A lot of Modblog readers have told me how much they enjoy the mini-interviews I have done. I guess it’s a sign of the times that people like nice short single serving pieces. When I stumbled across Nick’s IAM page, my first thought was “who’s this buff little dude who’s not Emry’s?” Upon further inspection I found out he was a piercer, a body builder and a skydiver amongst other things. Interesting enough right? So without further ado, a mini-interview with Nick.

For the interview, keep on keeping on.

Sean: Let’s start with the basics: Age, sex, location, where you work

Nick: 25. Male. Salt Lake City, UT. Iris Body Piercing.

Sean: How did your interest in body mods start?

Nick: I’ve had an interest in piercing since I was a really young kid. I begged my mom to let me get my ear pierced when I was 6 years old. The first time I saw someone with stretched ears, it blew my mind. I was completely fascinated with it. I liked that having piercings made me look different and set me apart from other people.

Sean: What mods do you have personally?

Nick: 2″ Ear Lobes, 0g Helixes, 1/2″ Nostrils, 14g Philtrum, 9/16″ Labret, 8g Reverse PA, 4x 10g Frenums, 2x 14g Dydoes, 2x 12g Dydoes, Tongue Splitting, Meatotomy, 3x 1/4″ Sub-Dermal Implants in Chest, Branding on Arms and Chest, Tattoos…

Sean: How did you get into piercing as a career?

Nick: I was a shop rat. I hung out at the shop and got pierced all the time. I was friends with the people who worked at the studio. One day, Dustin, who I now pierce with, came out and said “We’re going to apprentice you, so you should be ready for that.” That was 8 years ago, and I’ve been piercing ever since.

Sean: How would you define yourself as a piercer? What sets you apart?

Nick: I love taking my time and paying attention to detail. It’s important to realize that every client is different, both personally and anatomically.

We’ve been teased for being “elitists.” I really don’t see how that word can be taken as an insult. We pride ourselves on our commitment to never stop learning and to do the best job possible. We’re happy to surpass industry standards in every aspect of our studio. All piercers at the shop are APP members. All of our piercing jewelry is F-136 Titanium, and of course is internally threaded. We don’t sell any externally threaded jewelry at our shop. I never get tired of hearing “I’ve never been in a shop like this before.”

Vertical Labret by Nick

Sean: When and why  did you get into body building?

Nick: I’ve never really thought of myself as a “Body Builder.” I started being serious about exercise when I was 19. I had gone through a really difficult break up and was extremely depressed. I started going to the gym, and I’d just work out until I was too tired to care about being sad. So it started with making exercise a habit. Habit progressed into something that I became passionate about. Passion evolved into setting goals and working hard to obtain them.

Sean: How does the body building fit into other forms of body mod?

Nick: I think that taking care of your body makes you appreciate it even more. Think about when you stretch your ears, or you get a new tattoo, and you really like the “new you” that you see in the mirror. Exercise is a lot like that, except you’re the one who has done the work to make the changes you’re seeing. I think that having a nice body helps to accent the other changes you’ve made to yourself. Pretty tattoos on a fit, sexy body look way better to me than the same tattoos on someone who is unhealthy and out of shape.

Much thanks to Nick for taking the time to do this brief interview. As soon as I can catch Brian Skellie on Skype, I hope to bring you guys an amazing and detailed interview by one of the most influential and educated piercers around.