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.

Category: ModBlog

  • Brand Branding

    Written by

    Rob

    I love how words can evolve over time.  Nowadays when you talk to someone on the street, if you mention the word “brand” they’ll probably think you’re talking about a logo or a line of clothing.  To others they’ll think of cattle.  Of course, when it comes down to it the “modern” use of branding isn’t much different than the other usage.  It’s all about using a mark to distinguish something from everything else.  BME uses our logos as part of our brand identity, so when someone gets a tattoo or a scar of a logo, it means that we as a brand have affected them in some meaningful way.  Here’s an example of one by Mike Grant.

  • Reborn in flame

    Written by

    Rob

    The phoenix story is one of rebirth, and it’s because of this that ZSSailer chose the phoenix for this tattoo.

    I’m proud of the story behind this tattoo. I used to weigh 312 pounds, but at 23 was diagnosed with several bad health problems (go figure), and decided to make a change. Today, at 24, I’m a healthy 205 pounds, and putting on more pounds in solid muscle….I’ve traded the acts of overeating for those of bodybuilding, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. To commemorate my accomplishments, I wanted a phoenix on my chest to acknowledge my rebirth. The feathers falling off symbolize my weight loss, the rays of light above symbolize how my soul feels like it’s shining in my new body, and the scale in the ashes symbolizes that I no longer fear stepping on a scale.

    Tattoo by Aleks Salanek from Beneath the Skin Tattoo in Pottstown, PA.

  • Felix Felicis

    Written by

    Rob

    This vial of liquid was tattooed by Sebo from Mystery Touch Tattoo in Gleisdorf, Austria.  The style used really works well for this design as it gives a beautiful sense of depth for an image that is cartoony in nature.

  • To thine own self be true

    Written by

    Rob

    One final portrait to round out today.  This one is a “self portrait“.  By that I mean it isn’t a portrait of the artist, but rather the person the tattoo is on.

    According to Hjorten, the photo this tattoo was based off was taken in 2006, and the tattoo was done in 2008 by John Green from Pärleporten in Uppsala, Sweden.

  • Here we are now, entertain us

    Written by

    Rob

    Here’s another portrait tattoo for you today.  This one is of classic rock musician Kurt Cobain.  Now before you get all upset I called him classic rock.  Remember, when Nirvana came out bands from the late 60s/early 70s were considered classic rock.  Well, it’s been over 20 years since Nevermind was released, so to some of the younger ModBlog readers, Nirvana could certainly be considered “Classic”.

    Tattoo by Ryan Murphey from Inkmonkey in Los Angeles

  • She’s got the look

    Written by

    Rob

    What in the world can make a brown-eyed girl turn blue
    When everything I’ll ever do I’ll do for you
    And I go la la la la la
    She’s got the look
    -Roxette, “The Look”

    Here’s what Abeegail has to say about her piercings:  “The bloodwood plugs were made by Dustin at Omega. Mike French made the beautiful copper jewelry, and also did my third eye dermal.”  Mike French works at Omega Red in Iowa.

  • It’s Smile Time!

    Written by

    Rob

    What is it about cheek piercings that make people’s smiles seem bigger?  What’s neat is that these aren’t actually cheek piercings; they’re microdermals put in by Joeltron.  Joel just updated his BME gallery with a lot of his recent piercings, so head on over and check it out.

    p.s. Sorry if the headline got your hopes up for a puppet related post.

  • Gentle Giant

    Written by

    Rob

    A tragic figure in both literature in film, Frankenstein’s monster has been adapted into pretty much every medium known to man.  This isn’t the first tattoo of the monster we’ve seen on ModBlog and it probably won’t be the last.  Jay Wheeler’s portrait of Karloff in his make-up really captures both sides to the monster, his intelligent and peaceful demeanor, and his capacity for intense emotion borne from the abuses he suffers at the hands of those who fear him.

  • Challenge Accepted!

    Written by

    Rob

    The gang over at Hooklife have thrown down the gauntlet to suspension teams around the world.  Today they announced a guerrilla suspension challenge.  Here’s some of the details:

    We are challenging the suspension community to dream up, create, produce and photograph the most amazing Guerrilla Suspension.  Before anyone goes crazy we need to make one thing very clear.  Hook Life, suspension.org and our affiliates DO NOT condone any illegal or dangerous activities! Now with that said here’s how it will work.

    Please submit ONE photo.  You can submit as many different entries as you like, but please only one per suspension/location.  By submitting a photo you are giving suspension.org and Hook Life permission to use the photo on this site and possibly on other sites to promote this competition.

    Photos will be judged and scored accordingly:

    • 20% – Location – Based on visual appeal, complexity and higher public visibility
    • 20% – Suspension – More complex suspensions gain higher marks
    • 20% – Photography – Image quality and getting the perfect shot is part of the challenge
    • 40% – Creativity – Overall score based on judges opinions
    • Safety – Unsafe rigging and/or dangerous suspension practices will have points deducted

    Grand Prize – A one of a kind “trophy” rig designed and donated by Skin Mechanics Steelworks.  The grand prize will be awarded at the 2012 Dallas Suscon.
    Other Prizes – As the competition progresses we may adding more prizes.  Companies/Individuals interesting in donating prizes please contact Hook Life.

    Judges:

    • Allen Falkner – Administrator of suspension.org
    • Misty “Southtownbaby” Forsberg – Head Writer for Hook Life
    • Mark “nakedlens.org” Kaplan – Official Dallas Suscon Photographer
    • Stewart “S2B” Stephens – Certified Entertainment Production Rigger
    • Erik “Lizardman” Sprague – International Performer

    Submissions will be accepted until December 31st, 2011.  After that date the judges top picks will be posted.  Good luck everyone.  We are looking forward to seeing your entries.

    The full details as well as the contest entry form can be found at this link.

    Now remember, only entries submitted to HookLife will be counted.  That said, knowing some of the fantastic suspension teams that are out there, there are going to be more than one photo of each suspension.  BME is inviting those teams that participate to submit any additional photos to the suspension galleries.  I’m going to be keeping my eye out for these submissions over the next couple of months, and I’m hoping to feature as many as possible.  So if you plan on entering the challenge, remember to send your extra photos to BME, and send me an e-mail with the story behind them (don’t e-mail me your photos).

    While we’re on the subject of suspension, here’s my counterpart at HookLife, Misty, doing a tandem 6pt resurrection, 4pt rebirth suspension.  Misty is the one on top.

  • Wearing your heart on your knee

    Written by

    Rob

    Here’s another tattoo out of First Blood in Sydney.  This one is a heart done right on the kneecap by guest artist Ange.  What’s cool is that the shape of the knee matches the shape of the heart, enabling the tattoo to appear to be three dimensional.

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