The last posting of an Achilles piercing here on Modblog generated a number of whiny complaints about how unviable and dangerous it is from conservative piercers**. Now, my feeling is that in what I hope will always remain a rebel artform — rather than an “industry” — that there’s no space for conservatism (or whining), so with that in mind there’s a Mr. Tetanus interview pending.
Mr. Tetanus, a performance artist, wears a self-made 10mm spike through his ankle, behind the Achilles tendon, and has had it now for about twelve years. In the picture below you can see it now, as well as a photo looking through the hole and showing the displacement of the tendon. He doesn’t take it out much because the hole closes up within about a minute, and begins to reseal itself within half an hour.
He uses the piercing in performances, swinging bowling balls and other weights (another performance artist — “Angel” — has actually hung from meat-hooks worn in this piercing), so it can definitely take quite a bit of abuse without crippling him. That said, he emphasizes that he doesn’t recommend anyone else try this, and notes that even after twelve years it’s never truly healed (that said, it’s not as if tongue piercings ever “truly” heal for many people either) and in theory continues to put him at risk.
Risk, Schmisk!!! Anyway, I’ll post the full interview soon, but I couldn’t resist putting up a teaser and a photo of his remarkable ankle!
** Note: Since there are some serious comprehension issues with this entry getting people even whinier, let me be perfectly clear: I couldn’t care less if a piercer feels that they don’t want to do this, and personally I don’t think this should be offered on the walk-in public. Where I have a problem is if people say that no one should be doing or getting this modification (or other heavy mods). Body modification is where it is today because people informed themselves about the risks and tried new things, often with what seemed like serious dangers at the time — and when that ends, body modification begins to die.
Comments
560 responses to “Unlikely but True: Achilles Piercing”
It was in jest. Or awe.
Depends.
It was in jest. Or awe.
Depends.
if6was9-i got plenty of pretty certficates from the health board, APP, HAWORTH’S surface to surface seminar-even my tax statements as a commercial body piercer for the last ten years thru the irs … if you feel i should fly a bunch certificates to simply post an opinion in a forum, then post a link that excepts pics and i’ll happily present them 🙂
as for being BME Certified…i just never really bothered with it…most of my clientel is local and networking is kinda pointless when they have so many talented piercing artists that pass me in skills and experiance that live in way more interesting places worth flying to…
if6was9-i got plenty of pretty certficates from the health board, APP, HAWORTH’S surface to surface seminar-even my tax statements as a commercial body piercer for the last ten years thru the irs … if you feel i should fly a bunch certificates to simply post an opinion in a forum, then post a link that excepts pics and i’ll happily present them 🙂
as for being BME Certified…i just never really bothered with it…most of my clientel is local and networking is kinda pointless when they have so many talented piercing artists that pass me in skills and experiance that live in way more interesting places worth flying to…
ok.
ok.
Shannon, are you taking notes. 😉
And Laura, I was hoping for a link.
Shannon, are you taking notes. 😉
And Laura, I was hoping for a link.
i don’t use the computer for networking my piercing, but i have a few portfollio pics on my IAM and myspace…i could snap some pics of some of my certificates and post them…but you have to be a friend to see my myspace and an IAM member to see my IAM page…the internet freaks me out some, so i like to maintain a level of privacy…i picked up a few stalkers from having a public page…and its made me a bit weary
i don’t use the computer for networking my piercing, but i have a few portfollio pics on my IAM and myspace…i could snap some pics of some of my certificates and post them…but you have to be a friend to see my myspace and an IAM member to see my IAM page…the internet freaks me out some, so i like to maintain a level of privacy…i picked up a few stalkers from having a public page…and its made me a bit weary
Dimruthien and paleblue:
Stop trolling and continue on /b/.
While I believe this arguement has become too hot and agitated on both sides, I agree with what Shannon has to say. I think his words and opinion have been seen in an incorrect light in places due to mood, although could say the same for both sides.
Anyways, I feel I need to quote my shirt here..
“Freedom is what we are demanding. Freedom to pursue a way of life that enhances us, and we feel enhances the planet without bringing harm to anyone. We recognise everyone’s right to lead their life in any way they see fit as long as it does not encrouach on our freedom to do the same. – Any attempt to deny this freedom shall be seen as an act of war and will be responded to with the full retaliatory force deserved.”
Why are so many people her surprised at Shannons responses? While you may not have said the piercing should never be done, the general tone was in a lot of the posts. While, only an apprentice in piercing, I believe I would not ever consider doing this piercing, and would not personally recommend anyone to perform or recieve it, we cannot be so closeminded as to boycott it. There are obviously very serious risks associated with it, which Shannon and Mr. Tetanus point out clearly, and any half-logical person would know this, but if a heavily skilled and informed piercer decides to perform this piercer, and likewise a heavily informed piercee is willing to take all risks associated to have it done, then let them be.
Dimruthien and paleblue:
Stop trolling and continue on /b/.
While I believe this arguement has become too hot and agitated on both sides, I agree with what Shannon has to say. I think his words and opinion have been seen in an incorrect light in places due to mood, although could say the same for both sides.
Anyways, I feel I need to quote my shirt here..
“Freedom is what we are demanding. Freedom to pursue a way of life that enhances us, and we feel enhances the planet without bringing harm to anyone. We recognise everyone’s right to lead their life in any way they see fit as long as it does not encrouach on our freedom to do the same. – Any attempt to deny this freedom shall be seen as an act of war and will be responded to with the full retaliatory force deserved.”
Why are so many people her surprised at Shannons responses? While you may not have said the piercing should never be done, the general tone was in a lot of the posts. While, only an apprentice in piercing, I believe I would not ever consider doing this piercing, and would not personally recommend anyone to perform or recieve it, we cannot be so closeminded as to boycott it. There are obviously very serious risks associated with it, which Shannon and Mr. Tetanus point out clearly, and any half-logical person would know this, but if a heavily skilled and informed piercer decides to perform this piercer, and likewise a heavily informed piercee is willing to take all risks associated to have it done, then let them be.
Laura,
We can continue on iam then.
Laura,
We can continue on iam then.
Who’s surprised at Shannon’s responses, fearandloathing? I think those of us who vehemently disagree understand fully that the man is a crazy motherfucker who *honestly does not give a rats ass if someone gets hurt, just so long as it was interesting*.
Who’s surprised at Shannon’s responses, fearandloathing? I think those of us who vehemently disagree understand fully that the man is a crazy motherfucker who *honestly does not give a rats ass if someone gets hurt, just so long as it was interesting*.
And laura, a certificate in piercing is a lot like a certificate in window cleaning. Both can be very rewarding, but neither are rocket science.
And laura, a certificate in piercing is a lot like a certificate in window cleaning. Both can be very rewarding, but neither are rocket science.
Laura,
Use the search function, type if6was9.
I’m hardly an “internet stalker”.
Laura,
Use the search function, type if6was9.
I’m hardly an “internet stalker”.
i.e. I wanted to see your piercing portfolio.
i.e. I wanted to see your piercing portfolio.
if6was9: ok, we continue on IAM then. my portfollio’s at the shop. i don’t get off till ten tonight, and it takes about an half hour to get home, and i’m sure the old man will want some attention-so somewhere around midnight (or the very latest tomorrow) i’ll post those for you…I suppose i should have them on their anyways, but like i said, i don’t network my piercing much…i’m good at what i do, but i’m no rockstar-so i doubt anyone’s flying to slidell to get pierced by me…and despite piercing and art posts i’ve submited on the world wide web, most of the responses i get are to my fucking cleavage, so why bother…my iam is laura lethal…i guess since i’m going thru all the trouble i might as well verify myself as a piercer thru the site too…some portfollio pics are on there, not my whole portfollio-but there are some…most of my work was shot with a 35mm camera, so i just converted a few pics…like i said, i suck at networking.
yttrx , not claiming to be a rocket scientist…someone asked for credentials along the lines of certifications-just offering to show them, since it was requested…
if6was9: ok, we continue on IAM then. my portfollio’s at the shop. i don’t get off till ten tonight, and it takes about an half hour to get home, and i’m sure the old man will want some attention-so somewhere around midnight (or the very latest tomorrow) i’ll post those for you…I suppose i should have them on their anyways, but like i said, i don’t network my piercing much…i’m good at what i do, but i’m no rockstar-so i doubt anyone’s flying to slidell to get pierced by me…and despite piercing and art posts i’ve submited on the world wide web, most of the responses i get are to my fucking cleavage, so why bother…my iam is laura lethal…i guess since i’m going thru all the trouble i might as well verify myself as a piercer thru the site too…some portfollio pics are on there, not my whole portfollio-but there are some…most of my work was shot with a 35mm camera, so i just converted a few pics…like i said, i suck at networking.
yttrx , not claiming to be a rocket scientist…someone asked for credentials along the lines of certifications-just offering to show them, since it was requested…
if6was9, i searched you and nothing came up in the results…
sure your not some stalker ready to hack me up and stuff me in pickle jars? lol…kidding… sorry to be sketchy about the net stalker thing…i’ve just had a few really scare me-like one followed me into a dark alley after seeing me at the dungeon (in nola) and recognized me from inkednation…i’ve only been toying with the internet for a couple of years…when i first got a myspace, i didn’t think about who all could be watching me-so i’d be dumb and post stuff like my last name and shows i was going to…and unfortunetly, i’ve had problems because of that naiveness…so please excuse my suspicious nature with strangers on the internet… 😉
if6was9, i searched you and nothing came up in the results…
sure your not some stalker ready to hack me up and stuff me in pickle jars? lol…kidding… sorry to be sketchy about the net stalker thing…i’ve just had a few really scare me-like one followed me into a dark alley after seeing me at the dungeon (in nola) and recognized me from inkednation…i’ve only been toying with the internet for a couple of years…when i first got a myspace, i didn’t think about who all could be watching me-so i’d be dumb and post stuff like my last name and shows i was going to…and unfortunetly, i’ve had problems because of that naiveness…so please excuse my suspicious nature with strangers on the internet… 😉
haha. I’ll have to contact customer support then.
hint hint Shannon.
haha. I’ll have to contact customer support then.
hint hint Shannon.
oh look – the asshats are back in business. the same people who are so fond of saying if you don’t like what i have to say then fuck off are here not liking what is being said. so it’d be great if they would now fuck off.
if you don’t want a gaping hole in your foot don’t get one. or don’t do it to someone if you aren’t skilled.
if you do want one, assume the risks and go nuts.
oh look – the asshats are back in business. the same people who are so fond of saying if you don’t like what i have to say then fuck off are here not liking what is being said. so it’d be great if they would now fuck off.
if you don’t want a gaping hole in your foot don’t get one. or don’t do it to someone if you aren’t skilled.
if you do want one, assume the risks and go nuts.
Oh wow…thats wikkid awesome…but CHRIST!!…OUCH!!!!….hurts me just looking at it….but BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!
Oh wow…thats wikkid awesome…but CHRIST!!…OUCH!!!!….hurts me just looking at it….but BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!
OUCH!!!!I didn’t think that something like this was possible. I wonder if this affects walking, or makes that ankle weaker.
OUCH!!!!I didn’t think that something like this was possible. I wonder if this affects walking, or makes that ankle weaker.
I actually met this guy only a few hours ago and I saw him walk perfectly fine. It was so weird I was having a chat with a friend and he approached her as I guess they know each other and I saw the spike and was absolutely amazed!!
I actually met this guy only a few hours ago and I saw him walk perfectly fine. It was so weird I was having a chat with a friend and he approached her as I guess they know each other and I saw the spike and was absolutely amazed!!
just a little afterthought on number 98, who says:
” body modification won’t die if risks aren’t taken… it will just exist in the same state that it does right now. And to suggest (through saying it’ll die *otherwise*) that risks must be taken, as an opinion, is closed-minded. The culture/lifestyle/whatever can evolve without risks being taken.”
if body modification will
“just exist in the same state that it does right now” (ie if no risks are taken), it will not evolve. it will stop dead.
in fact it will be dead.the first piercing was a risk, and so , at an individual level, is every one after that in the history of the world
just a little afterthought on number 98, who says:
” body modification won’t die if risks aren’t taken… it will just exist in the same state that it does right now. And to suggest (through saying it’ll die *otherwise*) that risks must be taken, as an opinion, is closed-minded. The culture/lifestyle/whatever can evolve without risks being taken.”
if body modification will
“just exist in the same state that it does right now” (ie if no risks are taken), it will not evolve. it will stop dead.
in fact it will be dead.the first piercing was a risk, and so , at an individual level, is every one after that in the history of the world
I am also a performer with a record-breaking piercing but this just blew me away! Extraordinary!
I am also a performer with a record-breaking piercing but this just blew me away! Extraordinary!
interview tom b!!!
interview tom b!!!
What people do for attention
What people do for attention
Hey Shannon, your dorky Libertine philosophy is entirely unrealistic and idiotic. Just because you’re a sociopath with no empathy or concern for potential piercers/ modders who could have their careers/health damaged by doing heavy mods like this one doesn’t mean it’s right. It means you have a damaged though process and hold your personal liberty above safety and health of an entire scene. Grow the fuck up and start looking at the real world for a change.
Hey Shannon, your dorky Libertine philosophy is entirely unrealistic and idiotic. Just because you’re a sociopath with no empathy or concern for potential piercers/ modders who could have their careers/health damaged by doing heavy mods like this one doesn’t mean it’s right. It means you have a damaged though process and hold your personal liberty above safety and health of an entire scene. Grow the fuck up and start looking at the real world for a change.
I know that you all came from BBS.
I know that you all came from BBS.
Fantastic to see jobs like this, they are special in their extremity. Work like this goes hand in hand with trans-scrotals and lingual bifurcation, erring on the extreme, definitely risky, and god-bless trying to find the punter with the bollocks to do it in the first. – I’d have to agreeably mention that it would be a major inconvenience, what with it no doubt banging into things on the daily, I had enough problems with a double dermal anchor bindi, catching on jumpers and whatnot. Amazing he’s not made a cripple out of himself especially considering that it’s right sodding next to the man’s Achilles, but to see photos of him doing so much with it’s pretty damn cool. – But for people to say that such things ought not be done is presumptuous and trifle rude, considering the fact that it’s his sodding leg, if he wants to nail a railway spike through it, that’s on him. – And to say that if these things aren’t done in our societies, that the ‘Rebel Industry’ will ‘die out’, is a bit provincial, and as Aaron said in so many words, is almost criminally reckless. The techniques of body modification that have been so popularized, sterilized, anodized, spayed and neutered so effectively by our industrialized culture, have in point of fact been around for many thousands of years, and that in point of fact we have learned how these things are done from other cultures who’ve come before us (and are still around…), and did not ourselves invent anything new. We are therefore, not endowed with the power to ‘let’ this rebellious industry decay, or otherwise die out by any means, as we have actually done nothing ‘New’, though we may change the means by which old techniques are performed, giving the appearance that it is evolving into something as yet undiscovered. – Didactic commentary aside, good work, and good show.
Fantastic to see jobs like this, they are special in their extremity. Work like this goes hand in hand with trans-scrotals and lingual bifurcation, erring on the extreme, definitely risky, and god-bless trying to find the punter with the bollocks to do it in the first. – I’d have to agreeably mention that it would be a major inconvenience, what with it no doubt banging into things on the daily, I had enough problems with a double dermal anchor bindi, catching on jumpers and whatnot. Amazing he’s not made a cripple out of himself especially considering that it’s right sodding next to the man’s Achilles, but to see photos of him doing so much with it’s pretty damn cool. – But for people to say that such things ought not be done is presumptuous and trifle rude, considering the fact that it’s his sodding leg, if he wants to nail a railway spike through it, that’s on him. – And to say that if these things aren’t done in our societies, that the ‘Rebel Industry’ will ‘die out’, is a bit provincial, and as Aaron said in so many words, is almost criminally reckless. The techniques of body modification that have been so popularized, sterilized, anodized, spayed and neutered so effectively by our industrialized culture, have in point of fact been around for many thousands of years, and that in point of fact we have learned how these things are done from other cultures who’ve come before us (and are still around…), and did not ourselves invent anything new. We are therefore, not endowed with the power to ‘let’ this rebellious industry decay, or otherwise die out by any means, as we have actually done nothing ‘New’, though we may change the means by which old techniques are performed, giving the appearance that it is evolving into something as yet undiscovered. – Didactic commentary aside, good work, and good show.