BME: Body Modification Ezine

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.

Tattoo, Piercing, and Body Modification News, Events, and Culture

  • Love connecting the Earth and the Heavens

    Written by

    Shannon Larratt

    It’s almost become traditional for a person suspending to share a lift or at least an intimate moment with their partner if they’re present — and I think that’s natural given both how vulnerable and how powerful a suspension makes the individual in that moment. The top photo is of “Itza Mess” (of Senzala Tattoo in Puerto Rico) and her fiance Jay Nunez, and the bottom photo is of Kelsi lifting her boyfriend in a six-point superman (nicely balanced) facilitated by Russ Foxx.

    suspend1

    suspend2

    Jay’s suspension was at such a beautiful location — old Spanish ruins from the late 19th century — that I just had to include this long shot of him in the air there as well. While I’m putting those two photos above into context, let me also share another shot of Kelsi being swung about by Russ.

    suspend3

    suspend4

  • Lion Scar Revitalized Via Tattooing

    Written by

    Shannon Larratt

    Here’s another beautiful example of combining a well healed piece of scarification with tattooing to both enhance it and extend its lifetime. For the first year or two, a scar is usually quite defined just by its color, if not how much it has raised. However, as time goes by, the color of a scar lightens, and the raised effect diminishes, and in some cases it can be quite difficult to make out — at least in comparison to how it looked when it was young (the same is true for my entire physique, I’m afraid to admit, but let’s not depress ourselves). Adding tattooing is a superb way to revitalize that scar, as in this great example of abstract swirls of colour bringing out this lion scarification by Alejandro Hernandez Salazar of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, who works out of Tattoos by Spooky.

    lionscar

  • Brooklyn Love

    Written by

    Rob

    I’m loving how well IAM:twostep’s piercings all work together.  The fact that it all matches is just icing on the cake and him being a handsome devil doesn’t hurt either.  I especially dig the big cartilage paired with the lobes.

  • Rubeus Mendes

    Written by

    Shannon Larratt

    I can’t have something so miserable as the butchered piercing sitting at the top of ModBlog overnight, so I want to share this great portrait of Brazillian stretching master and nerd extraordinaire and now beard king Rubeus Rafa Mendes Hagrid to ring in the evening.

    rafa

  • Go to a qualified piercer!

    Written by

    Shannon Larratt

    A woman came in to Douglas at Lucky Street Tattoo in New Bern, NC because she was concerned about the three microdermals she’d had done on her hip two days earlier in Wilmington, NC. When she showed up, what Douglas saw — to his horror — was what just looked like bug bites, with no sign whatsoever of the jewelry. You might think from the picture that it had just fallen out in the night and she ought to be searching her bed, but after examining her the truth was much more sickening and disquieting. They had sunk deep into the skin, nearly an inch into the tissue. If I had to guess, this almost certainly happened because the hack who did this isn’t good at inserting this type of piercing, and made holes that were too large to make insertion easier (not realizing the harm it would cause), resulting in the tops sinking.

    As Douglas put it, “I don’t get how some hack piercer could abuse the trust of a client so much and cause so much wrong. She was in tears as I was explaining to her [what had happened]“. Anyawy, here is what he saw when she first walked in:

    skindiverrepair1

    The good news is that Douglas didn’t have to hack her up to get them out — he was able to excise the deeply buried jewelry without having to create any new holes. Not that it be surprising, but those gem-set microdermals that the so-called piercer charged her $160 for? Those were just cheap foilback Skin Divers, a cheap variation on the microdermal that’s essentially a labret stud, which most piercers I’ve discussed it with feel is an inferior product to standard microdermals.

    skindiverrepair2

    In the end, the client left much happier than she arrived. After removing the failed submerged Skin Divers, she returned for an appointment the next day to get three high quality Anatometal titanium anchors using 4mm flat back discs, placed on the opposite side from where the original catastrophe was done.

    skindiverrepair3

    I was starting to get very tired of all the posts on Facebook and elsewhere complaining about low quality body artists, but I really hope that the average person understands the message — skimping on your body can easily end up costing far more in the long run, not just in terms of wasted money, but in pain and suffering and disappointment. Go to a qualified piercer for your body art.

  • Fundraising for The Illustrated Penguin

    Written by

    Shannon Larratt

    It makes me not just sad but so angry that I have to make this post. Jason, who you may know as “The Illustrated Penguin” (who has been featured here on ModBlog a few times — here’s a small selection of posts: 1, 2 3) has been in and out of the hospital for a pre-existing kidney condition, with the hospital stay adding new infections to the mix. Because it’s the United States, being sick has brutalized him financially, and he’s in rough shape, so his friends are putting together a fundraiser, which you can find on Facebook here: facebook.com/events/106768719470488/. This is going to be capped off with a benefit show in Portland, currently planned for Portland on September 15th. Join that Facebook group to stay up to date, and of course either Rob or I will post updates to ModBlog.

    If you’d like to help out, you can PayPal him directly (please set it as “gift” to avoid additional fees) at [email protected] (sorry, I can’t risk linking it from here due to Paypal’s shaky relationship with BME). Jewelry companies and anyone else who might be able to help out with an online auction to raise funds should contact Hilary at [email protected] (or track her down on Facebook at facebook.com/hilary.lobitz). Any support no matter how small is appreciated.

    Finally, let me wrap this with a fun video to remind you what a wonderful character and unique performer Jason is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnMZ95_wDPk

  • Less than three

    Written by

    Rob

    This little heart branding belongs to IAM: 4wheeler.  As you probably have already guessed, this isn’t the whole picture.  Well that’s because the heart is only the tip of this elaborate brand.

    Keep on reading to see the rest…

    Lots more photos in the male genital scarification gallery.

  • 100/1000/1000 – Congratulations Rolf!!!

    Written by

    Shannon Larratt

    Those of you who follow Rolf Buchholz (Guiness’s new most pierced man) on Facebook or watch the BME suspension galleries may have noticed that he does a lot of suspensions. What you may not be aware of was that these were part of a larger ritual — to do one hundred suspensions, using one thousand hooks, over one thousand days. He has just completed this remarkable journey.

    rolf

  • Check out that waterfall!

    Written by

    Rob

    That’s such an cool waterfall, don’t you agree?  The water cascading down into the churning waters of the river.  Oh, and there happens to be lovely tattooed woman in there as well.

    Thanks to IAM:Irene_Stamour for sending us this beautiful shot.  Unfortunately she didn’t give any artist credit for her snake/spine piece.  Remember folks, when you upload photos make sure to fill in all the little boxes so that when you’re featured here on ModBlog we can give the artists proper credit. This also applies for when you e-mail your photos to [email protected].  Just follow the link in the e-mail you receive after we get the photos.

  • Mantis Piercing

    Written by

    Shannon Larratt

    I’m assuming you can tell from the purple marking line on his face which piercing is new. Now, you might be thinking to yourself, why is Shannon calling it a Mantis piercing? Is he going soft in his old age? Because that’s clearly an Austin Bar, not a Mantis piercing! But where you’re wrong is that you’re not looking at one piercing (an Austin bar is a horizontal piercing across the tip of the nose, like a far-forward nasallang), but two. The mantis piercing is essentially a very strangely placed — but still essentially standard — nostril piercing, which also means that it has faster healing than the Austin bar in general. Instead of going out to the side of the nostril, it goes straight forward, and in a pair gives the illusion of being a horizontal bar. It’s not a piercing that would work well on its own, and while you don’t need as many piercings as this perforated fellow, it is a piercing that looks best in combination with other nose work.

    This Mantis piercing was done on Nicola by 23 year-old body piercer Massimo Cortese of Wildink Tattoo Studio in Naples, Italy, and currently guest spotting in Ferrara. Done centrally, this piercing would be called a “rhino“, but off-centre Massimo is calling it the Mantis, which I think is a good name for it. Oh and I had fun joking to my daughter that if this person sneezes that everyone around them has to take cover because all that body jewelry goes shooting in every direction like shrapnel. But in all seriousness, I suspect that this piercing in part came about because this gentleman is simple so covered in piercings that they spent some time brainstorming for new places to pierce!

    mantis1

    mantis2