Suspension is not a crime

Sometimes it seems like you have to travel to the boundaries of the map, the sort of “here be monsters” zone where you’re likely to sail off the edge of the world, to find somewhere truly epic to suspension. That’s probably just a bit of “the grass is always greener” thinking, but when I look at this picture of Jussi Paradise (photo by Wormz) suspending in Iceland, I feel like it might as well be swapped in for the opening shots of Prometheus or something. “Suspension is not a crime”, September 17, 2012.

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Rolf’s new Cyber Cell jewelry from Samppa

A couple days ago Samppa Von Cyborg just installed this great classic Cyber Cell bar into “piercing and suspension celebrity and record holder” Rolf Buchholz. I say “classic” because Samppa made this jewelry way back in 2004, but has been saving it for something special — and when it comes to piercing, there are few as special as Rolf, and Samppa felt the time was perfect to do it for him as a gift. In addition to doing this piercing, he also implanted three hearts (I’m going to assume that this means heart-shaped implants, not three superhuman redundant hearts to make Rolf unkillable, although with Samppa you can never be sure) and a pair of strong magnets.

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I should mention that Rolf is lucky to be alive — look what happened at the recent warehouse suspension hosted by Muffe Vulnuz. Rolf was nearly eaten!!! Thank God he’s alright, because it would have been a real shame for this community to lose such a remarkable character. Damn those giant suspendee-devouring nephilim that are always sniffing out blood and metal and rope.

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Masaka and Korgano

This photo is of Marc (left) and Chandler (right) doing a spinning beam with Berlin’s Superfly Suspension and Kukulcan Rituals, but it reminds me of the eternal chase between the sun and the moon, the hunter and the hunted, always swapping back and forth. Nerd points to those who enjoyed the title of this entry as much as the picture. I know I enjoyed writing it. Either way though I love seeing the joy and laughing abandon in this suspension photo, both in Marc and Chandler, and in those watching.

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Eu vôo.

My favorite thing about this public suspension photo from Enzo Sata (who pierces at Iritsu Tattoo Shop in Sao Paulo, Brazil) is the little sign in the background — “Se te proíbem de ‘subir’, o que você faz? Eu vôo.” (If you’re forbidden to climb, what do you do? I fly.)

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Warehouse Suspension

You’ve probably noticed that when I share suspension photos, they tend to be the outdoor, overflowing with nature, because that’s the suspension environment that gets me off ritually. Of course it doesn’t matter to many people if they’re suspending in a piercing studio instead, because they get sucked into their own world a la DMT and when the Faberge elves are jumping in and out of your chest in the fractal temple beneath the facade of the universe, it really doesn’t make much difference that your body is sitting comatose on your couch with a glass pipe in its hand. That said, these great warehouse suspension pictures from Matt Kirk (a Christchurch native, now of Fool’s Gold in Tunbridge Wells, Kent) hanging care of Muffe Vulnuz’s Extrema Corporis are some of the first indoor suspension pictures in a long time to really strike me as visually powerful and emotive. Superb setting, very profound and beautiful yet dystopian and modern.

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There’s a second photo after the break (they’re so tall I didn’t want to put them both on the front page).

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Parkour Superheroes

Or evidence of boredom and idle hands on my part perhaps?

But seriously, don’t these suspension pictures look like parkour when you edit out the ropes? I was expecting or hoping for something closer to superheroes flying through the air, but I guess you need more height for that. Probably if the pictures were more serene it would look like a levitating monk? If you’re curious, click the pictures to see the original shots by FB/orbism (anchors-aweigh.org).

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Free Fall Suspension: The Challenge (4th Run)

The pioneers of free fall suspension at Sinner Team in Moscow have just put together an amazing new video (vimeo.com/47674716) documenting nine new free fall suspension jumps. I’ve said it before, but this to me is the most exciting thing to happen in suspension for a long time, and on the scale of “fun” in suspension, blows away spinning beams, while also being incredibly pure and profound. Not only that, but the way they do it is a pinnacle of safety and professionalism. It makes me very proud to be a part of this community when I see things like this. Watch this full-screen!

There’s also a video folder here — vimeo.com/album/2041995 — that contains all four long videos they’ve done, which show lots of different jumps from people of all different ages, weights, genders, and lifestyles doing them without problems. Anyone can do this with the right training and attention to safety.

On that note I want to mention that on the 28th to 30th of September they are planning one more jumping event, and these are all legal jumps from a building near the Moscow centre, which also coincides with a party they’re throwing to celebrate the team’s 4th birthday (how thrilled am I that my birthday coincides with this team and this event!). The third day will be fairly open and will provide information to those planning jumps in the future, making it the final open event of “The Challenge”. After this they are starting to make a full movie which will accurately tell the story of how this all came about. A flight from New York City to Moscow is only about $500 according to a quick check on Expedia, and I’m sure it can be found cheaper with a minimum of searching. What’s stopping you?

If you are interested in learning more, contact facebook.com/TheSinnerTeam.