This whole thing still seems a bit unreal. It is almost a year since the last time I suspended. I never wrote an experience for the last time I suspended. I chalk it up to not quite knowing what to think of it yet. Now I did it again. And I love it. But we'll get there in a bit. But first a bit of foreplay... I mean back-story.
At A Glance Author ThatMonkey Contact ThatMonkey@bme.anon IAM ccrewdson When Three months ago Artist Kevin McKinley Studio Body Piercing Unlimited and Tattoo Location Fairbanks, AK A couple weeks ago I randomly ran into my friend Kevin at the hardware store. Kevin is the owner of Body Piercing Unlimited and Tattoo which is, in my opinion, the best local piercing shop. He mentioned that they were going to be sponsoring a show soon at a local club. I thought "cool", I'll go to that. I kind of forgot about it. Then about a week before the show, a friend sent me a link to a flyer for the show. I thought "Oh yeah, I should go to that...." The next day I found some more information about it, and was going to get ready to go that weekend. Later that day, Kevin calls. Here's how the conversation went:
"Hey, one of the guys we were going to suspend this weekend canceled on us. I'm looking for someone else."
So I say, "Like me?"
"If you're willing."
"Hell yeah!"
Plans were made and Saturday we had a meeting to plan how everything was going to go. Jenneca (the other person getting suspended, and also one of the piercers at the shop) was going to do a Resurrection, and I was to do a Suicide (both six-point). Laci (my girlfriend) really wanted to get involved, so we decided that she would do a four-point suicide off of a harness I would wear. We practiced it with body harnesses, and everything was set. Laci and I went home to clean up and eat.
At 5pm, Laci and I went to the shop. Everybody was going crazy getting ready for the show. Both of the piercers were cleaning, marking and piercing non-stop. Kevin was on his mobile all day and running around town. Kevin called and asked if I could go get some food for the Tanya (the other piercer), and I said sure. I asked Tanya what she wanted and was ready to head out the door. Laci asked me where I was going, and I said "To get some food for Tanya." "But you don't have a car here." I must have been so excited and caught up in it all that I had completely forgotten our house-mates had dropped us off so I wouldn't have to drive home. That was a little embarrassing.
After getting over my embarrassment and getting a few more things ready, we got marked at the shop. When we finally got over to the club, it was packed. It was dark, loud and crazy. A dressing/prep room had been set up off the corner of the stage, and it was a little corner of solace. By this time I was getting quite nervous. I kept thinking about how I was going to start the suspension (by swinging off the stage), and about picking Laci up. I had picked her up during my last suspension, but that was different, cause she wasn't suspending off of me. This time she would be. After sitting through 45 minutes of a local band (that I didn't really care for), it was Jenneca's turn to go up. She sat down and Tanya and Kevin (the owner is also a piercer of course) starting prepping her for her piercings. Kevin has done quite a few suspension piercings and Tanya has helped with most, so they developed "tandem piercing". It's probably been done before, but it's very useful. Instead of doing each piercing one at a time, they each do one at the same. Speaking as one who has had it done to them, I can say it makes the experience much better. But I'll get to that. When she was done and ready, she walked out to show the crowd. They must have loved it because they were cheering so loud. She go hooked up and leaned back into it. In no time she was off the ground. It probably seemed like a long time for her, but it seemed like no time and she was flying around with a big smile. Then it was time for the second band's set.
Another band I didn't enjoy and then the fire show. Well, it was going to just be my show but some other guys showed up and Kevin said to integrate them. So I told them when to come up and where to go and do their thing. We went up and they did some fire poi and a couple blows. I did some fire eating and "fire-proof arms" and cleaned up for a second set. Around this time the other guys decided to put out their poi with a fuel-soaked towel. Needless to say this didn't work. We ended up needing a fire extinguisher after they set the floor on fire. We stopped then, and the band came back up to give us time to set up for the next event: My suspension.
I went back to the prep room and sat down. I was ready. My heart was pumping and I was ready to go. I was already marked, so I just had to get cleaned and pierced. I sat down and Tanya and Kevin went to work. They did their tandem piercing, and in no time all the hooks were in. I now had lots of adrenaline running through my veins, and was really ready. A couple of my friends were standing near the door, so I walked over and show them. Dan was a little drunk I think because he reached up and grabbed one of the hooks and tugged on it. It didn't hurt at all, but it was just annoying. After that I decided that I would hang out in the safety of the dressing room until it was time to go.
Finally it was time to go. I walked out and faced the crowd in front of the suspension rig. By this time I was very ready to go. I was happy, psyched and felt great. Kevin clipped me in and stepped back, ready to hoist me up. I slowly stepped up onto the stage, pulling the rigging with me. It was a very nice and warm feeling to be pulling some weight on the hooks. Once I was on the stage, I slowly turned around, which proved kind of difficult while twisting the suspension rigging with me and maintaining my balance. I managed to turn around, kind of bent over, and smiled at the crowd. The whole time, they had been cheering me on, but I only realized this afterwards. I leaned back into the hooks and put some tension on them. It felt good, so I really sat back into them. This felt wonderful, so I signaled Kevin that I was ready to go. I counted "one... two... three..." and stepped off the stage onto the hooks.
Now the pain.
I've sought to explain the pain to many people, but I never feel like I can really do it. When you are ready for it, it becomes more than pain. When one knows one is safe and that what one is doing will not really harm one, one can realize that the pain is really a sense just like taste and smell. It is really an extension of the sense of touch that we are socially conditioned to fear and hate. Pain is a part of life, and we deceive ourselves if we think we can live without it. I know what pain is. I have touched the limits of it. I know how it burns into your mind and tries to make you run screaming. All this from a few hours of piercing and suspension in my life. People pay thousands to psychologists for this type of release.
And that is my story.