I guess I should start by saying that I have a twin brother, Kyle, that has and always will subject me to various amounts of physical and mental anguish. Im not sure if I knew at first that he was doing suspensions, but I found out soon after, and I wanted to try it.
At A Glance Author ryan Contact ryanpoland15@hotmail.com IAM ryan666 When Six months ago Artist ROP Studio factory Location providence, RI i didnt feel drawn to it the way some people say that they do. I didnt feel some insatiable urge to be hung from shark hooks. I am just always willing to try things that look different and interesting.
It was the 2nd annual Providence SusCon. I was new to BME and IAM so I hadnt met many people. I was a bit nervous going into it, because i have a slight social anxiety disorder.
In the parking lot I briefly met Cere, and a couple other people that I cant recall at the moment.
Inside the building there was an enormous beautiful spiral staircase. As a carpenter, i was stunned. It was all falling apart. Like something out of a low budget horror movie. But amazing.
Upstairs, past lofts of artists and musicians, there was the sign in desk. Joy was not having a good day. We signed in. I would be doing a 4 point spinning beam with my brother.
I was impatiently waiting for Brian or Emrys to come and tell me it was my turn to hang. I smoked alot and drank water.
Finally someone came to get us. First they had us take off our shirts to expose our rippling abs, then they laughed at us while we shivered for a while. We then sat in chairs and the "throwers" yanked on our backs for a while. They said they wanted to find the least painful place to throw the hooks, but I dont buy it. They laid us face down, and threw the needles in along with the hooks, and patted us on the bums and sent us our merry ways.
On a side note, I remember that one specific piercer took the liberty of squirting lubricant down the back side of my pants. It was Ok.
They rigged us up, and right away I started pulling. I had done it before so I had very little fear of what was about to happen. I vaguely remember Kyle kept saying, "Ok." to try to get the guy pulling on us to stop, but by that time I had more control over the pull than he did.
I think it took us a solid minute or 2 to get off the ground. I remember that I had my feet off of the ground and my brother was still on the ground... which makes for a VERY fun yet imbalanced spin.
They instructed us to try to walk counter clock-wise. We did. They instructed us to start hopping. We did. Pretty soon i think we were both laughing so hard pain was no longer an issue. Anyone with a close sibling can understand when the point comes that causing pain and recieving pain is just as funny, and not mutually exclusive.
I jumped as hard as I could, slamming Kyle into the ground, and he did the same. I remember being dizzy as hell, laughing so hard I couldnt catch my breath, but trying to stay focused enough to bring the maximum amount of pain down on my brother.
It was an amazing experience. Not spiritual, and no barriers were broken. But I love my brother. And for the first time since I was 10 I felt like I was playing with him again. Thanks bro.
Im not sure how long we were up. 5 minutes? 10 minutes? It felt like more. The amount of energy both mental and physical used is comparable to a full day of hard labor. And I felt just as good afterwards.
They took us down, milked our backs, and as it turned out, Kyles back had ripped a little bit... I laughed to myself and gloated. I tried to pass off that it might be the fact that they had to use bigger hooks on him, because they were piercing through an indescribable amount of scar tissue. I stood and watched them milk my brother. I still had the hooks in my back. Someone asked if I wanted them out... I think I said something to the effect of, "Im in no rush."
We all said our "Thank you"s and as far as I can remember we left right away.
I felt great for days afterwards. Its like the best massage youve ever had in your entire life. The best workout. A long sleep. It makes you feel good.
Thank you to everyone involved. You know who you are. Even though I might not remember everyone. I still appreciate it.