Over the past few years, my path has crossed with Bena’s several times. However, it was not until the Oslo suscon that I really got a chance to get to know him. Although quiet at first, I soon found Bena to be a witty, intelligent and an extremely articulate individual. From his spirit to his drive to his dedication, I would have to credit Bena as being one of the bigger assets our community has to date.

Bena is a Swedish body modification enthusiast and suspension practitioner that’s works by day as a caregiver for the handicapped. Visit bena on IAM.

The interview below was shot, edited, and conducted by Allen Falkner with additional (not very good) editing by Shannon Larratt.

Allen Falkner (iam:Allen Falkner) is a body piercer with well over a decade of experience and is the owner of Obscurities in Dallas, TX. He is one of the founders of the modern body suspension movement as the progenitor of TSD (and now suspension.org). Allen is credited with the invention — and naming — of much of what people take for granted in modern suspension (including the knee suspension, his signature piece). He’s also a talented photographer and is married to his muse Masuimi Max.

Online presentation copyright © 2004 Allen Falkner and BMEzine.com LLC. Requests to republish must be confirmed in writing. For bibliographical purposes this article was first published online August 26th, 2004 by BMEzine.com LLC in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Interview took place in Oslo, Norway in August 2004.

“The traveler has to knock at every alien door to come to his own, and he has to wonder through all the outer worlds to reach the innermost shrine at the end.”

I just returned from the Wings of Desire suspension convention in Oslo, Norway. Attendees from eight countries — Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, England, USA, and Russia — (and almost as many languages) met for lectures, performances, and suspensions.

Muffe Vulnuz, a self-proclaimed “crusty punk” from Denmark, is definitely one of the most interesting people I met while attending the Oslo Suscon. Muffe is the owner and piercer of Copenhagen’s Body Extremes as well as a suspension practitioner and performance artist. Honestly, there were too many wonderful people from convention to list them all, but if I had to narrow it down, I would say that Muffe was one of my favorite people I met that weekend.

Thanks as well to my hosts Håvve (iam:bleeding) and Christiane (iam:christiane).

The interview below was shot, edited, and conducted by Allen Falkner with additional editing by Shannon Larratt. Performance video footage (the intro and pip footage) is c/o Muffe — you can download it on its own and see other pictures at his website bodyextremes.com… or visit him in Copenhagen!

Allen Falkner (iam:Allen Falkner) is a body piercer with well over a decade of experience and is the owner of Obscurities in Dallas, TX. He is one of the founders of the modern body suspension movement as the progenitor of TSD (and now suspension.org). Allen is credited with the invention — and naming — of much of what people take for granted in modern suspension (including the knee suspension, his signature piece). He’s also a talented photographer and is married to his muse Masuimi Max.

Online presentation copyright © 2004 Shannon Larratt, Allen Falkner, and BMEzine.com LLC. Requests to republish must be confirmed in writing. For bibliographical purposes this article was first published online August 18th, 2004 by BMEzine.com LLC in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Interview took place in Oslo, Norway in August 2004.