YMA: So, tell me about yourself?

Mike: Well, I'm 18 years old, born and raised in Hackettstown, NJ. I moved with my family to Nashville, TN at 15 years old. I have been interested in body modification of sorts since at least 8 years old (I can remember wanting a septum piercing at least that far back). I have been involved in body modification/ritual for about 3 or 4 years now.

YMA: How did you come across body modification at such a young age of 8? Mike: I'm really not sure. The only exposure to a septum piercing I had at any time before my teenage years would be some black and white animation that was on Mtv. It was some girl talking about how much it hurt. Other than that, I really don't know. I think it may be something that has always been there. YMA: When you said, "I think it has always been there" did you mean at birth or just as you aged? Mike: I think it was something from birth, but I simply didn't tap into it until later. It may have been before 8 years old; that is just my oldest memory of wanting any kind of modification. Though, I think everyone has that need from birth. I believe that it is a basic human need to modify our bodies in all sorts of ways, also to differentiate ourselves from others.

Mike's 0 gauge septum

YMA: Do you believe this desire to "differentiate" yourself continues to grow stronger with more advanced Body Modification procedures as you grow older or is it different?

Mike: By this point, I feel I have distinguished myself from others quite well. Though the desire for more advanced, complex, and "extreme" procedures is something that has grown in me every day since I started modifying myself. I am a person who always pushes my limits. I enjoy very unusual and sometimes tricky modifications a bit more than many other people do, and sometimes I don't think that that they are quite "tricky" enough for me.

YMA: The desire for unusual and tricky body modification has led you to what Modifications? Mike: Well, the most advanced things I have are a pair of vertical lowbrets, and a vertical inner conch industrial. YMA: Do these advanced body piercings/modifications have any specific meaning? Mike: Beforehand, they weren't going to symbolize anything really. Afterwards, they gained meaning. My vertical lowbrets distinguish my freedom, my turning 18 and legally owning my body. My inner conch industrial is a reminder of good friends, as I received it in NY on one of the most enjoyable days of my life, a day where I was with some of the best friends I have ever had. YMA: : I know there are younger modders out there who desire advanced piercing and even standard body piercing, Is there any advice you would like to give to them? Mike: WAIT! Anyone who would do these procedures on you (without consent that is) is not someone who should be trusted with your body! The more advanced the procedure, the more care that is needed to be taken. Also, research as much as you can, BME is a great source for that. I know far too many people who have been hurt because they were uneducated. Know everything down to what the jewelry should be (acceptable metals and gauges). When you go in for your mods, you want to be ahead of the practitioner. If they are doing something wrong, you want to be able to call them on it.

Mike's vertical lowbrets (and a since retired scrumper) Mike's vertical inner conch industrial, among other things

YMA: I notice you have used a process of making some of your piercings larger, by stretching, how is this done exactly? Mike: Originally, I did this by forcing the next size ring through. That was because of both not knowing the proper method, and not having the money for the tools needed. Once my first lobe piercing was up to 8 gauge, I decided to buy insertion tapers. Insertion tapers are metal bars (the set I have are 2 inches long) that are used specifically for stretching piercings. It starts at a small size on one end, and gradually gets larger towards the other end. They also have a dimple on the large end to make it easier to follow the taper with the jewelry. The smaller end is inserted into the piercing, and pushed all the way through. It is very important to use lubrication when stretching.

Insertion taper (about 6 or 4 gauge)*

YMA: Is there any side effects from over stretching or stretching too fast?

Mike: If you try to go too far, too fast, you can tear the piercing. You can also cause a "blowout", which kind of looks like a lip on the opposite side of the piercing from where the taper was inserted. That is caused by the skin being very tight on the taper, and the taper actually pushes skin out of the piercing.

YMA: Does the piercing need to be healed before stretching?

Mike: The piercing either needs to be VERY fresh (immediately after piercing) or it needs to be fully healed. If you stretch in between those two times, you will significantly lengthen the healing time of your piercing.

YMA: I notice your septum is large itself, was this stretched?

Mike: Yes, I originally pierced it at 16 gauge, and over a period of a little more than a year, I stretched up to 0 gauge.

YMA: What drove you to be so dedicated as to have enough patience to stretch it for over a year?

Mike: I prefer many piercings at larger than "standard" sizes. Many of my piercings are received with the intention of stretching to larger sizes. I had set out for a 0 gauge septum when I had originally pierced it, and I followed through on my desire.

YMA: So even before you had the septum piercing, the desire to stretch it at such a large piece was there?

Mike: Yes, I desired a 0 gauge septum from before I had actually pierced it.

YMA: Well, I notice you are quite modified in the facial area, most notably, your large septum, vertical lowbrets and ears. As a young modder, have you ever experienced any harassment or any trouble from others because of it? Mike: Yes! I had the usual stuff from kids at school, just making fun of me and such. I have also had a group of three kids make an attempt on my life. There were three kids in a mall that I was at, pointing at me and laughing. As I was leaving, these three kids attempted twice to hit me with their car. YMA: So, being a victim of an almost physical hate crime, what do you believe should be done to protect young modders from this?

Mike's vertical lowbrets, 0 gauge septum, and bridge

Mike: I feel the only way to truly prevent it is to educate. What I mean by this, is continuing programs in school teaching tolerance, but broaden it. Include everything, not just different races. Also, I feel that the only way for someone to truly accept something unusual to them, is to be around it. So I think schools need to seriously think about what they put in their dress codes. Adding anti-piercing rules in a school dress code, as far as I'm concerned, is the same as preaching intolerance.

YMA: Since some schools require the anti-piercing rule, how does a young modder overcome that or what should be done to overcome that without losing an education or even their piercings....I guess what I am asking is...What do you think should be done to schools that carry that rule?

Mike: I think that students in these schools need to petition the school board. They need all the support they can get. Every parent and every member of the community that would support them would be a huge help. These students need to be able to say what their mods mean to them, and why it is such an injustice to be forced to remove them. In time, I hope that civil liberties groups will offer to fight for the rights of the students in these school. The schools can only get away with calling piercings a distraction, because they make it a distraction. They make it so the youth can't see these things that are different. That needs to change, and I hope that eventually, legal groups will be willing to fight for that.

YMA: Do you believe also, because of the anti piercing rule, this is a stepping stone for the schools to take away more freedoms from the students?

Mike: Yes, it will be taken further and further, until all public schools require uniforms, specific hairstyles, and so on. Like I said before, I think this is only preaching intolerance, and I believe it is wrong to force beliefs on a captive audience.

YMA: So it is safe to assume, if this isn't addressed down the line, it can only get worse?

Mike: Exactly, I certainly don't think that the schools would leave it alone after that.

YMA: I know there are a lot of younger modders out there doing self piercing and even piercing their friends, some are using safety pins and sewing needles, others using surgical needles. Is there anything you would want to say to them?

Mike: Well, my first suggestion is to stop! I HIGHLY suggest you don't attempt a piercing on anyone, including yourself! BUT... I know most of these people won't stop no matter what I have to say about it. So instead, I have some other advice. If you are going to do this anyways, do your research. Also, use the proper equipment. It is very important that you use an autoclave! You can find some small ones on Ebay for about $200, and all the accessories aren't very expensive. Until you get that stuff, you shouldn't even consider trying to pierce anyone! Always wear gloves when you are piercing someone, and change gloves whenever you touch something that you didn't sterilize just prior to piercing this person. Most importantly, needles are single-use! Bend the tip after completing each piercing. Lastly, if you should happen to make a mistake, you are fully liable. That means that if you hurt someone, you are facing charges, lawsuits, etc.

YMA: This brings us to this; there are a lot of untrained people out there posing openly as “body piercers" which in reality are hacks. What can one do to spot out a true piercer from a hack?

Mike: You have to educate yourself before you even go into the shop. Once you get there, rack their brains, and find out what they know. Keep in mind that there are often several acceptable ways to go about a piercing and aftercare. You may even ask if you can sit in on a piercing (provided the client approves). If you let the piercer know that this is simply to evaluate if they are the person you want as your piercer, they will normally agree to this. If they do, make sure that they change gloves whenever they touch unsterilized objects, that all the tools used come out of a little packet (an autoclave packet, not a little Ziploc bag), look for a biohazard bin (normally a bright color, like red or orange), and make sure all the needles that are used go into a biohazard bin. Also, ask to see the autoclave and the current spore test results, if they are unwilling to show you either, you don't want to let them touch you.

YMA: Of course, some may question, "Why search out for a reputable piercer? Why not just have the government regulate it skill wise, health wise, and such?" What do you say to that?

Mike: The general public frowns upon body modification, as does the government. If the government regulates what should be regulated, they will also add many laws that will hurt modifications progression. If they had regulated body modification to that extent 20 years ago, we may not have many things that we have today. We might not have 3d art implants, transdermal implants, t-bar piercings, split tongues, subincisions and so on. Some of these things have made many people's lives better, without harming anyone. Who knows what advanced procedures there will be in 20 years? If there is regulation, we may still be where we are. Besides that, you can't regulate how someone learns. Piercings can often be done several ways, and some work better than others, but everyone is different. One method may work great for one person, and another will have adverse reactions to it. I think that the laws should only be stated as far as age, and requirements for a shop (non-porous surfaces, a routinely tested autoclave, single use needles, etc).

YMA: For any new readers out there, Mike, describe what a subincisions, tongue splits, t-bar piercings and such are? Mike: A subincision is cutting straight down the center of the underside of the penis, cutting all the way into the urethra. This makes the penis look split on the bottom. A tongue split is exactly what it sounds like, an incision straight down the center of the tongue, all the way through. This creates "two tongues", as each one can be moved almost completely independent of each other. A t-bar piercing is an advanced piercing procedure which requires custom jewelry. The jewelry is usually a barbell with another barbell screwing straight into the shaft of the main barbell (usually near the center), but there can be many variations. An example of a t-bar piercing is a standard tongue piercing, with a barbell going from the center of that barbell, out the tip of the tongue. YMA: So Mike, how does your family feel about you being modified and your desire to be modified? Mike: Original they were less than pleased. That is quite the understatement. Over time they have come to accept it, and they try to just overlook most of what I do. I haven't come to the point where I can come forward and say that I got something pierced or anything like that, but I'm not so worried about them finding out about my new mods as I used to be.

Split tongue* T-bar tongue piercing*

YMA: For the young modders out there hiding their piercings from parents, any comment on that?

Mike: It feels a lot better once you can have piercings openly. There isn't always the overwhelming pressure of wondering if accidentally flashing your tongue ring was noticed or not. That kind of stuff really takes away from just enjoying your piercings. I really suggest not going against your parents when getting your mods. If they don't like the idea, sit down with them and discuss it. Let them know why it is you want it so bad. Give them information about all the stuff you've learned. If they see that you really know what you're talking about, they may reconsider. Don't ask them for a whole lot; only ask for a simple piercing. Ask for the least intrusive piercing you want, just to tide you over until you can sign for yourself. If they still disagree, just maturely exit the conversation, and have it again a month or two later. I highly suggest you don't just get pierced if your parents don't want you to, it will make things a lot more difficult in your house, and that's just not worth it.

YMA: What do you think of the world of ear piercing guns?

Mike: I think that they are a disgrace. There are many dangers that you face when being pierced with a piercing gun (diseases, low quality metal, cracked cartilage, infections, and lengthened, irritated healing periods). The people who use the piercing guns don't understand what sterilization is, or what cross-contamination is. I think that piercing guns should be completely outlawed!

YMA: What should the general public know about ear piercing guns and needle piercing? Jewelry wise, piercing wise and health wise.

Mike: With a gun, you can only use one type of jewelry (which is often far too short and lengthens the healing time, as well as makes the piercing very uncomfortable). The jewelry is used to pierce the skin, and the jewelry is very blunt and causes a lot of trauma to the pierced area because of the force. When each person is pierced with one gun, they leave "microspray" which is a little bit of blood that comes out of their ear. The guns can be cleaned, but not sterilized (parts would melt or rust). So many diseases can be killed, but a very large percentage of bacteria can stay on the piercing gun. When you are pierced with a needle, you have the choice of jewelry, size, material, everything. The need makes a much cleaner cut than a gun, and causes far less trauma to the tissue. As far as health concerns go, that depends on your piercer. If you have a piercer that isn't up to par, it's just as dangerous as the health hazards with a gun. If you have a very good piercer, the health risks are very, very small.

SUSPENSION!!!!

Mike: Suspension is a body ritual, in which the body is lifted completely off of the ground by hooks (or similar objects) that are going through piercings.

YMA: Where would these hooks be placed? Or does this depend?

Mike: There are many different kinds of suspensions; each one has different hook placements.

YMA: Now, Your suspension, what exactly was it? As in, where were the hooks placed and what was it called?
 

Mike: I performed what is commonly referred to as a suicide suspension. The hooks were placed in a single horizontal line across the top of my back.   YMA: How many hooks? Mike: It depends on the person and how much they are willing to endure. I was originally going to go up with 6 hooks, but we decided on 4. We decided on 4 because I was very nervous, and the 2 extra hooks wouldn't have made a difference based on my weight.   YMA: I take it as, a number of hooks are distributed out, depending on your weight, so it can keep your body evenly balanced or are there other issues at play because of it?

Mike's back shortly before his first suspension

Mike: You want to have enough hooks to safely support your body weight. You also want enough hooks to support the body evenly. For example, you don't want to have all the support on the left side of your upper back.

YMA: What would happen if all the support is on one side?

Mike: You would be very off-balance. It would be more awkward than anything else.

YMA: In a worst case, if things were terribly done (may it be not enough hooks to distribute the weight, etc.), what could happen?

Mike: Well, there are many different things that can cause problems. Not enough hooks, the hooks being too thin in gauge, the hooks being placed too shallow, bad rigging. All of which can be avoided by an experienced and knowledgeable suspension group. If one of those things were to happen though, you could get SERIOUSLY hurt. The most common thing to happen (for various reasons that I just mentioned) is the person performing the suspension falling. This can result in MANY injuries; anything from bruises and sprains, to broken bones and even death.

YMA: What exactly is a suspension group?

Mike: A suspension group is a crew of people who both perform suspensions, and assist others through their suspensions. The best known group is TSD, but there are many others (IWasCured, Whacks, CORE, and Rites of Passage, among others).

YMA: I take it; suspension groups are much like body piercing studios. You must seek out one that is very reputable, safe, sterile, and can guarantee your safety, correct?

Mike: Yes. They are also much like piercing shops in that you need to keep yourself educated. While most of the suspension groups out there are performing and assisting in safe suspensions, there are a few that are inexperienced and may not provide you with a safe experience

YMA: If a young modder wanted to learn more about suspension, where do you recommend they go?

Mike: I highly recommend reading on BME about it. Also, if possible, seek out a member of one of the better known groups. They are normally more than willing to answer your questions so you can have a safe journey.

YMA: On your suspension, what was the desire for one? Mike: It was one of those things that built in me. I read many experiences on BME about suspensions, just to educate myself, as I always want to learn about new things. I was also noticing that through the modifications I was receiving, I was coming away from the piercing with a sort of rush. I started to realize this rush may be something far greater, far beyond my wildest dreams, if I were to have an intense experience like a suspension. I started visiting the websites of the major suspension groups, watching videos of suspensions, reading about them, and looking at pictures of them. It became my passion. It was that one thing that I thought about every minute. I woke up in the morning thinking, "I need to suspend!" I went to bed imagining what it would be like, and I spent all day learning about it.

Mike's suspension

YMA: When you did suspend, was it a life changing event for you or did anything change for you personally, resulting from it?

Mike: It was DEFINITELY a life changing event! Many things changed without me realizing it. Many of my friends have told me that since I performed my suspension, I have been a generally happier person. I have made up with many people that I had broken off friendships with, and I discovered many little things about myself that I probably wouldn't have without doing my suspension. I don't think I've even scratched the surface yet. I think there are MANY other things that I haven't yet uncovered.

YMA: Because of suspension, it opened many doors in your life, was it due to what you have longed for and finally received, or was it something spiritual that you discovered within yourself as a result from it?

Mike: In my experience, suspension forced me into myself. For that time, I was in two places. One was a very earthly place, where I was interacting and talking with those around me, where everything was loud and vivid. The other, I wasn't really there, it was my spirit. That place was very dark, cool, and quiet. There was no one there, but I could sense other "beings" there. I think that second place is "Heaven". So, yes, it was very spiritual

YMA: Now, suspension has its critics, some saying that groups like TSD, CORE, IWasCured, etc. are taking away everything spiritual that suspension is for, because they choose to do it publicly. What is your opinion on it?

Mike: Well, I feel that these groups are not harming the spirituality at all. Certain cultures have used forms of suspension in religious ritual. These groups are taking the tool these groups used, and using it for their own purposes. As long as the groups aren't trying to apply the same ritual, I don't think there is a problem. Just as I don't think there is a problem with people drinking wine, which is the tool used in the Christian ceremony of communion

YMA: What is your advice for young modders interested in suspension?

Mike: I feel that young modders (and everyone else really) should spend as much time as possible researching suspension. Find out as much information as possible. Most importantly though, your suspension is for YOU! Don't rush yourself, and don't let anyone else rush you. If you feel the suspension group that you chose is getting impatient with you, they aren't doing it because they care about you having a great experience.