Welcome to BME’s Big Question! In this feature, we’re going to ask a handful of the community’s best and brightest piercers, tattooists, heavy mod practitioners and shop owners for their opinion on one question or issue that’s affecting the body modification community. Many, many thanks to all of the contributors.
If you’d like to be a part of future editions, or if you have an idea for an issue or question you’d like to see addressed, please e-mail me.
This week’s topic:
If you were working prior to body modification’s rise on the Internet, how did you adapt to its emergence? If you came around afterward, how large a role did the Internet play when you were becoming established in your field? And for everyone, what are the positives and negatives of having the Internet available, whether as a tool for research, marketing, or communication? Where do you think the industry would be without it?
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When I first started piercing, I wasn’t aware of any type of body modification community online. Without that online community, I took everything the person who was teaching me to pierce to be truth. What he said was how it was done, and I had no reason to think otherwise. I later found out about BME and IAM. Through BME, I found that there were many things that we were doing that weren’t really the best way to do things. Talking to other piercers online made me a better piercer, helped me improve myself and the studio I was working in.
Now there is so much information out there and so many great piercers, and body jewelry manufacturers online (just on this site alone) that it really irritates me when I see someone doing things half-assed. When I was starting out, you really had to search for information, now it’s right there ready for you to take, but a lot of the new piercers just aren’t taking it. |
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I see the availability of information to be a good thing. It’s not a matter of the information, or its availability, having a negative impact … it’s what people do (or don’t do) that is positive or negative.
As John pointed out however, it does make it extra frustrating when you see people doing things that make no sense at all. The information about various options is so readily available, there is really no excuse (other than laziness or just not caring) for doing things grossly below par. Maybe I’m just being nostalgic and romanticizing things, but I do think there is something to be said for the effort you had to put into finding information before the Internet was around. You had to go out of your way to find books or magazines, you had to actually pick up the phone and call someone or go hang out with them. It required a greater commitment of time and energy from everybody involved. I think one benefit of the information being less accessible was that it forced people to do more critical thinking about their procedures; especially if it wasn’t a traditional procedure. Instead of hopping on BME or YouTube and seeing pictures/videos of procedures being done, you had to think through the process step-by-step and you had to evaluate what your different options were. You often didn’t have a “right way” to fall back on; you just had the way that made the most sense to you. And that way would likely change as you became more skilled/experienced. Many younger piercers I deal with these days simply want to know how they are “supposed” to do it. They are often reluctant to consider various options and they just want to know what’s “right and wrong.” |
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When I started piercing I remember having to scrounge for any information I could get about piercing. I picked up Grey’s Anatomy and dog-eared all the pages on the ear, face, nipple, etc. It was much more of a challenge finding any useable information. The internet has made it so easy for any idiot to watch some other idiot do a horrible piercing on a third idiot. The Internet is great at helping good piercers become better piercers. But I think it’s used more frequently to turn bored people with no career into shitty piercers.
I grew into the Internet really slowly. I used to have this research folder full of any old article I could come across in print or online. I had to track down bits and pieces over months and years. By the time the Internet really started to trickle out the professional-level information I was already fairly established so I really just used it to learn other people’s little tricks of the trade. I’m glad that I had to work for it in the real world instead of just pulling all the info down off the Web. I think my professional opinion is that I dislike almost everything about the Internet’s marriage to this industry, minus the publicity aspect, but at least it’s evolution. It started off as a community of professionals sharing information with people they felt comfortable with. There’s no barrier of good judgment or apprehension anymore, it’s all just public domain. I liked it more when people kept secrets and you had to work for it. |
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Oh man … I know what you’re talking about. The first day of my apprenticeship I was handed folders, and binders, full of random information. I was given an old Gauntlet seminar hand book, interviews with Keith Alexander, Fakir, Jon Cobb, the Modern Primitives Book, all kinds of things.
And when I started apprenticing Shelly, I did the same thing. I gave her all kinds of information and said, “Read all of this and then find your own.” I think it’s important for people coming into this industry to do their own research and not just look to a forum and say, “Hey, how do you do this?” without doing any of their own digging first. We’re always learning and always changing our techniques, so if we can get our apprentices to do their own research right from the start it will keep them being proactive throughout their careers. |
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I started my own notebook of everything the guy teaching me said. A lot of that helped give me a point of reference as I continued to learn. When I was just cutting my teeth, Ask.BME was something I read often.
I still feel I’m many levels below everyone else on this panel. Hell, I read the writings of more than a couple of you years back. I think I found my way onto BME just after I began my apprenticeship and it’s been an invaluable communication and education tool ever since. In terms of a glut of availabile information, I certainly echo the displeasure of being able to watch kids sticking each other with needles on the school yard. Not that I think experimentation in youth is a bad thing, I’m sure we’ve all been there. But seeing something on a video through the Internet often lends an air of credibility to the experimentation, allowing others to follow in line. I remember one afternoon, less than six months of learning in, one of the regulars from the shop brought in a stack of old PFIQs — I thought I had hit the jackpot. Now, being able to pull up any amount of varied articles at any time, it’s certainly easier, but the thrill of the hunt has diminished … |
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When I first started my “apprenticeship,” I was given the “Pierce With a Pro” VHS tapes, the “Hole Story” VHS tapes, a pile of old PFIQ magazines, and was told to read and watch.
There was no easily accessible info to be found online really at that point, as BME was still in its earliest stages. I have to agree totally with the above statement, While I DO think that there is some GREAT info available online, and I see the Internet as a great resource for piercers and other mod artists, I also feel that it contributes to the the over-saturation of idiots in our industry. Perfect case in point: Me to a client: How did you end up with such a horrible piercing? Client to me: Well, my friend and I watched this video on how to pierce your own *fill in the blank* on YouTube… And yes, while these YouTube-trained home piercers are not technically a part of our industry, they are putting out piercings. They are perpetuating the idea that piercing is ugly, full of risk, and a delinquent behavior. The videos are also, for the most part, scary to watch, and I get a ton of clients now that are more terrified than ever after watching them! I just feel that, like anything, the Internet as a tool for us is both positive and negative. It has its high points. I mean, how else could projects like this be possible? But it has its low points. There is a greater amount of information available to those seeking it, which can be wonderful when that information is put into the right hands, but really, how often have we all cringed when we’ve seen the results of that put into the WRONG hands? |
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In 1979, my father purchased a dual floppy, wooden cased, DOS-based computer called the NorthStar Horizon. With no hard drive, a giant dot matrix printer and a tiny monochrome screen, this magical machine could run the tax software for his CPA firm, making the tedious task of written double-entry book-keeping obsolete. Although the device is now just gathering dust in my garage, at the time it was a tool that allowed his business to grow dramatically without needing to hire more accountants.
Jumping forward a few years … I started piercing in 1992, the World Wide Web didn’t exist and the only comprehensive online resource was the rec.arts.bodyart newsgroup. Yes, there were plenty of photos changing hands in those days, but the random body modification you might see was simply the byproduct of downloading porn. Yes, porn was passed around before the WWW. Crazy, huh? Sites like BME and SPC didn’t exist and the body modification community was inspired by images in printed materials, most notably Modern Primitives, of which many careers including mine got their start. Back in those days I know the desire for body modification existed, but without the Internet to expose the masses, it remained an obscure art form. It was the practitioners that appeared in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s that were the first generation to really cut their teeth simultaneously as the Internet began its influence. Some embraced the new technology and their careers grew and thrived. Others tried and ultimately floundered in the wake of the World Wide Web’s massive and sudden overexposure. Then a third group of modders either missed the boat altogether or purposely avoided the Internet, and who can blame them? For every positive thing posted there seems to be numerous negative and often hateful responses, especially in those days. Remember the days of film cameras and scanners? Back then people had to take pictures, have them developed and scan them before they could ever be uploaded to the web. It was a time when Paul King was the MTV poster boy for navel piercings, and practitioners were changing from simple craftsmen to rock stars almost overnight. Tattooers may have earned that stature before the rest of us, but the Internet definitely played a key role in helping everyone working in the body modification industry to reach a new level of fame. Back then if you put a ring in your friend’s penis using a safety pin, you might have been viewed as a hack, but take a picture and put in on the web and you were a pioneer and an innovator, and it didn’t stop there. One ring in a penis? How about two? Three? Heck, why not cut it in half? Half, shit, cut it off! Now before the age-old debate of how far is too far begins, I will step back and say this: People are going to do what they want. Do photos on the Internet shape the viewer? To an extent, sure. Do these same images inspire people to reach for the next level? Yes, of course, but don’t blame the Web for people’s stupidity and poor choices. It’s like blaming rock music for murder. Giving someone an idea is far different than forcing their hand. The Internet is a tool, nothing more. A very complex, multifaceted and often entertaining tool … but still just a tool, one that the body modification community uses more effectively than any other hands-on trade. Maybe it’s the fact that our industry blurs the line between craft and entertainment. In a sense we hit the reality crazy before the TV ever did. Want see the strange and bizarre? You can program your TiVo to find the shows or you can just turn on your computer. So here we are, the subject of constant controversy from both inside and outside our ranks. The male ear piercings we found so shocking the ‘70s hardly raise an eyebrow anymore. Will two-inch lobes and facial tattoos be viewed the same way in 30 years? Who can say? There’s no doubt the Internet has helped body modification to thrive. Would television, film and print media have had the same effect? Probably not, but our growth may have been more controlled. Research would have trickled down slower. International communication would have been difficult at best. Marketing and exposure? Really I have no clue. If there is nothing else I’ve learned over the years it’s that technology is ever changing. No matter what the field, all industries must learn to adapt and use what is available to the fullest if they hope to survive. |
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The first shop I worked in used to play the “Pierce with a Pro” VHS tapes in the waiting area. I hated it, but the boss thought it would be good for clients to see what they would be going through beforehand. We used to get this kid who would come in just to watch these videos. Then, guess what? About three months later that kid was piercing at a studio down the street. That was all the research he did. He continued to be a hack for a few years after, before disappearing.
And I agree with Allen that you can’t “blame the web for people’s stupidity and poor choices.” Remember when that picture of the stretched-up Achilles heel piercing was on ModBlog? I thought that was fantastic. It’s amazing to me what the human body is capable of and that there weren’t serious complications from that. I loved that it was on ModBlog because otherwise I would have never gotten to see it. Does that mean I’m going to offer Achilles piercings? No fucking way!!! People need to have some common sense, and take responsibility for themselves. With the lack of hands on research and initiative, people also seem to be losing professional morals and ethics. |
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You know what’s funny? We were all hacks once, especially the old timers. My training came from a one day course by Fakir. This was before his school, and I was his second student after Erik Dakota.
So in a sense I was one of those hacks that knew very little and just set up shop. In a way I’m kind of glad I did it that way. Because I didn’t have any formal training, I had to work twice as hard to both learn and prove myself. |
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Right, but you worked hard to learn and improve. People seem to be losing that motivation. Almost 12 years later, I’m still working hard and improving. There are all these piercers now that think they have it all figured out, they are masters of their craft. I just don’t understand that mentality.
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“Because I didn’t have any formal training, I had to work twice as hard to both learn and prove myself.”
Hear, hear. The kids that think they are master piercers, so to speak, after piercing for a year KILL me. There has been nothing earned, no sacrifices made. |
What do you think? Let’s hear it in the comments.
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BME/News and Modblog highlight only a small fraction of what
That Ryan Ouellette sure seems like one intelligent, talented, handsome man.
That Ryan Ouellette sure seems like one intelligent, talented, handsome man.
Forgive me for lacking a good grasp on how this (loved!) feature is assembled, but I do feel that it could really benefit from more contributions from tattoo professionals. While I am also pierced and stretched, I do visit the site largely because of my interest in ink, and most of these “big questions” – especially THIS one! – could bring forth some pretty interesting answers from that part of the community as well.
Forgive me for lacking a good grasp on how this (loved!) feature is assembled, but I do feel that it could really benefit from more contributions from tattoo professionals. While I am also pierced and stretched, I do visit the site largely because of my interest in ink, and most of these “big questions” – especially THIS one! – could bring forth some pretty interesting answers from that part of the community as well.
Martin:
I totally agree! It’s just been difficult trying to draft tattoo artists to participate …
Martin:
I totally agree! It’s just been difficult trying to draft tattoo artists to participate …
Ryan: What you mean Ryan “Douchebag” Ouellette?
Martin: Please send some tattoo artists this way. I agree we need a more mixed crowd.
Ryan: What you mean Ryan “Douchebag” Ouellette?
Martin: Please send some tattoo artists this way. I agree we need a more mixed crowd.
Definitely more tattoo artists are required for this, as well as ask.bmezine.com,etc. I find that more tattoo artists feel they have to make “better use of their time” drawing, working,etc than discussing/answering questions online for the masses.
Why answer questions online to the masses, when you can simply answer them in the shop?
After being a piercer for roughly 6 years and having created the learning forum on iam,etc…I have to honestly agree with what everyone has said here….A lot has drastically changed over the years with the blow up of information via the internet, both positive and negative, both with clients as well as piercers.
Definitely more tattoo artists are required for this, as well as ask.bmezine.com,etc. I find that more tattoo artists feel they have to make “better use of their time” drawing, working,etc than discussing/answering questions online for the masses.
Why answer questions online to the masses, when you can simply answer them in the shop?
After being a piercer for roughly 6 years and having created the learning forum on iam,etc…I have to honestly agree with what everyone has said here….A lot has drastically changed over the years with the blow up of information via the internet, both positive and negative, both with clients as well as piercers.
I’d be happy to. If interested in contributing, should they contact Jordan directly, or…?
I’d be happy to. If interested in contributing, should they contact Jordan directly, or…?
good to have it back!!!!
good to have it back!!!!
yeah i really do look forward to the discussions you gusy have on here, alot of really great points always get brought up. every one has been a great read. thanks guys.
yeah i really do look forward to the discussions you gusy have on here, alot of really great points always get brought up. every one has been a great read. thanks guys.
As a piercer who started while the internet was in full motion, I can say that it has been a blessing and a curse. Early in my career, any time I found something which I deemed “correct” or used misguided logic to justify, I applied it to what I was currently doing. I learned a patchwork of techniques which, looking back on it, were down right idiotic. After being slapped around by quite a few veteran piercers and learning to humble my “I know everything, I’m young” mentality, I found the error of my ways. I am truly lucky for having those people (whom I thought were assholes at the time, haha), but I worry for those who will never receive that wake up call.
All in all, if there was as much wonderful, informed piercing information available as there is complete rubbish, the internet would be indescribably more valuable. As it stands, though, I worry that it constantly facilitates hacks and teaches kids the wrong things. Sites like BME have helped make valuable information easily accessible, but as long as YouTube, MySpace, etc. are around, I fear that the bad is outweighing the good.
As a piercer who started while the internet was in full motion, I can say that it has been a blessing and a curse. Early in my career, any time I found something which I deemed “correct” or used misguided logic to justify, I applied it to what I was currently doing. I learned a patchwork of techniques which, looking back on it, were down right idiotic. After being slapped around by quite a few veteran piercers and learning to humble my “I know everything, I’m young” mentality, I found the error of my ways. I am truly lucky for having those people (whom I thought were assholes at the time, haha), but I worry for those who will never receive that wake up call.
All in all, if there was as much wonderful, informed piercing information available as there is complete rubbish, the internet would be indescribably more valuable. As it stands, though, I worry that it constantly facilitates hacks and teaches kids the wrong things. Sites like BME have helped make valuable information easily accessible, but as long as YouTube, MySpace, etc. are around, I fear that the bad is outweighing the good.
I am currently training a new apprentice and I am going more of the old school method. She is currently reading modern primitives cover to cover. I agree that so many people take for granted what us old schoolers had to learn on our own. There is something to be said about our own ingenuity and fortitude. Us piercers that have been piercing since before the WWW just seem to have more drive than most of the newer piercers out there today.
I am currently training a new apprentice and I am going more of the old school method. She is currently reading modern primitives cover to cover. I agree that so many people take for granted what us old schoolers had to learn on our own. There is something to be said about our own ingenuity and fortitude. Us piercers that have been piercing since before the WWW just seem to have more drive than most of the newer piercers out there today.
Of all of the practitioners questioned, it’s very likely that only Faulkner would have a job in the industry if BME (and by that I mean the internet) had never existed.
I know that’s hard to swallow and it sounds like I’m being mean.
But really, really think about it. Y’all wouldn’t have any customers if it weren’t for the memes vomited up by BME (and by that I mean the internet) over the years. Mother of fuck man, even I wouldn’t have nearly the work I have (or done the things I did) if it hadn’t been for BME (and by that I mean the internet). It’s directly responsible for at least five thousand US dollars worth of work directly into the pocket of a single person.
Who, ironically, has never been around BME (and by that I mean the internet).
Of all of the practitioners questioned, it’s very likely that only Faulkner would have a job in the industry if BME (and by that I mean the internet) had never existed.
I know that’s hard to swallow and it sounds like I’m being mean.
But really, really think about it. Y’all wouldn’t have any customers if it weren’t for the memes vomited up by BME (and by that I mean the internet) over the years. Mother of fuck man, even I wouldn’t have nearly the work I have (or done the things I did) if it hadn’t been for BME (and by that I mean the internet). It’s directly responsible for at least five thousand US dollars worth of work directly into the pocket of a single person.
Who, ironically, has never been around BME (and by that I mean the internet).
These are awesome. I love the Big Question articles. Keep it up!
These are awesome. I love the Big Question articles. Keep it up!
yttrx: I think you vastly under-estimate a few scenarios in your statement, but yet you are also very accurate in others.
Without the likes of BME and all the other websites that allow you to post videos/pictures, as well as email distribution of photos,etc. I agree that there wouldn’t be as much popularity in Body Modification as there is today, within mainstream society.
Because of that it would remain, a bit more, a pocketed community scattered all over the world. Not a massive population spanning the globe in pretty much every country, every city,etc.
In that matter thanks to those sites, emails,etc we experienced a BOOM both within the client base and within the “I wanna be a piercer” category as well. Which as we all know when you over-saturate something, it tends to get a lot more watered down before it gets better.
As for saying Faulkner would be the ONLY one in the profession if not for BME, I don’t really agree with that. Sure without all this a HUGE number of people in this profession, would never have gotten in…But then you cannot forget the useful tool that is television media,etc.
Take for example my “rise” into piercing:
– Got a home-done tattoo as well as a nipple piercing both done roughly between 1996-1997
– Nipple rejected so I sought out “a professional” and got that done in roughly 1997-1998.
– From roughly 1998-2001′ish I was living on a small West Indian island with barely any television and a poor internet connection.
– During that period of time I was on the internet but pretty much just using it for chatting and collecting of a pretty intensive porn stash, but mostly for chatting via AOL chat rooms as well as later on text based chatrooms. I only believe I came across rec.arts.bodyart newsgroup once or twice but never put too much interest in it.
The thing that didn’t get me interested in body piercing wasn’t internet related. In fact it was seeing the likes of: Fakir, Erik and even Allen,etc on Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. And even then my internet searches were limited to just searching for information on Fakir’s school. As around early 2000 is when I was playing with the idea of being a piercer in my head. But my main train of thought was: “I’ll never be able to do this because I’m in the West Indies, Fakir’s in California.”
Then at the end of 2000 is when a friend of mine told me to join this free site because it allows you to upload pictures of yourself, as well as write diary entries, so I joined. That site was of course the community IAM section of bmezine.com. Then in 2001 I returned to Canada and started getting pierced, before I was even a consistent/active face on the website.
So long story short I don’t think its an accurate statement to say ALL of the practitioners, except for Allen. Would not have gone into this profession, if it wasn’t for the internet/BME,etc. Sure it might have taken them longer to get into it, there might not have been many shops to learn from if there was no internet/bme popularity increase,etc.
But I believe a number of practitioners would have still gone/gotten into body piercing, with or without the help of the internet/BME…It just would have taken longer and things would have been tougher as the job would not be full of 5-20 navel/nostril/eyebrow piercings a day,etc.
It’s kind of a double-edged sword as I see it.
yttrx: I think you vastly under-estimate a few scenarios in your statement, but yet you are also very accurate in others.
Without the likes of BME and all the other websites that allow you to post videos/pictures, as well as email distribution of photos,etc. I agree that there wouldn’t be as much popularity in Body Modification as there is today, within mainstream society.
Because of that it would remain, a bit more, a pocketed community scattered all over the world. Not a massive population spanning the globe in pretty much every country, every city,etc.
In that matter thanks to those sites, emails,etc we experienced a BOOM both within the client base and within the “I wanna be a piercer” category as well. Which as we all know when you over-saturate something, it tends to get a lot more watered down before it gets better.
As for saying Faulkner would be the ONLY one in the profession if not for BME, I don’t really agree with that. Sure without all this a HUGE number of people in this profession, would never have gotten in…But then you cannot forget the useful tool that is television media,etc.
Take for example my “rise” into piercing:
– Got a home-done tattoo as well as a nipple piercing both done roughly between 1996-1997
– Nipple rejected so I sought out “a professional” and got that done in roughly 1997-1998.
– From roughly 1998-2001′ish I was living on a small West Indian island with barely any television and a poor internet connection.
– During that period of time I was on the internet but pretty much just using it for chatting and collecting of a pretty intensive porn stash, but mostly for chatting via AOL chat rooms as well as later on text based chatrooms. I only believe I came across rec.arts.bodyart newsgroup once or twice but never put too much interest in it.
The thing that didn’t get me interested in body piercing wasn’t internet related. In fact it was seeing the likes of: Fakir, Erik and even Allen,etc on Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. And even then my internet searches were limited to just searching for information on Fakir’s school. As around early 2000 is when I was playing with the idea of being a piercer in my head. But my main train of thought was: “I’ll never be able to do this because I’m in the West Indies, Fakir’s in California.”
Then at the end of 2000 is when a friend of mine told me to join this free site because it allows you to upload pictures of yourself, as well as write diary entries, so I joined. That site was of course the community IAM section of bmezine.com. Then in 2001 I returned to Canada and started getting pierced, before I was even a consistent/active face on the website.
So long story short I don’t think its an accurate statement to say ALL of the practitioners, except for Allen. Would not have gone into this profession, if it wasn’t for the internet/BME,etc. Sure it might have taken them longer to get into it, there might not have been many shops to learn from if there was no internet/bme popularity increase,etc.
But I believe a number of practitioners would have still gone/gotten into body piercing, with or without the help of the internet/BME…It just would have taken longer and things would have been tougher as the job would not be full of 5-20 navel/nostril/eyebrow piercings a day,etc.
It’s kind of a double-edged sword as I see it.
Warren: Who are you again?
Warren: Who are you again?
HAHAHAHAHA, burn
HAHAHAHAHA, burn
*checks*…..jesus?
*checks*…..jesus?
not the religion icon…more the dude that mows the lawn, tends to the hedges,etc.
not the religion icon…more the dude that mows the lawn, tends to the hedges,etc.
Ryan, you’re alright, but I’m WAY cuter. 😉
Ryan, you’re alright, but I’m WAY cuter. 😉
Ryans handsome. Megs cute…Derek’s a god among men?
Ryans handsome. Megs cute…Derek’s a god among men?
Um…
Am I the only one who finds the idea of “trial and error” in this context slightly troubling?
I agree that you’ll probably learn a craft – any craft – more profoundly if you do it in a hands-on way, rather than just watching videos and googling info.
But let’s not forget that we’re talking about human guinea pigs here, and that in the “good old days” a lot of people ended up with fading tattoos and crooked piercings done by someone who was teaching themself or learning by trial and error.
Of course YouTube and BME can not replace a proper aprenticeship. But I’m not sure such a thing as a proper apprenticeship existed in the industry before it experienced this boom that was in part brought about by the internet.
I’m of the generation that grew up with the net available at least to some extent, so I guess I have the opposite bias from almost everyone interviewed. But it’s not like we didn’t get into stupid ideas before BME.
When I was 14 and absolutely wanted my navel pierced, there was no Youtube and there were no pro piercers in my small town (and the first to eventually set up shop was a total hack).
So I got my first piercing “instructions” from the punk kids in the school yard. I don’t think that was the coolest way to go about it… chances are that if you get into crap like that today, at least you’ll look at two or three different sources, get better needles and jewelry than we had and follow at least a minimal standard of aftercare. And if you don’t – well, at least you *could* have known better (not to mention found a proper studio online, which was simply not an option 15 years ago)
Um…
Am I the only one who finds the idea of “trial and error” in this context slightly troubling?
I agree that you’ll probably learn a craft – any craft – more profoundly if you do it in a hands-on way, rather than just watching videos and googling info.
But let’s not forget that we’re talking about human guinea pigs here, and that in the “good old days” a lot of people ended up with fading tattoos and crooked piercings done by someone who was teaching themself or learning by trial and error.
Of course YouTube and BME can not replace a proper aprenticeship. But I’m not sure such a thing as a proper apprenticeship existed in the industry before it experienced this boom that was in part brought about by the internet.
I’m of the generation that grew up with the net available at least to some extent, so I guess I have the opposite bias from almost everyone interviewed. But it’s not like we didn’t get into stupid ideas before BME.
When I was 14 and absolutely wanted my navel pierced, there was no Youtube and there were no pro piercers in my small town (and the first to eventually set up shop was a total hack).
So I got my first piercing “instructions” from the punk kids in the school yard. I don’t think that was the coolest way to go about it… chances are that if you get into crap like that today, at least you’ll look at two or three different sources, get better needles and jewelry than we had and follow at least a minimal standard of aftercare. And if you don’t – well, at least you *could* have known better (not to mention found a proper studio online, which was simply not an option 15 years ago)
I think I got very lucky with my apprenticeship, I learned from 4 different piercers in one shop, I had the internet and thanks to my main mentor’s involvement with Organ Grinder’s ball I also had the access to talk to Dave Vidra during my apprenticeship. In addition to that my mentor introduced me to Steve Haworth and had me take 2 of his seminars. She also encouraged me to ask medical professionals, read articles in Pain magazine, read books, search the internet, and get more info anywhere possible, then take the time to check the accuracy of that information with good old fashioned research. Learn as much as you can, never stop learning, ask questions, don’t believe everything you hear/read, and remember there is always someone out there who knows something you don’t so ask them. For me the internet was a tool, no different from books or magazines, we all need to remember that just because something is written in a book or magazine doesn’t make it anymore true then if it were written on line… If someone isn’t smart enough to question the information they are taking in then they will never be great in this industry.
Just my 2 cents.
I think I got very lucky with my apprenticeship, I learned from 4 different piercers in one shop, I had the internet and thanks to my main mentor’s involvement with Organ Grinder’s ball I also had the access to talk to Dave Vidra during my apprenticeship. In addition to that my mentor introduced me to Steve Haworth and had me take 2 of his seminars. She also encouraged me to ask medical professionals, read articles in Pain magazine, read books, search the internet, and get more info anywhere possible, then take the time to check the accuracy of that information with good old fashioned research. Learn as much as you can, never stop learning, ask questions, don’t believe everything you hear/read, and remember there is always someone out there who knows something you don’t so ask them. For me the internet was a tool, no different from books or magazines, we all need to remember that just because something is written in a book or magazine doesn’t make it anymore true then if it were written on line… If someone isn’t smart enough to question the information they are taking in then they will never be great in this industry.
Just my 2 cents.
I’m a piercer of the “internet generation.” I apprenticed about 4 years ago and the internet was a big source for me. What the internet gave me was very much the same kind of information that was in things like Modern Primitive. But even with the wealth of knowledge coming from websites like BME (a big part of it from Warren’s forum) and articles from The Point (that i got of the internet), i still had to spend a lot of time looking for information, going to other studio’s to talk to other piercers about how they do things. During my apprenticeship I was very fortunate to be able to watch Trevor Thomas (i apprenticed under him) work out Microdermals. I ended up being his Guinea pig. But it showed me how much more you can learn from trial and error over just reading a quick description from 6 or 7 piercers on IAM:Learning. In a sense the Internet is just another one of the notebooks that some of the older piercers put together or had given to them by their teachers.
I will say though that youtube has made the “freaked out” factor more common with people coming in to get work done. I would say that more than anything it affects the Microdermals. It is still so new that most people that want them turn to youtube to understand what they might be getting themselves into.
I’m a piercer of the “internet generation.” I apprenticed about 4 years ago and the internet was a big source for me. What the internet gave me was very much the same kind of information that was in things like Modern Primitive. But even with the wealth of knowledge coming from websites like BME (a big part of it from Warren’s forum) and articles from The Point (that i got of the internet), i still had to spend a lot of time looking for information, going to other studio’s to talk to other piercers about how they do things. During my apprenticeship I was very fortunate to be able to watch Trevor Thomas (i apprenticed under him) work out Microdermals. I ended up being his Guinea pig. But it showed me how much more you can learn from trial and error over just reading a quick description from 6 or 7 piercers on IAM:Learning. In a sense the Internet is just another one of the notebooks that some of the older piercers put together or had given to them by their teachers.
I will say though that youtube has made the “freaked out” factor more common with people coming in to get work done. I would say that more than anything it affects the Microdermals. It is still so new that most people that want them turn to youtube to understand what they might be getting themselves into.
I’d like to thank the old school QOD (Phish, Monte, Gary, Sean, Shawn, Lori, Luis, etc etc) for making me the excited, knowledge hungry piercer I am today. If I hadn’t spent my teenage years reading QOD, BME and everywhere they lead to on the internet every day, I would probably never have known where to seek out the opportunities that I have been able to take advantage of to become a piercer today.
Knowing that I had the internet to use as such a convenient tool and stepping stone into the piercing world makes me appreciate even more the effort that the people before me had to go to. Although the internet is a massive resource, we have to remember it’s not the only resource and it is still important and worthwhile to be visiting other piercers in real life, to be reading books and medical journals, to be conversing with medical practitioners, etc in order to move forward with knowledge and techniques.
I’d like to thank the old school QOD (Phish, Monte, Gary, Sean, Shawn, Lori, Luis, etc etc) for making me the excited, knowledge hungry piercer I am today. If I hadn’t spent my teenage years reading QOD, BME and everywhere they lead to on the internet every day, I would probably never have known where to seek out the opportunities that I have been able to take advantage of to become a piercer today.
Knowing that I had the internet to use as such a convenient tool and stepping stone into the piercing world makes me appreciate even more the effort that the people before me had to go to. Although the internet is a massive resource, we have to remember it’s not the only resource and it is still important and worthwhile to be visiting other piercers in real life, to be reading books and medical journals, to be conversing with medical practitioners, etc in order to move forward with knowledge and techniques.
First off- Thank you Allen for actually remembering and mentioning SPC. I ran it from 95-2005 and it gets one mention, which is part of the reason I killed it.
Po0k: I agree for the most part, save that Derek was already on his career path pre-bme, same as Falkner.
While it’s always fun to tongue-wag about “back in the day” and how we walked a mile in the snow, barefoot, to get a 20g PA done with copper wire and it only cost a handjob…. there certainly was a charm to it. The thrill of finding a copy of a book like “The Decorated Body” in the public library; actually having to CALL Jon Cobb and yell at him for doing something silly/scary/progressive/iconic instead of firing off a quick message online…. Meeting Steve Haworth at a hotel bar and him knowing you because of photographs you exchanged in the mail cause who the fuck had ever heard of a jpeg?
Before Shannon started /extreme (which is an interesting story) the only way to contact other folk into the surgical scene was through contact groups like Unique and Enigma. My Unique subscription cost somewhere around $60 every six months- for which you got a stapled together photocopied contact list of modification fans fresh from Ken’s typewriter. We’d exchange letters and the occasional phone call- even rarer a video tape trade so we could watch each other work. /extreme (and later, Modcon) took that subculture out of the closet but also diluted it. It’s the nature of the beast.
And PAs cost a handjob back then.
Im going to go eat a hard candy out of the dish on my coffee table and read Reader’s Digest. Im cold now.
First off- Thank you Allen for actually remembering and mentioning SPC. I ran it from 95-2005 and it gets one mention, which is part of the reason I killed it.
Po0k: I agree for the most part, save that Derek was already on his career path pre-bme, same as Falkner.
While it’s always fun to tongue-wag about “back in the day” and how we walked a mile in the snow, barefoot, to get a 20g PA done with copper wire and it only cost a handjob…. there certainly was a charm to it. The thrill of finding a copy of a book like “The Decorated Body” in the public library; actually having to CALL Jon Cobb and yell at him for doing something silly/scary/progressive/iconic instead of firing off a quick message online…. Meeting Steve Haworth at a hotel bar and him knowing you because of photographs you exchanged in the mail cause who the fuck had ever heard of a jpeg?
Before Shannon started /extreme (which is an interesting story) the only way to contact other folk into the surgical scene was through contact groups like Unique and Enigma. My Unique subscription cost somewhere around $60 every six months- for which you got a stapled together photocopied contact list of modification fans fresh from Ken’s typewriter. We’d exchange letters and the occasional phone call- even rarer a video tape trade so we could watch each other work. /extreme (and later, Modcon) took that subculture out of the closet but also diluted it. It’s the nature of the beast.
And PAs cost a handjob back then.
Im going to go eat a hard candy out of the dish on my coffee table and read Reader’s Digest. Im cold now.
-the q on my name. Old people can’t type.
-the q on my name. Old people can’t type.
You know Shawn-Q, handjobs for piercings might seem “old school” BUT I’m sure tattoos have been traded for sex long before modern piercing came along.
You know Shawn-Q, handjobs for piercings might seem “old school” BUT I’m sure tattoos have been traded for sex long before modern piercing came along.
I invented tattooing.
I invented tattooing.
About a year or so ago, I decided that I wanted a set of piercings and I was going to do it myself. After all, I’m a grown woman and several of my online acquaintances had done it and they said it was easy. I added needles and barbells to my online “wishlist” and I actively sought out pictures of my planned piercings. While doing all this, I stumbled across a video that someone had made of their husband piercing her. The shrieks were bad enough, but when I saw that there were no gloves, improper cleaning of the area and a copious amount of blood, not to mention that there was dirty cardboard involved (don’t ask) I decided that I’d run to my piercer and have it done properly. All the internet videos just scare the tar out of me.
About a year or so ago, I decided that I wanted a set of piercings and I was going to do it myself. After all, I’m a grown woman and several of my online acquaintances had done it and they said it was easy. I added needles and barbells to my online “wishlist” and I actively sought out pictures of my planned piercings. While doing all this, I stumbled across a video that someone had made of their husband piercing her. The shrieks were bad enough, but when I saw that there were no gloves, improper cleaning of the area and a copious amount of blood, not to mention that there was dirty cardboard involved (don’t ask) I decided that I’d run to my piercer and have it done properly. All the internet videos just scare the tar out of me.
i started learning in about 2001ish and at the time was actively encouraged not to look at other ways of doing things.
His way was right simple as.
Since leaving that studio a year or 2 later i have spoken to loads of people and researched as many differnt ways of doing things as possible, this is thanks to the internet and sites like bme. i’ve learnt much more from talking to people on here than i ever did attempting to talk to people in the shops around here.
and for this reason i spend hours trawling the internet trying to find out any extra little tip or trick to make things as good as i possibly can.
i started learning in about 2001ish and at the time was actively encouraged not to look at other ways of doing things.
His way was right simple as.
Since leaving that studio a year or 2 later i have spoken to loads of people and researched as many differnt ways of doing things as possible, this is thanks to the internet and sites like bme. i’ve learnt much more from talking to people on here than i ever did attempting to talk to people in the shops around here.
and for this reason i spend hours trawling the internet trying to find out any extra little tip or trick to make things as good as i possibly can.
i never usually feel the need to put my opinion to a forum. But as a piercer, i find that more so, with younger generations they want to be handed the info, but in my opinion if you want it, go find it. when i was “apprenticing” i actually knew more about piercing that the twat that was supposed to be training me, i didnt want to be handed the knowledge i wanted to challenge to get more knowledge, and now im still doing it and she has gone, (thankfully).
sadly i think the mindset of teaching ones self has all but gone from this industry. some may think hooray, but i firmly believe there are alot of great piercers out there but the innovators have dwindled alot, and piercing in itself is mega popular but christ – nose, tragus, top ear……..come on weve got better knowledge than to pump out that everyday. i hope the trade doesnt grind to a halt with the forward momentum of procedures etc .
There is a lot to be said for trial and error, but when we say trial and error alot of what we say is calculated risk, christ i lost count of how many surface piercings i had to try and work them out and to watch them heal etc, to get the full understanding of the full scenario. at least you have the experience, and experience is knowledge.
the internet in itself is a god send for finding jewellery manufacturers and equipment purposes but i do feel things such as youtube, are greatly increasing the negative of the trade. i now find at leat 50% of ppl are more nervous as a result of watching a half cocked attempt at something or another. i personally dont let ppl take videos in the studio as i do not wish to get the attention for the video, but rather for the work in itself, in which the customers come to us for our reputation not for our you tube account. bad piercers have always been around, but now there is a massive monster helping them promote themselves (the web)
i have alot of time for most “piercers”, simply as i can learn from them what they can learn from me, althou over the past 5 years the commeradary has dissipated to a degree, the fun part of learning in this game , is making friends, having a laugh, and gainig ever seed of knowledge you can, no website can ever recreate that for me. i hope im not the only one with fond memories of harrassing your mate to “guinea pig” for you, chilling out in the studio having a laugh and walking away smiling…………….
(sorry to have rambled, i hope it all makes sense….)
i never usually feel the need to put my opinion to a forum. But as a piercer, i find that more so, with younger generations they want to be handed the info, but in my opinion if you want it, go find it. when i was “apprenticing” i actually knew more about piercing that the twat that was supposed to be training me, i didnt want to be handed the knowledge i wanted to challenge to get more knowledge, and now im still doing it and she has gone, (thankfully).
sadly i think the mindset of teaching ones self has all but gone from this industry. some may think hooray, but i firmly believe there are alot of great piercers out there but the innovators have dwindled alot, and piercing in itself is mega popular but christ – nose, tragus, top ear……..come on weve got better knowledge than to pump out that everyday. i hope the trade doesnt grind to a halt with the forward momentum of procedures etc .
There is a lot to be said for trial and error, but when we say trial and error alot of what we say is calculated risk, christ i lost count of how many surface piercings i had to try and work them out and to watch them heal etc, to get the full understanding of the full scenario. at least you have the experience, and experience is knowledge.
the internet in itself is a god send for finding jewellery manufacturers and equipment purposes but i do feel things such as youtube, are greatly increasing the negative of the trade. i now find at leat 50% of ppl are more nervous as a result of watching a half cocked attempt at something or another. i personally dont let ppl take videos in the studio as i do not wish to get the attention for the video, but rather for the work in itself, in which the customers come to us for our reputation not for our you tube account. bad piercers have always been around, but now there is a massive monster helping them promote themselves (the web)
i have alot of time for most “piercers”, simply as i can learn from them what they can learn from me, althou over the past 5 years the commeradary has dissipated to a degree, the fun part of learning in this game , is making friends, having a laugh, and gainig ever seed of knowledge you can, no website can ever recreate that for me. i hope im not the only one with fond memories of harrassing your mate to “guinea pig” for you, chilling out in the studio having a laugh and walking away smiling…………….
(sorry to have rambled, i hope it all makes sense….)