For more information on suspension visit – http://www.suspension.org/

Over the years there has been a lot of discussion on how to minimize cross contamination while rigging a suspension.  The main problem we found is that each team had a slightly different protocol.  Some were better than others, but in the end we thought it was best to have one universal system.

People have asked for a nice printable version. So, we have made a letter size pdf that is print ready.  Feel free to click on the image below to download the file.

In 2001 I was lucky enough to document my friend Blair  do his first chest suspension.  At the time I ran a website called spcOnline. You might have read it when you were still in high school, or perhaps not. This photo was part of a gallery on that site; and with Allen’s blessing I’ll be sharing photos from my last twenty years in the community with the readers of Hooklife.

Our techniques and practices have evolved very quickly over the last decade; some of the photographs will seem archaic by our ever changing current standards. Betadine stained skin with rigging that weighs more than the suspendee, blood allowed to run freely… rest assured that through documenting our history we’re able to learn from our mistakes as well as our triumphs.

As most of you know on July 15th there was a terrible car accident that seriously injured some members of our family.  If you are in the Houston area, or can travel, there will be fundraiser at the Next Door Bar, Saturday August 7th.

If you cannot make it out, please help spread the word.  Also if you would like to donate directly.  Please visit the main page of suspension.org and follow the paypal link.

Thank you in advance and we hope to see yall there.

If there’s one suspension everyone seems to love it’s the spinning beam, but most people don’t know the story behind it.

In 1998 TSD (Traumatic Stress Discipline) was hired by Keith Alexander for the opening party of Dee Snider’s film Strangeland held at Webster Hall in New York City. Night of 1000 Scars, as the event was named, was supposed to showcase a 3 man human mobile. Do to a technical error the beams were rigged too low allowing the three men (Pat, Xeon and Allen) to touch the stage. The outcome was the accidental invention of the spinning beam suspension.

Photographer Greg Ward was so nice to let me steal this photo he caught of Kay Fagan (aka Post Modern Sleeze Sedition) during one of her performances with Sedition Industries in Dublin, Ireland.

Kay was kind enough to take the time to tell me a little about her performance and how she got started in with suspension…

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With all the excitement in suspensions over the weekend in Oslo, here is some news from the community in the western hemisphere.

If you have frequented any of the larger tattoo conventions in the U.S. in the last couple of years these two are no strangers to you. Currently Penguin Boy, his partner Baron Von Geiger (amazing earlobe weight lifter) and the rest of The Squidling Bros. are on tour with the Coney Island Cockabilly Roadshow. On their 3rd stop of the tour they had the next day off to have a little fun at The Loft. Here is Penguin Boy doing his 2nd private suspension, as well as Baron Von Geiger pushing his own limits.

Click below to find a closeup and tour dates.

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What is the hardest suspension? Well I guess it all depends on you point of view. For some it’s all about pain and endurance. For others it has more to do with rigging complexity or possibly skill level. For me personally, I think Jussi aka Dr Zacharias Snake solving of a Rubik’s Cube in less than 2 minutes while swinging, spinning and hanging from his knees has got to be one of the most impressive feats I’ve seen in a while.

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It’s tough to single the most impressive suspension from the 2010 Oslo Suscon, but this beautiful piece was definitely up on the list. Håvve and Christiane did an amazing job rigging this suspension that is reminiscent of Stelarc‘s 1977 Event for Stretched Skin No. 4.

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Just a short impression from 2010 Oslo SusCon (visit their site for more pictures!) – that 2pt Chest was made by Christiano and I think it is a very good example of all those excellent suspensions we have seen so far! Christiano got up pretty well and hung quite a while … here is some eye-candy:

Since it is my first post here I feel like I should write something about me: I’m Stephan from germany – I work in the piercing industry and loooove body suspension! I run my own blog at inkland.com and hopefully I can post some interesting european stuff here!

The word for today: Suspension Fan Dance

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