At A Glance Author Puck Contact Puck@bme.anon IAM Puck When Three months ago Artist Warren Deane Studio Perforations Location Brighton, UK. I'd always had a fear of getting an Ampallang. The idea of having a needle pushed right through the head of my penis sent shudders through me. I already had a Prince Albert and an Apadravya, but I had anaesthetic for both piercings, and whilst pain wasn't really an issue for me since my branding at the start of 2001, I had a mental block I guess.
For all that though, the piercing also held a fascination. Such was my apprehension that the Ampallang became a landmark, a pinnacle of achievement that I knew I would one day aspire to reach. I'd read experiences whenever I saw a new one posted on BME, and look at photos of procedures. I think I was slowly trying to get my head around what, for me at least, was becoming a rite of passage, but a passage to what I didn't really know.
In February I decided that enough was enough, I had to take the step forward that I had been building up to for over a year. So one afternoon when we were sat in the Perforations waiting room, I turned to my wife and told her that I was going to book myself in for my Ampallang. "Go for it", she replied with a beaming smile. That was it then, time to book myself in! I sat behind the desk and told Dom what I was after. His face split into a wide grin, and he asked me when I'd like to get it done. The date was set for March 5th, two weeks time.
It's the Perforations way to ritualise the Ampallang, for Warren (the studio owner) the Amp has always been the ultimate male piercing, and perhaps it was this that had already influenced the way I viewed this piercing. Appointments are usually given with a couple of weeks for the client to go through the whole emotional build-up to the actual procedure. Anaesthetic is never used, and only Warren and Dom were experienced enough to do the piercing, and at the time of making the appointment Dom had already told me he was going on to other things. So I was pretty sure that the piercing would be performed by Warren, and as he was the guy who had branded my back, I was confident that my trust was well placed.
Over the next couple of weeks I had a couple of tense moments, but right up 'til the day of the piercing I was surprisingly calm. The train journey there was surprisingly quick. Normally it seemed to take twice as long as this, and before I knew it we were in Brighton. We'd arranged to meet a couple of friends at the studio and heated discussion began for everyone except me. All I got from the guys were smiles and a sympathetic "How're you feeling?". The appointment was 4 o'clock, but it was closer to 5.30 before Warren "whooshed" me down to the piercing room with my wife in tow.
I'd got myself well and truly ready for this in the time I'd been sat waiting upstairs (including drinking a can of coke both for the sugar hit, and to enable a quick visit to the toilet once I was pierced to *flush* my urethra) and I felt incredibly at ease as I disrobed and climbed onto the couch. Warren was his usual self, mixing idle chit-chat with innuendo, all helping to keep me calm before he began the procedure. My Apadravya bar and my PA ring were removed, and Warren marked either side of my glans and checked placement. All was looking good.
I was still relaxed as the Ampallang clamps were tightened. I'd heard that this part of the proceedings was really uncomfortable, but I didn't find it to be of any concern at all. At one point I was actually going to ask if the clamps were the right ones, as the sensation was pretty much zero. After a couple of minutes we were ready, and Warren asked me if I was ready to receive my gift. I was as ready as I ever could be.
He told me to relax and go with it. I'd set myself one small target. I was not going to cry out if I could help it. I'd just take it as it came, and enjoy the whole experience. I tilted my head back and began to take slow, even breaths. I felt my whole body relax and kind of melt into the couch. If it wasn't for what was about to happen I could have drifted into a light sleep. I felt a sharp pain at the side of my penis, and the sensation of pushing began. An image of a white surface of some kind came into my head, and across it a small pool of blood forming. I heard Warren take two or three deep breaths, and then with a sharp stabbing sensation my Ampallang was born.
I was euphoric! My head filled with a raw emotion, I can only describe it as pure joy. I laughed out loud with my clothes around my ankles and a needle through my penis! Noot was looking at me with a mixture of relief and amusement, she'd seen an Ampallang piercing being performed before, and it was nothing like this. I hadn't cried out, hadn't made any noise at all, just a quick "ungh" sound in my throat. Warren looked down at me and he was like a father witnessing a birth. It was a very emotional moment for us all I think.
I was warned that the insertion of the jewellery might be a little sharp, but it wasn't too bad. I think that the endorphins were still carrying me along. I told him that I felt I'd cheated myself by having anaesthetic for my PA and Apadravya. After this I couldn't believe that I'd been so worried about them. This feeling was amazing. My Apadravya and PA jewellery were put back in, my PA ring looping behind the Amp, just as I'd wanted, then my "wounded soldier" was gently wrapped in a paper towel, and a latex glove put over the dressing to prevent any blood staining my clothes on the way home. While this was happening, I told Warren and Noot about my blood on white image. He told me that he was only lining the needle up and that he hadn't penetrated the skin at all at this stage. This just made the whole thing that little more fulfilling. I got dressed and gave Noot a huge hug. I was so happy that she'd shared this with me. Then I waited for Warren to finish tidying up and gave him a hug of equal proportions.
When I got upstairs, I was greeted by Rob who asked me how I felt. My mouth just opened and the words tumbled out. I got a big pat on the shoulder and a "well done mate" as he went to tend to another client. I sat down and let the endorphins subside, I was still really rushing from the whole experience, and I really didn't want to come back down to earth, but come back to earth I did. My bladder beckoned and off I went to pay my respects to the porcelain. When I'd had to urinate immediately after my PA and Apadravya, I'd had a tremendous burning sensation when passing water, so I was expecting more of the same. As it turned out the biggest challenge was getting the dressing off! Morbid curiosity forced my eyes downward as I peed, and the toilet pan was like a sluice at an abattoir. I felt no stinging at all, the can I'd drunk had obviously done the trick too, because for the next couple of days the sensation of burning never came.
I stopped bleeding on the third day, and the swelling subsided within a week or so. I had a little trouble with paraphimosis (swelling of the foreskin) for a couple of weeks, but as I'd already had this with the Apadravya, I wasn't too concerned. The piercing lymphed quite heavily for about four weeks and I soaked it twice daily in saline solution to help with the healing and cleaning.
It's been nearly three months now since my Ampallang was born, and I've not felt any desire to be pierced again. The ultimate male piercing seems to have dulled my hunger to get new piercings, something I had never banked on happening, and it has made a significant difference to our sex life, more for my wife than myself, but I'm certainly not complaining!