At A Glance
Author	Vyky Licious
Contact	Vyky Licious@bme.anon
IAM	tanked*n*pogoed
When	It just happened
Artist	Evan
Studio	Rites of Passage
Location	Evan's Backyard

Until I joined IAM, I had no idea what a flesh pull was. And until recently, (ie. a few months ago) I had no interest in them what so ever. I always thought that it was a bit too extreme. In my mind, pullings and suspensions were for people much stronger than I. People who can withstand great amounts of pain, and thrive on it. In my mind, I was not one of those people.

Fast forward to a few months ago. My best friend Jeannie had suggested we do a pull together. After careful deliberation and changing my mind about a thousand times, I agreed that this would be a good idea. Although I usually didn't stray to far from the "mainstream" modifications like piercings and tattoos, I figured that this might be a good way to reclaim ownership of my body. the only problem was, we had no clue where we could go to have the hooks thrown. I had heard that Ritualistics, a body piercing shop in my hometown of Edmonton had been known to throw hooks, but generally not to the open public. Back at square one.

Fast forward another month or so. At the BBQ My room mate Morgan and I hosted, in attendance was Evan, who is part of theRites of Passage Suspension team. He told us that he would be in town all summer and would be happy to throw hooks for all of us in the area. I was getting really excited now.

Fast forward to three days ago. Walking down Whyte avenue, Jeannie and I ran into Evan, and we made arrangements to do a pull. We weren't sure if we were going to pull together or on our own, so I made plans to pull the following Monday (today). Seeing as I was pretty ignorant on the whole topic of pullings, I made sure to do a little research here on BME.

The Day Before.
I am getting incredibly nervous. I also needed to recruit someone to come with me to make sure I didn't wuss out or generally be a tool. So I posted a new diary entry before going to bed asking if anyone in my area would be willing to accompany on my big endeavor. Thankfully Erin volunteered, although things came up, and she didn't end up making it. But I did have Jeannie to come with me, so things turned out OK.

The BIG day.
I head over to the designated meeting spot to be there by our scheduled time of four p.m. I sat for a few minutes to wait for Jeannie to arrive, and she did.. right at quarter after like she said she would. I am relieved that she's there, as we can finally get started.

Step One- The Prep
Evan opened up the autoclave packages including some gauze and a couple toothpicks. He cleans off my back with some really COLD jelly- like substance that had a very pretty scent. He then squirted some ink onto the corner of the open package and dipped the toothpick in. Marking came next. He poked me in the center of my back and asked if where he touched felt like the center. I agreed, and he drew a line going vertically down the back of my spine. Next he grabbed two handfuls of the skin on my back and asked me which side felt more comfortable. I told him the left side did, and he began to draw some more lines on my skin.

Step Two-This is What's Gonna Happen
Evan explained to me how he was going to pierce the skin and which breathing techniques he preferred to use. Breath in on one, out on two, breath in on three and he would pierce on the second breath out. he would be getting assistance from Jeff So they could get both hooks thrown at the same time, seeing as the second time around always hurt more. We waited for Jeff to finish up a phone call, and then we were ready to roll.

Step Three- Let's Get Moving
I started to take really deep breaths as Jeff and Evan got the needles and hooks ready. The needles were an eight gauge with a really intimidating bevel on them. I got a bit scared, but luckily, Jeannie kept me talking to keep my nerves at bay. Evan asked me to take a few deep breaths, so I did, and next thing I knew he was counting me down. In on one, out on two, in on three and OUCH on four. Holy Crap did that ever hurt!!!! But as always, I got over it quickly, I'm pretty tough. I got a bit lightheaded, so we took a break. I drank some iced tea to keep my blood sugar up and soon enough, I felt fine again.

Step Four- The Rigging
I sat down while Evan tied the parachute wire to the wagon wheel that I was going to pull against. Then in the meantime, Jeff rigged up the wire on my hooks. After about five minutes, we were ready to start the pull. i was getting nervous again, but everyone reassured me that everything was going to be fine. So I stood Up, and the two rigs were connected and I was ready to start my pull.

Step Five- The Pull
I started to walk away from the wagon and felt burning and intense pressure on the hooks. I started to get incredibly light headed and then my ears started to ring. Then the nauseous feeling set in. I turned ghost white and then green, and then I gagged and almost threw up. So I sat down for a few minutes, and Evan gave me a sugar tablet and some water to bring up my blood sugar and make the nausea subside. After about three minutes, I was fine again and ready to try again. By this time, the burning sensation had subsided and I started to move farther and farther away from the wagon. All I felt was the pressure on the hooks, but surprisingly, no pain what so ever. Jeff held my hands and continued to take baby steps farther and farther away from me, until I was as far away from the wagon as possible. After about 20 minutes or so, I let go of Jeff's hands and just hung. I was at about a 45 degree angle to the ground, and it was the strangest sensation I've ever felt. I fel t as if I was floating. There were no thoughts in my head, I was totally caught in the moment. I pulled for about an hour before my feet started to get really sore, and i thought It was best to quit while I was ahead.

Step Six- Packing Up
The ropes binding me to the wagon were cut and I sat down while Evan and Jeff removed the remaining rigging from the hooks. They removed the hooks and cleaned the wounds off and then massaged the air out from under my skin. It felt like rice krispies. Then the wounds were dressed and I was told how to keep care of the wounds. Baths or pools or hot tubs till the wounds were gone and to take the bandages off next shower and not to redress them. I thanked Evan and Jeff and headed home.

This was a defining point in my life. It made me realize that I am much stronger physically and emotionally than I ever thought I was. It took a lot of strength and courage on my part to be able to go out and do this, but I am so glad that I did. I reclaimed ownership of myself today. I didn't "walk with God" or have any sort of spiritual experience today, but I did get in touch with the one person that is most important, and that's me.