I know it seems I make a lot of modblog post wishing friends of mine happy birthday.  However, this isn’t facebook, I don’t wish every friend of mine a happy birthday on modblog, only those whom have made a significant impact on this community.

I am blessed to be able to be friends with people who have made such significant impacts on the industry and/or the community. One of the greatest things about the body modification community for me, is people I once considered heros, I now consider friends.

Phish (no relation to the hippy band) is a perfect example of one of those people.

Phish has been a respected piercer for as long as I have been using the internet. When I first became aware of him he was working for HTC under Steve Haworth.  During the old days of BME’s QOD (now askbme.com) he was the only person aside from Steve I would confidently recommend for subdermal implants, this was years before I even knew who Brian Decker was to put things in perspective. When surface bars first came into use, Phish quickly became one of the most experienced and knowledgeable piercings. In issue 25 of The APP’s publication, The Point, Phish wrote what was (at the time) the definitive guide to surface piercing techniques. His sharing of knowledge in this article as well as in other ways has helped many piercers get a grasp of advanced piercing techniques.

After several years of piercing, Phis suffered from the inevitable piercer burn out. He took some time off to pursue a career as a bail bondsman, like Dog the Bounty Hunter but with better tattoos and less ridiculous hair. However, his passion for piercing never died and he has now found a happy balance between piercing the good guys and catching the bad guys.

So happy birthday Phish, here’s to many more years of doing quality piercings and whooping a  little criminal ass.

Phish with his 200th capture.