I came home one night after visiting with my mother bunch of cars in my driveway and people passing windows in my house. Wondering what the deuce was going on - I began to raise my eyebrows and exit my mom's vehicle. I scampered in the front door and stared - bewildered at my roommate and a small group of friends standing in the basement. The first thing that crossed my mind was that there was a party and I wasn't invited - in my own home no less. I entered the doorway and there layed out on the table were steri-sheets, hooks, needles, gloves, steri-spray, cameras and such. I was like "we're doing it tonight?!" and the happy/energetic response was "yes!". Now, a brief explaination as to what "it" is. Wain (my old roommate & friend) and Jenn (Wain's friend) own a fetish company called "Nightfall Entertainment". They put on a fetish show every month at a local bar called the Trasheteria. The next show was to involve, for the first time, pulling - Hence the practices now occuring in my basement!
At A Glance Author MiBzAn Contact jkhille@sympatico.ca IAM MiBzAn When Six months ago Artist Wain, Jonny, Jenn (Nightfall Entertainment) & Myself (yes!) Studio In My Basement (literally) Location Peterborough, Ontario After a few minutes of gossip and giggly chatter, I ran upstairs to make a big jug of orange juice. I brought that downstairs along with glasses and a platter of scrumptious fruits for the pullers. I was told to "man" the camera for a while - I took some awesome shots of a couple of people getting their hooks put in. The process was really neat to watch - cleaning the surface, using sterilized products (obviously) and giggling about being surgeons - same preparation process - referring to each other as "doctor". Then marking their backs for the entry and exit holes, measuring carefully to make sure we didn't pierce through into nerves of muscle masses. Pinching the skin with two hands while the piercer preps the puller - breathing in and out. The needle sat on the end of the hook and once through the needle was removed and the hook was in place. (A small amount of blood eventually showed up but not until they had pulled for a while.)
After taking many photographs - I was allowed to attach ropes to the hooks and take some people for a pull. I started by wrapping my hands in the ropes to get a good grip (god forbid anyone would face plant because I was holding on to them tightly - ick!) letting the puller lean at their own pace - rather gently - rocking back and forth - as time slowly passed - their boldness grew. I was actually leaning on a 45 degree angle - as were they. It was the strangest sight - seeing the skin pull out in these triangular mounds on their backs. I've never seen anything like it in person before. We ended up attaching pullers to each other and letting them pull each other around - that was even more fascinating! Both people would be leaning out as far as they could without falling - relying on their own flesh to hold them upright - the skin on one guy actually pulled out an impressive foot and a bit - I was just gawking like a small child seeing something absolutely massive - eyes wide - mouth dropped, the whole nine.
After a few hours of taking turns (I was too wussy to try it - I knew I would not be able to avoid passing out) we decided that was a wrap for the night. Sitting the puller down we repeated the sterilization process of the hands and whatnot. Taking the hooks out swiftly but gently was the key to easing the back tissue. There was a small amount of blood but the next thing I learned was to "burp the back" - a hilarious term to some (like me). I was instructed to feel the skin for air pockets and gently rub them towards the holes to get it all out. This was an interesting sensation for me - feeling air under someone's skin. But it looked funny when it came out - a little bubble squeek. After burping I had to press a sterile pad on their back with a wee bit of pressure to make sure there wasn't going to be any excess bleeding. When I slowly peeled it off I saw the holes - they were about the size of a small pea and there was a bit of swelling already. After giving them some more juice, we re-sterilized their backs, medicated them, patched them up and sent them home.
After a couple of sessions it was time for the show. Sadly, I was working the door but heard it was an absolute success and people loved it - so the next show was a suspension show - full blown - off the ground, swinging! But I'll save that for another experience. 'Til then - Cheers!