At A Glance
Author	ServMe
Contact	ServMe@bme.anon
IAM	ServMe
When	It just happened
Artist	Metal Patrick
Studio	Bodymetals
Location	Sint-Niklaas, Belgium

I've been on IAM and BME for some years now, and my eyes have opened. I always considered myself a fairly open minded person, but it's only when one comes in contact with the less usual, that real boundaries are pushed and mindsets changed.

I've met quite some IAM people, I've traveled and enjoyed the company of others, and each one of them was modified in their own way. Some were tattooed, others were pierced in various bits and pieces. Some are into suspensions, branding or cutting. It's a wonderful world to explore and that is exactly what drove me to get pierced yesterday. For as long as I can remember, I've been into tattoos. I've got some; I like them on others and will always look out for interesting art in skin. Sticking needles and metal through various body parts though, that never really tickled my pickle, and it still doesn't to this day. I can see the fascination with it in others, and have listened to their stories, read and reviewed their experiences, without ever really grasping what it is all about.

Over the weekend, I started thinking "why not?" and as I carefully stepped back from the idea to get pierced I analyzed it from all angles. I wouldn't do it because I like the aesthetic appearance. I wouldn't do it to shock others or to fit in with a group of peers. Then why would I want to get pierced? Because I wanted to know what it was like. I wanted to try and experience what makes piercing so interesting and desirable for other individuals. No doubt that through my own experience I cannot even begin to imagine what makes you like piercings, but it would teach me what it possibly feels like to get a needle shoved through skin and some foreign body inserted through the holes.

Yes, me getting a nipple pierced was nothing short of a desire to have the experience. I didn't know whether or not I'd like it, like the result or the overall feeling, but that didn't scare me. I also realized that if it grew on me, I could end up keeping it, but had the option to take it out as well. Convinced that now was a good time to get the real thing, I got in touch with Metal Patrick a professional piercer at bodymetals and set up an appointment for Wednesday after work. I had met Patrick during previous occasions and seen his work and the way he works, even though I had never set foot into his shop. I wasn't nervous but rather curious as to what would happen once I decided to go through with it.

Wednesday rolls around and as it's quite busy at work, I have little time to think about it, let alone panic. I leave work a few minutes past 17h30 and head off to the studio, a drive of about 30 minutes according to Patrick to which I talked over the phone on Tuesday. Thanks to an excellent route description that I printed off from the site, I arrive a few minutes past six, and I walk in. Now the nerves are acting up a little, as I really don't know what to expect. Luckily Martine and Derek welcome me wonderfully so that little knot in my stomach unravels quickly. I'm offered something to drink and I tell them I wouldn't mind some cool water. Patrick is working on another client at the time so we chitchat about various things. When Patrick greets me we continue talking about lots of things, but not about piercings. Then he moves onto the needle and skin topic and we both sit down to discuss what I want and what is possible.

I tell him I want my nipple pierced and he explains every step to me. I have some questions in general about piercing and he answers each and every one of them, much to my satisfaction. After some more minutes he asks me if I'm ready and we go to the separated piercing room. I take off my shirt while Patrick starts setting up all his tools. During our little conversation in the shop, I already decided that I'd want a CBR as jewelry and not a barbell. Don't ask me why, it just seemed to fit me better.

He first cleans my nipple with a spray and some sterile gauze, and then asks me to stand up straight, arms resting easily next to my body as he marks my left nipple. Then it's off to take a look at the sterilized jewelry, and I pick a nice and shiny CBR. I don't feel like going for something with a fancy color, so I go for the "stainless look". As Patrick explains to me that both a 12mm and a 14mm ring would fit me, it just comes down to looks. We move to a mirror and show both diameters next to my nipple, and I decide to go for the 12mm one. Back to the chair and Patrick explains what's next: "I'm now going to clamp your nipple and that will probably be the most painful part of the whole procedure. I will adjust it a few times, till I'm absolutely happy with the placement, so it might hurt a little." I reply that he's the professional and as such I have confidence in his judgment.

After clamping and readjusting a few times, he asks me to breath in and out slowly and on the count of three he'll pierce me. I agree and start breathing in and out slowly, and I must admit that I almost hesitated a little when starting inhale number three. Upon exhaling, I feel a short burning feeling in my nipple and that's it. I didn't feel a poke, or something sticking me, which is what I expected. Instead it's just a short burning pain. I don't look down to see what's going on, or what stage of piercing Patrick is completing, but just chat along. A few seconds later I feel a slight tugging of the skin as he removes the clamps and follows the jewelry through. Then out come the ring closures and he pops in the bead between the two ends. It's nearly finished and he puts on some gauze to keep it clean and protected. "Keep that gauze on for the night and remove it in the morning. Then start the sea salt rinsing twice a day for at least 3 weeks."

All of that sounds quite familiar to me, as we went through that before. He hands me the wrappings of the sterile packs as well, and explains to me I can look up the reports online for the sterilization batch that included the tools used on me. If you're interested, you can find the sterilization report here.

We step back out of the room, and Martine hands me an envelope with an aftercare sheet and instructions. I pay and leave a nice tip for the excellent service. It is something we usually don't do in Belgium, but I'm quite impressed with how the appointment went so that warrants a bit extra.

While driving home, I certainly do notice something was done to my nipple, but it never gets painful. It's just a slight discomfort and when I get home I take off my shirt and do everything I'd do on other evenings. Sleeping poses no problems at all, and when I wake up I do my first sea salt rinse, one of many to come.

As I'm writing this, the first little crusts have started appearing on the edges of the holes, so I'd say that healing has commenced, and I'm off for a life as a man that has firsthand experience about getting pierced. I don't know yet whether or not I'll stick with this ring through my nipple, but right now, I don't see any reason to remove it - in fact it's already starting to grow on me!