I first experimented with piercing when I was about 17 years old (a very long 20 years ago now) when I pierced my own left ear one night while my Parents were out of the house. Obviously, being the terribly sheltered, young Midwest boy that I was, that piercing did not last.
At A Glance Author Lance Contact Lance@bme.anon Artist Chris Studio Obsurities Location Dallas, TX Fast-forward to my freshman year in College (fall, 1983):
I finally had enough of the constant desire to have my ear pierced with no fulfillment. So one Saturday (relatively early in the term), I borrowed a friend?s car and drove to the nearest Mall - about 20 minutes away. I found a piercing place, and had my left ear re-pierced, this time to stay! It was a fairly decent experience, as far as it went. No pain, no blood, pretty mundane.
Over the course of the next 15 years, I added a second earring in my left ear. Then one in my right ear quickly followed by a second in my right ear (only then did I feel completely "balanced"). A few years after this, I had one earring put in the cartilage at the top of my left ear. The most recent additions to my ears were five years ago when I added the third hole in each ear. As a general rule, I do not usually wear all three earrings in both ears at the same time. But it is nice to know the holes are there for when I feel like utilizing them.
Fast-forward about 1 year after my last ear piercing:
By this time, I had been "out of the closet" for a few years, and had met far more interesting people from many different walks of life than I had met in the first 30 years of my life put together! It is amazing how much you learn when you move to a fairly large City from the Rural Midwest! I had recently become familiar with the concept of body piercing. I had never entertained such a "radical" thought before. However, one day in early July 1998, I was at work when it suddenly dawned on me that I wanted to have my nipple pierced! But, where did one go to get his nipple pierced? How much did it cost? Would it hurt (silly question)? The questions raged through my mind. Being the ever-so-resourceful young man I try to be, I quickly located a few body-piercing studios in the Dallas area (with the help of the Lambda Pages - the "gay yellow pages" in Dallas). I chose to call one in Addison, because it was actually a "branch" of the one right in Oak Lawn (the gay area in Dallas). My thought process was, if I go to a suburb, I will probably not run into anyone who knows me, and the people will probably be far closer to "normal" (whatever that means).
By the time I left work that day, I was so "pumped" (and, yes, nervous) about getting my nipple pierced, not even a torrential rainstorm could stop me from going - although the resulting traffic almost did! I arrived at the studio, and was immediately impressed by the atmosphere, cleanliness, and friendliness of the place. I was very quickly put at ease. After going through all the required pre-piercing legal stuff, I was taken in for the actual piercing. The guy who performed the piercing (I can not remember his name) was very professional and kind. He helped keep my nerves to a reasonable level, and basically talked me through the entire procedure. I was a bit amazed at how easily it all happened. I do have to go on record as saying it hurt like nothing I had ever experienced before! I don?t think it was the fault of the guy who did it, it was just my fright (I think). Needless to say my chest throbbed all night long. Sleeping that night was not easy, but it was (thankfully) not impossible either. When I woke up the next morning, the pain was gone! I was well on my way to having a wonderfully and beautifully pierced right nipple!
Fast forward to Saturday, December 30, 2000:
I had just returned to Dallas after going "home" for Christmas. I realized that I was facing another New Years Eve to spend, basically, all alone. And this was not just any New Years Eve... this was the dawn of the 21st Century and the 3rd Millennium! This was a once-in-a-lifetime event, because after all, the 22nd Century will not be here until January 01, 2101 - and the 4th Millennium will not be here until January 01, 3001! In either case, I do not expect to be too terribly interested in the festivities, in the oh-so-remote possibility I might still be here to join in the fun! So, with no boyfriend/husband to celebrate this passage of time, what was I to do to mark such an important event in my life? It had to be something permanent, that I could always look back on and say this was how I "rang in" the Century/Millennium. I got it! Get my left nipple pierced to match my right one! Enter Chris at Obscurities...
I made my way to the studio - and this time, I actually went to the one right in the heart of Oak Lawn! 2 ½ years later, having obtained some more wisdom, not to mention an attitude of "I really do not care who sees me, or what they think"; it was far easier to just do it! Besides, I believe the studio in Addison is now closed. At any rate, this experience was similar in many respects to the one two years ago. The studio was very clean and quite impressive with the professionalism and friendliness of the staff. This time Chris did my piercing for me. I lay down on the table and he cleaned the entire area around my nipple. Chris made his marks where the needle was supposed to go, and then he asked me to stand back up again. I was a bit confused by this, but did as he asked. When I stood up, he looked very carefully at the marks he had made on my left nipple, as well as where the ring was in my right nipple. He was checking to be sure that both rings would look balanced and correct! Wow was I impressed!
After he had me lay back down, he began talking me through the process again. By the time I realized what was happening, he had the piercing done! Did it hurt this time? Sure, a little bit, but nothing compared to the first time around! In fact, by the time I left the studio 5-10 minutes later, there was zero pain! Talk about being impressed! I am elated! My nipples look FABULOUS, and I simply cannot say enough wonderful things about Chris and his work! Now I?m looking forward to treating myself to a pair of beautiful blue titanium CBRs - as a birthday present to myself in about 3 months! If you are thinking about having your nipple(s) pierced, I think you should go ahead and do it! The pain is entirely subjective - based solely on your threshold for pain, but the long-term benefits are worth every minute and dollar spent!
Now, if I could just find a boyfriend/husband who would play with these rings in my nipples occasionally...