At A Glance
Author	Heather
Contact	g@homiegfunk.com
IAM	ozzisme
When	A week ago
Artist	DidierS and Matt
Location	San Diego

Most people, when asked what they did the past weekend, they answer something along the lines of relaxing, running errands or spending time with the family. Few people -- I'd imagine -- would be able to honestly respond with, "oh, I had big hooks put into my back. And then I had someone else yank on them. For fun."

But I can.

June 26th, 2004 was the date of the fourth annual Southern California BME barbeque and my first IAM event. The barbeque was lots of fun [read more] but the highlight of the day was my first flesh pull. My interest in suspension and pulling had been primarily academic for quite a few years (as a hardcore religion geek, spirituality through body ritual really fa scinates me), but the past year I had started to develop an itch to experience it for myself. I had made the goal to try pulling at least once before trying to hang, and the barbeque provided the opportunity.

There was one teensy problem: I was sick. The joys of being female decided to "bless" me (and by "bless" I really mean "curse") that day with cramps, nausea and vertigo. Not exactly the ideal situation to put physical stress on the body. However I was determined (or "stupid," if you prefer). I felt a little bit better as the day went out, and was pretty sure I would be able to handle it when they were ready to throw hooks so I stepped forward as a participant.

Originally, there were five of us planning to pull (and I think I was the only first-timer). However, for various reasons three people bowed out, leav ing just me and Dave. Assured he was a gentle partner, I decided to go ahead with the pull. I changed into my bikini and pulled a tank top over it so my back would be open for the hooks. Unfortunately, it was nearing night time and getting cold and breezy and this wasn't exactly the most comfortable fashion choice. Addition preparation included eating candy from the piņata to get my blood sugar up (hypoglycemia + not having eaten that day + giant hooks = fainting = not fun).

Dave was hooked first. I watched as DidierS and Matt (from local piercing studio Enigma) massaged his skin for several minutes, pinching it to find the right placement. They marked the placement of the hooks on his back, and after having him do some breathing exercises, they slid the two hooks into his back skin in tandem. He sat up looking completely unfazed, and it was my turn.< /p>

I was more nervous about the insertion of the hooks than the actual pull. Having a low pain tolerance (and not feeling very wel l to begin with) was making me a tad anxious (and by "anxious" I mean "terrified"). Additionally, as someone who normally feels more comfortable watching piercings and shots, I was a little uncomfortable not being able to see what was going on back there (though I must admit, after watching them work, I was pretty confident in their skills). I tried to clear my mind and not focus on anything but I was starting to get really cold which made it hard to concentrate. I was shivering pretty hard, and I was worried it would complicate things (note to self: next time bring a long sleeve t-shirt with a hole cut in the back). Didier and Matt were excellent about talking to me, assuring me and making sure everything was okay, which helped a lot. I was beginning to relax more and was finally ready.

I started my slow breathing and after about the third long exhale, they pushed through the hooks. Good: the pain was surprisingly less than with most my piercings. Bad: it s eemed to last about a bazillion times longer. Once the hooks were in and adjusted however, they were relatively painless. When I moved my arms and neck, they pinched but were otherwise unnoticeable. I was feeling decent physically and I was in a good place mentally. It was time to pull.

Matt attached my ropes and finally I was hooked to Dave and ready to pull. I started to applying tension as I leaned forward slowly, whi le my boyfriend Jon snapped photos. Suddenly, my health caught up with me and I started feeling really weak and dizzy. Uh oh. When everything started spinning, I knew I was about to pass out. I told Didier I needed to sit down, and made it to the ground just a few seconds shy of fainting. Jon brought me some bottled water and other people fed me candy (Mmm... candy) and I rested until I felt well again. Dave was a really good sport about the unanticipated break, which I appreciated.

After about 15 minutes, I felt better and wanted to resume pulling. However, I was feeling a little panicky about passing out and wasn't sure it was a good idea to continue. Dave suggested we do a sitting pull, which I felt was a good compromise. Didier warmed up the hooks by lightly moving the ropes around while he talked to me to make sure everything was definitely okay. Then he helped us adjust for a sitting pull.

Once we were comfortable, I began to put tension on the ropes again by leaning forward. Because I was sitting, I had a hard time applying very much; I could lean almost entirely face-first into the ground at times and still manage to be fairly comfortable. The tension also wasn't very consistent; some times I would feel a lot when I wasn't even leaning, and other times I would lean and feel next to none. Dave, who was letting me pull at my own pace, was probably not putting any tension on the lines from his end (which would explain this).

The sensation of pulling was really odd and not at all what I expected. Most strange was probably the fact that it didn't hurt at all (trust me, this isn't a macho ego thing; I'm a total wimp). In fact, it didn't even feel like the pressure I was feeling had anything to do with hooks through my skin; it felt more like I was wearing a harness over my shoulders and pulling on that. Because of the lack of pain, it was much easier to focus on other things, as I felt relaxed both physically and mentally.

After some time, the cold began to catch up with me again. I was shivering hard, my bladder was starting to protest and the grass was itching my legs. I struggled to focus past those things, and after awhile they began to distract me. It was getting very hard to concentrate on the internal when I had so many annoying external stimuli. At this point, my right hook started pinching, even though the pressure on it wasn't that great (I blame my lack of focus). Cold and uncomfortable, I decided to stop in favour of a warm, cozy jacket and a restroom break.

Matt gently removed my hooks and massaged out the air that was trapped in my skin (which actually felt pretty damn good). He taped gauze over the holes and told me what to expect the next few days. I thanked him and Didier for giving me the opportunity to pull, despite the atypical situation of my health. I was happy with the experience, especially since it was my first, and that now I felt better prepared for my next pulling (yes, I'm totally doing it again). I do wish, however, that I had asked to keep one of the hooks as a souvenir of my first pull but I completely forgot (damnit).

That night, it was hard to put pressure on my back. My upper back and shoulders felt somewhere b etween a large bruise or a bad sunburn... nothing too bad, but very achy and sore if they were touched too hard. Even sleeping on my side was a little uncomfortable. I took off the gauze the next morning, and there was very little blood; just four tiny dried spots where each hole had been. The holes were already well scabbed over. The pain faded lightly by the second and third day, and the holes began to itch like crazy. On the fourth day, the pain was localised to just the holes themselves (instead of the general area), though I was still pretty itchy.

One of the better questions I've been asked since the experience was on whether it was an internal, meditative situation or an external, physical situation (believe it or not, my favourite question has not been "didn't that hurt?"). Just based on my small experience, I'd say that it could have been either; depending on your mindset, you could r eally take it whatever direction you wanted. I choose to the focus on the internal, going into myself rather than concentrating on the feelings, pressures and pains. Maybe next time I'll try to do the opposite, just for the experience's sake.

Overall, my first opportunity to pull was excellent and any bit of discomfort was completely worth the experience (though I can't say I advocate trying this when your body isn't in top condition). Many thanks to Dave, Didier and Matt for helping me have such an opportunity and much thanks to my camera-man Jon for his efforts in documenting my experience.