Tell me a bit about yourself...

I've been in the industry for four and a half years now. I pierce, I work counter, I ***** ******** **** * * ******** all the other crap jobs associated with a studio. When I first started I was just happy to have a job to make a bit of money -- I had a few piercings but it wasn't a "lifestyle" -- I had been working at a **** ***** which of course didn't allow piercings. Now I think the industry is staffed with -- and caters to -- small people trying to make themselves feel better about themselves. It's full of piercers trying to out-do each other so they can be the best or most "extreme" -- just one big ego stroke. No one wants to admit that all they do is install earrings.

What bothers you most about piercers?

They're backstabbers, have huge egos, and they all think they're God's gift to body modification. We're all in the same boat... Implants and everything along those lines is crap -- there's nothing fashionable about those mods... it's just oneupsmanship. Like I said. We're here to install earrings. That's all. We're not doctors, we're not cosmetic surgeons, and we're sure not rock stars -- except that guy in Twisted Sister, he really is a rock star. Anyway, we're not even as big a deal as hairdressers.

What bothers you most about piercing clients?

For the most part they're naive children, and the rest are dirty old men looking for thrills. That's not totally true of course -- some clients are quite nice and treat you with respect and get treated nicer than other customers in return. A lot of people think we're trying to rip them off, when they can get it done by some jerk-off looking to make a couple extra bucks, saying things like "you're gonna hafta take your shirt off to get your navel pierced". I've got patience for neither these piercers, nor the idiots that go to them.

What bothers you most about the body modification industry as a whole?

Everyone wants to complain about everyone else's practices but keeps their eyes closed abut what happens in their own shop. The piercing industry has become the coolest place on earth to work and young kids say they want to be piercers when they grow up which is ridiculous. What kind of career choice is that? Also, the industry has become filled with piercers and tattooers with no piercings or tattoos -- how can you instill confidence in your clients when you can't share the experience with them? Let them know that you know what they're going through?

What mistakes do piercers usually make?

Piercers think they're working in a sterile field -- let's face it kids, as long as we do everything as clean as possible, sterility isn't something we need to worry about. New needles, new gloves, and tools from an autoclaved pack -- then it should be OK. Infected piercings are for the most part clients not following instructions.

What mistakes do clients usually make?

Ask the wrong question: price... they'll go to whoever has the best deal and the fanciest slogan. They never ask to see an artists portfolio, but just walk up and down the street asking for a price on a portrait -- even though not many artists are even capable of pulling off a decent portrait. I've seen piercers at conventions with no photos of their work, but some very nice pages ripped from magazines of supermodels. People fall for it every day. "You work in a shop... You must know what you're doing, right?"