When I first got into body modification in 1998, I did not know anything about suspensions, flesh pulls, play piercing, etc. Until I discovered BME in 1999/2000, I had never even seen pictures of any of it. My first thought was, "I wonder what that must feel like." It was very intriguing and I wanted to know more about, so, I researched it and looked at as many pictures as I could. It was probably sometime in 2001/2002 that I started thinking about what it would be like to do something like that. If I could even DO a suspension, being I'm not that small. So I decided to ask people on IAM about it, where better to find out about it then people that have done it, right? I can not remember exactly who I did ask, but I found out that just because I'm a bigger girl, does not mean I can not do a suspension. GREAT!
At A Glance Author Jessica Contact littleskittlez@yahoo.com IAM littleskittles When Six months ago Artist Jonny, Badur and KW Studio Kw's backyard Location Oklahoma City, Oklahoma I saw that KW was going to have a BME BBQ in June of 2003 for the IWasCured Tour. I got very, very excited. Not only could I go to my first BME event and meet people that were into the same things as me, but I might actually be able to do a suspension!
My first thought was, "Is it going to cost anything?" because I know the supplies for it are not going to be. So, I asked KW about it. He had told me that if there was going to be a cost, it would very little. You can about imagine how ecstatic I was since I am so poor. *laugh*
I started thinking..."Am I ready to do a suspension?" I thought about it for a while and decided that I was just going to do a flesh pull before I do a suspension. Just so I can get myself use to hooks, how it was going to feel, etc. The only question was.. Who was I going to do the pull with? I wanted to share it with someone that was special to me. Who better than my soon to be husband, Travis. We talked it over and decided that we were going to do a pull and he wanted to do a suspension.
When it came down to the day of, I was very nervous. I was excited and looking forward to doing it, but I was also scared that I would back out at the last minute. I thought about everything and talked about it with Travis on the drive there. When we got to Oklahoma City, we got lost. Which really sucked, but we just called KW and found it in no time. Everyone was really friendly and inviting, which really helped me out a lot. I did not feel like an outsider, it felt like a big family reunion, even though I did not know anyone! *laugh*
We went inside where KW and his girl (I am SO sorry but her name is drawing a blank) greeted us. KW also mentioned that if we were going to be doing any suspensions or pulls, we would need to fill out a couple forms. Travis and I went to the coffee table, started to fill out the form and wouldn't you know it- Jessica started thinking! Can I really do this? Will this hurt? Will I bleed? Will I faint? What if the hooks rip my skin? Finally I told myself to shut up, that everything was going to be just fine.
After we finished filling the forms out, we both went outside to mingle and smoke a cigarette. I just have to say that if you haven't been to a BME Event, you really need to go. The people that are on IAM/BME are some of the greatest people you will meet. Everyone is so wonderful. We were talking to the two guys that were ahead of us on "the list". They were going to be doing a pull together and were both doing suspensions. Both were first timers also, which was awesome to have someone to talk to about it. They both did great on their suspensions and pull. It was funny to see the neighbors standing on the balcony looking at us like, "What in the hell are these people doing?"
Right before the guy that was before us was done (I'm so bad with names right now) KW told us we were up. All I could do was let out a very big sigh. Both of us went inside, but Travis was getting 'hooked up' first. I stood there with my camera, so I can take pictures. After he was all done, it was my turn. I laid down on the table, after Jonny went Clorox happy on it. *smile* After I laid on the table, I kept taking deep breaths to control my breathing so I didn't jerk when he pierced me. He had to get some stuff ready but when he was done, he wiped my back off to clean the area. Next, he marked the spots on my back where he was going to put the hooks in. Then, he asked me if I was ready. I told him to wait just a minute. I laid there for a minute or two and just breathed.
I told Jonny that I was ready, he told me to hold as still as I could... that he was going to try to be fast. I said okay and on the count of 3,
ba-da-bing! He was not lying either when he said he was going to make it fast! I've never seen or felt anyone pierce that quickly before. It really did not hurt as bad as I had expected, so the second time was a breeze. After I got all hooked up, we headed back outside to wait.
Badur, KW and Jonny told us to go over on the side (out of the sun) to get set up after everyone was done. They put the ropes on the hooks and made sure that everything was good to go. They told us to walk away from each other until the ropes were tight and wait there. When we got to the point where the rope pulled the hooks, I thought "Oh my god! That hurt and felt good at the same time!" KW and Badur were down at my end and Jonny was down at Travis's end. They all asked if we were ready, we agreed and they said go.
Travis started to pull me back because the first real jerk of the hooks set me off, but once I started pulling back, it was great. After about a minute or two, I said I wanted to stop because it was hurting a lot. Jonny and KW looked at my back because I was bleeding a little, then they looked at Travis's back. KW asked me if I was alright. I told him that it was hurting a lot and asked if that was normal. He said that I had to do was take all that pain that I was feeling, don't think about it and it will turn into endorphins and just starting pulling as hard as I could. KW pumped me up and then I was ready to go.
I took a deep breath and said that I was ready. On the count of 3, they said go and I just started pulling as hard as I could. All the sudden, it was almost like Travis was DRAGGING me backwards, and I started to think I was really weak, until we noticed that Jonny had grabbed a hold of Travis and was pulling. So, KW AND Badur grabbed a hold of me and started pulling me. I heard everyone yelling, "Get him girl! You have the strength, you can do it!" So, I bent down lower and just started pulling as hard as I could. Using them to pull even harder. I didn't even feel the pain anymore, it was just amazing.
After I won that battle, Travis was ready to do his suspension. So, they took the ropes off and got everything set up on the rig. I was standing there, sweating, with this weird smile on my face. My body was tired, but yet I felt so energized, I could not sit down. I stood there, smoking a cigarette, watching them get Travis set up. Then Badur and Jonny came over and asked me if I wanted to pull Travis up with my hooks. I was still in awe and wanted to pull some more, so I was like sure...what the hell.
So, they took the rope that was attached to my hooks to the pull rope that was attached to the rig. We all waited until Travis was ready to go up. When he said he was ready, KW told me when to walk forward. It was TOTALLY different than pulling with Travis. It was a lot more challenging and took a lot more strength. After Travis was up off the ground, KW took over and Badur unhooked me. I walked over and just watched Travis.
I sat there...and had NO idea how to explain how I felt. Everyone kept asking me what it felt like. I really didn't know what to tell them. It was so hard to describe how I felt...I was so happy, yet so tired. I didn't even feel sore. (Not yet anyways!) The only thing I kept saying was, "That was so amazing."
After Travis was done with his suspension, I went inside to get the hooks taken out. Badur cleaned off the table, I laid down so he could take them out. After he did, he started to clean off my back, since I bled some. It felt so good when he put pressure and pressed down where the hooks were. Badur let me keep my hooks, which was really awesome. I asked him if there was anything special I needed to do for it to heal. He told me just to make sure and keep them clean and they will heal just fine.
I will never forget that day as long as I live. It was a very amazing and wonderful experience. I'm so very glad that I got to experience with such great people. KW, Jonny and Badur took great care of me. (and everyone else there) Everyone that I met that day was just great. I'm so glad that I decided to do the pull. Now, I'm just hoping I can get up enough guts to do a suspension!
Thank you for reading my experience. I hope that at least one person got something from it. I really enjoy talking about it. I just want to say a BIG thank you to Jonny and Badur...you guys are just fucking awesome and I hope we meet again one day. And also to KW and his girl (which I STILL can't remember her name, and KNOW it will come back to me after I submit this and I'll feel very stupid!) for hosting the BBQ, I will definitely be at the next one!