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.

So Long And Thanks For All The Fish

After a personally difficult legal dispute over BME, I’ve had to face the potentially insurmountable reality of being massively in debt, and I have chosen to transfer the business to Rachel (the details of this deal are sealed, so please don’t ask). Within the month my role at BME will come to an end, and new staff (made up largely of people who’ve been working on BME for some time as well) will be taking over. I will no longer be writing online about body modification, although I will be maintaining my regular blog and other projects of course, as well as working on several body modification book projects which I am eager to complete.

It’s definitely a very strange and mixed set of feelings, having run this site from the very beginning, over nearly a decade and a half. On one hand I’m very much looking forward to having the opportunity and time to paint and tackle new adventures, and on the other hand I will very much miss both the people and the subject in general that I came to know through BME. That said, when I grew up and fell in love with body modification — and later built BME — this was a very different and much more “outsider” culture, so maybe now, as not just tattooing but body modification as a whole enjoys unprecedented levels of popularity and acceptability, it is a good time to pass the torch on to a new generation. It’s my hope that they maintain the site in the spirit that it was begun, while taking on the challenges of a new environment.

I have very much enjoyed being a part of BME and I leave it with good memories. Thank you to everyone who’s been a friend of the site, and everyone who’s helped bring it to this point. I hope you’ve enjoyed my contributions — I know I’ve enjoyed yours — and I hope that you continue to enjoy what BME brings in the future.

See you in hell! 😛

         Shannon
         [email protected]
         zentastic.com

 

Comments

760 responses to “So Long And Thanks For All The Fish”

  1. goodnade Avatar

    its my birthday and you give me this?

  2. goodnade Avatar

    its my birthday and you give me this?

  3. vegeta Avatar
    vegeta

    oh…poop 🙁

  4. vegeta Avatar
    vegeta

    oh…poop 🙁

  5. Desiree Avatar

    I am truly sad to hear this news. I hope nothing changes like it did before (i stopped reading for a while because of it). I wish you the best in all your endeavors, Shannon. here’s to hoping modblog doesn’t blow like last time.

  6. Desiree Avatar

    I am truly sad to hear this news. I hope nothing changes like it did before (i stopped reading for a while because of it). I wish you the best in all your endeavors, Shannon. here’s to hoping modblog doesn’t blow like last time.

  7. Jerry Avatar
    Jerry

    I’ve been with the BME community virtually since it’s inception and certainly Shannon will be sorely missed. But BME is more than one man, it’s a community which certainly has been steered by Shannon and his desire to get the ‘unusual’ into the more public view. Shannon, you will be sorely missed, but to the new steerage committee, remember, you have a large community who all love and respect Shannon for all of the very hard work he has put into BME over the past 15 or so years.

    I was as surprised, shocked and saddened as any of the other contributors, to learn of Shannon’s departure from our lives. But remember, we are all adults with a sense of the inane, and a need for the body different, and I hope with the ability to carry on.

    The King may no longer be in residence, but Long Live BME.
    We owe it to Shannon.

  8. Jerry Avatar
    Jerry

    I’ve been with the BME community virtually since it’s inception and certainly Shannon will be sorely missed. But BME is more than one man, it’s a community which certainly has been steered by Shannon and his desire to get the ‘unusual’ into the more public view. Shannon, you will be sorely missed, but to the new steerage committee, remember, you have a large community who all love and respect Shannon for all of the very hard work he has put into BME over the past 15 or so years.

    I was as surprised, shocked and saddened as any of the other contributors, to learn of Shannon’s departure from our lives. But remember, we are all adults with a sense of the inane, and a need for the body different, and I hope with the ability to carry on.

    The King may no longer be in residence, but Long Live BME.
    We owe it to Shannon.

  9. Joanna Avatar
    Joanna

    a tear for you…A tear for me! 🙁

  10. Joanna Avatar
    Joanna

    a tear for you…A tear for me! 🙁

  11. AlchemyPirate Avatar
    AlchemyPirate

    Good luck with whatever life brings you Shannon. It’s a shame you’re leaving. Your work has inspired me. 🙁

    thanks for everything.

  12. AlchemyPirate Avatar
    AlchemyPirate

    Good luck with whatever life brings you Shannon. It’s a shame you’re leaving. Your work has inspired me. 🙁

    thanks for everything.

  13. hotei Avatar
    hotei

    Best of luck in the future Shannon, and thank you for the site and the education it has provided me

  14. hotei Avatar
    hotei

    Best of luck in the future Shannon, and thank you for the site and the education it has provided me

  15. Joanna Avatar
    Joanna

    ..she better post as much as you do HUMPH!

  16. Joanna Avatar
    Joanna

    ..she better post as much as you do HUMPH!

  17. Chrome Avatar
    Chrome

    Thanks for the difference your site made for so many of us. I wish you the best.

  18. Chrome Avatar
    Chrome

    Thanks for the difference your site made for so many of us. I wish you the best.

  19. Joshu3a Avatar
    Joshu3a

    thank you so much for all the amazing posts

    i wish you the best of luck for the future

  20. Joshu3a Avatar
    Joshu3a

    thank you so much for all the amazing posts

    i wish you the best of luck for the future

  21. buggirl Avatar

    Shannon, I don’t know what to say. I’m shocked, dismayed, distraught, etc. I too have to chime in with the “this site changed my life” sentiment. ModBlog, more than IAM or BME has made me feel like part of a community more than any other site ever has. Without you it just won’t be the same. Thank you for all your years invested. You’ve created something truly beautiful and it would be a shame and a heartbreak to see it sullied. I hope that the new blood keeps the spirit of the site alive. I wish you all the best in whatever you do. <3 u *hug*

  22. buggirl Avatar

    Shannon, I don’t know what to say. I’m shocked, dismayed, distraught, etc. I too have to chime in with the “this site changed my life” sentiment. ModBlog, more than IAM or BME has made me feel like part of a community more than any other site ever has. Without you it just won’t be the same. Thank you for all your years invested. You’ve created something truly beautiful and it would be a shame and a heartbreak to see it sullied. I hope that the new blood keeps the spirit of the site alive. I wish you all the best in whatever you do. <3 u *hug*

  23. kanga ROO Avatar

    As (im guessing) one of the youngest people to be involved in/a total lurker (admittedly) of BME, this is terrible news for me to read.

    i found the site not very long ago and the fact that this great entity which is become so enamored with is going to CHANGE is distressing to say the least. im sure many of you remember when you first found BME and saw that there were other people with the same goals and interests as you, and as of now im panicking that it wont be the same =[

    shannon please dont disappear off the face of the earth please! and someone better keep modblog alive or i might have a tantrum.

  24. kanga ROO Avatar

    As (im guessing) one of the youngest people to be involved in/a total lurker (admittedly) of BME, this is terrible news for me to read.

    i found the site not very long ago and the fact that this great entity which is become so enamored with is going to CHANGE is distressing to say the least. im sure many of you remember when you first found BME and saw that there were other people with the same goals and interests as you, and as of now im panicking that it wont be the same =[

    shannon please dont disappear off the face of the earth please! and someone better keep modblog alive or i might have a tantrum.

  25. Jacques Avatar
    Jacques

    fucks sake, what the fuck….our loss, peace to you man, i hope the people can keep this joint alive.
    but definately, cheers shannon, best to you and yours.

  26. Jacques Avatar
    Jacques

    fucks sake, what the fuck….our loss, peace to you man, i hope the people can keep this joint alive.
    but definately, cheers shannon, best to you and yours.

  27. slovan Avatar
    slovan

    Thank You Shannon, for all.

  28. slovan Avatar
    slovan

    Thank You Shannon, for all.

  29. C'est Moi Avatar
    C’est Moi

    Will you be updating BodyTwo again instead?

  30. C'est Moi Avatar
    C’est Moi

    Will you be updating BodyTwo again instead?

  31. goomy Avatar

    You know, I always thought that you’d be in charge of BME forever. No matter how many years passed or the troubles that could come up, you’d always be here like a pillar, taking care of the website and making it slide through the years. Not once did it cross my mind that you’d leave.
    And my nerdy side wont leave me alone until I say this – it’s like Hogwarts without Dumbledore!

  32. goomy Avatar

    You know, I always thought that you’d be in charge of BME forever. No matter how many years passed or the troubles that could come up, you’d always be here like a pillar, taking care of the website and making it slide through the years. Not once did it cross my mind that you’d leave.
    And my nerdy side wont leave me alone until I say this – it’s like Hogwarts without Dumbledore!

  33. taylorjonesphoto Avatar

    dude, bummer. i will miss looking forward to your modblog posts on a daily basis.

    fiduciary issues are no joke, i can understand why you must relinquish power.

    i’m sorry to see you go. maybe we will meet again someday. (on BME that is)

  34. taylorjonesphoto Avatar

    dude, bummer. i will miss looking forward to your modblog posts on a daily basis.

    fiduciary issues are no joke, i can understand why you must relinquish power.

    i’m sorry to see you go. maybe we will meet again someday. (on BME that is)

  35. graelston Avatar
    graelston

    SHANNON!
    dont leave us! we need you!

  36. graelston Avatar
    graelston

    SHANNON!
    dont leave us! we need you!

  37. ern_e Avatar
    ern_e

    you will be missed! thank you for everything you have done!!

  38. ern_e Avatar
    ern_e

    you will be missed! thank you for everything you have done!!

  39. Nat Avatar

    Shannon,

    As much as I hate to see you leaving BME, I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. I for one would not be who I am today if it wasn’t for you and BME and the insight that you provided to someone like me interested in body mods but no idea what she was doing. You’ll be greatly missed.

  40. Nat Avatar

    Shannon,

    As much as I hate to see you leaving BME, I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. I for one would not be who I am today if it wasn’t for you and BME and the insight that you provided to someone like me interested in body mods but no idea what she was doing. You’ll be greatly missed.

  41. Will Avatar

    So sad, CHEERS and good luck from BC

  42. Will Avatar

    So sad, CHEERS and good luck from BC

  43. InKubus Avatar
    InKubus

    Have fun and you’ll be missed. For me it’s not the images that made this blog it was your writing so I hope it doesn’t go downhill upon your leaving.

  44. InKubus Avatar
    InKubus

    Have fun and you’ll be missed. For me it’s not the images that made this blog it was your writing so I hope it doesn’t go downhill upon your leaving.

  45. Telyn Avatar
    Telyn

    It won’t be the same. But I hope it won’t be for the worse. Good luck and good wishes, Shannon.

  46. Telyn Avatar
    Telyn

    It won’t be the same. But I hope it won’t be for the worse. Good luck and good wishes, Shannon.

  47. Winch Avatar
    Winch

    Good luck Shannon, we’ll miss you x x x

  48. Winch Avatar
    Winch

    Good luck Shannon, we’ll miss you x x x

  49. Deathboy Avatar
    Deathboy

    A big part of BME dies with this news.
    You were missed before and we followed you to body2, I just home this doesn´t turn into the BME it became when you were blocked.
    We well come check you out on zentastic not to feel so home sick.

    This is sad, sad news.

  50. skittle Avatar
    skittle

    i dont understand what actually happened and why you have to give it to rachel what actually happenedd from the start to make you get locked out of bme and stuff????
    some111 explainnn?

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