piercing business in the country (possibly the world).
It was an incredibly esoteric activity; most people
had never heard of a piercing other than the ear, or
possibly the nostril. Body piercing was simply not on
the map. These little stories usually help to provide
some perspective:
• Piercing was so misunderstood that my former
gynecologist broke patient confidentiality (and
the law) to tell my parents that I’d had my nipples
pierced—even though I was legally an adult. They
thought I might need to be institutionalized for
harming myself!
conversation a few weeks later in which I commented,
“The piercings are going pretty well, but it sure is hard
to get the jewelry in.” He came back down to L.A. to
show me the proper grasp for a jewelry insertion,
and he also taught me how to bend a nostril screw.
There really was no formal apprenticeship, so I’m
fortunate to have had some medical information and
background, and a decent aptitude for the task. W hat
I initially lacked in technique, I think I made up for in
passion, reassuring bedside manner, and excellent
communication skills. I still maintain that these are
among the key traits of any good piercer, along with
sound technical skills, and rigorous hygiene protocols.
To clarify, body piercing wasn’t a career-path option
back then. At the time, there was just the one specialty
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• In the 1980s, when I first pierced got my tongue
pierced, I told everybody that it was an acupuncture
stud for weight control. Not a single person ever
doubted me, since nobody had heard of a tongue
piercing. Yet.
• A tattoo artist/Gauntlet client told me that he had to
hide his piercings from his boss, as if it were known
that he was pierced, he’d be fired from the tattoo shop
for being a freak! We (Gauntlet) always tried to rent a
booth at the National Tattoo Association conventions,
and in my early days there, we wouldn’t even receive
the courtesy of a reply to our requests! They thought
piercing was perverse, and that it would give tattooing
a bad name. You see, piercing and tattooing didn’t
always go together the way they do now.