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.

Celebrating body modification culture since 1994.

Tag: Suspension

  • A helping hand

    Written by

    Rob

    If you recall, back in July some members of our community were involved in a car accident.  Now while most of them have recovered, Arwen “Spliff” Rosa is still in the ICU.

    While he has made progress, he’s not out of the woods yet and is still in need of constant care.  Spliff and his wife Jill are from NYC and have been in Texas since the accident.  While the support has been incredible, Jill is 7 months pregnant with their child and when the baby is born it will become incredibly difficult to care for both Spliff and the baby.  Back in NYC the two have a large support network of family and friends, and are now looking to get Arwen transferred to a facility in NYC.

    They have been accepted into an excellent facility and are now on the wait list.  When the call comes, they will have 4 days to move Arwen from Texas to NYC or they will lose their spot.  Due to his condition, Spliff will require a medical air transport, which isn’t cheap.

    From Jill:  “The goal we need to work with right now is getting him/us back home to New York. Arwen has been accepted to a facility there. We are waiting for a bed to open up for him. Once we get that call we’ve got about 4 days to make it there before they pass it on to who’s next on the list. We were going to use long distance ground transport, but due to his health and the weather headed back east it seems to be a dangerous idea. We need to fly him home.”

    “Arwen is not getting the care he needs out here and there’s only a couple people who can physically help us. In New York we’ve got family, support system, lots of resources, everything we need. Not to mention our Baby girl is due in about 8 weeks! I have been trying to look into medical foundations and charities so far with no luck. Please help if you can.”

    Suspension.org has set up a donation page and are looking for help.  If you have anything that you can give, head on over to the donation page and give what you can.

  • Santa likes suspensions too!

    Written by

    Jen Savage

    Bet you didn’t know Santa was down with suspensions?

    santa

    I’m not sure if the group at this event is called Escape Suspension but the photos all carry that title. It took me a minute to notice the lights in “Santa’s” nipples! I think I was focused on the beard… I guess if that’s Santa in the first picture then maybe we’ve got one of his elves suspending in this next one?

    elf1

    I don’t know about you but I think this looks like one fun event! I wish I could have been there.

    Alright folks, enjoy yourselves this weekend and be safe. I’ll be back with a book review sometime very soon and Sean promises some great stuff in the new year so keep your eyes on ModBlog and enjoy the last few days of 2010!

  • Talk about intestinal fortitude

    Written by

    Rob

    Any fan of wrestling in the 80s will tell you, if someone is showing a lot of intestinal fortitude, it means they’ve got guts and they’re pushing through the pain.  It also meant they’re probably about to do some awesome finishing move after coming back from almost losing the match.  Think Hogan running around shaking his head while his opponent tries to knock him off his feet, or the Ultimate Warrior bouncing off the ropes like a mad man.

    Well, looking at this 2 point stomach suspension it’s pretty clear the guy suspending has some intestinal fortitude.

    The suspension was facilitated by Gibi Body Art in Brasil.

  • Hanging on by the seat of your pants

    Written by

    Rob

    It’s been a while since ModBlog featured a good old fashioned ass suspension, so when I saw the Suicide Body Art gallery had been updated with some tandem ass suspension photos I thought it would be great to share some of them with you.

    UPDATE:  I just got a message from Edmund and here is what he had to say about the suspension.  Please keep in mind English isn’t his first language so there may have been some details lost in the translation.

    The second boy on photos is Aleksandr. I don’t know English well, so I try to tell you about it in few words. One day I tell Aleksandr that I want make ass suspension, but hi said that hi want it too. So we decided make tandem ass suspension. It was sunny morning on 19.06.2010. We went with our friends to uninhabited bridge, and begin. When we take off, I think I regenerate. It was very funny when we began to spin. But then was one problem, after it i’ll need ride for a 5 hours=)

    ass1

    To see a couple more pictures, keep on reading..

    ass2

    ass3

    You can check of the rest of the photos in the gallery on BMEzine.com

    Other than the name Edmund, I don’t have any other information to share with you about these photos.  Which is part of the reason I keep asking everyone to fill in all the boxes when uploading an image.  I’d love to be able to share with you the names of the guys hanging, where and when it took place, all of that.  Hopefully someone recognizes the guys in the photos and can send me an e-mail so I can give proper credit.

    Remember, ModBlog and BME are supported by you.  We can’t go out and take pictures of every single person’s mods on the planet, so we can only show you what’s been shared with us.  So grab your cameras, take some pictures, and send them in (with the details) so we can share with the world all these wonderful modifications and the related activities.

  • Happy (belated) Birthday to Fakir!

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    I just got back, late last night, from a week long family beach trip. I planned to skip out on Modblog today, and instead, focus on healing my sunburn, my sore muscles and my hangover. However, after I got home, I realized a monumental birthday passed while I was gone, the 80th birthday of the “father of the Modern Primitive movement”, Fakir Musafar.

    To, me Fakir will always be an inspiration. The fact he has dedicated his life to body modification for longer than I have been alive and that he is still actively involved in body modification, deserves respect from anyone involved in this community. He, more than any other individual brought attention to piercings, scarification, suspension, corsetry and countless other forms of body art and body play. If it were not for him, I don’t know where we (as the bod mod community) would be today, or if most of us would even be a part of this community at all.

    There is not much more I can say about Fakir that hasn’t been said in the book Modern Primitives, The DVD Dances Sacred and Profane, his personal website, or Allen’s write up on hooklife.org. So I suggest anyone not fully versed in the life of Fakir Musafar start in those places.  However, for the countless friends and fans of him and/or of his work who didn’t get a chance to wish him a happy birthday on his actual birthday, feel free to so do in the comments here.

    06190936

  • Looking for a place to hang out?

    Written by

    Rob

    A couple of events are coming up in the next couple of weeks that you may want to check out.

    First up, this weekend is the 15th annual South Florida Tattoo Festival.  While I can’t vouch for the quality of their website the Sun Sentinel did a great summary of the event if you wanted to check it out.

    It’s that time of year again, when the inked, pierced and earlobe-plugged gather to show off their bodily canvases. More than 30 tattoo artists will appear at this event, which will feature burlesque-suspension and fetish shows and appearances by Black Sabbath’s Vinny Appice, Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain, ex-WWE champs Titan and the Nasty Boys, and the Broward County Derby Girls. Proceeds will benefit the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. On Sunday, check out the Hot Rod Car Show from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It costs $25 to register a ride the day of the show.

    Location: Deerfield Beach Hilton, 100 Fairway Drive Time: Noon-1 a.m. Friday-Saturday; noon-7 p.m. Sunday Cost: $15 per day or $30 for a three-day pass Contact: 954-343-5585 or Sofltattooexpo.com

    Honestly, I’d be willing to drive down there just to see Knobbs and Saggs duke it out with some locals.   Plus they’re giving their proceeds to a kids hospital, so you’d be able to help out some kids and have a fun weekend.

    Now while you may not be in the Florida area this weekend, in a couple of weeks SuspenDC is having their get-together Sunday September 19th.

    SuspenDC is a flesh hook piercing and suspension event. You can get to feel what it’s like to have temporary hook piercings. You can suspend from the piercings. You can watch or support others in their experience. Piercings are done by professional piercers and suspensions are rigged and performed by experienced suspension teams.  hough the event is scheduled to run about 8 hours, space is limited for the number of flyers. If you are going to get hooked, be on time to the event to make sure you can reserve a time slot to be pierced/suspended.

    Now I know that the term “hanging out” can be a little vague.  So here’s an image of Iamdan showing you exactly the right way to hang out.

    suspend

  • Toronto: The Vinaayagar Chariot Festival

    Written by

    Rob

    I’m a big fan of my hometown.  Those of us that live in Toronto will probably tell you the same.  While the rest of the country gives us grief for calling ourselves the center of the universe, we just go on about day with the knowledge that if something awesome is going to happen, it will be in Toronto.

    Last week, a Toronto Star photographer took a series of photos at the Vinaayager Chariot Festival.  An annual event at the Sri Varasiththi Vinaayagar Hindu Temple, located just north of the city.  While major events such as Pride and Caribana get a lot of press coverage, it’s great to see that our city has more than just the major events going for it.

    Now you may be asking yourself, why is Rob talking about this on ModBlog?  Well the answer is fairly simple.  Part of the festivities include ritual piercings and suspensions.  I’ll let some of the photos explain for me.

    festival1

    festival3

    festival2

    You can see the rest of the images from the festival over at the Toronto Star

  • Waiting in suspense

    Written by

    Rob

    I really enjoy photographs capturing a moment in time that almost can’t be described in words.  This image is one of those.  Sure you can describe the situation as a woman is getting the final checks on the rigging before a suicide suspension, but it’s what’s going on between the two of them that really speaks the loudest.

    This is that moment, just before she is to be lifted off the ground.  The quiet intensity of both the suspender and suspendee.  The final preparations right before some goes through a potentially life defining moment.

    The image was submitted anonymously, but I really would like to know the story behind it.  Was it her first suspension?  What was going through her mind at that moment?

    Then again, part of the allure of the image is in not knowing.  So I’ll just leave it here for you to enjoy.

    suspension

    To see the rest of the images in this series and others like it, check out the suspension galleries.

  • Another way to help out

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    As I posted earlier four members of our community were in a bad car wreck. Well if there is one thing our community is particularly good at it is helping other members of our community in their times of need. Some friends of ours in CORE have put together a benefit for  them  at the Next Door Bar that will take place  Saturday August 7th.

    bbq_for_barj

    If you cannot make it out, please help spread the word.  Also if you would like to donate directly.  Please visit the main page of suspension.org and follow the paypal link.

    Thank you in advance and we hope to see yall there.

  • Hold me closer tiny dancer……

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    Back in the 80′s when American kids played war, the Russians were always the bad guys. I suppose it was the Cold War era and America didn’t have any actual conflicts going on so we  villainized the Russian’s to have some pretend foes to blast our toy guns off at. Well, I am feeling a bit bad for that now seeing as how many of the modblog worthy submissions sent into BME are coming from Russia these days.

    For example, this “Ballerine Suspension” sent to us from Arsenly Anderson, who said “Smertoslava was like a ballerine when being hooked up “.

    screen-shot-2010-07-15-at-123317-pm

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