When I first became interested in body modification I would look through all the pictures on BME. Eventually I came across the pictures of pullings and suspensions. I thought to myself, sure, I'd like to try that some time. Of course, I wasn't overly serious about it. At the time I thought of pulling in the same way I thought of climbing Mt. Everest or snorting a kilo of cocaine. I'd like to try it someday, but it's far down on my list of things to do.
At A Glance Author carterlite Contact carterlite@bme.anon IAM carterlite When N/A Artist Erin Studio at a BME bbq Location Raleigh, NC A year into my modified life no one had offered to climb Mt. Everest with me, and no one had given me a kilo of cocaine, but I did have the very real opportunity of doing a flesh pull at the BME bbq in Raleigh, NC on April 10. The day of the bbq arrived and, after a 3 hour drive and some food off the grill, it was time to pull. As it was my first flesh pull my automatic response was to pull from my back. However, Robin mentioned a forearm pull and the idea instantly grabbed me. I liked that I'd be able to see the person I'm pulling against and the control I'd have.
After a few other people, it was my turn to be hooked so I sat down facing Erin, who was throwing hooks that day. She opened up an autoclaved packed that contained my hooks and poured a small amount of iodine on the open package. She then took a toothpick and marked where she would pierce my forearms. When she was happy with the marks she took the needle and hook and placed it right next to my forearm. "Ready? Take a deep breath and.. exhale." The hook went in with no pain--it was euphoric. It may have been my least painful piercing ever. The right forearm, however, was fairly uncomfortable. Hell, it hurt. It was a sharp pain that made me grimace but wasn't bad enough to make me jerk my arm away. The pain was brief, the hooks were in and Erin gave me my piece of rope to pull from.
Throughout the next several hours I pulled against 5 people and a few other times I pulled while someone held my rope in their hands. The feeling was intense. It didn't sting or burn, but felt like a lot of heat was created and trapped in my forearms. Pulling with another person, with my eyes closed, I could feel the other person pull me slightly forward and then I'd slowly pull them back. I thought of ocean waves coming up the beach and then receding, only to advance again. While pulling, it's easy to lose oneself in the moment. During the pull there wasn't any pain, but when I relaxed there was a powerful sensation of heat, similar to the beginning of a pull, only more intense. It only lasted a couple seconds though and then went away. Throughout the day everyone walked around with the hooks still in and pulled when they felt the urge to. Walking around with huge hooks through ones skin may sound painful, but it was a small annoyance at most.
After a long day it was time to take the hooks out. Erin squirted some lube goo on the hooks and, very quickly, pulled them out. I hadn't bled the entire day and after the hooks were out I only bled a small amount. Also, some people get a lot of air caught under their skin that needs to be "burped" out, but I had no air that needed burping. I should add that while throwing the hooks and while taking them out, Erin wore a dental mask and changed gloves multiple times. She then put bandages on my forearms and gave me my hooks and pulling rope as souvenirs. My forearms were pretty tender for the rest of the night and slightly bruised for the next couple of days but now only two small dots where the hooks were remain.
I've shown pictures of my flesh pull to non-modified friends and the two constant questions are, Did it hurt?, and, Why did you do it? The latter isn't always easy to answer. It's easiest to compare it to distance running or another activity that is both physical and mental. You do it because you have the ability to. The knowledge and overcoming of fear that it takes. And once you're done you can say, "See what I just did? I did something amazing, something most people are too weak or too afraid to try. I tested my self and won!"
This was my first bbq and first flesh pull so I was a little nervous starting off. Once we all started pulling, though, it was a blast. I can hardly wait to meet more friends from BME and pull again (or maybe suspend!).