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

  • Congratulations Rolf!!!

    Written by

    Rob

    This morning Guinness announced some new world record holders and among them was none other than Rolf Buchholz.  Rolf now has the distinction of being the world record holder as The Most Pierced Man in the World.  With a grand total of 453 piercings (278 of them being genital piercings), Rolf piercings are extensive and impressive.  What the Guinness record people didn’t mention is that Rolf has been tracking all of his suspensions, and has taken a total of 998 hooks since his first suspension in 2004.  Last month at the Oslo Suscon, Rolf marked his 100th suspension with a 100pt superman.  Rolf is a wonderful member of the BME and Suspension communities and we at BME would like to congratulate Rolf on this distinct honor.

  • Superman never made any money

    Written by

    Rob

    One of the best things about the suspension community is its global presence.  All around the world people are able to suspend thanks to the hard work of suspension teams that are constantly in touch with each other, looking for ways to improve.  These teams are made up of individuals that donate their time to facilitate suspensions for people.  What makes these teams unique is that they don’t operate for profit.  The money given to suspend is used entirely to pay for the materials used.  It’s important to remember this whenever you see suspension photos like the ones below.

    Teams like Skindependent Suspension from Christchurch, NZ are a shining example of how dedicated the individuals are.  I met Eden and Krysten from Skindependent at Dallas Suscon earlier in the year.  After surviving the devastating earthquake that struck Christchurch, the couple packed up their bags for a weekend on the other side of the world just to learn from other practitioners the world over.  They paid for the trip themselves, and returned to New Zealand with knowledge that they passed onto their team.  Since then, they’ve hosted “For the Love of Hooks“, the largest suspension event ever held in New Zealand, and they’ve started up “Sunday Sessions“, to allow anyone who wishes to suspend a place to do so every month.

    So from now on, whenever you see photos of people suspending, remember that it’s not just the person in the air enjoying themselves, but also the facilitators.  They don’t do it for money, they do it because they love suspension and they want to be able to give those people who want to suspend a safe and enjoyable experience.

    You can see more photos from Skindependent Suspension events in their BME gallery.

  • It’s just one of those days

    Written by

    Rob

    A BMEGirl kind of day. Meet SaschaMein.

  • Guess What?

    Written by

    Rob

    I thought I’d end today’s post with a round of “Guess What?”  If you’ll recall, the last time was an image from the hard galleries involving play piercing and CBT.  For today’s picture, there’s no visible blood and no play piercings, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t from the hard galleries.  You’ll just have to guess what it is and see if you’re right.

    Alright, take a guess and keep on reading to see if you’re right.

    If you guess a finger, then you’re spot on.  This piercing, which comes from the non-deep hand piercing gallery, was done by Dominick269 over a year ago.

    Yep, you read that right.  This piercing has been in place for over a year now and it’s not showing any signs of rejection.

    That’s an impressive feat when you think about how difficult piercings in the hand are to heal.

  • A dash of colour

    Written by

    Rob

    I know that I post a lot of tattoos by Joey Pang from Tattoo Temple so it’s easy to forget that she’s not the only artist working there.  This stunning piece comes from Wang, another one of the artists at Tattoo Temple in Hong Kong. It’s definitely got an abstract vibe to it, but it maintains the brush stroke style that Tattoo Temple is famous for.

  • Book Review: Deviled Art

    Written by

    Jen Savage

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    Recently, I received the book Deviled Art: Sketches and Paintings by Travis Franklin for review. This isn’t a tattoo book like I have reviewed recently but rather contains artwork and sketches by tattoo artist Travis Franklin.

    Click through to read the rest of the review.

    You won’t find any photos of tattoos within this book, it is strictly a traditional art book but that doesn’t mean the appeal for body modification enthusiasts is non-existent. The artwork is focused mainly on darker images, skulls, skeletons and zombies and much of Travis’ work is the design product that would then be used to create a tattoo.

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    One thing that sets this book apart and makes it more than a simple sketchbook is the fact that the book includes notes and thoughts by the artist. The font for the text is meant to look like hand writing and the effect is one I really like as it feels like I have been allowed to glimpse deeper into the artist, his method and the things that motivate him.

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    While the book might have benefited from an editor to eliminate the few grammatical errors, it certainly is not lacking in interesting artwork. This is definitely not a book of flash art but rather a journey through a tattoo artist’s process both on and off the page.

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    While the paintings certainly speak to the artist’s talent, for me the sketches are even more enjoyable as they show the hesitation, the thought and the process of realizing a piece of art. It seems quite common for people to believe that a tattoo artist merely copies a design from a piece of flash onto someone’s skin. This book reminds us that a tattoo artist is just that, an artist.

    deviledart-bme

    As far as I can tell the only current way to purchase this book is directly from the artist through his website, travisfranklin.com. The book retails at $40 and is hardcover printed on high quality paper meaning this book will hold up to repeated viewing.

    Travis Franklin has been tattooing professionally for just under 20 years and credits Tattoo Charlie for letting him in the industry at age 17. He works out of his shop, Oddity Tattoo Studio & Art Gallery in Sarasota, Florida.

    Editors: Tammy Zeitler Zeitler, Travis Franklin
    Illustrated by: Travis Franklin
    Contributors: Brittany Helmer, Travis Franklin
    Hardcover: 124 pages
    Publisher: Poor Mel, 2011
    ISBN 0615493262

  • Raw Corsets

    Written by

    Rob

    Someone by the name of Wutp Doca just sent in a number of corset photos all done with play piercing needles.  There is a particular rawness to these photos that really makes them pop.  This one especially stood out from the crowd as it plays up the bondage aspect of corsetry.

  • Drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity…

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    “I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me.”
    — Hunter S. Thompson


    hank

    The cutting part of this scar/tattoo tribute to the godfather of gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson was done by Tony Snow. Tony is currently out in my neck of the woods guest spotting at Fatty’s with Hannah. A mere twenty minutes away from my shop and not even a visit. For shame you bastard.

  • Another mind-boggingly awesome mod for the day…

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    In keeping with the theme from my last post, “mods that stir up a genuine  sense of awesomeness for me”, I present to you Mason’s (who you may remember from this Modblog gem from the past ) deep chest “piercings”. I say piercing in quotes, because while these are opening in the skin filled with a piece of jewelry, the procedure to get them there (and healed) was FAR from a piercing.

    When I first saw this picture on Tumblr, I shot Mason a message I wanted 2 things: a) a better photo of this mod and maybe some additional photos. b) his permission to post this on modblog. That little bastard never responded to me and I realized 2 things: a) this mod is so AWESOME that if all we can get is a homoerotic myspace mirror shot, then that’s what we will post! b) This is Mason, am I really waiting on permission from him?

    leann

    Since I never got the full 411 from Mason, I am basing the following information on what he told me a long time ago, and my own theories so if anyone involved with this project wants to jump in and correct me, please do so.

    These “piercings” started as subdermal implants done by none other than Brian Decker (if memory serves me correct).  After the subdermals were allowed sufficient time to heal, they were removed which left behind a healed fistula. Then the entry and exit points for the new “piercing” were opened by Howie and teflon jewelry was inserted.  (Thanks to Tony for correcting me on the implant to piercings steps). This left behind a piercing that would be nearly impossible to heal using traditional manners and a mod that I have only actually seen one other time…and that was on Fakir Musafar!

  • Now, this is just plain rad.

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    I have to admit, after over a decade on this site I tend to take mods that other’s would consider amazing for granted. It’s rare that I see any mods that stir up a genuine  sense of awesomeness for me. This ear mod on Kira got that reaction from me.

    This awesome ear  mod was done by Bruno, who was one of the first practitioners I knew of to use the cut and suture method for cartilage removal. For this piece he used a custom made dermal punch and custom jewelry. The plan is for her to wear the jewelry for a few years to truly define the shape and then hopefully she can not wear any jewelry and still have the cross removal be well defined. If it turns out as well as the inner conch removal Howie cut and sutured on me a few years back, she will have an awesome ear mod for sure!

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    For more pics of the custom punch, and whatnot you know the deal, keep on keeping on…..

    peggy

    bobby

    peggy1

    bill

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