Interview by Sean Dowdell

Sean Dowdell: Why did you want to learn to do body piercing?

Jef Saunders: This is kind of a long story, but I’ll be as brief as I can be. I graduated high school in small town Connecticut in 1996. There was very little going on in the way of body piercing where I was, but a few piercings had become popular in the punk/hardcore scene by then. My girlfriend at the time had wanted to get her tragus pierced, so on her birthday (Halloween 1996) I drove from my college dorm at the University of Connecticut to Providence, Rhode Island to get her tragus pierced, and my ear lobes pierced. It was like lightning struck me when I watched the piercing get done. Keep in mind, there was no YouTube, so when there was a curved needle, and a cork, and all these glove changes… It was so incredibly fascinating to me! It made no sense and I desperately wanted to make sense of it. By spring of the following year, I was apprenticing in Connecticut, and by fall, I was apprenticing at the shop I had been pierced at.

Sean Dowdell: When did you start body piercing, who taught you, and where?

Jef Saunders: I started piercing professionally at a shop called LunaSea, which was a combination skate shop and piercing shop in Providence. I apprenticed under the piercers at that shop, and I also attended the Fakir Intensives in San Francisco, California. Fakir and his instructors are the reason I am still a piercer today. They really instilled in me a passion for the work of piercing that still burns in me to this day. I can’t emphasize enough how big an impression Fakir, Dustin Allor, Tod Almighty, Ian Bishop, and Ken Coyote had on me. They changed piercing from a business or a hobby to something transcendental and good for the world around me. It was truly life changing.

Sean Dowdell: What piercers do you look up to and why?

Jef Saunders: I think first and foremost, when I think of pure, raw, piercing talent: Luis Garcia. Luis has some kind of extra sensory perception when it comes to placement. Luis is playing chess when other piercers (including myself) are playing checkers.

I am really inspired by younger, newer piercers. I think a lot of my experienced peers look at newer piercers and see entitled Tumblr users who didn’t have to work for anything. I think of it differently. I had the benefit of piercing before it was easy to put pictures on the internet. I had a running start with my portfolio before other piercers had a chance to tear it apart. Nowadays? You need to be good, and you need to get good fast. Sure, you may not have had to go to the library to research skin preps, but you had better get the length on that industrial right or the internet will tear you apart! It’s a ton of pressure on these newer piercers, and most of them are doing a fantastic job of absorbing that pressure and putting out remarkable work.

Finally, there’s no small list of piercers I think are spectacular. I couldn’t list them all but a few include Cody Vaughn, Courtney Jane Maxwell, Aaron Pollack, Kelly Carvara, Kellan Smith, and Ken Coyote.

Sean Dowdell: What are your thoughts about the internet and its role in the piercing industry?

Jef Saunders: I can’t really say enough about how much I enjoy the free exchange of ideas. The internet is a wonderful resource for piercers, and I can’t imagine being where we are today in terms of health and safety, as well as technique if the internet wasn’t a big part of our industry.

I have really enjoyed being a blogger. I was caught off guard when my piercing blog (www.piercingnerd.com) started to develop a following. In the years since I started it, I’ve developed classes on the entries I’ve posted and met literally hundreds of piercers through it. It’s been a wonderful personal learning experience, as well as a fun way to give back to our community.

Sean Dowdell: If you could give 1 piece of advice to the piercers out there, what would it be (pertaining specifically to procedures)?

Jef Saunders: You are allowed to practice on an inanimate object before you do a piercing on a paying customer. I think, for a lot of piercers, they never consider trying a piercing technique on a piece of foam board or one of those silicone body bits. The muscle memory, and figuring out problems before they arise, is totally worth the small amount of time or money you may need to invest.

Sean Dowdell: What do you think are (if any) problems within the piercing industry?

Jef Saunders: Less a problem, more an opportunity for improvement: it’s very important to me that we continue to innovate tools and supplies that are designed to be single use. I would love to see the piercing community embrace less tool reprocessing as a way of making piercing safer for our clients, and exposing piercers and shop employees to less bioburden. There are lots of jewelry and supply companies that can seize that opportunity and make us disposable, inexpensive, high quality piercing tools.

Sean Dowdell: Where would you like to be in 5 years (pertaining to life and business)?

Jef Saunders: That’s a difficult question! I sold my shops last year to my good friend, Peter Jett. I’m hoping within five years, I have found a good place to continue to pierce, whether I own the shop or not. My son will be six years old by then, so I’m betting I’ll be coaching basketball by then too!

Sean Dowdell: What is your favorite piercing to perform and why?

Jef Saunders: I really love the basics, especially nostrils and navels. I have to admit a daith piercing is a pretty special one to me, though. I like performing them because they are a great mix of challenging, and have an important history to me. I have my daith pierced by Ken Coyote, who apprenticed under Erik Dakota, the first person to perform one. That lineage means a lot to me.

Sean Dowdell: How does it feel to be the newly elected President of APP?

Jef Saunders: It feels like a great responsibility, but also an enormous opportunity. I am standing on the shoulders of giants, though. The presidents, board members, officers, and volunteers who preceded me have put me in an amazing place, enabling the APP to continue to grow and be successful.

Sean Dowdell: What changes would you like to see in the APP?

Jef Saunders: I have been working with the Board and the Membership Committee to make our application process more streamlined and efficient. I am looking forward to making compliance with APP membership requirements easier for our members as well. There are more plans in the works, but I would rather let the people whose hard work is making these amazing changes happen introduce them!

Sean Dowdell: Tell us something positive that you feel comes from the piercing industry.

Jef Saunders: I genuinely believe in the power of body piercing as self-expression. I think this art form speaks to certain people, and I’m passionate about making it as safe as possible for those people.

Sean Dowdell: What would you like other piercers to know that they might not know about you?

Jef Saunders: I took a few months off of piercing last year to work at a craft brewery. It was very hard work but I developed a newfound respect for the work and craftsmanship that goes into making a consistently good quality product.

Sean Dowdell: Being a veteran piercer, what advice do you think that most new piercers should be aware of as they climb into this industry?

Jef Saunders: We were all the newbie at some point. No one happened upon this piercing community a fully formed excellent piercer. You’ll get there with hard work and assistance from the good people of this amazing piercing family.

Sean Dowdell: Is there anything you wish to learn or get better at in the piercing industry?

Jef Saunders: I want to be a better piercer in every regard, whether it be bedside manner, health and safety, technique, or even something like jewelry color combinations. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by good examples and resourceful friends. I will continue learning from and being inspired by these amazing piercers throughout our community