It's been about 16 months now since I had my apadravya piercing done - around about Valentine's Day last year. But I'd been considering it for a couple of months before then. My first interests in genital piercing had been a simple frenum piercing, but when my then-girlfriend and I went to visit our piercer, he said the placement I wanted (further forward than normal) would be very unlikely to heal. So that disappointment set my brain in motion for something else.
At A Glance Author Dave Contact Dave@bme.anon IAM sepult3380 When A year ago Artist Gizzy Studio Cold Steel Location Camden Town, London At the time, I only had my septum piercing and two failed attempts at a madison, so looking through the pictures on BME of apadravya and ampallang piercings made me feel a bit uneasy. They seemed too extreme for me. But I'm sure in time you can get used to any idea, and I did with this one. I ran the idea past my girlfriend a few times and she never seemed too enthusiastic, but I was getting more and more interested in going through with it so I learnt all I could from the internet.
When February came along, my girlfriend and I had since broken up and I felt the time was right to mark an end to the heartbreak with something. I'd turned 18 in January so there was nothing holding me back now. I'd been feeling very dramatic and emotional, as you do, so I saw getting a piercing like this as a way to put all that pain behind me. It seemed an apadravya piercing was the most painful to quite widespread agreement on BME. To get through pain as severe as this was set to be would surely mean I could overcome anything and I could put aside my fears. And I still feel like that today.
I chose Cold Steel in Camden to do the piercing because I knew they were among the very best places to go regarding hygiene and general competence. I also quite liked the fact I didn't know anybody who works there and I could keep an anonymous profile with them since I'm about 25 miles away from the shop, and it costs me £5 to get there. So after school one day, when my parents were out of earshot, I phoned up and tried to book an appointment for the piercing. Cold Steel is quite a busy place though and they didn't have any space for me at the weekend, so I decided I'd just skip the afternoon off school the next Friday. Fortunately, it turned out to be only a half-day at school anyway, so there were no worries there.
When the day came, I began to get very nervous. More nervous than I expected to be because I'd been psyching myself up all week. I hadn't told any of my friends at school until the Friday. They all seemed very shocked and quite excited because it's a big step to take. I remember reading in my research about an old tribe - from Australia I think - who would perform an apadravya piercing as a rite of passage for a teenager to progress in to manhood. My schoolfriends seemed to see it in that way which was quite sweet considering I imagined I'd get a lot of hostility by telling people about my plans. They even rode the train with me half the way in to London.
Walking up the road from the train station I was getting more and more worried. I'd brought something to drink with me and I bought some more food from the shops on the high street after I'd checked in at Cold Steel's reception area, just to make sure I was topped up with energy in case I felt faint during the piercing. I had to sign the usual forms giving my consent to perform the piercing and also show my drivers licence to prove my age. The guy working the desk was chatting to me while I sat waiting for my piercer, Gizzy, to get ready upstairs, and he did a good job of relaxing me. After what seemed like no time at all, Gizzy came downstairs for me and the time had come!
The room was spotless as I'd expected, and we chatted for a little bit. I think she could tell how nervous I was. I told her I'd never had to do anything like this before and she reassured me that it's nothing to worry about and that she'd guide me through it. I'm sure getting naked in front of a total stranger for the first time is always going to be daunting to anybody, but knowing that didn't make it any easier! All I can say for reassurance is that it wasn't as bad as I'd been worrying, it didn't feel too weird. Also, I can't imagine anybody being able to get an accidental erection from the experience. It was far too scary and it shrunk to about half the size so it would've taken something quite miraculous to get me hard after that!
First of all she took a piece of kitchen paper and tore a hole in it... can you tell what goes through that? Then she cleaned the area thoroughly and asked what side of the frenum I'd like to be pierced. All the while she was changing and discarding pairs of gloves like they grew on trees, which was good to see happening because it shows they're just as fussy about hygiene in piercings at Cold Steel as I am! Everything was laid out next to me on a little medical tray. She took a pen and drew on the entry and exit holes and asked me to check. It was a little too far forward on the top so I asked her to move it back until I was happy. Then she cleaned them up to small dots as whatever she used to clean me with had made the ink bleed out. She was very gentle applying the clamps and took it slowly so I didn't get too worried. I knew what was coming next! I couldn't think of anything else. I started to concentrate on my breathing to keep calm and she told me she'd pierce me as I to ok a deep breath out. And then...
ARRGGH!!! I've never felt so much pain in my whole life!! My eyes clouded over red and every sense in my body seemed to disconnect apart from the massive pain I was feeling in my cock. I can't even describe it, and I couldn't have done then either. I did moan a little bit but I was gritting my teeth out of reaction. It took a few seconds til the pain died down enough to take my next breath. And then I realised... I had survived it!! I was alive :) As silly as that must sound, there was a lot of relief to know I'd done it. Following the needle catheter through with the jewellery felt only small after the piercing itself. But it was about then I could feel it all swelling and the clamps were feeling a lot tighter so it was good to have them removed.
She praised me that I'd taken it so well and hadn't flinched, which I can imagine must be a bad thing for a piercer to try and cope with. I sat up a little and had a look. It was amazing! It's a strange feeling to see your genitals pierced but I was happy with it, and began to feel exhilarated. She dressed me up in paper towel and a couple of surgical gloves to keep the blood off my clothes and an elastic band. I lay there staring up at the designs on the ceiling and felt very proud of myself :) When I got up to pull up my boxers I began to feel a little light-headed, but just because of the adrenaline rush that was kicking in I think. She asked if I was ok and I said yes but I took a moment to sit down and catch my breath anyway.
I went back downstairs to pay and bought the Provon I'd been recommended as part of my aftercare. I was also to do a sea salt soak twice a day. I said my "thank you"s and left for home. Walking down the street I felt 10 feet tall. My confidence hadn't been so high in a long while and despite the awkward injury in my groin I felt I could've taken on anybody. My friend Steve had sent me a message on my phone asking how it had been but I sent a reply back to my mum's phone by mistake! I didn't mention any specifics luckily so she just thought I was on drugs until I could tell her I'd been trying to tell him about this new band I'd heard.
I cleaned it exactly to the advice I'd been given for a few weeks until my natural laziness began to kick in and I would occasionally miss a soak or two. I kept a dressing on it for a few days while the bleeding was heavy. The day after, I had to go to work, which involved standing up behind the till most of the day. It didn't do me much good evidently as when I got chance to take off the surgical gloves at home I had bled quite a terrifying amount of blood. I was a bit worried at first but I didn't feel ill at all so I got lots to eat and stopped panicking.
Since then the healing has gone quite smoothly with only a few disasters along the way. I've only just recently road tested it in bed for the first time, and my girlfriend Rachel says it feels great and I agree too, so any girls reading this - you should start convincing your boyfriends to get it done, it has the seal of approval!