not being able to be themselves, to declare themselves, to see themselves as they wished to be seen. So that is a need. A need is a primal thing, not necessarily simple or base.

And well, I'm glad you've found what it is you need, and that it also gives you a way to help others with what they, in turn, need.