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

After last year’s Suspension MECCA, there really wasn’t a doubt in anyone’s mind if it would happen again. The first year of any event is typically plagued with bumps and snags as everyone planning and working the event figures out how to pull it all together. Although I am sure behind the scenes there were the normal issues that had to be resolved as the weekend went along, MECCA managed to run incredibly smooth, with the attendees all coming together and having a wonderful time thanks to the hard work of those who planned and worked the event. For those of you who missed out last year, your second chance is right around the corner. DisGraceLanD Entertainment‘s second annual Suspension MECCA, hosted by HOOKED Suspension Team, will be held at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, IA from September 27th – 31st, 2013.

This event is geared towards every branch of the suspension community, and is open to suspension practitioners, enthusiasts, performers, and more. If you are interested in going, make sure to get registered early; the early registration discount ends August 1st, and fees will increase from there. The opportunities to get together with a large portion of the suspension community only come about a few times a year. You definitely don’t want to miss out, especially on an event at such an amazing location with an incredible amount of space and height to play with. They have even made your stay there easy to book, with a hotel connected to the event venue and a reserved room block. For all of the details about the event and how to get registered, check out their website.

Also, don’t forget to give Mike and his crew a big thank you for making such an amazing event possible.

Yes, the rumors are true.  This year the 2013 Dallas Suspension Convention will be featuring a large scale live suspension performance that will be open to the general public.  (We have not set a price as of yet, but not to worry if you are a paid attendee to the suscon, your admission is free)    The performance will feature a collaboration between Stelarc and Håvve Fjell of Wings of Desire, with help from several attendees of the suscon.  The suspension will be unique, but if you would like a bit of insight into what you might expect.  Below is a video from the last time these two pioneers worked together in Norway at the 2012 Oslo Symposium:  (WARNING the video contains nudity and may be NSFW)

The performance will be held the evening of Saturday March 30th, 2103 in Dallas, Texas.  Please check back closer to the date for more details on pricing and location.

As most of you know, the registration fees for the 2013 Dallas Suscon increased by $100 on February 1st. For many people this means that the event is no longer within their budget, but not to worry. Håvve Fjell from Wings of Desire has decided to donate registration fees to someone in need.

If you would like to attend the 2013 Dallas Suscon, but can’t seem to afford it this year, please write a letter and email it to Håvve explaining your situation and he will decide who Wings of Desire will be sponsoring.  Please have your letter submitted to the email below no later than Sunday February 10th.  His decision and the announcement will be made on Monday February 11th.

Huge thank you to Håvve, Wings of Desire and the crew of Pain Solution for their generous donation!

****Update – Thanks to everyone that submitted emails to Håvve.  It was a tough decision but after reading through all the entries, LeQueeta from the group The Suspendables was chosen.***

Thanks again to everyone.  We hope to see you all at suscon.

“Truly ahead of his time.”   This phrase has been used throughout the ages to describe a myriad of different people.  However, within the suspension community, this sentence illustrates no one better than Stelarc.

For those who do not know his name, Stelarc is one of the most famous and influential suspension pioneers.  Between the years of 1976 and 1989, several years before the beginning of the age of modern body suspension, Stelarc had performed 25 extraordinarily difficult and breathtaking beautiful suspensions.  Several of which are featured here on his website – http://stelarc.org/?catID=20316

Over the next few days or weeks you will definitely be seeing more about Stelarc here on Hook Life, including some official announcements about his upcoming lecture and performance at the 2013 Dallas Suspension Convention.  In the meantime, I would like to present a video that gives a bit more insight into the artist’s work spanning far beyond the topic of suspension.  Enjoy:

The Anti-Gravity Relaxation Organization was founded in Houston, Texas in February of 2004 by Rick Pierceall and his wife Angela Marsh. Every year, on the first Sunday in February, A.G.R.O. Houston holds it’s annual Superpull Sunday, marking the anniversary of that very first meeting. This is an event exclusive to the Houston chapter, where A.G.R.O. got its start. In honor of Superpull Sunday, A.G.R.O. Houston opens its meet and welcomes the other A.G.R.O. chapters and suspension teams from all across the country to join in on a massive flesh pull.

This year will mark Houston’s 6th annual Superpull Sunday and we are changing the event up. Instead of everyone joining in on a central hub and just pulling aimlessly – we will have the hub, and we are making this a Tug-O-War competition, with an AGRO Superpull 2013 trophy awarded to the winning team. Read more

The new year is bringing with it several exciting upcoming events in the suspension community. The biggest one being this year’s Dallas Suspension Practitioners Convention, scheduled for March 29th-31st, 2013 in Dallas, TX. In previous years, the Dallas Suscon has been very limited to non-practitioners and aspiring practitioners due mostly to limited space. The growing momentum of the event has led to a new location with much more room and with that the event will be able to offer learning opportunities for more non practitioners, as well as several new classes for both novice and advanced practitioners in attendance. It’s a unique opportunity that will bring together instructors from 6 countries to offer their knowledge and experience in the classes, workshops, and roundtables, as well as some of the most experienced practitioners in the world to work alongside on the suspension floor. Included in the long list of people in attendance will be our very special guest and lecturer, and one of the most influential names in body suspension, Stelarc.

Keep reading to find out how you can attend! Read more

It’s not often that Hook Life does two articles on one event.  …and rarely, if ever, back to back.  However, Bruno just submitted this video and we felt it was so amazing that we had to share it.  Of course you can watch it small here in the blog, but we recommend clicking on this link to see the youtube page.  Then click on full screen to really see the beauty of this piece.

Tune in today October 20th, 2012 at 2pm CST (12:00 PST, 13:00 MST, 15:00 EST) for a LIVE suspension broadcast from Oslo, Norway: (WARNING nudity NSFW)

SPINNING / BREATHING
Event for Multiple Suspensions
A performance devised by Stelarc
For the Oslo Suspension Symposium 2012
Facilitated by Håvve Fjell and Wings of Desire

Video can be found here: http://www.wingsofdesire.org/

As Suspension Mecca grew closer and closer over the last few weeks, there were plenty of people nervous about how it would turn out. The first year of the event brought several questions to mind; would enough people show up, can those attending cooperate and work together, will the attendees enjoy themselves, and most importantly, will all the suspensions taking place go smoothly and safely? Now that the weekend has come and gone, I think we are all relieved and excited to know that the answer to all of those questions is a definite yes. The weekend was incredible, and I think everyone there I spoke to described it in a similar way. The overall agreement was that the event was a relaxed and fun environment to work in, and as a result several fantastic suspensions took place as teams and individuals collaborated on their projects. I think there are very few people who can really appreciate how much goes into an event like this, and how hard the individuals putting it on worked to make it happen for all of us. If you haven’t already, make sure you send out some love and thank you’s to the ladies and gentlemen who put in the blood, sweat, tears, and hooks to make this all come together. Now, on to a few of the amazing suspensions that took place that weekend.

Read more

I was recently asked about all the different Gilson hook designs.  So I figured it would be a good idea to just write up a blog about it.  Here is a basic list and timeline.  Of course I am sure I am missing some.  If you know of any others please let me know and I will update this entry.

The first ones were made by Oliver Gilson.  He made different sizes, but they were all very similar in design.

I think Steve Haworth from Life Suspended made the next ones.  His are a modified design of Oliver’s.  The frames are thicker so that the pins are slightly counter sunk in them.  The photo below is actually a later generation.  Like Oliver’s initial design the first hooks used a standard bolt.  However, Steve was the first to switch to a square hole and start using a carriage bolt and a wing nut.  This design has become fairly standard now.

Leo Murphy from ROP made some for a while.  His were different because one side of the frame was threaded.  So the bolt screwed into the frame and the nut was almost like a backup.  Leo’s might have been the first after Oliver started making them, I’m not 100% sure.  The only reason I think that Haworth made the first hooks is that he was the first to receive one of Oliver’s original aluminum protoypes.  This is also why Steve’s hooks aren’t as wide.  They were modeled after Oliver’s very initial design.

Joe Amato of SMS also makes them as well.  He started with the design below, but soon changed to the square hole/carriage bolt design.  His hooks do not come with a wing nut.  Instead he opts for a standard nut and a tool.

Lukas Larson of Dissected Art sells another design which is similar, the biggest difference is that the hole for the nut and the hole for the shackle are close to that when the shackle is in place, the wing nut cannot come loose.  Although Joe’s design comes with a nut, I believe the shackle and bolt holes are close enough to prevent unscrewing of a wing nut as well when it is added.

Tom Moore of Steel Fetish makes the newest design.  Rather than a bolt it uses a collar to hold the plates in place.  It uses a some slight compression to stay in position, and once the shackle in on, it can’t come undone.  Tom’s pieces are also all numbered to it’s easy to keep pieces together.

In Russia the Sinner Team has come up with a few different designs.  The first ones were HUGE and as you can see below they required 2 bolts to hold them in place.  Also unlike US hooks they are made of aircraft grade titanium.

Since the initial hooks came out they have updated their design by making the hooks significantly smaller and higher polish, while still keeping the 2 bolts.

I think the newest design I have seen are made by member of Ascension, Steve Truitt‘s crew.  The frame are threaded in spots so that spikes or gems can be screwed into place.

There are new designs on the horizon, but as far as I know they haven’t been made yet.  Here are a couple of examples:

Proposed Design by Joe of SMS – http://www.skinmechanicsteelworks.com/upcoming

And another design proposed by me.

There are also several drawings and prototypes that were created along the way.  I would include them in this blog, but I think I will leave a little mystery and give people a reason to come see my hook lecture at the Oslo Symposium.