Category Archives: modblog

That which does not kill us.

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Does this guy look familiar to you? He should, he’s appeared on ModBlog before. Gregory has been an IAM member for a long time. Some people love him. Some people hate him. I know he and I have had our share of head butting. One thing is for certain, Gregory is an incredibly talented individual.

Gregory makes jewellery. He told me that the majority of what he makes is body jewellery but he also makes some of the most beautiful rings I have ever seen. If I had a boyfriend, I know what I’d be asking for.

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I asked Gregory how he got started in the jewellery making business:

“I really got my start back in ’94 when I worked at Next Body piercing here in Vancouver. I started out just like everyone else really, by being the counter guy, and moved on from there. The job was by total luck too. I was killing time waiting on a girl to meet me and I waked in off the street. Fogg ended up hiring me on the spot.

I worked there until ’98 when I was fired so that Fogg could have his girlfriend work there. If it was not for Fogg and his girlfriend, I would have never been able to get my start in jewelry making. After being fired from Next, I bought ownership in Stigmata Designs in Vancouver. My partner at the time was Steve Symons whose partner Neil wanted out. Steve never really liked me even though at that time we only ever saw one another at shows and shit. We ended up taking on a third partner and worked like that until Stigmata closed down. When I first started working with Stigmata, I was in the polishing room full time and was right at home there. I would polish so much back in the day , I would end up polishing away the tips of my fingers.

I ended up being the polishing guy for all most a solid year before I started to make jewellery. Steve was a total hard ass about letting me anywhere near a machine. Then, I think the very first thing I was responsible for making was 1.2mm thread along with 0.80 thread. From there, I was off to the races so to speak…

Steve really is the guy responsible for everything I know about the industry and the people too. Back in those days we could sell a 14g 3/4 inch barbell for 20 bucks wholesale. Back then there were only half a dozen companies making high quality jewelry. Plus, at that time, Stigmata was the only company in Canada making internal threaded body piercing jewelry. There were a few others back East but I am pretty sure we were the only ones at the time. As the company got bigger and things got better for the industry we got slack and instead of going into the world of CNC we did it the old fashioned way. We made a lot of mistakes like having clients owe us 40 thousand dollars and shit like that. But from 1998 until 2004, Stigmata was my home away from home. I loved that place and still have great memories.”

I confess, I know nothing about making jewellery or how one becomes a jeweller, so I asked Gregory to tell me how he learned the craft:

“I was taught everything I know from Steve and he was self taught. I am not a book smart kind of guy, I need to see it and touch it before it sinks in. I took some classes two years ago at BCIT for MasterCam and Solidworks. One is a CAD program and the other is a CAM. CAD stands for computer aided design and CAM is computer aided machining. I really only have a basic understanding in both and the rest has been a ton of trial and error. Let me tell ya, there have been a lot of fuck ups on my part, but really, all it takes is one mistake and I correct the problem.”

This sounds complicated to me! I wondered about the appeal. I asked Gregory what he loved about his craft:

“I really had no plans back in ’98 to start making jewellery; it kind of found me I think. At the time, my life was all about the next weekend and the next party. What I like about making jewelry with my own two hands is that I can see it go from raw form to finished product and I can take pride in the fact that I did it. Now with making conventional jewellery, it really has become a new life for me. Plus after making tens of thousands of curved gem navel bars, I am over it really. A lot of piercers just want it cheaper and cheaper and yet still charge the same as they were back in ’98. I still have alot of old I.SA and Anatometal price sheets along with my own prices. I have seen those prices go from 20 bucks to 5 bucks for a straight 14g barbell. Yet the piercing fee is still 30 bucks for most shops and has been for 15 years.

Because of that, a lot of very good companies have called it a day. Plus the industry is no longer the family it claims to be and too many piercers act like they are king shit. I still love making body piercing jewelry but only for a few clients these days. I am not one to kiss ass and a lot of piercers just don,t like me and my mouth.”

Gregory, mouthy? Impossible! Seriously though…

“The very best part about making jewellery is the phone calls and the e-mails I get from people telling me how much they like what they have. To hear from someone who has gotten an engagement ring from me and they post a picture and I can see the smile on their face, it really does make me happy when I see that. Lately, I have been digging a lot of my new stuff and other people are saying the same. Plus, I also have clients in Vancouver come down to the shop and I let them make rings for themselves. To be able to make something and give it to someone you care about is pretty special. Anyone can buy a really expensive ring, but no amount of money can compare to making it with your own hands to give to someone. Most of the time, I stand close to them and guide them through what needs to be done.”

Suddenly I wish I didn’t live so far from Vancouver. My final question to Gregory was whether or not he had any special stories to share. I thought I might get a funny anecdote but instead I got what is surely a lesson in strength and living:

“This may not be a funny story but it is a life changing moment. May 12th 2005, I had a really bad motorcycle accident on the Granville Street bridge. I don’t remember a thing but this is what I have been told, by the police and by my family.

Around 6:30pm, I crashed my bike doing 140km on the off ramp at 4th Ave. I ended up spending three and a half months in the hospital. I spent the better part of almost two years getting things back to normal. I should have died, but cops always say that stuff don’t they? I broke
a lot of bones and did a lot of damage to my head. I lost a lot of the mobility in my left arm due to the nerve damage. But, without a doubt in my mind, it was the best thing to ever happen to me, hands down. It has opened my eyes to a lot and it as changed me for the better in so many ways. I have been asked to do public speaking for I.C.B.C in Vancouver and GF Strong rehab hospital. When I have gone to speak to someone at the hospital, I try to do what I can for them and let them know that I am there to help them as much as I can. I tell kids at schools about the dangers of racing a motorcycle on the streets. If one person listens to me and they don’t hurt themselves or anyone else, then I have done something to help my fellow man. I really believe that it was my karma and that it was sign for me to try and help others out. This accident was a very good thing for me, as odd as that sounds.”

To view more of Gregory’s work or to order your own custom piece, visit his sites Infinite Body and GregoryCullum.com.

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Gregory’s beautiful custom BME plugs can be purchased from BMEshop.

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(Photography credit goes to Jerome.)

Legal Defense Fundraising

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Since I’ve posted about this in a couple places, I figured I should also post it on Modblog. It’s been over a year since I last posted about BME being sued and we’re still deep in the thick of it. As it stands now, BME owes about 50k in legal fees and I’d really like to get some help to pay those bills down. If one day’s worth of visitors to Modblog donated a dollar, I’d have way more than enough to pay my legal fees and start the BME Legal Defense Fund that I’ve been working on but haven’t had a way to fund as of yet and buy a house, a car and retire (I am only slightly kidding but Modblog has A LOT of visitors).

Since BME can’t accept paypal or other similar payment processing sites, I’ve put up sets of sticker packs that you can buy to help support BME and contribute to it’s legal fees. Click here to get your fundraising sticker pack. Not only will you get to help support BME but you’ll get some limited edition stickers which unless you’ve been hoarding the stickers, they’re impossible to get.

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I’ve set it up so there are 5 donation levels.

The levels available are:
Bronze – $20
Silver – $50
Titanium – $100
Gold – $500
Platinum – $1000

You can mix and match any donation level or add multiple quantities to get to the desired amount that you want to donate.  Once we get out of this mess, I’ll be converting any left over legal funds to the BME Legal Defense Fund and start going after cities that are zoning shops out of business and helping out artists and practitioners around the world who need help. Before I can get that done, I need your help to put the final nails in this frivolous lawsuits coffin and give this guy what he deserves. When we win, if I’m awarded my legal fees, since he’s the one who brought this frivolous suit to begin with, I’ll be donating those funds to kick start the LDF.I’ll be leaving the sticker packs up as an easy way for people to continue to donate to the defense of Body Modification worldwide.

I will also be making a permanent Thank You page to those who donate and support BME. If you’re a business who has been profiting thanks to the free advertising you receive on BME, consider giving back to help us recover from this devastating and draining lawsuit. I know BME’s staff and I would really appreciate it. If you only want to donate and do not want the stickers sent out to you, please send us an email at BMEshop and let us know. If you want to donate anonymously and not be included on the public and prominent thank you page, please email us and let us know that as well.

I’ll be posting an update in the next couple of weeks as to where the lawsuit is at once I get the approval from my lawyer about what I’ve written up. For now though you can check this link from November of 2008!

And they say we have no class!

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They are fools! BME is full of classy, cultured, modified people.

For instance , did you know about the modified girl who studies and teaches opera and also runs a body suspension performance group called Operafication? Or how about, Nick ,who is a respected architect  plays classical music on the harpsichord and just happens to have full facial tattooing and other “extreme” visible body mods? Dig around IAM and you are bound to find a bunch of other examples of people who combine there love of body mods with other high brow interests.

For example, where else could you find someone that has combined there love of Mozart and there love of body play in the same way that this BME HARD contributor has?

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…and for those of you who want to de-blur you know the deal.

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Tall tales

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One of my favorite features on BME’s main site is the experience section. People contribute stories of their experiences with their own modifications, which are then reviewed by a panel of community members. If your story is really well written, then it may get featured. I’ve selected some recently featured experiences for your reading enjoyment.

A little taste of #2:

“I’ve come to tattooing perhaps way too early in life. In the years between my 14th and 18th birthdays I acquired between 10-12 (depending on how you look at it) tattoos with my parent’s approval. At that time I took tattoos to be a fashion statement rather then the form of personal express I now view them as many years later. Impulsive as a teen I made a few bad tattooing mistakes (Actually I just made a lot of mistakes in general). But one tattoo in particular was an experience that has affected me throughout my adult life.”

To submit your own experience and get a free account on BME, click here!

Are you ready for some football?

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I know I am. I used to actually kind of despise football, but as I got older I have started to appreciate it. Anyhow, I am planning ahead for a super bowl post full of football related mod work, so if you have any, shoot me an email.

In the mean time, Shannon here has the spirit. She may be sporting a Ravens  jersey, but I won’t hold that against her and you shouldn’t either.

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PS: You think that Subincision I posted a few days ago must have hurt? You should try being a Redskins fan. That my friends is REAL PAIN.

The politics of Body Modification?

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I removed the post that Sean put up earlier which was causing such controversy. I didn’t want the discussion to keep revolving around one person’s tattoos because we don’t know if that person is a racist or just an idiot (if it’s the first then it looks like the answer would be both).

Shannon and I have been discussing the post via email earlier and he reminded me of this old post of a Hitler portrait from a tattooer in Singapore. As it stands now and has been the policy for years, racist and hategroup tattoos go into the Political Section of BME. Similar to the Animal Tattoo & Piercing sections, we don’t support it but BME’s mandate is to archive and catalog the evolution and history of our community, even the ignorant aspects of it. However, that doesn’t expand to other parts of BME like IAM.

IAM’s long standing TOS states the following:

“IAM is a community built around principles of tolerance. You may not post hatespeech (race, gender, or sexuality-based attacks). This includes use of terms like “gay” or “fag” or “kike” in a derogatory manner, even in jest. This rule is very strict, and extends to racist codes and iconography (“14″, “88″, and so on), as well as NSBM and racist band lists and so on. This includes verifiable offsite posts. To be very clear about this: if you are a bigot, onsite or off, stay off IAM. This is not a ban on racism. This is a total ban on bigots.”

This begs the question as far as political commentary on racist tattoos. I personally don’t want to see them get any more attention than they deserve, which is why they’re generally quietly filed away, along with other ill advised modifications. We can’t sit back and pretend that they don’t exist but we also don’t need to give them any room in the spot light that is Modblog.

As both Sean and I have said in the comments section, neither of us recognized the tattoo as a Totenkopf. At first glance I thought it was three skulls because you couldn’t see the entire tattoo. I was sent some messages stating that the racist aspect of the tattoo should be ignored because it wasn’t the focus of the post. The focus of the post was the small boobs and not tattoos. I don’t agree with that line of thinking. One of the other reasons we can’t flat out reject racist tattoos is that we simply don’t have the manpower to be fully adept at all the secret racist codes out there. As none of the staff on BME are racists, we don’t know the secret handshakes. So we try to file the tattoos where they belong. Maybe it would be more helpful if racists grew balls and weren’t so embarrased by their beliefs that they have to disguise them.

The reasoning for this post was to give you guys a post to comment on that wasn’t attacking a specific individual. So let your thoughts fly.



Stomach suspension

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Hello! I’m San (aka BlueStar) and this is my first post to Modblog.

I found this while checking out Allen Falkner’s blog, and was completely blown away! This is a video of Neil, from the ARGO suspension team doing a single point stomach, or better know as “resurrection”, suspension. As Allen said, this is something you should definitely not try at home!