BME: Body Modification Ezine

A tattooed person suspends from hooks, laying flat, one leg higher than the other. Their head is back, and they seem to be smiling, dark hair dangling like an anime character.

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Tag: Suspension Conventions

  • Twelve Points to the Sky

    Written by

    Jonathon

    There’s a particular kind of magic that happens at your first big suspension gathering when you arrive with nerves, an open heart, and the quiet hope of flight. Guided by the encouragement of mentor Lynn Loheide and driven by the quiet confidence of belonging, Alex stepped into a space rich with the support and energy. The Superman suspension wasn’t just about the pose—it was about trusting the space, the practitioners, and their own strength. What unfolded was more than just flight. What was raised was more than just a Superman.

    Let it be known—Alex proudly claims the title of our very first BME Boy to grace the banner of BME News. A well-earned moment in the spotlight.

    This was also my first superman! I chose a superman for a couple reasons. The first reason is honestly that I wanted to feel like superman (lol). I wanted to soar through the air and really feel like I was flying. The other reason is in this space, surrounded by people doing some of the most beautiful suspensions I have ever seen, I wanted to push myself. I had only ever done two point upper backs before this, so the jump from 2 points to 12 points was huge. I knew that if I wanted to do something big, this was absolutely the space to do it, because at home we really didn’t have all the tools we needed yet. Being in the space made me all the more sure I was making the right call. The room was so full of love and support, people giving and receiving others’ energy as if they were doing something as simple and automatic as breathing. This was absolutely the space to push myself. 

    The suspension absolutely gave me what I needed in that moment. I had a lot of nervous energy build up over whether or not I was doing the right thing, or in the right place, all of the new facilitator anxieties were very real. With that suspension, I got to let all of that go and just be in my own body, and out of that anxiety. My brain got to stop running at a thousand miles a minute, and I got to just be Alex, and exist in that moment, surrounded by people sending their love.

    –Alex

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  • Ontario SusCon 2025

    Written by

    Jonathon

    In March 2025, BME attended the Ontario Suspension Convention in Hamilton, hosted by the Kevin Donaghy and the Ontario Suspension Collective. We had the pleasure to take part and help document the event, but also run a booth to sell a bunch of old (but not quite vintage) stickers and shirts. This is the first, of hopefully many to come, such attendances for BME. If you’re planning an event in the future please let us know!

    BME's booth at the Ontario Suspension Convension

    The venue was impressively organized with dedicated prep areas and massaged tables, meticulously stocked medical supplies, sharp containers, and probably every kind of bandage and antiseptic imaginable. Above us, eight suspension stations hung securely from the ceiling, including one robust enough for a swinging beam supporting two adults behaving like giddy children.

    The mornings started quiet, filled with briefings, presentations, and workshops outlining the day’s events. It felt worlds away from the casual backyard barbecue suspensions we experienced in the early 2000s This was refined, structured, and professional, yet no less powerful.

    Once briefings ended, facilitators and practitioners sprang into action—rigging ropes, prepping suspendees—and soon the day became a whirlwind of simultaneous suspensions across multiple rooms. I had to move around constantly, trying to be fully present, capturing people moving through cycles of pain, contentment, ecstasy, and release. It was intense, humbling, and deeply moving. I only hope the photographs do justice to the extraordinary experiences I witnessed.

    Faces around the venue were mostly new, but I did encounter a few familiar smiles—older now, of course, just like mine. It was comforting to see those familiar faces, especially remembering those we’ve lost along the way.

    Stay tuned for more OSC content, this was only a tease. We have plenty more photos to share and stories to tell! We are planning to attend more local events and would love to come see you so please let us know what upcoming events you are planning.

    Finally, if you attended OSC 2025 and haven’t been in contact with us or received your photos from the event please reach out to me directly (jonathon at bme dot com).

    Thank you. See you again soon.

    —Jonathon

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  • Pain Solution US Tour

    Written by

    Shannon Larratt

    Håvve Fjell and Pain Solution are back in the United States soon, touring with The Sqidling Brothers Circus Sideshow, and perhaps most excitingly wrapping up their tour in Dallas for the suscon with a performance with Stelarc (generally considered one of the grandfathers of modern suspension, along with Fakir Musafar). Jump to the website for up-to-date tour info, but here’s what’s been announced:

    To get an idea of what Pain Solution‘s shows are like, check out these videos:

    And as to the show with Stelarc, I’m not sure what they have planned for Dallas, but here’s what they did in Oslo last year. This is not something you want to miss — it’s one of those “once in a lifetime” events that will change the way you look at suspension. Any performer or practitioner able to make it to Dallas should do everything they can to make it!

  • Inverted Superrigging

    Written by

    Shannon Larratt

    I was thinking about the “musical arc” of suspension, and if we’re going to compare the early suspension movement to all the little rock’n’roll bands that sprouted up across the Western World in the 1950s and 1960s, then I think that some of the suspension masters today — Havve of Pain Solution and Wings of Desire being a prime example — are in their prog rock phase. Prog rock was characterized with an absurd level of musical technical expertise and composing complexity that’s never been outdone in popular music, and I think suspension today is much like that — extreme technical feats, with complex and beautiful rigging that’s harder and harder to outdoe. I was about to wonder whether some sort of punk rock renaissance was next in suspension, a rejection of all this engineer-artistry and replacing it with guerrilla two-hook suicide suspension with a couple of shark hooks, but then I realized that one of the great things about suspension is that it’s not a matter of changing and exclusive tastes — it’s a matter of broadening tastes. Havve still plays in his garage punk band on the side while noodling away with the Musical Box-era Genesis of the suspension scene in Italy!!!

    Rambling aside, I really do continue getting blown away by every new suspension photo set I see (these are from Christianne’s collection) from the Italian Suscon — whenever the best minds in suspension get together at these events (and a big thank you to Allen Falkner and his Dallas Suscon for setting that in motion), amazing and inspiring things always happen.

    inverted-suspension

  • Tripod Suspensions in Italy

    Written by

    Shannon Larratt

    Almost a decade ago I remember admiring pictures from Gus Diamond and Paragon in Hawaii doing suspensions, often on a beach or in the water itself — Suspension.org has some great photos of a sandbar suspension and ModBlog as well posted a nice pulling/suspension combo — using a large bamboo tripod allowing them to set up anywhere quickly. I was reminded of these pictures when I saw the tripod rig in use at the recent Italian Suscon, which is a similar design, but realized in metal for both increased durability and because it’s hinged at the top, even faster set-up and break-down. And like with the Hawaiian style suspensions, the resultant photos are quite beautiful. The first photo was posted by Marjolein Lankester van Rijn and the second by Giuseppe Beppe De Palo.

    italy-tripod-1

    italy-tripod-2

  • Suspending at Cadillac Ranch

    Written by

    Shannon Larratt

    Speaking of guerrilla suspension, the Cadillac Ranch (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Ranch for more info) may not be quite as idyllic as a diving structure over the water at sunset, but half-buried cars covered in graffiti in the desert around Amarillo, Texas, is so very American. Never thought I’d have seen a suspension done between the cars, but I am today proved very wrong and happily surprised about it — these come from (and I apologize if I get this wrong) Skin Mechanic Suspension.

    caddies

    And now speaking of suspension in America, I wanted to mention that HOOKED is hosting the SUSPENSION MECCA Omaha Suscon from August 31st to September 3rd, which includes lectures from suspension luminaries including Allen Falkner, Havve Fjell, and Steve Joyner. For more information follow this link: hooked13.com/suspension-mecca-2012/

    suspension-mecca

  • Up, Up, and Away

    Written by

    Rob

    Photos from the most recent Dallas SusCon are starting to trickle in, which means we’re going to be seeing some incredible suspensions here really soon.  To kick things off we’ve got the lovely Starr doing a 6pt superman that was facilitated by Wings of Desire.  Photo by Naked Lens.

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  • ROP BBQ coming soon!

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    Hello everyone! Its that time of the year again! It is time to reserve your spot for the 2011 ROP BBQ in Pittsfield, MA! The dates are set in stone for the weekend of Friday August 12th until Sunday August 14th, rain or shine! (And given our history, it will probably be leaning toward rain) For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the event, you can expect three days of camping, relaxing with friends old and new, BBQing and the main event: Suspensions and pulls in the beautiful Pittsfield State Forest.  This is considered a public event, and everyone is welcome to attend! Whether you are considering your first suspension or have hung 100 times, the ROP BBQ is a guaranteed good time. There will be a few points to hang from in the woods, including a private spot for those of you seeking a more secluded experience. Most spots overlook Berry Pond for a beautiful suspension experience in the heart of the Berkshires. (Fun Fact: Berry Pond is at an elevation of 2,150 feet, making it one of the highest bodies of water in New England)ACCOMODATIONS:

    It’s camping!

    http://www.reserveamerica.com/r/campgroundDetails.do?subTabIndex=0&contractCode=ma&parkCode=pitt

    The most important thing to note about staying for the weekend is that campsites are limited. That being said, they are extremely cheap (a few bucks a day) so get on the website and book that shit! Also, there is an important change this year when it comes to motor vehicles. There will be no parking available at either of the group sites! This means that you MUST reserve your own campsite to assure that you will have a parking spot. There will be a shuttle set up between Bishops Field (group site) and site 01 (top of the mountain- suspension sites). We will also have an indoor space reserved in the event that we have to move inside for a bit.

    ropbbq2011

    SUSPENSIONS:

    If you would like to suspend at the event, YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER. You can do this by contacting this guy named Cere. He is handling all of the donations and will be happy to hook you up with a guaranteed spot to suspend.

    FOOD:

    The event is BYOFTBBQ (Bring your own food to BBQ). Bring what you like to eat, we will provide the place to BBQ! There is a Big Y not too far from the forest. Because we will be inside a State Forest, there are no drugs or alcohol allowed.

    SPONSORSHIP:

    We are currently looking for sponsors for supplies. Anyone can sponsor (shops, companies, particularly generous individuals) and we will have a little sponsorship package to offer that will showcase the sponsor. If your company is seriously interested in sponsoring our awesome event, contact Kristina- [email protected]

    Be sure to hit up the  events page for more info and a forum!

  • The best of the best

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    At the Dallas Suspension Practitioners Convention, where the best of the best  in the suspension community work together, you get to see the best of modern suspension rigging.

    Take this photo Jared submitted for instance. The most noticeable variation of the rigging is the catch cups. How many times have we seen tandem suspensions done that took no precautions to reduce the risk of the lower suspendee being contaminated by the upper suspendee? These catch cups may not 100% isolate the lower suspendee from risk of contamination but they certainly lower the risk factor to a far more acceptable level.

    The cord I am assuming is tech-12, (feel free to correct me if you were there and I am wrong on this) which has a ridiculously higher breaking strength than the 550 cord most suspension teams still use. Then there are the hooks, these particular hooks are made by Black Sheep Hooks and are an 8 gauge locking design with a higher breaking strength and the added  safety factor of it being a locked design when compared to the mustads, which are far more commonly used. Then, of course, there is also an assortment of locking carabiners and high rated shackles.

    If you want to keep up with the latest and greatest in suspension techniques and equipment, be sure to check out the SusCon picture recently uploaded to this gallery , and also read up on the forums at suspension.org.

    screen-shot-2010-06-25-at-13205-pm

  • From The Vault: Mark’s Rotisserie Suspension (Video updated: more footage!)

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    TSD was the original (modern) suspension crew and a lot of the amazing feats of engineering and artistry the members of TSD and there associates have come up still stand the test of time and many have not been duplicated or surpassed. I was thrilled to see another email from Ron Garza, with a picture, video and story about Mark’s rotisserie suspension circa 2003.

    rotisserie

    For a video of another one of Mark’s rotisserie suspensions, and to hear Ron tell the tale, keep on keeping on .

    The story as told by Ron:

    When I was  involved with  the old TSD group back in the mid 90′s most of us back then had our  own individual visions of what suspensions were to us back then. It was a much different  time and suspensions were still relatively a new thing and there wasn’t one way to do anything or  just one mindset as to what suspensions were back then. There wasn’t  really people  doing this everywhere or pictures online to give  people preconceived notions  as to what a suspension were or could be.
    The few of us that were into this stuff all talked and  worked together and brought our own individual ideas, thoughts and visions to suspensions. We all differed in that  aspect as well as out reasoning for  being involved  in this.  You  really saw this when you look at we did individually when everyone moved away or did solo stuff and started  their own personal  groups.
    Steve  Joyner (  of CoRE fame), with  his excellent use of make up ,costumes,  plots and  show themes really brought  more theatre to suspensions and took the emphasis off the act of suspenions, Allen with  his  intense  solo shows and large group projects, Oliver Gilson whose engineering take on everything has changed not only larger suspension projects and hook designs but also whose rigging style has influenced many and taken suspension rigging into  an artistic realm  that is easily  recognizable.
    My whole deal with suspensions has always not only been multi-person suspension projects, but also  high tension kinetic suspensions.  This clip was one of my favorite things we  pulled off.  It was from an early MAYHEM  show in Austin Tx  back in 2003 I want to say.  Mark Rose at the time was one of our hardest  suspension models/hook monkeys  who thrived on being able to take a large amount of intense stuff. This one  threw  him into  shock and broke him. He  still did this 2 more times at least that i can think of. I’m just glad someone had a camera around this time!

    This 360 frame was created by Tom Moore  from Steel Fetish.

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