A black-and-white photo of a person mid-air in a Superman-style body suspension pose, supported by multiple hooks in their back and legs, smiling joyfully toward the camera. They are suspended horizontally in a large indoor space with high ceilings and visible rigging. A group of onlookers—some seated, some standing—watch with expressions of admiration, amusement, and support. The atmosphere is lively and communal, capturing a moment of shared experience and transformation.

DIY Finger Amputation

Alex is a voluntary LAK, RAK, and RBE amputee* and is now also stubbing the fingers on his right hand (I mentioned the interviews a few days ago but if you want to know more, for starters read this interview with my late friend Chaz about voluntary amputationyou may also want to read this to see what kind of guy he was before you judge him and other voluntary amputees). He used ice to do the initial DIY anesthesia and then cleanly chopped it off. There was almost no bleeding, but definitely lots of pain. Click on through if you want to see the remainders.

That reminds me, if you want to see a free video of a DIY amputation, view the final Uvatiarru trailer (yeah, the movie is still in its ultra-extended production cycle, sorry).

* Left above the knee, right above the knee, and right below the elbow.

Comments

868 responses to “DIY Finger Amputation”

  1. noisy Avatar
    noisy

    And through and through / The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

  2. noisy Avatar
    noisy

    And through and through / The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

  3. noisy Avatar
    noisy

    And through and through / The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

  4. noisy Avatar
    noisy

    And through and through / The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

  5. cirrin Avatar
    cirrin

    Seems like a lot of people just want to know HOW he did this with no other hand. Blade in his teeth?

  6. cirrin Avatar
    cirrin

    Seems like a lot of people just want to know HOW he did this with no other hand. Blade in his teeth?

  7. cirrin Avatar
    cirrin

    Seems like a lot of people just want to know HOW he did this with no other hand. Blade in his teeth?

  8. cirrin Avatar
    cirrin

    Seems like a lot of people just want to know HOW he did this with no other hand. Blade in his teeth?

  9. Smurf666 Avatar
    Smurf666

    Apart from amputations surely body mods are just a bit of ink or a piece of metal under the skin, a branding or scar on the skin or maybe a bit of stretched flesh or an extra hole here or there. Wowwee, it’s no big deal.

    Yep it’s his body and he can do what he wants, but to turn yourself from a normal physically healthy person into a severely (or severedly) disabled person with no arms and legs is the strangest thing I’ve ever heard of. You can jump on me now and call me closed minded but it’s got to be the weirdest thing most people here have come across (apart from maybe the guy who let the cannibal eat him)? It’s not far off purposefully becoming a Quadriplegic. Has anyone ever purposefully paralysed themselves?
    If he then gets disability benefits, nursing care etc etc etc then IMO it is completely wrong. If he can live like that without straining the funds of whatever country he lives in then fair enough, if he can be completely independent then good luck to the dude.
    How about an interview with this guy?

  10. Smurf666 Avatar
    Smurf666

    Apart from amputations surely body mods are just a bit of ink or a piece of metal under the skin, a branding or scar on the skin or maybe a bit of stretched flesh or an extra hole here or there. Wowwee, it’s no big deal.

    Yep it’s his body and he can do what he wants, but to turn yourself from a normal physically healthy person into a severely (or severedly) disabled person with no arms and legs is the strangest thing I’ve ever heard of. You can jump on me now and call me closed minded but it’s got to be the weirdest thing most people here have come across (apart from maybe the guy who let the cannibal eat him)? It’s not far off purposefully becoming a Quadriplegic. Has anyone ever purposefully paralysed themselves?
    If he then gets disability benefits, nursing care etc etc etc then IMO it is completely wrong. If he can live like that without straining the funds of whatever country he lives in then fair enough, if he can be completely independent then good luck to the dude.
    How about an interview with this guy?

  11. Smurf666 Avatar
    Smurf666

    Apart from amputations surely body mods are just a bit of ink or a piece of metal under the skin, a branding or scar on the skin or maybe a bit of stretched flesh or an extra hole here or there. Wowwee, it’s no big deal.

    Yep it’s his body and he can do what he wants, but to turn yourself from a normal physically healthy person into a severely (or severedly) disabled person with no arms and legs is the strangest thing I’ve ever heard of. You can jump on me now and call me closed minded but it’s got to be the weirdest thing most people here have come across (apart from maybe the guy who let the cannibal eat him)? It’s not far off purposefully becoming a Quadriplegic. Has anyone ever purposefully paralysed themselves?
    If he then gets disability benefits, nursing care etc etc etc then IMO it is completely wrong. If he can live like that without straining the funds of whatever country he lives in then fair enough, if he can be completely independent then good luck to the dude.
    How about an interview with this guy?

  12. Smurf666 Avatar
    Smurf666

    Apart from amputations surely body mods are just a bit of ink or a piece of metal under the skin, a branding or scar on the skin or maybe a bit of stretched flesh or an extra hole here or there. Wowwee, it’s no big deal.

    Yep it’s his body and he can do what he wants, but to turn yourself from a normal physically healthy person into a severely (or severedly) disabled person with no arms and legs is the strangest thing I’ve ever heard of. You can jump on me now and call me closed minded but it’s got to be the weirdest thing most people here have come across (apart from maybe the guy who let the cannibal eat him)? It’s not far off purposefully becoming a Quadriplegic. Has anyone ever purposefully paralysed themselves?
    If he then gets disability benefits, nursing care etc etc etc then IMO it is completely wrong. If he can live like that without straining the funds of whatever country he lives in then fair enough, if he can be completely independent then good luck to the dude.
    How about an interview with this guy?

  13. Mitch Avatar
    Mitch

    For everyone wondering how he did it – have you all never had anyone help you with anything ever in your entire life? It’s called “ASSISTANCE”…

  14. Mitch Avatar
    Mitch

    For everyone wondering how he did it – have you all never had anyone help you with anything ever in your entire life? It’s called “ASSISTANCE”…

  15. Mitch Avatar
    Mitch

    For everyone wondering how he did it – have you all never had anyone help you with anything ever in your entire life? It’s called “ASSISTANCE”…

  16. Mitch Avatar
    Mitch

    For everyone wondering how he did it – have you all never had anyone help you with anything ever in your entire life? It’s called “ASSISTANCE”…

  17. Shannon Larratt Avatar

    Smurf666 – Read the comment just about yours from Shane; saying that someone is severely disabled because they have missing limbs can be read as very insulting, both by those who choose/want it and those who don’t.

  18. Shannon Larratt Avatar

    Smurf666 – Read the comment just about yours from Shane; saying that someone is severely disabled because they have missing limbs can be read as very insulting, both by those who choose/want it and those who don’t.

  19. Shannon Larratt Avatar

    Smurf666 – Read the comment just about yours from Shane; saying that someone is severely disabled because they have missing limbs can be read as very insulting, both by those who choose/want it and those who don’t.

  20. Shannon Larratt Avatar

    Smurf666 – Read the comment just about yours from Shane; saying that someone is severely disabled because they have missing limbs can be read as very insulting, both by those who choose/want it and those who don’t.

  21. socialcoma Avatar
    socialcoma

    I am the MOST open minded person EVER . No matter how ridiculous the subject matter. I TOLERATE EVERYTHING even your intolerance with a shit eating grin. Please feel free to do whatever you like at any cost. I wouldn’t want to be labeled anything but the most socially progressive individual on all fronts. Feel like whacking your fingers off…No problem….by all means whack off anybody’s fingers you like. We should all do whatever we want whenever we want because anything less would be an assault on humanity along with the freedom and possibility it holds.

  22. socialcoma Avatar
    socialcoma

    I am the MOST open minded person EVER . No matter how ridiculous the subject matter. I TOLERATE EVERYTHING even your intolerance with a shit eating grin. Please feel free to do whatever you like at any cost. I wouldn’t want to be labeled anything but the most socially progressive individual on all fronts. Feel like whacking your fingers off…No problem….by all means whack off anybody’s fingers you like. We should all do whatever we want whenever we want because anything less would be an assault on humanity along with the freedom and possibility it holds.

  23. socialcoma Avatar
    socialcoma

    I am the MOST open minded person EVER . No matter how ridiculous the subject matter. I TOLERATE EVERYTHING even your intolerance with a shit eating grin. Please feel free to do whatever you like at any cost. I wouldn’t want to be labeled anything but the most socially progressive individual on all fronts. Feel like whacking your fingers off…No problem….by all means whack off anybody’s fingers you like. We should all do whatever we want whenever we want because anything less would be an assault on humanity along with the freedom and possibility it holds.

  24. socialcoma Avatar
    socialcoma

    I am the MOST open minded person EVER . No matter how ridiculous the subject matter. I TOLERATE EVERYTHING even your intolerance with a shit eating grin. Please feel free to do whatever you like at any cost. I wouldn’t want to be labeled anything but the most socially progressive individual on all fronts. Feel like whacking your fingers off…No problem….by all means whack off anybody’s fingers you like. We should all do whatever we want whenever we want because anything less would be an assault on humanity along with the freedom and possibility it holds.

  25. Mitch Avatar
    Mitch

    “by all means whack off anybody’s fingers you like. We should all do whatever we want whenever we want” – Not sure I agree with that, but I think I know what you mean.

  26. Mitch Avatar
    Mitch

    “by all means whack off anybody’s fingers you like. We should all do whatever we want whenever we want” – Not sure I agree with that, but I think I know what you mean.

  27. Mitch Avatar
    Mitch

    “by all means whack off anybody’s fingers you like. We should all do whatever we want whenever we want” – Not sure I agree with that, but I think I know what you mean.

  28. Mitch Avatar
    Mitch

    “by all means whack off anybody’s fingers you like. We should all do whatever we want whenever we want” – Not sure I agree with that, but I think I know what you mean.

  29. Smurf666 Avatar
    Smurf666

    Shannon – I feel you have misquoted me there so to quote myself- “to turn yourself from a normal physically healthy person into a severely (or severedly) disabled person with no arms and legs is the strangest thing I’ve ever heard of.”

    I didn’t say that someone who is missing A limb, or even someone born without legs, is severely disabled. Shane mentions he can run faster than a lot of his abled bodied (before you have a go they are his words not mine) friends. In some professional athletics there’s even talk of prosthetic legs being an advantage. There’s a debate about whether they should be banned for that reason.
    What I did say was that someone with NO arms AND NO legs has got to be classed as severely disabled. The way this chap is going he will possibly soon have NO limbs.
    As I also said before, if he can be completely independent then good luck to the dude.

  30. Smurf666 Avatar
    Smurf666

    Shannon – I feel you have misquoted me there so to quote myself- “to turn yourself from a normal physically healthy person into a severely (or severedly) disabled person with no arms and legs is the strangest thing I’ve ever heard of.”

    I didn’t say that someone who is missing A limb, or even someone born without legs, is severely disabled. Shane mentions he can run faster than a lot of his abled bodied (before you have a go they are his words not mine) friends. In some professional athletics there’s even talk of prosthetic legs being an advantage. There’s a debate about whether they should be banned for that reason.
    What I did say was that someone with NO arms AND NO legs has got to be classed as severely disabled. The way this chap is going he will possibly soon have NO limbs.
    As I also said before, if he can be completely independent then good luck to the dude.

  31. Smurf666 Avatar
    Smurf666

    Shannon – I feel you have misquoted me there so to quote myself- “to turn yourself from a normal physically healthy person into a severely (or severedly) disabled person with no arms and legs is the strangest thing I’ve ever heard of.”

    I didn’t say that someone who is missing A limb, or even someone born without legs, is severely disabled. Shane mentions he can run faster than a lot of his abled bodied (before you have a go they are his words not mine) friends. In some professional athletics there’s even talk of prosthetic legs being an advantage. There’s a debate about whether they should be banned for that reason.
    What I did say was that someone with NO arms AND NO legs has got to be classed as severely disabled. The way this chap is going he will possibly soon have NO limbs.
    As I also said before, if he can be completely independent then good luck to the dude.

  32. Smurf666 Avatar
    Smurf666

    Shannon – I feel you have misquoted me there so to quote myself- “to turn yourself from a normal physically healthy person into a severely (or severedly) disabled person with no arms and legs is the strangest thing I’ve ever heard of.”

    I didn’t say that someone who is missing A limb, or even someone born without legs, is severely disabled. Shane mentions he can run faster than a lot of his abled bodied (before you have a go they are his words not mine) friends. In some professional athletics there’s even talk of prosthetic legs being an advantage. There’s a debate about whether they should be banned for that reason.
    What I did say was that someone with NO arms AND NO legs has got to be classed as severely disabled. The way this chap is going he will possibly soon have NO limbs.
    As I also said before, if he can be completely independent then good luck to the dude.

  33. TheWomanMonster Avatar
    TheWomanMonster

    It’s not my cup of tea but I admit I find the subject of voluntary amputation quite interesting. Whatever is motivating these individuals is intense… who are we to judge it anyways?
    Interesting and powerful photos as always.
    Just because I don’t understand it, doesn’t make it wrong.

  34. TheWomanMonster Avatar
    TheWomanMonster

    It’s not my cup of tea but I admit I find the subject of voluntary amputation quite interesting. Whatever is motivating these individuals is intense… who are we to judge it anyways?
    Interesting and powerful photos as always.
    Just because I don’t understand it, doesn’t make it wrong.

  35. TheWomanMonster Avatar
    TheWomanMonster

    It’s not my cup of tea but I admit I find the subject of voluntary amputation quite interesting. Whatever is motivating these individuals is intense… who are we to judge it anyways?
    Interesting and powerful photos as always.
    Just because I don’t understand it, doesn’t make it wrong.

  36. TheWomanMonster Avatar
    TheWomanMonster

    It’s not my cup of tea but I admit I find the subject of voluntary amputation quite interesting. Whatever is motivating these individuals is intense… who are we to judge it anyways?
    Interesting and powerful photos as always.
    Just because I don’t understand it, doesn’t make it wrong.

  37. Shannon Larratt Avatar

    BTW, there are some nice follow-up interviews that go into good depth in the works if I didn’t already mention that. Thanks to everyone for raising many points (some which I personally agree with, some which I don’t) — I’ve integrated them into the articles.

  38. Shannon Larratt Avatar

    BTW, there are some nice follow-up interviews that go into good depth in the works if I didn’t already mention that. Thanks to everyone for raising many points (some which I personally agree with, some which I don’t) — I’ve integrated them into the articles.

  39. Shannon Larratt Avatar

    BTW, there are some nice follow-up interviews that go into good depth in the works if I didn’t already mention that. Thanks to everyone for raising many points (some which I personally agree with, some which I don’t) — I’ve integrated them into the articles.

  40. Shannon Larratt Avatar

    BTW, there are some nice follow-up interviews that go into good depth in the works if I didn’t already mention that. Thanks to everyone for raising many points (some which I personally agree with, some which I don’t) — I’ve integrated them into the articles.

  41. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    We have these body parts for a reason,and it sure
    as hell isn’t just to hack ‘em off!!!

  42. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    We have these body parts for a reason,and it sure
    as hell isn’t just to hack ‘em off!!!

  43. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    We have these body parts for a reason,and it sure
    as hell isn’t just to hack ‘em off!!!

  44. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    We have these body parts for a reason,and it sure
    as hell isn’t just to hack ‘em off!!!

  45. Giles Wallwork Avatar

    BTW According to what I have read one of the major differences between this kind of Mod and others would appear to be seen as ‘choice’. Sean O’Connor says that BIID sufferers have no choice in how they feel and act upon their feelings whereas other modifications are done out of choice.

    It’s an interesting idea.

  46. Giles Wallwork Avatar

    BTW According to what I have read one of the major differences between this kind of Mod and others would appear to be seen as ‘choice’. Sean O’Connor says that BIID sufferers have no choice in how they feel and act upon their feelings whereas other modifications are done out of choice.

    It’s an interesting idea.

  47. Giles Wallwork Avatar

    BTW According to what I have read one of the major differences between this kind of Mod and others would appear to be seen as ‘choice’. Sean O’Connor says that BIID sufferers have no choice in how they feel and act upon their feelings whereas other modifications are done out of choice.

    It’s an interesting idea.

  48. Giles Wallwork Avatar

    BTW According to what I have read one of the major differences between this kind of Mod and others would appear to be seen as ‘choice’. Sean O’Connor says that BIID sufferers have no choice in how they feel and act upon their feelings whereas other modifications are done out of choice.

    It’s an interesting idea.

  49. starspring Avatar

    doubtful after 180-something comments that I’m adding anything new here but…

    After having read the article(again) I still have to say statements like “my body is an evolving work of art, which at some point will be definitive.” are unsettling since he’s now dead. does that mean Chaz finished? did he get lost in the art or become art itself?

    And

    He claims “I’m not satisfied totally with the look of my right foot; it seems undefined to me somehow… just musing…” Um…just musing? since I have never looked at a body part and thought it looked “undefined” I still question Chaz’s explanation-and denial of dysmorphia. But I have always said if you want to cut your hair, cut it. If you want to cut your hand off, cut it-but save your regrets and your future special needs from the rest of us. If its the lifestyle afterwards and the various restrictions that comes with it that are so alluring-I think that one should take into account that people aren’t just going to hand it over(pun intended). Do what you will, but harm none.

  50. starspring Avatar

    doubtful after 180-something comments that I’m adding anything new here but…

    After having read the article(again) I still have to say statements like “my body is an evolving work of art, which at some point will be definitive.” are unsettling since he’s now dead. does that mean Chaz finished? did he get lost in the art or become art itself?

    And

    He claims “I’m not satisfied totally with the look of my right foot; it seems undefined to me somehow… just musing…” Um…just musing? since I have never looked at a body part and thought it looked “undefined” I still question Chaz’s explanation-and denial of dysmorphia. But I have always said if you want to cut your hair, cut it. If you want to cut your hand off, cut it-but save your regrets and your future special needs from the rest of us. If its the lifestyle afterwards and the various restrictions that comes with it that are so alluring-I think that one should take into account that people aren’t just going to hand it over(pun intended). Do what you will, but harm none.

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