I think there’s an unwritten rule that all suspension practitioners love Halloween. Of all the holidays celebrated by suspension groups, Halloween seems to get the most attention, at least in terms of photos submitted. Take this photo from the Abyss Family’s Halloween show as an example. Bloodletting was a treatment for the plague right?
I hate this. I hate having to write posts like these, but this one in particular just sucks so much. As many of you know, Arwen “Spliff” Rosa was in a tragic accident earlier in the year. Yesterday Spliff passed away after his lungs collapsed. Arwen’s wife Jill was able to get to the hospital to say farewell to her partner, before he finally succumbed to the injuries of the accident. I wish that I had the opportunity to meet him, as his presence can be felt throughout the entire suspension community. He was filled with so much positivity and love that he passed on to all those he knew. Today is a sad day because we’ve lost someone truly special, but we should also remember all the good that he was able to accomplish in his too short time with us. In the coming days Hooklife will be setting up a memorial page for those who wish to pass on their memories of Arwen. A donation page will also be established for those who wish to help out Jill and their beautiful daughter Odessa, who will sadly grow up without her father.
Rest in peace Arwen.
Photo courtesy Gary Driscoll.
I tend to shy away from obviously photoshopped photos, but when it comes to horror photography that involves suspensions, I let it slide. To be fair the background is where about 99% of the photoshop work is, the rest is all practical make-up and props.
So clearly this photo of JackeeLynn is the “Shock” portion of this post. Keep on reading to see the “D’awwwww” half, as well as the uncensored version of this photo.
WEIGHING OF THE HEART
Photography, MUA, SPFX, Post Production: Anathema Photography
Thank you to Christine & Rhys for the use of their space!
The suspension was facilitated by SuperDirk from BC’s Local Hookers Suspension Team. As for the cuteness, here’s a photo from JackeeLynn and Dirk’s wedding that took place a couple of months back. Congrats you two!
One of the best things about the suspension community is its global presence. All around the world people are able to suspend thanks to the hard work of suspension teams that are constantly in touch with each other, looking for ways to improve. These teams are made up of individuals that donate their time to facilitate suspensions for people. What makes these teams unique is that they don’t operate for profit. The money given to suspend is used entirely to pay for the materials used. It’s important to remember this whenever you see suspension photos like the ones below.
Teams like Skindependent Suspension from Christchurch, NZ are a shining example of how dedicated the individuals are. I met Eden and Krysten from Skindependent at Dallas Suscon earlier in the year. After surviving the devastating earthquake that struck Christchurch, the couple packed up their bags for a weekend on the other side of the world just to learn from other practitioners the world over. They paid for the trip themselves, and returned to New Zealand with knowledge that they passed onto their team. Since then, they’ve hosted “For the Love of Hooks“, the largest suspension event ever held in New Zealand, and they’ve started up “Sunday Sessions“, to allow anyone who wishes to suspend a place to do so every month.
So from now on, whenever you see photos of people suspending, remember that it’s not just the person in the air enjoying themselves, but also the facilitators. They don’t do it for money, they do it because they love suspension and they want to be able to give those people who want to suspend a safe and enjoyable experience.
You can see more photos from Skindependent Suspension events in their BME gallery.
Earlier in the year, at the Philadelphia Tattoo Convention, Dyscordic had a chance to do a 4 point elbow suspension in one of the convention showrooms. If I recall correctly, Crash was the one facilitating the suspensions that day, although you can’t see her in either of these photos.
I wanted to quickly thank Arseniy for giving his photos such great titles, it makes my job so much easier. As you can guess, this lotus suspension was sent in by Arseniy and the rest of the #Leeds Airlines team. If you’re not familiar with the #Leeds team, they’re a St.Petersburg, Russia team that specializes in suspension photo shoots and performances.
Photos from the 2011 Oslo Suscon are starting to trickle in, and the first ones that arrived were these ones taken by Rolf featuring Matt Kirk from Skindependent, a New Zealand suspension group. According to attendees, the official name of this suspension is the Captain Kirk.
He’s a tough hombre, and he’s also one of the most awesome dudes around. Alan, master of the chops, guardian of the noble mallard, servant to the hedgehog, and companion to Domino, is seen here doing a vertical chest suspension. With the help of Emrys from ROP, Alan had himself a bloody good time.
Hello everyone! Its that time of the year again! It is time to reserve your spot for the 2011 ROP BBQ in Pittsfield, MA! The dates are set in stone for the weekend of Friday August 12th until Sunday August 14th, rain or shine! (And given our history, it will probably be leaning toward rain) For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the event, you can expect three days of camping, relaxing with friends old and new, BBQing and the main event: Suspensions and pulls in the beautiful Pittsfield State Forest. This is considered a public event, and everyone is welcome to attend! Whether you are considering your first suspension or have hung 100 times, the ROP BBQ is a guaranteed good time. There will be a few points to hang from in the woods, including a private spot for those of you seeking a more secluded experience. Most spots overlook Berry Pond for a beautiful suspension experience in the heart of the Berkshires. (Fun Fact: Berry Pond is at an elevation of 2,150 feet, making it one of the highest bodies of water in New England)ACCOMODATIONS:
It’s camping!
http://www.reserveamerica.com/r/campgroundDetails.do?subTabIndex=0&contractCode=ma&parkCode=pitt
The most important thing to note about staying for the weekend is that campsites are limited. That being said, they are extremely cheap (a few bucks a day) so get on the website and book that shit! Also, there is an important change this year when it comes to motor vehicles. There will be no parking available at either of the group sites! This means that you MUST reserve your own campsite to assure that you will have a parking spot. There will be a shuttle set up between Bishops Field (group site) and site 01 (top of the mountain- suspension sites). We will also have an indoor space reserved in the event that we have to move inside for a bit.
SUSPENSIONS:
If you would like to suspend at the event, YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER. You can do this by contacting this guy named Cere. He is handling all of the donations and will be happy to hook you up with a guaranteed spot to suspend.
FOOD:
The event is BYOFTBBQ (Bring your own food to BBQ). Bring what you like to eat, we will provide the place to BBQ! There is a Big Y not too far from the forest. Because we will be inside a State Forest, there are no drugs or alcohol allowed.
SPONSORSHIP:
We are currently looking for sponsors for supplies. Anyone can sponsor (shops, companies, particularly generous individuals) and we will have a little sponsorship package to offer that will showcase the sponsor. If your company is seriously interested in sponsoring our awesome event, contact Kristina- [email protected]
Be sure to hit up the events page for more info and a forum!
Seriously. Don’t do this. This isn’t me laying down a challenge, this is me saying this is one of the most dangerous things you’ll see on ModBlog and you shouldn’t ever even think of doing it.
I’ve used this warning only once before, which was for Andrew’s facial suspension at Dallas Suscon. At the time I mentioned that Andrew had been working on the suspension for years, training and doing research, as well as talking to the first person who pulled it off, Supa. Well here is where it all started. Supa’s first, and the world’s first, facial suspension. Kaptive8 Suspension Krew, Supa’s team, was on hand to help him with this extremely dangerous suspension.
Did I mention you shouldn’t do this? Because you shouldn’t.