Trist’n Peterson

Before APP, I was an apprentice of 10 months searching for more information on the broad subject of body piercing. I was at the point in my apprenticeship where I needed to collaborate with other piercers and body modification experts about techniques, jewelry selection, and shops. How can I give my clients the best possible experience to ensure they’ll come back to me for future projects? I had alot of questions and needed answers. At conference I gathered a lot of information and advice from industry professionals on how to do exactly that.

This was my first year attending the Association of Professional Piercers Conference. When I arrived in Las Vegas I was welcomed with unkind stares at the airport and immediately felt out of my element, but this changed upon my arrival at the hotel.

I met a lot of popular body piercers who I looked up to and respected in the industry. I am so

thankful that I was picked for the “No Excuses” Scholarship because there is no way I would have socialized as much as I did if I had gone alone. What really blew me away was that every person I talked to was so eager to chat with me, help in anyway they could, and give ideas on how to better myself and my career. I am so thankful; Conference has allowed me to really remove my shell, get to know people, network, and build friendships. (I also roomed with the best people, and although space was limited, we were all equally excited to be there, meet new people, and better our careers.)

I was able to take a full class load and volunteer my extra time to the APP Volunteer crew. My

favorite class was Nostril Piercing Advanced Fundamentals because Jef and Alicia made a great team. They each have their own technique, so it was nice to see that no piercer is the same; we all have our own styles. My favorite workshop was Working Clean in Your Studio, all of the instructors made the class interesting and informational. They answered any questions with confidence and in turn taught me a lot of things I was unaware of previously. All the classes I attended were taught by well­-educated instructors and I learned so much.

Being a scholarship recipient definitely throws you into the middle of what Conference really is: an intense, beautiful, exciting, epic, inspiring, involving, life-­changing, week-­long bonanza for the modified! I am looking forward to the 2015 Conference already, and I can’t wait to see everyone and meet more people.

APP truly is like family; thank you for the experience!

Dae Jedic

I’ve been involved in the industry for about four years, and every year I’ve watched the application deadline for the Al D. Scholarship come and go. Every time I saw an opportunity to apply, and every time I talked myself out of it. I allowed my doubts and fears to control me in such an intense way, I kept myself from even trying. As human beings, self-doubt can sometimes be our greatest enemy, and I’ve battled it throughout my life in many different forms.

As a transgender male-ish person born to Yankees, but residing in the South, I’ve allowed myself to be ‘othered’ pretty consistently since I first realized my queer-ness. From the little things, like not fitting in in high school and having different musical tastes than my peers, to bigger things, like my sexual preference fueling my running away from home shortly after turning 18 (on Mother’s Day no less!), it seemed as though I was destined to be separated from the mainstream because of my differences. As I’ve gotten older, however, I’ve made a point to surround myself with people who would love me in spite of (and sometimes even because of) parts of me I once thought of as curses. I tend to gravitate towards other ‘misfits.’ I see now that, for me, being considered ‘normal’ would be pretty damn boring, and I continue to use my differences as a way to reach out to others who aren’t as comfortable with theirs. Simply put, I want to be allowed to truly own my skin, to be the only one completely in charge of MY body.

When I started my piercing career, it was the first job I had where my co-workers saw me and treated me as male, and it was a real game-changer for me. I was accepted as myself, was allowed to have as many piercings and tattoos as I wanted, and it was the catalyst for many very positive life changes. That said, even as I applied for the scholarship and was granted a spot among those precious few, I was filled with that same old, self-doubt. My mind swirled with all of the things that could go wrong, and all of the ways I could feel cast out from one of the only groups I’ve ever really wanted to fit in with. But this time I didn’t let it win. Sure, I barely slept the week before conference, I felt so nauseated at the airport I couldn’t eat breakfast, and I was sure I was having a heart attack once in Las Vegas looking for my taxi buddy, but I still went through with it. I realized that I had more control over that feeling than the terrorizing despair it had over me. And you know what? It was the most eye-opening, heartwarming, gut-wrenching, and tear-jerking experience of my life. I met so many people I’ve looked up to for so long—even though I was still a little too intimidated to meet all of them. I was accepted with open arms (seriously, so many hugs) into a family of people that couldn’t be more wonderful. Literally, I can’t think of anything about them that made me feel ‘othered’ or cast-out or like I didn’t fit in with them. Even though we are all so different, and many of us from completely different parts of the world, by the end of the week I knew I was at home with them.

So if you are like me, and you’ve allowed yourself to be put at such unease in regards to attending Conference that it overwhelms you to the point of avoiding it altogether, think of it this way. One of the volunteers (I’ve searched and searched and can’t remember exactly who said it) made a similar point to all of this year’s newbies: the dread and fear that you feel is the same that you see your clients dealing with on a daily basis. It is simply the fear of the unknown, and everyone handles it differently. But if you can walk your clients through that feeling and help them to the other side, showing them how relatively painless the piercing process can be, then you can also walk yourself through this process, facing the unknown. And even if you hit some bumps along the way, or you have troubles that you aren’t sure how to handle, this is a group of people who wants to assist you. They want to see you happy, helpful, and brave, and they want to teach you how. Let yourself be afraid, and then tell that fear you’ll see it in a week, when its blossoms into the best experience of your life. You won’t regret it.

Ryan Clark

If you’d told me that I was going to fall in love at Conference, I would have said you were nuts. Yet from the moment I arrived at the hotel, I started falling love—with everything, every person I met, every smiling face I saw. There is an overwhelming feeling of camaraderie when you’re there in the thick of it all, surrounded by hundreds of people with the same goals and passions as you. It’s intense, quite literally. You can’t help but bask in the energy; whether it’s sitting quietly in a class taught by one of your piercing heroes, lost in a sea of beautiful bodies at the pool party, laughing at the banquet dinner or anything, and everything, in between. You will meet your idols, you will quickly learn that they are regular folks, and you will be able to call them friends when you leave—as long as you put yourself out there. You will be challenged both physically and emotionally, especially when you’re sleep deprived and when you’re saying goodbyes. I never knew how difficult leaving somewhere could be until I was walking out of the hotel lobby for the last time, but it couldn’t have been more worth it.

I have the Al D. Scholarship to thank for the entire experience. The scholarship program is an amazing thing because beyond just helping those with financial difficulties, it puts people together. I ended up working closely with people I’d never met and probably never would have, if not for the program. These people became my family. For example, I am not a morning person, but I was up at seven or eight in the morning every day with bells on. Once I realized how short my time with these people was, I found it difficult to do anything but spend it with them, regardless of how tired or hungry I was. I miss them all terribly, and have since the second we were in different area codes. These are people whose progress I now follow with sincere care. I am legitimately happy for their successes, and sad when they struggle. It was a profoundly intimate experience, much more so than I ever expected, and if you’re anything like me you’ll be crying your eyes out when it comes time to start saying your goodbyes.

While it was absolutely amazing to learn from so many respected and talented piercers, it was even more incredible to just be able to hang out with them. I can’t imagine a better place to network and make friends as a piercer. Any time I found myself near a stranger with piercings, striking up conversation was effortless. (In most any other situation I’d be apprehensive.) I quickly got used to the ol’ “what’s your name, where do you work” icebreaker. I quickly picked up on the fact that I’d be learning a lot outside the classrooms, and some of the coolest tips and tricks I learned came from chatting with people after classes, or by the bar.

As cliché as it sounds, I think I learned more about myself than I did about piercing. I gained more than just some new information and techniques. I was able to meet piercers local to me who I had been too shy to seek out previously. I was shown how easy it can be to make friends and get along with people, thanks to the volunteer crew and the amazing woman who coordinates them. I came home with renewed ambition and a whole bunch of new friends from all around the world. I was reminded that there are people that will easily love the heck out of you for exactly who you are. Though leaving was one of the most emotionally trying things I’ve ever done, for many reasons, being able to go was probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

Zach Fitzgerald

2014 was a rough year. I dealt with a major family loss at the beginning of the year, which required me to use nearly all of the financial reserves that I had planned on using for Conference. I  even sold some of my personal belongings in an effort to replenish those reserves, but then automotive issues would take that money as well. I wanted so badly to not need the Al D.Scholarship. If I could make it on my own, then another piercer could benefit from Conference, and make the world a better place.

The actual process of applying was pretty simple, and I felt like my paper application was strong. However, I had major doubts about my phone interview performance. After the interviews, I started trying to figure out if anything else I owned was worth anything to to anyone. Thinking to myself “If I can just pay for the flight and the pass, I’ll figure out somewhere to sleep when I get there.” In my application, I mentioned that I would sleep on a Las Vegas sidewalk. It’s funny, but I wasn’t kidding. Then a miracle happened. I received a call from Tiana letting me know that I had been awarded the scholarship, and was going to Vegas. The clouds opened up and the universe smiled upon me. There aren’t many events in my life that even hold a candle to the amount of joy I felt after that phone call. That same elation continued for quite some time, but then I transitioned into mixed emotions. Sure, I was excited to be one of the chosen few and was thrilled to be going to Vegas, but what if I’m not what they thought I was? Can I handle this monumental task? Anyone that heard I had been awarded the scholarship offered up the same advice “Don’t mess this up.”  After hearing this, I started to really worry as to whether or not I deserved what had been given to me. But I was committed. I was going to Vegas.

The days leading up to Conference seemed to drag on and on, and yet when the time was upon me, it felt like I was moving in slow motion with everything around me was flying by. When I arrived, I was a stranger in a strange land. I had no idea where I was or what I was doing. Until I arrived at the hotel. Still afraid and confused, another scholar and a volunteer noticed me and introduced themselves. I was immediately taken to our Mama Duck who gave me a quick tour of the facility. Her demeanor was that of an exhausted lioness; tired from the weeks/months of intensive labor leading up to Conference, yet ready to adopt another group of newbies and whip them into shape. I immediately felt like there was no way I could let her down, not after everything she had done for us. I was going to be the scholar that I needed to be in order to play my part in making Conference the amazing experience I had always heard it was. I was going to earn my scholarship.

The next morning, I arrived at the volunteer meeting and felt like I was seeing family that I only get to see at Christmas. I tried to introduce myself to everyone right away. (How awesome is it that everybody’s name is on their badges?) Not one sour face, not one gawker, not one rude person in the crowd. We were all pumped to be together. This would be the dynamic for all of Conference. It was my first time being part of such a large group of likeminded individuals. Despite having never met most of the volunteers, I felt like had known them my entire life. Our schedules were packed, and whenever I felt overwhelmed, there was always someone within earshot reminding me to breathe. I love you guys!

If you haven’t been to Conference, I highly suggest making an effort to be  there next year. There are so many beautiful people; there is so much knowledge being shared. The classes are very informative and well thought out, and if you disagree, you’ll have your chance to express that. You may have heard a lot of people talk about it being a life changing event, and they are absolutely right. I learned so much at Conference, and I applied that new knowledge immediately. Upon my return, I was busier than I’ve ever been. The positive energy easily recharges your soul and reminds us that what we’re doing is worth it.