My birthday present from the guys at Koi

At A Glance Author The Rylon Unit Contact trunit@hotmail.com Artist John Pratt Studio Koi Location 13th S. 9th E. Salt Lake City, Utah

I had my first piercing done (my septum) when I was fifteen years old, by John Pratt when he was at the Blue Boutique in Salt Lake City. My parents went in with me and signed for it, so don't think he does non-reputable work; he's an excellent piercer. I was so pleased with how he made feel before, during, and after the piercing, and with his professionalism, that I followed him to Koi, the studio that he now co-owns with Curt Warren, another excellent piercer.

Curt and John had probably pierced me about 22 times between my first piercing and the apadravya, and Curt did some work on my mother's ears at some point. I had been interested in genital piercing for years, and knew that because I had had so many positive experiences with the guys at Koi that they were once again my piercer's of choice. For obvious reasons, I wasn't about to ask my parents to sign for this particular piercing, even though they would have; it was a sign of respect, I suppose.

So I made the appointment for my 18th birthday, and decided on an apadravya, after talking to a truckload of people about what they preferred and why. The pain and aftercare weren't considerations at all when I chose this piercing; I loved the way it looked, and that was that basically that.

Curt was supposed to do the piercing, but on the day in question his car broke down and he was stranded a city away. I was too excited about the piercing to back down at this point, I had people with me who wanted to see it done, and I really think that John is the most talented piercer that I've ever had the pleasure to be pierced by, so I asked him if he would do it. He was totally willing to, so I had a cigarette with him outside and was ready.

I lay down on the "operating" table and removed my pants, while my girlfriend, John, and a buddy of mine joked about how awkward this must be for me. I was scared shitless, so they. were kind of on the mark. John worked on jewelry placement, and said that my urethra wasn't perfectly straight, so I should decide if I wanted it through my urethra and slightly off-center, or not through my urethra and centered in the glans. I wanted it done urethrally, so I didn't mind it a little off-center. Sonja, my girlfriend was holding my hand while I took the deep breaths I needed to calm myself, and my buddy Nolan had a camera ready to take pictures. I was a little nervous about getting hard, because the whole experience was a huge turn-on to me, but I didn't, and that was kind of a relief. And then, boom. The worst pain of my life. I lay there, drained, while John placed the jewelry and bound me up in a glove for the bleeding. I was so happy that I gave John some gratuity cash, and didn't realize until later that he hadn't charged me full price for the piercing; it was my birthday, after all!

Going home, I was smoking the most enjoyable cigarette of my life, and just flying. There was so much adrenaline in me that I didn't hurt at all anymore, and was in the clouds. It was wonderful.

The aftercare was standard, so I won't bore you with the details; the one thing I will say is that when they tell you urination will hurt, what they mean is "You will piss hot razorblades for several weeks." The first time I urinated after the piercing, about 3 hours afterwards, I wasn't sure what to expect, so I stood in front of the toilet and let fly. Big mistake; a blood clot had formed in my urethra, so the urine was trapped, and forced it's way out the bottom hole for a split-second. That wasn't so bad. Then the blood clot came loose, and the next thing I new there was blood and blood-stained urine all over my bathroom, and I was doubled over in stinging pain from the urine's contact with the top exit hole. If you do this, which I strongly recommend, it's a wonderful piercing, sit down. I usually do now anyway, because I have more genital work, but trust me, it's easier. If you need to insist on being a man, there is a "grip" that Curt taught me if you have a smaller gauge (8 to 12) piercing. Twist your penis upside-down, and push the piercing down, so the bead is effectively "plugging" the exit hole on the underside of your glans. This is usually an effective way of maintaining urinal status.

Despite the pain of the piercing itself, I would say that this piercing was one of the most intense sexual experiences of my life. In the photos (which I'll upload soon; they aren't scanned) you can see semen mixing with the blood and lubricant on the needle, while it's through my glans but before the jewelry is in. And don't let my description of urination scare you away; you'll live through it. Oh; put towels under your midsection during sleep the first few nights. Since you'll get erect while you're asleep, the blood will flow quite a bit the first few nights. So expect to be maybe just a touch lightheaded in the mornings.

The piercing is about a year and a half old now, and tougher than hell; it healed very well, although with a TINY bit of excess keloidal/scar tissue on the top of my glans. Personally, I think it's pretty, so it doesn't bother me at all. It's stretched to about a 4 gauge on the bottom, and I think I'm still at an 8 on the top; I was pierced with a one and a half inch 10 gauge, I think. It may have been a 12. I'd like to stretch it to 1/2 or 3/4 inch, but I'll see what happens when I get there.

Take care, and pleasant piercing experiences to you! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments. -The Rylon Unit