I've wanted to get a PA since I was 18, but I always had one excuse or another. I first learned about body piercing through the oldschool internet, way before the capital-I Internet, when details on piercing experiences were hard to come by. I had read a lot back in the 80s and early 90s, but discovered that all the places that used to do piercing had closed. This fall, I finally had the time and opportunity to do it, so I did more research on current experiences. I studied the BME articles, Googled for pics and videos, and while I did find some horror stories, I wasn't dissuaded by them. Most people seem to really enjoy this piercing, and I certainly felt I would!
At A Glance Author osric Contact osric@bme.anon When It just happened Artist ZiD Studio Pino Bros. Ink Location Cambridge, MA I did my homework and visited a few shops around Boston to see which one I was most comfortable with. After reading reviews on BME and Yelp, I decided to go see ZiD at Pino Bros. Ink in Cambridge, MA. I emailed him to see if I needed an appointment and he told me to come on by anytime until 7 PM. I told him I was on my way. I went to lunch, got drank a lot of water, and then took the subway to Central Square. In about an hour and a half I was walking in the door at Pino Bros. Ink.
Since I'm a rather nerdy/preppy looking guy, I was a bit nervous walking into the shop. I was immediately greeted by someone in front of the desk, I told him what I was there for, and he told ZiD that I was there. ZiD came out and introduced himself. He asked for my drivers license, made a copy, handed me a form to fill out, read, and sign, and then I paid him $100 at the register (this included the procedure, jewelry, and aftercare solution).
The piercing room at Pino Bros. is at the front of the shop, and the end of the room that faces the waiting area has a big fish tank in the wall. For most piercings, people who are waiting can see right through the tank into the piercing room! (Well, there are a lot of fish and plants, so you may not be able to see much.) ZiD placed a folding screen in front of the tank to block the view into the piercing room and I heard someone say loudly "someone's getting a silly piercing." I laughed. There was a TV on the wall in the corner playing an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie (I think it was one of the Terminators), and the noise of the movie along with the buzz of the tattoo needles created a good level of background noise.
ZiD invited me into the piercing room and had me sit on the table. We chatted about something -- I can't remember what -- while he washed his hands, put on gloves, set up a little tray with all the things we'd be using for the procedure. Everything was mighty clean and sterile and all the bits were in little packages. The room was really clean, too, and the table had that doctor's office paper on it, so it felt like a clinical environment (except for the fish tank, which was a nice distraction).
Everything I've read about getting this piercing said that there was no risk of getting an erection during the process. Rather, most people are embarrassed by the amount of shrinkage. Well, getting an erection was my one fear. Since I'm gay, having a guy play with my dick is bound to be an erotic experience. I told ZiD this and he said if that became a problem, he'd stop and we could wait it out.
He had me lie back on the table and "pull it out". I slid my jeans and underwear down (I wore black, Under Armour boxers, which I chose since they are synthetic and I hoped blood wouldn't stick to them) and it wasn't nearly as awkward as I thought. He measured the distance for jewelry, marked the place for the needle, and told me I'd be getting a 3/4" ring in 12 gauge.
So he told me to start taking deep breaths. I was nervous, even more than I expected, so the deep inhales and exhales were really helpful. He warned me he was going to insert the receiving tube and told me to speak up if it became painful. It was certainly uncomfortable, but not painful. I could definitely feel him wiggling it into position. Once he stopped wiggling, he told me take a deep breath and breathe out. In went the needle, and before I knew it he said the jewelry was in. I peeked down and there it was, a ring poking out of the tip of my dick! It took a little while for him to get the captive ball in place, and I wished then that I had brought a camera :) Zid asked me how I liked it, asked if it was centered to my liking (since I'm cut, he could center the hole, and he got it perfect).
Now came the hard part -- instant erection! The piercing started to bleed, so ZiD cleaned it up and put a piece of gauze at the hole to catch the bleeding. We chitchatted a bit about nothing, waiting for the bleeding to subside, and then he asked me to stand up. He said this is the most embarrassing part. He kneeled on the floor in front of me and I said, "Oh, embarrassing for you!" He put a clean piece of gauze over the jewelry and held on to my dick with one hand while turning the glove inside out over my dick. He told me to pull up my pants and then I could go wait in the waiting area while he cleaned up.
We chatted about aftercare in lots of detail, he gave me printed instructions, some sea salt saline spray, and his card and told me to call if I had any trouble. He recommended I pick up some Dr Bonner's Peppermint Soap to use every few days. I was experiencing quite the adrenaline rush and completely forgot to tip him -- bad customer!
I limped all the way to the Harvest Co-op in Central Square, grinning outwardly. I bought the Dr Bonner's soap and some groceries, then went to Walgreens to get some sterile gauze pads.
By the time I got home, I had to piss like a racehorse. Taking the glove off was gross -- the inside was smeared with blood and the gauze was soaked through, making it look like a giant blob of clotted blood. Everything was covered with dried blood. I sat down as i'd been told to do and was surprised I didn't experience any pain at all while urinating.
Aftercare was easy -- I used the little bottle of sea salt spray three times a day and the sterile gauze to clean off any dried bits of blood.
So does it hurt? It didn't hurt until I cleaned it pretty thoroughly and then the ring started to move on its own. That caused a cold ache and made the piercing supersensitive for about a half hour. Now the ring is moving on its own (I am resisting fiddling with it!) and I can feel a cold sensation when that happens, but it certainly doesn't hurt. I did hit myself once while getting dressed, and man that stung, but only for a moment. It will take a while to get used to having a little something extra down there.
I had a little bleeding on day two and none at all on day three, so it seems to be settling in.
I am lucky that I can actually stand to piss and get a normal stream rather than a garden hose spray. The first time I tried made a bit of a mess, but I've got it down to an art now; it just requires the slightest twist and alignment of the ring and everything works perfectly. I must say using a public urinal, especially one with no divider, has a new erotic quality to it. I am not at all an exhibitionist, but that may start to change.
So now that I have weeks of abstinence ahead of me, I've been thinking I might as well get some more piercings done. I owe ZiD a hefty tip for his great work on my dick... and I'd love to add a frenum and get both nipples pierced. Then maybe I should record a few videos for XTube and shoot some pics to upload here...
I am very happy that I finally mustered the courage to do this -- why did I wait so long?? I encourage any readers who may be unsure to go find a reputable piercer and get a PA!