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

When it comes to watching a suspension, there are a lot of factors that go into how it looks to the viewer. There are positions that, no matter how relaxed the person is, just look a little uncomfortable or awkward. On the other hand, there are some suspensions that come together so well, watching it unfold can instantly give you the urge to try it. This video of Cass suspending at the loft definitely falls into that second category for me. I can’t really point out any one thing in particular that attracts me to it, I think it’s the combination of it all; how comfortable the position looks, the relaxed atmosphere, and how at ease she seems suspending.

Her relaxed demeanor probably comes from a combination of experience, and working with people that she trusts. The piercing and rigging for this suspension were performed by her friend Emrys Yetz, who introduced her to body suspension over 7 years ago. Since that time, she has enjoyed suspending with the members of iHung, and has even performed this position once before with a transition to just her knees. She chose to not cut down to her knees this time, but stayed in the air for over an hour, enjoying every second of it.

Cassandra described her time suspending as purifying, and I’m happy to hear that it was such a powerful moment for her. I’m sure that this won’t be the last amazing experience she has as she continues with her journey into body suspension. Thank you so much for sharing this with us, and to Jared for the wonderful work in creating this video.

Body suspension has certainly taken some big steps over the last several years; moving from something that is in the shadows to becoming a practice that is seen more and more by people outside of our community. I have seen several videos that use suspension, everything from music videos to art projects, and often it is presented to the public as shock value with the focus being on images of hooks and flesh. I think those videos, although often very well done and wonderful to see, paint a much darker images of suspension for those who aren’t familiar with it. You can imagine my surprise and excitement when Valnei passed along a video of a mainstream Brazilian commercial from a few years back that not only contains body suspension, but also tattooing, fire walking, and a bed of nails all shown to the public in a very positive light. Along with the video is a presentation showing the making of the commercial, and it’s nice to know they had people come in that actually perform these acts, rather than faking it on camera.

The product is Energil C, and the slogan for the commercial states that it is ‘good for your body, no matter what you do with it’. I think it’s a great campaign, and really shows these arts without the shock that is often associated with it. By keeping the commercial so casual, it lets the viewer see these people doing what they love, and makes it easier for them to look at the act itself rather than leaving them with the idea that the person is doing something painful. I have included the dialog under the video, which Phil was nice enough to translate for us, so those who don’t speak Portuguese can keep up.

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Halloween is creeping up again this year, and that means events across the country that involve our community stunning crowds doing what we hookers do best. Those of you in the Ohio area may be fairly familiar with the yearly Trauma event hosted by Evolved Body Art in Columbus, but for those of you who aren’t so lucky, we have a glimpse of what you have been missing out on. Along with the costume contest, fashion show, DJs, and dancing was the highlight of the night; suspension performances by Bella Vendetta and Lauren D facilitated by the very talented Mute-One. It certainly gives us a better idea of just how much fun this event is, and the next one is just around the corner. If you are in the area, make sure to clear a little time on your schedule to make it out this year. You definitely won’t be disappointed.

Thanks so much for passing this along Mute-One, please keep us up to date on your future performances. I’m sure everyone here is excited to see more!

The following video is a brief look into the annual Rites of Passage suspension event commonly referred to as the ROP BBQ.  There is no way an 8 minute video can do it justice, but hopefully I’ve managed to capture a bit of the experience from my perspective.

Music © True Widow – Song: Sunday Driver

Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the world and participate in many different suspension conventions.  As you might imagine, each suscon is somewhat similar.  However, what people may not realize is that there are also many differences in the vibe and overall experience of attending.  Of course the event organization plays a key role in determining how things flow, but it’s the people and location that really makes each event unique.

So what makes the Italian Suscon so different?  After the break there’s a short description and a video from the 2010 event.

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This is a note from Joe Amato to let the suspension community know about two concepts he has been working with.

Hello Hookers,
I would like to show you some pictures and video from two recent shows where we got to field test some fresh ideas. The bandaged Gilson Hook, and the “art rig”. These are both ideas that have been drawn and redrawn in notebooks of mine, and finally come to fruition. These ideas have come a long way, and have a long way to go.  So, I am excited to see what the rest of the community will do with them, and how they will evolve.

The Bandaged Gilson
So here is the idea, cover and seal a Gilson hook up so that you can suspend, over a crowd, or in an unusual costume, with peace of mind that you are not going to make a bio mess of everything .

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Those of you that follow Hook Life know that this blog is dedicated to the world of body suspension.  However, today we decided to break from norm and share a video that is …well… it’s not directly related to suspension, but does “feature” Steve Joyner, the founder of the CoRE, one the worlds most influential suspension performance troupes.  So what’s this all about?  Below the video you will find the story and description by the video’s creator.

M. Ali Yaremko -  “This is a (belated) surprise birthday present for Steve Joyner, founder of “Constructs of Ritual Evolution” (CoRE). I  was commissioned by Gary Driscoll of the organization to do this video as an inside joke with the CoRE staff. These guys are my neighbors and I’m proud to be close to them, check out their awesome artistic form of suspension:
http://www.wearecore.com/

I used Adobe After Effects for the facial replacement and other effects. Some shots were motion tracked, but for the most part I manually animated the movements and rotoscoped foreground objects shot by shot. I was provided with a limited amount of Steve’s head images which I cut out in Adobe Photoshop prior to bringing into AE. The entire process was very tedious, but I’m sure Steve, Gary and the rest of CoRE will appreciate my hard work, and hopefully you guys on YouTube will too!”

ENJOY.
- M.A.Y.

Visual effects by M. Ali Yaremko
Original video by Chris Cunningham (one of my few personal idols)
Original music by Aphex Twin (another personal idol)

For your average person, passing by a public body suspension will be the strangest thing they see that day. However for anyone visiting Dorney Park during the 2011 Zombie Invasion, the suspensions and pulls on stage were probably a little lower on the list of bizarre sights compared to the mob of undead that had gathered to enjoy the very talented Nassau Chainsaw and Disgraceland Demolition Committee. The Zombie Invasion had over 1500 costumed participants show up to enjoy a day of fun, and managed to break a world record with 330 zombies all riding on a roller coaster at the same time.

Nassau Chainsaw& DDC Live for Living and Dead from Angelica Vanessa on Vimeo.

This wonderful video by Angelica Vanessa does a great job of capturing the performance that night by Nassau Chainsaw. From what I have heard, their show was a huge highlight that evening. With their unique blend of audio and visual performance, they are a group that you definitely don’t want to miss out on. Make sure to keep up with their tour dates to find out when you’ll have a chance to see them for yourself!

Video by Anthony Brownrigg

[The Following is an excerpt from Emerick's personal experience of her first suspension]
Photos by Will Coe

…Take a deep breath, now let it out. The first hook went in with ease but almost scared me. I don’t know what I expected but my body jumped. The second, third, and then the fourth, were of course painful but nothing beyond my ability to handle them. My back now felt tight, odd, for lack of a better word. It was hard to move and stand back up and I felt a bit silly but moved slowly back outside. Read more