Hook Life: So to get started, I want to say I remember you mentioning something about a much longer suspension back when you did your 7 hour suspension. When did you decide you wanted to try for 24 hours? Or was there never a goal other than to suspend for as long as you wanted and see what happened?

Nick: Well, when we did the 7 hour, it was actually set to be a 12 hour. Unfortunately we started about 7 hours late due to video editing complications, and we ended up stopping at 7 because my team was way too tired after all of the other suspensions to continue. I decided I would go for 24 at the end of the 7 hour. The only difficult part on the 7 hour were the cut-aways. I cut my arms free 1 hour in, then my legs and lower back at 6 hours, then to the floor at 7 hours. I remember saying to Luke and Andrew, “The only rough part was the cut downs, if I would have stayed on 10 hooks I could have gone for way longer”.

We had a failed attempt at the 24 last June, and I decided to take a year off to train and review over everything that went wrong so that we could get it right. So, yes, 24 hours was a set goal. I figured if I could go that long, I could go as long as I wanted as long as my skin would allow me to do so.

HL: What did you learn from the first attempt last June or what did you change to make this time successful?

Nick: Well, last time we had planned to use 8 6g Dissected Art Gilson Hooks, 4 in my chest and 4 in my back. I was going to rock side to side for 4 hours, then the plan was to do transitions from chest to back to regain some circulation, then center back up and begin rocking again for another 4 hours. I also had no sleep, and was planning on trying to sleep in the air. This time I was fully rested, we used 18 hooks instead of 8, and decided to stack them down my back and legs, and put a row of 4 across my lower back. We used 14 Dissected Art 8g Gilson Hooks and 4 Blacksheep for my lower back. We figured that with 10 or less pounds on each hook I could go the distance without any tissue damage. Well, the original plan was for 20 hooks, but we changed it last minute. I also would say I trained about twice as hard for this round than I did last time.

If you want to get technical, the original plan also had a backup fail safe in case my neck got tired. That was to shave the back of my head and add a 21st hook for neck & head support! But I was able to make it without that one too.

HL: Although a mid-suspension head shaving and piercing would have been funny, I have a feeling it might have been less amusing for you after hours of suspending. I know when most people suspend, there are a few minutes of settling in and then comfort. Usually depending on the suspendee the comfortable point can last from minutes to hours. Did you find that it went back and forth on comfort and pain? Or was there a point that it stayed comfortable/painful?

Nick: Well, I was in my zone as soon as there was tension on the lines. I left the table about 10 seconds in and the sensation from the hooks was constant and pretty much the same throughout the entire suspension after I was up. I was extremely comfortable for the entire hang, as far as the hooks anyway.

My joints, organs, and body… different story. That’s where the tolerance comes into play. I was constantly moving my arms, legs, and hips to help with this, but it was still a pretty long ride. Also, there was a 4 hour gap where I had to urinate extremely bad, but couldn’t do to the amount of pressure that was being applied to my organs by my skin being stretched. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to go until the end of the suspension, this was all happening about 19 hours in or so. Finally I was able to go, and at that point I knew I was good until the end. Certainly some rough obstacles to overcome, but I was able to pull through successfully.

HL: That is awesome you were able to get through that much of it and stay relatively comfortable. With a lot of suspendees, there is a sense of ‘lost time’ for lack of a better word. It is hard to tell if you have been in the air for 5 minutes or 45, often with time passing faster than you realize. Did this happen with you? Or was there a point where you were very aware of the minutes dragging on?

Nick: I was trying to go more off of hours rather than minutes. We had plenty of movies and tv to watch, plus I constantly had friends visiting me throughout the night, as well as my crew that was beside me the whole time. Still though, when you’re going for the big 24, it’s hard to not constantly be aware of every single second.

HL: I can imagine it would definitely put it on your mind a little more. Speaking of your team and visitors, I recall seeing Lucas, Andrew S, and Kel there I believe. Who all was involved in the planning and facilitation of your suspension?

Nick: Well, I installed the main and secondary rig points in the living room, and we did it at my place. The crew was Lukas Larson (Dissected Art), Andrew S. & Kel Tera (SwingShiftSideShow), & Shane Ranniger.

I also need to mention my wife Lindsey as part of the crew as well. She was there with me the whole time, getting me water, juice, or anything else I needed while I was in the air. And she let me put holes in the living room ceiling as well, so that was pretty awesome of her! So now we have 3 points to hang, including the stairwell, for anyone wanting to hang that’s passing through Vegas.

HL: That is definitely awesome of her! So since you have tackled the 24 hours, do you feel like you have met your goal and are satisfied, or has it added fuel to the fire and made you want to try and push even further?

Nick: There have been discussions of a possible 3 day and even a 7 day attempt. Knowing what I know now after this one, I’m fully confident that I can go even longer if I ever choose to, but for now I think I’m going to focus more on free-fall, single points, pulls, and lifts with my buddies.
I think the 3 day is a good next long term goal if I choose to proceed. I think it can still be done with minimal tissue damage, but with the 7 day I think tissue damage is almost guaranteed (even with transitions).

Also, I think it’s important to note somewhere that my first timed suspension was my 4th suspension and was for 1 hour with a double cut-away. My second timed suspension was my 5th suspension and was for 7 hours with a triple cut-away. I did a 3 hour lotus double cut-away on suspension # 7, and this last timed one, after the failed attempt in June, was for 24 hours and only my 14th time to ever suspend!

Thanks for sharing a little about your experience with us, Nick. It is a wonderful accomplishment, especially after such a long wait to complete it. I think it is important that you mentioned that this isn’t your first attempt with this goal and the lengthy amount of time you spend preparing for it in between. I would hope that anyone reading this would be aware that suspending for such a long amount of time isn’t something to jump into on a whim, and understand that you had professionals looking after you throughout your suspension. Whatever you decide to move onto and try next, I wish you the best of luck! I am sure that whatever it is, it will be incredible. 

Siv and Peter met up with the Skindependent Suspension team at their February crew day in Christchurch. Many of you are probably well aware that when you are dealing with suspension it doesn’t take long to become close with those you are working with. Their crew meet was no different, and Siv jumped right in with the team to help facilitate suspensions that day. It gave her and Peter a chance to bond with the people who would be suspending them the next weekend as well as exchange information with fellow practitioners.

Their weekend finally arrived, and the team set to work prepping and marking the two suspendees. Thanks to planning ahead with mapping out the rigging and hook placement, as well as having two very tough suspendees, the crew was able to quickly get through piercing the thirty hooks needed for the suspension and move onto the difficult task of rigging.

First up was Siv, who was in a superman position and able to get in the air in a matter of minutes after the rigging was complete. The most difficult portion of the rigging came in bringing the rigline from Siv’s body, to a swivel that joined the two, and on down to Peter, all while maintaining the mirrored style of the rigline at it went from point to point. Once connected, it was just a matter of getting Peter in the air to have the whole piece complete. After a few moments to settle into the tension on his hooks, he was off the ground and spinning under Siv.

I am told they were both ecstatic to finally be in their air together, and I doubt they even notices as the photographer, Martin, worked to capture the moment. It’s an incredible feeling to suspend with someone and know that every breath and movement is connected and shared between you. Although no picture can convey what they both felt or went through, the serenity that is portrayed in these photos is stunning. Love, accomplishment, happiness, friendship, strength; it really captures so much of what I find so fascinating about suspension.

Thank you, Joshua, for the information about the suspension, and a huge congratulations to the Skindependent Crew and the suspendees for bringing together such a breathtaking suspension day for these two.

Tam had the idea of performing a modified coma on himself with the hooks in the shape of an autopsy scar years before this project took place. As his education in suspension continued, the other practitioners he worked alongside, Matt Kirk and Benoit Berenger, only added to his enthusiasm for rigging and what could be done with it. As his own team began to form, they looked to be involved in both personal suspensions as well as artistic projects like this. The tipping point that got the ball rolling with this project was a quote from photographer Miguel Munoz Lazaro, who said he loved the beauty of the suspension, especially where the lines are blurred in that you cannot tell if the person getting suspended was alive or dead. This caught Tam’s attention, and the other pieces of his idea began to come together for this project to take shape.

When photographer Tara Li-An offered the State of Bliss team the opportunity to install anchor points in her studio, Tam went all out and asked for 12 points, 8 in the ceiling and 4 in the walls. She was happy to accommodate their needs in order to shoot the project, and with that Tam began planning and mapping out how he would want to approach the rigging with this suspension. Luckily for him, suspendee Ken Phillips was not only up to the challenge, but enthusiastic about adding as many hooks to the project as Tam was willing to work with. They settled on 28 hooks and began making plans to bring their idea to life.

Before the piercings began, the team spend 6 hours running rigline to figure out exactly how to lay it out and make Ken as comfortable as possible. In the end, it took 28 hooks, 95 meters of cord, 4 rigging plates, 8 carabiners, and 45 shackles to pull it off. Thanks to careful planning, Tam and teammate Tom were able to get all of the rigline connected, tensioned, and Ken in the air in about 45 minutes once his hooks were all inserted. With no pulley system used, Ken was lifted by adding tension the line one section at a time. Although he found it difficult to settle into, with Korina’s coaching he was able to completely relax and really enjoy the suspension.

Tam made it clear that if even one of his team members hadn’t been there, they could have never made this happen. It’s great to see a crew that works so closely and all play such a vital role in a project like this. Congratulations on putting together something so wonderful, and to Ken for accomplishing a very challenging suspension that he was so excited about.

***

How should one spend their days? For some it’s a pursuit to amass wealth and fortune. Others may seek experience and adventure. Should we quest for glory? Enlightenment? Discover the unknown? Who’s to say what is the right path in life? For me personally I feel that it is our legacy that holds real value. The people we influence and the lives we change gives meaning to it all. To be remembered and to make a difference is, in my humble opinion, the true measure of one’s existence.

Who was Shannon Larratt? I feel that there are better people to describe him and to tell his tales. I have no doubt that (e)books will be written and memoirs published on his behalf. Yes this blog is about the man, just not his personal life. Instead I want to focus on the community he helped to spawn.

Before Facebook, Myspace, and Friendster (does anyone even remember that one) Shannon created a little microcosm called Body Modification Ezine, better known as BMEzine or simply BME. As for his intentions of its creation, the story of its progression, and the future of the site; I will leave those topics for the historians to discuss. The reason for this blog is to focus on the impact.

What could have been a tiny spark or mere flash in the pan turned into a blazing fire that lit up the lives of people around the globe. Believe it or not my friends, less than two decades ago, body modification was more of an underground activity and for many quite taboo. Back then the World Wide Web was still in its infancy and online communication between the modded folks was generally done through Usenet groups. (Google it) It wasn’t until sites like BME appeared that the community was able to come together and communicate.

Was it a matter of right place at the right or pure genius? Who can say? Truly it was a perfect storm. With the rise of media exposure and the shift from print to digital images people all over the earth could suddenly share their experiences and discuss their passion through sites like BME. A community was born and it was a revolution. Shannon Larratt was truly a catalyst to a generation. In fact, I think Shannon said best in his final blog entry:

A friend told me once that my role was that of a “catalyst” — that I started fires inside people that helped them to change themselves (or become themselves) in positive way. I feel so lucky to have found myself in that position, and I want to offer my heartfelt thanks for everyone who made that possible. And I’d like to think that even though I was a big puzzle piece in body modification, that I was a smaller but still important puzzle piece in a larger movement of people from all sorts of different subcultures fighting for mutual support in a diverse patheon of self-expression and dream chasing.

Shannon you will be greatly missed by many. Thank you, not only for your unending support of the world of body modification and suspension, but in your constant efforts to uphold people’s rights and freedoms and instill confidence and happiness in those of us who are just a little different.

Misty: A lot of the suspension community is familiar with your beautiful photography from many of the European events, but I know at least here in the US there are a lot of people who haven’t had the chance to get to know you. How did you get involved in body suspension?

Stefano: I got to know suspension mainly through a couple friends who were into bodmod for a really long time and that less than five years ago got involved with suspension. At the time they started suspending, they were so enthusiastic that they kept talking about it all the time, so it’s been quite natural for me to focus my attention towards it. Starting the reportage took me quite some time, but I think it was really inevitable, at that point.

Misty: Have you suspended yourself or do you prefer the experience of being able to step back and witness others as they go through the emotions and the process of suspending?

Stefano: I’ve never tried suspension. For the whole three years I spent shooting pictures at suspendees I kept asking myself if I should have tried it or not. I’m very curious about everything, so when I started attending suspension events I was not really sure about what could have happened. More than once I’ve been very tempted, but at the end I decided that I should have kept my point of view on the outside of the practice itself. And even chosing that, being objective has been a real challenge. I think I rarely experienced something so emotionally involving as a suspension, even from the outside.

Misty: I think it’s wonderful that you are able to relate with the suspendee and how emotional of an experience it can be for them, even without suspending yourself. I see so many photographers that every photo they take of suspension is ‘shock and awe’; they are so focused on the hooks, skin, and blood that they completely forget there is a person in front of them going through this incredible experience. Do you think being able to relate to the suspendee and having so many people close to you involved in suspension effects how you photograph suspension?

Stefano: I definitely think so. I must say I’m not a big fan of shocking imagery. I mean, I’m always looking for subjects that can impress my audience, but not because they’re shocking or disturbing. The emotional involvement of the photographer cannot be completely ignored in a reportage. One should always try to be as objective as possible when telling a (photographic) story, but he must be very aware that his emotional involvement plays an important role in shaping the work. The first time I got in front of a suspension I didn’t know what to expect on an emotional level and I got totally overwhelmed by how empathetic I felt in front of it. It was something I couldn’t and wouldn’t resist, it just sucked me in. And it deeply influenced my work because I immediately realized that those feelings were the actual story to be told.

Misty: Beautifully worded. So that brings us to the collection of your work in this book! Tell me a little about the book. I remember we discussed the idea of a digital e-book that would be available. Could you tell people what formats will be available (and if there will be a hard copy in the works), when it is going to be released, and what is in it?

Stefano: Yes, Suspension of Disbelief will be an ebook. This is a peculiar choice for a photographic book, indeed. It has its upsides and its downsides, of course. An ebook can be published without any kind of backing by an agency or editor and this gave me total freedom when it came to making the actual book. Moreover it doesn’t need any kind of logistics: everybody will be able to read Suspension of Disbelief anywhere. On the other hand, it won’t be a physical object, there won’t be prints of it, and I know many fans of photography will be a little bit disappointed by this. But at this made me set a price that’s really, really far from the one of a printed book. And I hope this can help making it appealing for people that don’t know what suspension is about. They’re the real target of the written part of the book. Regarding release dates, I can say for sure that it’s a matter of a week or two. Italian and English versions of the PDF book have been uploaded to the sites and are ready to be published, while I’m waiting for approval from iBookstore for the iPad version. I’m currently discussing details for a Kindle Fire conversion of the book and it seems quite feasible at the moment. What scares me, really, is censorship from the stores.

We will be keeping our fingers crossed that those reviewing the book will choose to release it without censorship. Stefano really does such a wonderful job of making suspension be able to be seen as emotional and artists rather than graphic, and I hope that they will be able to see that as they make those decisions. Thank you so much for all of your work for us in the suspension community and for the interview Stefano.

And without further ado, here is the preview of his e-book, Suspension of Disbelief which will be available for purchase soon:

Misty: I have to admit that I have always been a little nervous about suspension being offered in studios. It may be the legislative work that I have been doing, but it seems like in the wrong hands it can open a door to states taking more of an interest in possibly banning it. Do you offer it as a service in your studio, or is it just something that you use your studio as a location for?

Bethany and Bradde: We’re in a small town, it’s a little slower foot traffic than some shops may be used to. So offering that here isn’t such a big deal. It is not a service we offer to the general public; for the most part we tend to do it after hours. Occasionally something might start earlier in the afternoon if we’re hosting a small get together. We would rather do suspension here than out in the woods. We’re in a well equipped shop to handle anything that can occur.

Misty: Open Minded has certainly seemed to have a considerably warmer welcome in your town than most studios receive. There has been so much good press and community support, and now this wonderful interview showing suspension as something more than just a ‘shock and awe’ spectacle. Do you feel that being as open about who you are and what you do has had an impact on that as opposed to treating it like a secret or something that is still underground?

Bethany and Bradde: To start off, two years ago the both of us spent a good portion of our time drawing up a business plan to present to our downtown economic development program. This program is designed to help better our downtown area. We proposed to them that we would offer a nice, clean, friendly environment that does tattoos and piercings. They were well aware that we also perform suspensions. Another thing you have to look at: look at most main street businesses in a lot of smaller towns. There’s nothing there. They are happy to have anybody there. Our whole economy is down, and any business is good business.

We don’t use suspension as a shock and awe event here. We relay it more as look, we’re bringing people to Van Wert, Ohio. Think of it Misty, have you ever heard of or said the words “Van Wert, Ohio” before? Our business plan worked. Van Wert happens to be located within 3 hours from most major cities in the midwest. That way 17 million+ people are a day trip away from coming in to do some suspensions. We’re not here to hide who we are or what we do. We’re not doing anything wrong or immoral, or unsafe. We’re living our lives like we want to

Misty: With how much this video has been shared by the news, city departments, and the public in your area, do you feel that you will eventually be in a position to have the Health Department looking into suspension more, and possibly looking to regulate it in the future?

Bethany and Bradde: Look at a lot of states that want to ban microdermals. The people that make the laws don’t know anything about it. Compare that now to our suspension interview with WNWO. We spoke in laymans terms so people weren’t as scared of it, and so they have a little bit more understanding of it. And we addressed the questions that everybody was curious about most. Suspension is going to be regulated with or without the video we made. We just hope it shed some light on some unknowing people and we home that they are a little more friendly towards it, even if it’s not their forte.

Misty: The city you are in, Van Wert, has a population of around 11,000. Does being in a small town have advantages for what you do? I would imagine that in an area where everyone knows each other, it’s somewhat easier for people to look at what their friends and neighbors are doing with an open mind (no pun intended) than in a huge city where it can be written off as ‘those crazy people that hang from hooks’ because there is no personal connection to those people.

Bethany and Bradde: The biggest advantage we have living in a small town is that the cost of living is very low, which allowed us to open up our business here for a very little amount of money and purchase the building that Open Minded is in. But since there is a small amount of people living here, there are very few people who are actually interested in suspension. To this day we have only suspended one local person.

We are still “those crazy people”, yet pretty much everybody accepts what we do and we don’t get a lot of negative response. We’re not trying to push this on to anybody. We just do what we want with our friends and we do it safe. Suspensions aren’t even a “subculture” here yet. Since it’s such a small town what is seen as taboo or weird, inappropriate, etc. in a lot of bigger cities hasn’t even registered here. Most people don’t even know what it is, and therefore have no negative feelings about it.

Misty: I think anyone who has met you both can agree that you are great people to have presenting suspension to those who don’t know about it. You are both very positive people who come across as well spoken adults rather than a couple of crazy kids doing something irresponsible. With this interview, did you guys discuss with the crew what you did or didn’t want to portray with suspension to keep it from being shown in a negative light, or was it simply a result of a news crew willing to actually listen and learn about who you were and show it without being biased?

Bethany and Bradde: As for going over what to do and not to do, we have a basic protocol we work off of. We were filmed for 5+ hours and had no say in what or how the article was going to be portrayed. We were not trying to hide anything since what we do is legal and safe. Also we didn’t have the questions beforehand, so we didn’t have the chance to “practice”. We weren’t worried about it because we were talking about something we have passion for. We’re glad you see us in that fashion. We really tried to make it look professional and not wild and crazy. Yes, there are certain situations where we try to make it look wild and crazy for suspensions, but there is a time and place for that. This was not an extremist thing, it was meant to be educational to people that don’t know.

Misty: Any advice for others in our community who are approached by the media about what they are doing?

Bradde and Bethany: Advice? Just be honest and remember you aren’t doing anything wrong or bad.

Thank you both for taking the time to answer these questions. It was great to get to discuss the news report with you, and I hope your studio continues to see the success and support it has so far.

This Valentine’s Day brought with it some sad news for the suspension community. We were just informed that Jenny Lynn from Michigan lost her battle with cancer. She was a beautiful addition to our world, and worked with both Escape and Pend Suspensions, including some of the wonderful performances at Theatre Bizarre. It is always hard to say goodbye to someone you care for, and even more so when they are taken far too young. I unfortunately did not know Jenny other than through our exchanges for Hook Life. I do know that she touched many lives in our community, and one of the most amazing things about our extended suspension family is our ability to pull together and care for one another when we need it most.

My heart goes out to all of her friends and family. Please take a moment to send your love, prayers, and positive thoughts to all of those grieving for her loss. While you are at it, take a minute to make sure the people closest to you know how much you love and care for them.

If you would like to send flowers or your condolences, I believe her brother is keeping her friends informed of arrangements through her page on facebook.

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.

J.C. has contacted many major airlines to try and arrange for them to donate flights for him and his film crew to make it to Long Island to visit Chris, but so far has been told he isn’t a big enough celebrity for them to do anything. So he is out to prove just how big the modification world is, by asking all of us to politely tag, message, or post about this to get their attention. We are by no means a small community, and what he is asking literally takes less than 5 minutes out of your day. Please watch the video and post to these companies. Help us get them the support to make this kid’s day a little brighter. We have proven before how fiercely we can pull together, let’s show Chris and his mom just how amazing this community is that he wants to be a part of.

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.