BMXnet Conference 2011

Every year the gang at BMXnet.org get together to hold their annual conference.  This year’s conference is being held in Essen, Germany the weekend of October 14th, with events starting on Thursday Oct 13th.  There are still a number of spots available, so if you’re able to attend, register as soon as you can.

The list of classes hasn’t been posted yet, but going by the speaker list, you can expect seminars from the likes of Allen Faulkner, Steve Haworth, Ron Garza, Dan Dringenberg, Havve and Christiane from Wings of Desire, Gabor Zagyvai, Swasi Dan, Paul King, and many many more.   This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from some of the world’s finest modification artists, at a reduced rate.  Because admission gets you into all of the classes, you’ll be able to see seminars that would normally cost quite a bit individually.  These seminars are all on top of the regular classes on everything from piercing techniques to anthropology, laser tattoo removal to store management, and so much more.  In addition all classes will be offered in both English and German.

In addition there will also be a large number of vendors and exhibitors, your food is included in the price, and you’ll get to stay at the wonderful Unperfekthaus, a former convent turned into an art project house.

Just click here to register, and start packing your bags for Germany.  Oh and while you’re waiting, check out some of the stories that have come from past BMXnet conferences.

BMXnet conference, 1 week away

If you’re in Europe next week, and can make it over to Berlin, you’ll have the opportunity to check out the BMXnet conference that’s happening from the 16th to the 19th.  You can get the details about the conference at the BMXnet website.  There you’ll find out the times and locations of all the lectures and workshops taking place over the course of the weekend.

bmxnet 2010

BMXnet Conference 2010

Open for up to 500 Attendees / 6 Classrooms / huge Expo space!!!

Thu. 16th Sep. 2010 : Half- / Full-Day Classes and Workshops
Fri. 17th Sep. 2010 : 10:00am start Conference 2010
Sat. 18th Sep. 2010 : full day Conference 2010
Sun. 19th Sep. 2010 : 08:00pm end Conference 2010

Location:  Congress Hotel Holiday Inn – Berlin Schoenefeld

BMXnet Recap

Leave your bikes at home, folks – this is Germany’s premier Body Modification eXchange Conference.

Sure, the BMX reference is long since played out, but I must admit the first time I heard mention of “BMX network,” I envisioned a German X Games for modified people; for those that attended, some might agree that some of the performances qualified on that front. But I’ll get to that in a bit. For now, sit back, relax, keep reading and we’ll get to all the gory details soon enough.

The Saviours, Jussi and Lassi

So, where do we begin? How about this: It was hot. And not in a Paris Hilton-esque “that’s hot” sort of way. No, I’m talking about sleeping-on-top-of-the-sheets, butt-ass-nekkid-with-the-windows-wide-open hot. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Texas boy that loves to vacation in the desert — I like the heat. (Although, I also like my air conditioning — something of which Germany and most of Europe has very little.) Actually, it was quite amusing how easily you could spot the Americans: We were the ones sweating to death and drinking copious amounts of water. If nothing else, you can say one thing about Europeans — they’re an adaptive people.

Then again, you would have to be. With so many different languages and peoples all coexisting, Europe is quite the incredible mixture of culture, innovation and ideas. Heat be damned, Germany was a perfect place to hold a body modification conference, even if it was in the middle of nowhere.

In all my international travels, I’ve learned one simple fact: Almost everyone in the world’s modern cities speaks English — so, as an American I’ve always had it easy. And, sure enough, the BMXnet conference catered to English speakers. Yes, there were many classes labeled “German Only.” But, fortunately for those non-Deutsch speakers, the organizers had interpreters on hand to translate via headphones. Granted, the system wasn’t perfect: Technical terms were often difficult to translate, and there were times when the lectures were better heard in the native tongue. But, overall, the information flowed smoothly and everyone came out better informed from the experience — and what an experience it was.

BMXnet was not a tattoo convention, nor even APP meets the EU. This conference was purely educational, with very little of the party atmosphere we’ve all come to expect from modification conventions. Which isn’t to say it wasn’t fun; there was, of course, plenty of socializing and some quiet debauchery that those who were there might speak of in blogs and forums … but don’t hold your breath. What happened in Germany stayed in Germany — unlike Vegas, where the pictures seem to hit the Internet only moments after the deed has been done. Plus, this crowd seemed a bit different. Rather than the week-long drink-fests I’ve attended in the past,this event seemed a bit more polished. The days were structured like college lectures and the nights were filled with some very cutting-edge entertainment.

Havve of Pain Solution

You may have seen some of the images featured on ModBlog or the hundreds of images in the BME gallery, but photos and even the small bit of video that are floating around really do not do the performances justice. Operafication put on a show featuring suspension and Hilary’s beautiful operatic singing and visual imagery that as always, moved the audience. Pain Solution, with Havve’s quirky humor and some new twists on some classic sideshow acts, was definitely a crowd pleaser. Samppa von Cyborg put on a performance that was best described as bizarre and somewhat disturbing, but in this writer’s opinion, The Saviors stole the show. How, you ask? My friends, photos are worth a thousand words. (I’ll let ModBlog do the talking on that front, but … poor, poor Lassi.) Good times, folks, good times — but I digress. The real reason we were all there was for the convention itself.

BMXnet was an incredibly well structured, highly organized event dedicated the sharing of information pertaining to the body modification industry, hence the name Body Modification eXchange Network. During the day, the lectures and demonstrations all flowed like a well-oiled machine. There was a small area where vendors sold supplies, equipment and even a decent selection of body jewelry. However, the main focus was on the classes. Every attendant was an established body art practitioner that was there to teach, share ideas, learn and ultimately network. Yes, there were older, fairly famous people that many people considered mentors, but generally the participants viewed each other as equals. In every class I attended, the audience sat attentively, soaking up all the information and asking well-informed, highly intelligent questions. The general attitude was definitely serious, but also pleasant and relaxed at the same time. Of course, there were some differences of opinions, but everyone listened and there never seemed a point when voices were raised or egos were bruised. In fact, I know this may sound hard to believe, but I swear I sat amongst several hundred well established and highly acclaimed body modification professionals and for the most part there seemed to be no ego at all.

Hillary of Operafication

With any good review there should always be positive and negative points. However, it’s honestly hard to find problems. There was a free buffet available all day. Beds — yes, beds — were set up in different areas for people to sit and relax; I managed a quick nap while waiting for the magnetic implant lecture. We were even shuttled back and forth from the hotel to the venue. Truly, the crew of BMXnet were very gracious hosts that went above and beyond the call of duty to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome. If I had to point out any potential changes for next year, it would be the input of more opposing views. Maybe we have just evolved as an industry, or possibly it’s that Europeans are so courteous, but this author loves nothing more than a good high-spirited debate. Yes, I’m known for being the devil’s advocate, and I do have a history of provoking arguments. However, there is a method to the madness. If there is one thing the body modification industry has been guilty of doing, it’s accepting knowledge without question.

Doubt me? Well, here’s a simple fact that was often discussed during the conference. Over 95-percent of the world’s piercings that are done with threaded jewelry are healed using externally threaded jewelry. Now, it has been commonly accepted — at least by the Association of Professional Piercers, of which I am a founding member — that only internally threaded jewelry is suitable for new piercings. Sorry, the numbers don’t lie. Yes, there are many factors that make one piece of jewelry better than another, and I still stand by the quality of several of the internal manufacturers, but it’s time to look at the statistics and accept the facts. The days of, “We’ve always done it this way” and, “This is how we were taught” are long since over.

[Steps off the Soap Box]

OK, it may seem that this article has gone off course, but nothing could be further from the truth. Statements like the paragraph above were the true foundation of BMXnet. We were there to challenge each other. Once you know it all, there is no more room to learn, and if there’s one thing this experience has taught me, it’s that there is so much experience and knowledge that far surpasses my own. I went to teach a class on Laser Tattoo Removal, co-present a suspension safety seminar and further participate in a suspension roundtable, but I walked away with so much more.

There were questions asked that made me rethink many of my fundamental ideas of both my past experiences and my future direction. I saw many new techniques and learned interesting new facts on topics I once thought there was little left to know. I watched amazing practitioners work and put faces to names that were once just photos in magazines. I got to know colleagues that were at best acquaintances, and earned new respect for people I have known for many years. I gained more confidence in my personal accomplishments and was humbled by the skills of others. Treated as an equal and indulged like a guest. If you can stand the heat, this is the best kitchen this author has visited in a while.

Please consider buying a membership to BME so we can continue bringing you articles like this one.




BMXnet Conference

Where in the world is BME?

BMXnet is hosting it’s second annual conference to bring together artists from the body modification community from around the world. Registration closed last week but there are a few seats still available for last minute pre-registration. You can pay upon arrival. For more information, check out the article from the 2007 convention.

Logo by Goran

BMXnet Conference 2007/2008

I’m glad to be able to republish the recap of the BMXnet conference to help support the efforts of INKstar and others in putting together a great educational conference. Click the image to read last year’s recap and find out information on this years convention. I’m happy to be a sponsor this year and should be attending the conference, even though due to Germany’s restrictions, BMXnet cannot link to BME.


BMXnet Conference 2007

By IAM: INKstar

In early November 2007, about 150 piercers, tattooists and other body modification artists came together to attend and participate in the first BMXnet Conference. This is an account written by one of the organizers, and was translated from German to English by Hillary.

Silicone-encased Sacred Object Implant

Jonah Wagner’s girlfriend, Namru La Vey, had a lapis lazuli stone disc, something that she’d treasured for thirteen years before giving it to Jonah, making him swear never to lose it. About three years ago Jonah crossed paths with Steve Haworth (stevehaworth.com) at the BMXnet conference, where he asked Steve whether he could build a a silicone implant around the disc — because lapis contains a wide cross-section of minerals, it’s unlikely that it could be safely implanted without being sheathed in a biocompatible scabbard to isolate it. Steve did some experiments to figure out the best way to cast silicone around the stone, and two years later sent Jonah a large silicone cross with the stone suspended in the center. Because of its size, he had Samppa Von Cyborg help out as well by cutting down the implant slightly so it would be more suited to a hand, and finally the pact was sealed as Jonah’s girlfriend, the original holder and gifter of the stone, implanted the cross into Jonah’s hand (with help from their boss Andrea Venhaus) at the Dortmund, Germany studio they all work at, Deep Metal (deepmetal.de).

The pictures below show the project the day of implantation, in November 2012, and in healed pictures taken a few days ago. Same drill as always — click and for the big pic.

lapis-implant-1t lapis-implant-2t lapis-implant-3t lapis-implant-4t

Run all you want

Since I’ve been posting mostly pretty grisley procedure-heavy pictures on ModBlog today, I want to leave you for the night with something wonderful and dreamy and beautiful — this photo was taken by photographer Harri Sirola — of Souci Jaws and Lassi (scar.fi) performing. I should mention that if you want to catch up with them live, they’ll be at BMXNet in Essen in a about a week (11-14th) the Bucharest Tattoo Convention, and then off to Sweden for the Female Tattoo Artist convention in Jonköping on the 26-28th of October.

2011 BME Year End Awards

Woops! Looks like somebody forgot to hit “post” on the 2011 Year End Awards! At least we didn’t forget to send out the Gift Certificates though! If you’re on the list below, check your email because you were sent anywhere from $20 to $1000. That’s right! We’ve gone from t-shirts to cold hard cash (gift certificates are like cash, right?!) If you see yourself on this page and didn’t see your gift certificate email then drop me a line at [email protected] and I’ll send it to you again!

If you haven’t noticed, the new leader boards are up. They’re linked in the footer on BME.com and we’ve also gone back in time (up to 2001 anyway!) and added leader boards for every year! This is the first year that we’ve also got video contributions so that’s another new thing we’re doing.

If you look at the numbers you’re probably thinking, “woah, wasn’t the top contributor 45k images for 2009?” and you’d be right. We’ve been trying to figure out how to make it as easy as it used to be to submit images and we thought the best way would be to make it so that you could email your submissions like you did since the dawn of BME. Give us a couple more weeks to finish working out the kinks and you’ll be able to email your submissions to the site just like the good ole days! We’re also busy working on integration into other sites so you’ll be able to update all of your social sites from BME and vice versus! You’ll be able to manage everything you want from BME with the bonus that you can keep your BME only entries safe behind IAM’s walls while sending out your other posts! No more having to log in to 20 different sites just to get your FB/twitter/tumblr/linkedin/so many other sites, can’t possible name them all,  on!

Once again, I can’t thank you enough for contributing to BME. Check the leader boards to see where you ranked on collecting a cool cash prize! We’re going to start doing monthly gift certificate give aways to the top contributors in the photo and video galleries once the email submission tool is back online and I think we’ll see the submission numbers back to where they used to be. The one bonus is that our Year End Awards got to see some new faces because they didn’t have to upload tens of thousands of photos just to have a shot! While that was fun for one year, lets get back to submitting tens of thousands of photos, videos and stories!

Top 10 Image Contributors
1. 856 images
joeltron
Joeltron

2. 469 images
naoise-ryan-israel
Naoise-Ryan Israel
3. 454 images
the_sinner_team
The Sinner Team
4. 451 images
8bga-kipodd
8bga-kipodd
5. 399 images
8ckf-olegek97
8ckf-olegek97
6. 341 images
supa2
Supa
7. 292 images
roobot
Self Sacrifice
8. 248 images
nopic1
skindependent
9. 243 images
urbansoul
UrbanSoul
10. 156 images
nopic1
8phv-l8onha

Top 10 Video Contributors

1. 132 videos
nopic1
9bdz_kokomi3k
2. 56 videos
8bfh-udreisoern
8bfh-udreisoern
3. 50 videos
swen2
swen2
4. 33 videos
nopic1
9vlm-pdebsk
5. 26 videos
nopic1
9bgc-edziu1902
6. 25 videos
xzotikmodz
xzotikmodz
7. 24 videos
nopic1
uwe
8. 22 videos
smbite57
smbite57
9. 20 videos
jonjuan60
jonjuan60
9. 20 videos
8ckf-olegek971
8ckf-olegek97
9. 20 videos
wandalaput
wandalaput
10. 17 videos
nopic1
elevateur

Top 3 Story Contributors

1. 3 stories
katsaw
KatSaw
1. 3 stories
annalese
annalese
1. 3 stories
dollparts7
DollParts7

A big SHOUT OUT!!! goes out to the following people for being generally awesome and more specific things they’ve done to help BME keep ticking!

lextalonis
Sean Phillips

Sean helps out whenever we need him and he’s got a few minutes to spare. Sean being around makes me feel old since he’s been a member of BME since the dawn of time!

mcshady
Katie McShady

Katie was awesome and helped out with BMEshop while I got back into the swing of things after the cross country move from LA to VA. If you got orders in 2011, Katie and her beautiful hair probably graced your goods with her presence! 🙂

midian2000
Midian2000

Midian has also been around for over a DECADE and he’s continued to throw the SoCal BME BBQ come hell or high water! If you’re looking for a BME BBQ on the West Coast to meet fellow BME members, his BBQ is the place to be!

nano
Nano

Nano also touched every single one of your BMEshop orders for most of 2011, that is until he got himself denied entry! That’s what you get for being an international playboy! We love Nano and miss him dearly!

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

A huge “thank you” goes out to past and present editorial contributors to BME. Everyone has continued to grow with their own projects and while some former contributors to BME have been swamped with their own projects, it wouldn’t be right not to thank them for everything they’ve done in the past and what they continue to do not only for BME but for the community at large! Without them, BME wouldn’t have grown in the way it has over the past 18 years!

Allen Falkner
Roundtable, Author

Ferg
Author

Russ Foxx
Ask.BME staff

Ron Garza
Roundtable, Author

Warren Hiller
Ask.BME staff

Derek Lowe
Ask.BME, Roundtable

John Joyce
Roundtable member

Paul King
Author

Lexci Million
Ask.BME staff

Ryan Ouellette
Ask.BME, Roundtable

Sean Philips
Ask.BME staff, Modblog

Shawn Porter
Ask.BME, Author

Efix Roy
Ask.BME staff

Joy Rumore
Roundtable

Lori St. Leone
Ask.BME staff

Steve Truitt
Roundtable member

Tiff Badhairdo
Ask.BME staff

Brian Decker
Roundtable member

Stephen DeToma
Roundtable member

BME Staff

BME staff.. What can I say about the people listed below? You know and love (well most of them!) dearly because some of them (Mike and Jen!) have been around BME for almost as long as it’s been online! There is a newcomer in the group and his name is Diego! He’s our new programmer and he’s been fixing bugs, adding new features and generally kicking ass since he hit the ground running!

For those of you who didn’t notice, Mike moved from the snowy horridness of the New England area to sunny Hawaii and we are all so jealous it makes us want to do very bad things to him.. Very bad! We let it slide though because when the servers hit the floor, Mike is the first one there to pick them up and put them back where they belong! Without Mike, BME would have had some serious outages over the years!

If you’ve had any kind of issue with your account, you’ve talked to Jen. She was possibly grumpy and short (she can’t help being 4′ 11″!) but she probably solved your issue and got you back on the site! Jen has been solving member issues since 2004! She took over 10 years ago after I had my daughter and couldn’t keep up with member support while juggling everything else BME and a beautiful baby girl!

I’m not sure that Rob needs any kind of introduction. He sorts through the moderation queue and pulls out submissions to showcase on modblog. He takes your beatings when “nothing new and ground breaking” has been posted because he hasn’t been out on the street inventing body modifications because he’s too busy moderating content and posting links to body modification news around the web. We also like him because of his thick skin!

robw
Rob
ModBlog Beard Guy
diego
Diego
Sys-Admin Guy
ct
CT
Tropical Sys-Admin Guy
jen
Jen
Girl-Friday
rachel
Rachel
HBIC

I know I’ve been MIA from Modblog and IAM for most of 2011 but that’s because I’ve been busy behind the scenes. Between going back to being a full time Mom, running BMEshop single handed and dealing with non-stop medical issues, I haven’t had the time that I’d like to post online in general. I’m hoping that we’re able to wrap up fixing all of the issues with rebuilding the site from the ground up and that I can move on to building fun features and new applications for BME. I have a TON of stuff launching in the next few months and I’m hoping that lightens the load on all of us here at BME. I know that people often give credit to the staff of BME for it being what it is but it truly is a community effort. BME wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the collective efforts of millions of body modification enthusiasts world wide. Without you, there wouldn’t be BME. I hope to see you on the Year End Awards next year!

Quiet Lines

Last month’s BMXNet conference has come and gone and we’re starting to get photos sent in from the attendees.  If you don’t recognize the fellow below, it’s because you normally see his work and not his face here on ModBlog.  That’s Gabor Zagyvai (IAM: Wyrd) right after getting a facial scarring by none other than Ron Garza.

The BMEShop is having a sale right now!

30% EVERYTHING!!

Just use the code 30offbme when you check out!