When Michael joined the Navy about a year ago he had to make some serious sacrifices, including not only removing all of his piercings, but even had his nearly 2″ lobe surgically reconstructed.

I hid a lot of what I felt was me to attempt a new path in life. It was a difficult thing to do, but I knew in the end it was what I wanted. I always knew that I could come back to who I was after a few years, and pick up right where I left off. Nothing would be permanently lost, but a part of me would definitely have to be hidden from plain sight for the time being.

With the sacrifice of my piercings and lifestyle, I decided I wanted to get something to remind myself that no matter what, I’m still the same person I always was, and nothing can change that. Nothing seemed to fit more than the BME Calm logo I’d grown to love for quite a while now. It will be a constant reminder of who I am, was, and will become in the future.

BME is definitely much more than a website… It’s a way of being, and to report the all-too-obvious cliché, a family.

Brenda‘s backpiece, which as far as I know is autobiographical — the story of her life so far — is going to look psychedelically hilarious when it’s all coloured in. I can’t wait to see it! It was done by her boss Chris Howton at Cynical Tattoos in Northport, AL where she pierces.