Frequently asked questions

Both the Permission Lab and the Crazy Camps at CrazyCamp.org are projects of the same association. And both have the same core mission: connection and self-acceptance. In that context, conscious kink is a branch that has grown organically on the Crazy Camp tree. However, some people that are not into conscious kink were confused by the mention of it on the Crazy Camp website. So we gave the Permission Lab it's own corner of the internet :) and we recycle some of the images that might have the name 'crazycamp.org' or the logo. And if you would use the contact form at CrazyCamp.org to ask about the Conscious Kink Lab, you will simply get your answer :)

The advance payment is there for two reasons. First of all, I have to pay a (way bigger) advance payment when booking accommodation for the Lab. Second, it is the best way for me to find out if you have a serious intention of joining. As for the cancellation policy: If I cancel the trip, you will receive a full refund of your advance payment. If you cancel your participation, you’ll receive the refund if we still reach the target number of participants.

I will not disappear with your advance payment but technically there is no way that you can know that I will not. You’ll have to trust me. Just as I will have to trust you: will you really show up? Will you not steal things? Will you not be drunk and annoying all the time? If it helps: there have been 56 Crazy Camps so far (as per spring 2026), the whole Crazy Camp and Permission Lab thing is my passion and joy, and there are better ways of making money than to run away with your advance payment. By the way, please read the testimonials of previous Crazy Camp and Lab participants and feel free to check out the references that 160 people that met me in real life (in non-Crazy Camp context) wrote about me on Couchsurfing. And if you want, we can have a video call before signing up. The link is on the Contact page :)

Originally the Crazy Camps (from which the Permission Labs emerged) started out with no organization at all. Just one private person sharing their passion with you. Basically I organize these trips just for myself and I share time, space, activities and fun with you. In return, you participate in the activities and pay your share in the costs. More info can be found in the About page. Some years ago I created a legal structure for the trips. So I founded a not-for-profit association under Dutch law. When you participate in a Crazy Camp or in a Permission Lab, you become member of this association for the duration of that Camp/Lab. More details about the association and your membership on this page.

If you would like to contact a participant of one of the past Crazy Camps/Permission Labs before deciding to sign up, I can establish the contact if I understand that you are seriously considering signing up.

It is not. You will have to find your own way of getting to the Lab. I will provide information about the arrival time that you are expected, the nearest train/bus station, the nearest airports, how to get from the bus station to the Lab location… In the forum you can discuss with the other participants about traveling together etc.

The main reason for this is that I want to make sure that you sign up because the Permission Lab concept appeals to you, and not for some other reason, such as for example that you really want to go to that specific resort but everything is booked, except for the Lab, or that you are looking for a cheap holiday, no matter what kind of trip it is.
The information that I give about the resort should be enough information for you to estimate if it will be satisfying for you. If you want to have an idea of the beauty of Crazy Camp and Permission Lab locations: check the Crazy Camp instagram account. Of course, I do tell you the exact name of the location where we are staying as soon as you have paid the advance payment.

This is mentioned in the info page of the Lab that you are interested in. If something is not mentioned, then don’t presume that it is there… what is obvious for you, might not be obvious for that location. So if you miss something that is important for you in the description, better ask me :-)

Usually Permission Lab locations can not be reached by normal road. So oftentimes we have to get our stuff to the accommodation skiing/snowboarding or hiking. You’re better off with a backpack than with a suitcase!

Most Permission Labs take place in simple mountain huts with shared sleeping spaces and a mix of bed types – from bunk beds to hayloft mattresses, and sometimes even a double bed or two. We don’t separate by gender.

To keep things fair and ease the pressure of “rushing to claim,” we do a lottery on the first evening to assign sleeping spots. It’s part of the spirit of these Labs: a gentle nudge into trust, chance, and letting go of control, together.
This might mean sharing a room (or, rarely, a double bed) with someone you’ve just met. And usually that’s just fine. It’s about sleeping, not intimacy, and respect is the baseline. But we also know: what’s “just fine” for some can feel deeply uncomfortable or unsafe for others.

So, if you have specific emotional, physical, or gender-related needs around sleeping arrangements, please share them with us in your application or reach out beforehand. You don’t need to give detailed explanations; just enough so we can support you in feeling safe.
We’ll also make swaps post-lottery if, say, a tall person ends up in a tiny bed and a small person gets a giant one. Fairness and care go hand-in-hand.

We trust the magic of the draw. And we trust you, to speak up if something’s not sitting right. Your comfort matters. Your rest is important.

Usually groups are between 5 and 10 people. We don't want it to be massgive. In a small group it's easier to build trust and to let go.

Crazy Camps attract people from all over the world, and the Permission Labs are quite international as well. In general, simple 'European English' is used as the common language. But if you’re having a chat with another participant who speaks your native language, no one expects you to switch to English!

If you’re unsure about your level, feel free to reach out—we can even arrange a voice or video call to assess together and discuss how to make it work for you. And I can also translate key things into French, German, Spanish, Dutch, or Italian, if needed.

Before every Lab we meet virtually, in a private forum. This is usually two or three weeks before departure. In the forum we give a short introduction of ourselves, we discuss ride shares, logistics at arrival, what to bring, what we will eat, etc.

Don’t smoke in places where it can bother others: in the house, at the terrace, in the sauna or hot tub, etc.

The `permission Labs are strictly alcohol free and substance free.

The only drug that is common at the Labs is adrenaline – the best drug anyway.

Yes you can. The Labs are a group thing; if you count spending your evenings quietly in a corner reading Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” then it’s not the right trip for you. But if you have an off day or are exhausted after a long hike, then of course you will skip a workshop. As long as you come to the Lab with the intention of participating, everything will be cool :-)

Good question. The Permission Labs are activity trips that include for example mountain hiking or skiing/snowboarding. So you need a certain stamina for that – especially taking into account that you are at a higher altitude (less oxygen) then your usual location. Of course you can skip the longer hikes or go softly with the skiing. In case of serious overweight (not just ‘chubby’) or never-have-done-sports-before you might want to discuss the situation with me before signing up. Just book a video call :). You don’t have to be an athlete though, the activities are recreational and not competitive. Please check out the next FAQ item as well.

Having mental or physical limitations is rarely a binary thing. Fifty years ago we would simply classify people as ‘crazy’ or ‘handicapped’ but I think that we evolved away from that.

About mental health issues. During the 5 years that I was working (as a layperson) in psychiatry, I came to understand that on the one hand there are people that clearly have heavy mental health issues and on the other hand we all have mental health issues to some degree – some more noticeable, some less; some are accepted as ‘normal’ by society (eg. many religious convictions could be labeled as ‘delusions’ which is a psychiatrical condition). Also often it depends on social status and coincidence if someone gets diagnosed/labeled or not. In psychiatry they work with diagnostic check lists; if for example on the ‘bipolar disorder’ checklist you check more than … out of 10 symptoms, you are diagnosed as ‘having a bipolar disorder’. You will be surprised how many boxes we all would check for ourself on all those checklists! Maybe less than the threshold for being labeled, but on all of these checklists we all will surely find items that apply to us. So as for me the answer to the question “I have mental health issues, can I still join?” could be “Yes! If not, nobody could join…” If you have been diagnosed with a mental health issue then keep the following things in mind: · The Labs are intended to be a non-judgemental space. So the ‘quirks’ that come with your issue are welcome, because YOU are welcome. · If there is a risk that you would need intervention during the Lab, for example because you have a psychosis coming up, then be aware that we are far away from towns, clinics and doctors. You are responsible for yourself so you are responsible for assessing if and when this applies to you. If you depend on medication, make sure that you bring enough.

About physical limitations. Here also, it’s really not binary. Yes it is clear that Stephen Hawking was having severe physical limitations and I can’t imagine how he would have participated in a Lab. On the other hand I am pretty sure that many people that participate in the Paralympics have less (or at least different) physical limitations than myself, being a not very sporty and not very flexible person. During a Yoga session I definitely encounter my physical limitations! I have seen people hiking in the mountains on one leg; I have seen someone going downhill on the ski slope with no legs. Rather than stating something like ‘the Conscious Kink Labs are not suitable for people in a wheelchair’ I prefer describing the situation so that you can make your own assessment. Because I don’t know how agile you are with your wheelchair and what you can do with your body. And wheelchair is just an example of course, there are many physical limitations that don’t involve wheelchairs.The Lab accommodations are never adapted to physical limitations. Usually there are narrow mountain trails to navigate in order to reach them; the toilet (sometimes a simple outhouse) is not adapted; the dorm is usually reached by climbing ladder like steep stairs. If you have questions about specific items or questions in relation to your own limitations, please ask!

There’s no leadership team at the Labs. No staff, no titles. Just people that are sharing space, care, and presence. I (Klaas) may be the one who started the whole thing and I might be the one sending out the emails, but when the Lab starts, I’m simply part of the circle. Just like everyone else. At best, I (and for example the yoga facilitator if there is one) are primi inter pares. So a day might look like this: someone offers a yoga session. Someone else prepares tea. Again someone else helps someone with their blister. Roles are fluid. No one is above or below.

What I do hold, together with the group, is a deep wish for this to be a space where you can arrive together with anything and everything that is inside you. A space where no one measures you, and no one pushes you to be more open, more free, more anything than you feel. Here, you’re invited to try something new if curiosity stirs. But you’re just as free to say “no” if something doesn’t feel right. Your boundaries matter.

I remember one evening at a Crazy Snow Camp: I had suggested eating from a shared bowl with our hands—something common in many cultures. For some, that felt exciting. For others, it was too far outside their comfort zone. So they served themselves on individual plates. No questions asked. No pressure.

That is our intention. You are always invited – but never expected. And you are always responsible for sensing your own limits, and for honouring the expressed boundaries of others. Of course it is at all times your own responsibility to say (and act) ‘no’ when you feel ‘no’. You are invited (not forced) to challenge your own comfort zone and you commit to respecting the expressed boundaries of the others.

We simply hold space, for what wants to happen, in its own time.

The Permission Labs facilitate a state of absence of judgement and facilitate space holding. This, combined with the fact that at the Lab you are far away from your habitual social, geographical, relational and professional environment, makes it easier for you to drop the masks, express your authenticity (the full spectrum of it, not just the ‘pleasant’ colours) and experiment, without having to dread for the consequences.

The magic happens when you recalibrate your comfort zone and as stated before, at the Permission Lab you will feel facilitated, not forced, to make that step.

Nevertheless it can happen that you get triggered during the Lab. If that happens, there is no need to ignore or hide it; on the contrary, your expression of being triggered is welcome. It is an invitation for the group to hold space for you and not judge; and at the same time an invitation for you to connect with your feeling and to research what is inside you that caused you to be triggered. This is potentially a liberating and transformative experience for you and for the others.
This does certainly not mean that the intention is to trigger you on purpose! But let’s face it, it is impossible to predict who will be triggered by what. Things that pass almost unnoticed for one, trigger (or touch) the other. It is impossible to avoid that some people might be triggered during the Lab experience.

I would like to add the following. I try to be very aware of, and spread awareness of sexism, racism and queer phobia and of how these things traumatise individuals and society as a whole. If a participant expresses themself in a sexist, racist or queer phobic way, the idea is to not judge that participant but rather facilitate them in embodying why a world without sexism, racism and queer phobia is a better place for everybody.
As I said I try to be as aware as I can, and also to be aware of how everybody experiences situations differently. But I am a middle age white European male (and thus member of the most privileged group on this planet) so I have many blind spots and if you feel the urge to point me out to them I encourage you to do so.

No, the Labs are not about sex. And we practice conscious kink without the intention of having sex. Sexual interaction between individuals is fine, as long as it’s consensual and as long as it does not take you away from your share in the household chores ;). However the Labs are not really a suitable place for sex; usually your personal privacy is close to zero anyway. But if it's what you're looking for, I would recommend you to book an all inclusive flight to Ibiza; your chances of getting laid are tremendously bigger there.

Usually the Labs offer little personal privacy because of shared bedrooms, shared sanitary facilities etc. If someone likes to sleep naked, they will not undress under the bedsheets, right? And the wellness-elements of the Labs (sauna, hot tub or whatever) are normally used unclothed. ‘Clothing is optional’ means just that: clothing is optional. No one forces you to wear clothes and no one forces you to not wear them. It is unlikely that you will be surrounded by naked people all the time at a Lab. So just relax; nothing to worry about.