Category President’s Corner

Point 89: The President’s Corner

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Cody Vaughn

 A lot has changed since I initially wrote this article. Originally I had written about how excited we should all be for our upcoming Conference, and how 2020 was going to be a great year for our piercing community. Little did I know…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on everybody, and our piercing community is no exception. I understand and sympathize that we are all facing incredible challenges, and the closure of our businesses has been a massive blow to us all.

The Board immediately began working on appropriate responses to the pandemic and how it affects our community. We issued our statement early in March recommending we all discontinue piercing services due to the high risk it could present to our staff and clients, prior to most states issuing mandatory closures. It  was a necessary recommendation, but the economic impact of closures did make it a tough pill to swallow. Each response we have issued regarding COVID-19 has required multiple updates because of how quickly information has been changing, on a near daily basis.

A big question from our community has been whether or not our Conference would still happen this year. The health and safety of our conference attendees, volunteers, speakers and vendors has been our top priority while looking at Conference. The Board put in a lot of work creating protocols and plans for how a scaled back Conference could look given the current situation, and every avenue was investigated as to how we could safely make it happen. Initially there were no Federal guidelines for us to follow and everybody was in a bit of a holding pattern. Information continues to become available about COVID-19; the White House and CDC have begun making suggestions for each state outlining phases to determine when businesses can safely start to reopen. These developments made it clear to the Board that with the current state of affairs our 2020 Conference should not happen.

Prematurely canceling our Conference wasn’t a simple option. Contract negotiations are a sensitive and complicated process and the fiscal impact we could have created by prematurely canceling would have been a heavy financial burden for our organization; a $200,000+ penalty in addition to losing our biggest source of annual revenue.

On a national level, nobody knew how long these forced closure measures would last. A couple of weeks? A month? Our host hotel was initially only willing to discuss options when we were thirty days out from our Conference. But thanks to our Board Members’ decisiveness, and a lot of scheduled meetings, we successfully came to a favorable negotiation earlier than that with our host hotel, which allowed us to cancel our 2020 Conference AND avoid penalties.

We thank you all for your patience and trust while we’ve worked on this. From the outside I can understand how people would think, “You should just cancel it,” and my goodness how we all had hoped it could have been that quick and simple! As Board Members we have a responsibility to be stewards of the organization, and to look out for its well being. That includes upholding our mission statement of health and safety, and looking out for the financial health of the organization.

I am incredibly proud of all of the tireless work our Board Members, Officers, APP staff and volunteers have been putting in to best address all these issues. Like everybody else, we all have our own family, financial responsibilities, and work/studios to worry about. Even with all that, everybody has truly risen to this challenge and continues to do so.

It isn’t to say we are anywhere close to being out of the woods yet, as there is still a lot of work to be done and planning ahead. How this pandemic will affect our community long-term is not yet known. But I know the APP’s Board, employees, and volunteers will all continue to do the absolute best job we possibly can. I implore all of us in the piercing community to be kind and encouraging to each other in these difficult days ahead. We are a large extended family and now is the time for us to come together and show our support for one another.

I hope all of you reading this stay healthy, stay safe, and hang in there. It will be especially sweet when we are all able to safely meet each other again, and come together with our shared passion for safe piercing.

Point 88: The President’s Corner

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by Cody Vaughn

Hello dear readers of The Point: Journal of Body Piercing! I am incredibly humbled and proud to introduce myself to you all as the new President for the Association of Professional Piercers.

I would like to start by sharing with you all a little about myself. I was born and raised in Monterey, California. I have an amazing wife, Brittney Vaughn, and we both own and pierce at Vaughn Body Arts. We have three children and a big goofy dog named Lobo.

My love of body piercing started as a teenager while watching MTV late at night. I saw a pierced nipple for the very first time and well, here I am now (thank you, Red Hot ChiliPeppers).

I started piercing in 2004. I became an APP Member in 2009 and have been a volunteer with the Membership Committee ever since. I have also volunteered on other various APP committees on and off throughout the years, and have been serving as a Board Member since 2014. In addition to my volunteerism, I am a dedicated educator. I have been an instructor for The Fakir Intensives since 2011. Over the years, I have also had the pleasure of teaching at APP Conference and Camp APP in the United States, LBP in Mexico, and ruAPP in Russia. During my APP Board terms I have served as Vice President, Membership Liaison, and now as President. Needless to say, things have been very busy and exciting these past five years! But that is enough about me, let’s talk about APP Conference!

A few years ago a survey was sent out to APP Members requesting their feedback for Conference. The overwhelming response was that Conference makes the most sense in Las Vegas from a financial and entertainment standpoint. At the request of the membership, we started looking at other hotels to host our Conference.

Some were too small and couldn’t physically house all our attendees. Others were simply too expensive for the daily room rates. Then we toured Planet Hollywood. Making a very long and work-intensive story short, Planet Hollywood looked like the perfect next step for our growing conference.

Now, I’m one of those people that gets used to things and am fine with familiarity. I was always quite fond of Bally’s. I knew where everything was located. Huge group hangouts at the bar were always a sight to see. So why change it? I walked into Planet Hollywood thinking, “well if everybody wants a change of scenery, so be it, but what was wrong with Bally’s?” I am happy to say that I was wrong. So very, very wrong.

Our Conference at Planet Hollywood was simply fantastic. The overall look of the hotel felt updated and refreshing. The rooms were comfy and felt new and modern. And every room had a fridge!! (It’s the little things.)

The easy walk directly from the elevator to the conference space and Expo was incredibly convenient.

It felt wonderful to travel to and from classes without having to go through all the cigarette smoke on the gaming floor. I had the opportunity to speak with a lot of first-time attendees, long-time attendees, and vendors. The overwhelming amount of positive and enthusiastic comments about the new location were simply amazing.

It felt so good as a Board Member to hear how happy attendees were. Personally, this Conference was truly memorable because of the tributes for Fakir Musafar. Fakir was a friend of mine, my boss at The Intensives, and an altogether fun person to be around. He always seemed to have a new story I had never heard about something he did at some point. Did you realize Fakir was a puppeteer on a children’s television show for a little bit?

The Body Piercing Archive’s Fakir exhibit was breathtaking. In my biased opinion, it is their most amazing exhibit as of yet. Seeing all the amazing pictures and original items from Fakir’s body play journey and photography up close and in person was surreal.

Docent tours were lead by Cléo Dubois, Ken Coyote, Ian Bishop, Jef Saunders, Dustin Allor, Allen Falkner, Annie Sprinkle, Cynthia Wright, Betty Ann Peed, and Paul King; the tours were wonderfully done. Hearing each person’s unique relationship with Fakir was a memorable treat that I’ll never forget.

What a Conference! Smiles, tears, hugs, laughs. It was an emotional rollercoaster for sure.

I don’t want to give away any surprises, but with our next Conference in 2020 being our 25th anniversary, it is safe to say it’s going to be a special one.

Thank you for having me as a Board Member these past five years! I look forward to one more year of service and I look forward to learning with you all at our next Camp and Conference

Point 87: The President’s Corner

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by Jef Saunders

Nate Janke, Derek Lowe, Westin M. Fryar, William Wood Jr., Courtney Jane Maxwell of Saint Sabrina’s

To you readers of The Point, it has been a humbling experience being the President of the Association of Professional Piercers. What I’ve learned in the past three years is that there is an enormous team of committed piercers, jewelry manufacturers, Sponsors, employees, Volunteers, Officers, committee members and Board members who make the effort every day to make piercing safer and spread the word about this wonderful organization.

We are on the precipice of the 24th annual APP Conference & Exposition, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve spoken with instructors, vendors, volunteers and attendees, and we all share a renewed enthusiasm for the learning that takes place at our Conference. One of the most exciting parts of teaching and attending classes is the zeal with which our attendees participate. Make no mistake, even if you are not a volunteer, instructor, vendor, or conference worker, you are a crucial part of this Conference if you are attending classes, asking questions, and coming home a better educated piercer than you left.

So much is new about this 24th annual Conference: our venue is the spectacular Planet Hollywood Resort Casino! We have a revamped and exciting Golden Ticket raffle. We also have a completely new Silent Auction! We even completely overhauled the Banquet into a new Closing Party! Considering our new venue, this year was a great opportunity to innovate, and the Conference Committee and Board have done just that.

Perhaps the conference event dearest to my heart is the celebration of the life and work of Fakir Musafar. Fakir was a mentor, boss, spiritual guru, and friend of mine, and I am looking forward to sharing memories and hearing new stories in the classes devoted to Fakir. The Body Piercing Archive has been working for well over a year to present the largest exposition of Fakir’s work ever. This exhibit will be like nothing we’ve ever seen before, and I cannot wait for our conference attendees to experience it.

As I leave the office of President, I want to say thank you to everyone who has helped me throughout my term; there are not enough pages in The Point to list everyone. Thank you to our Members, Corporate Sponsors, Volunteers, Board Members past and present, and our conference attendees. Thank you Marina. Thank you Caitlin. Thank you to the staff of The Point, who do an exemplary job (and deal with my penchant for missing deadlines). Thanks to everyone who puts work into promoting safe piercing, and supports sharing and education in our community. You inspire us all. Excelsior!

Point 86: The President’s Corner

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by Jef Saunders

In this issue celebrating the organization’s 25th anniversary, we ponder the future of the body piercing industry, our community, and the Association of Professional Piercers. As President, considering the future of our organization and industry is one of my highest priorities. The opportunity to help establish policies and safeguards which help our organization flourish, and our industry to become safer and better-educated, has been one of the greatest honors of my career. As such, I’m excited to discuss how we hope to aid in the growth and success of our industry.

It is the goal of the APP, and hopefully the goal of everyone in our community, to foster inclusivity and diversity. With that goal in mind, the

APP has added several new classes, roundtables, and TalkAPP sessions to our 2019 Conference. These courses are intended to highlight diverse perspectives and ideas, provide education about the challenges faced by people of color in our industry, and discuss actionable steps we can take to minimize those challenges.

In addition, the APP has added the following language to our Member’s Code of Conduct:

“I agree to provide a work environment that is free from harassment, bigotry, and discrimination. I will not discriminate or harass employees or clientele based upon an individual’s sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, size, race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, age (except where legally required), religion, ability, or any other legally protected characteristic(s).

“Declining to perform a piercing on an individual (who has provided legally required valid identification) based on  minimum  age requirements, anatomy viability assessment, or potential health complications is not considered a violation of the APP Code of Conduct, unless it is done to explicitly discriminate against a legally protected characteristic. Refraining from piercing when there is a reasonable risk that the piercing will fail or result in complications is considered appropriate, safe, and ethical piercing practice.”

The APP will continue to expand our educational offerings and improve pre-existing classes at our annual Conference. In addition, we will continue to broaden the scope of our online courses; it is imperative that we offer a wide variety of options for education, so that all individuals looking to learn are able to do so regardless of distance or financial concerns. Furthermore, as sister organizations spring up around the globe, we will do everything we can to assist these colleagues in nurturing their organizations and developing educational materials.

I am truly excited to see what our industry’s jewelry manufacturers and other suppliers deliver in the coming years. I am in awe of the high-quality, innovative creations our sponsors have produced in the past 25 years, and I think we are all looking forward to seeing what they have in store in the next quarter century.

Finally, as the APP’s educational mission continues to succeed, I expect to see further growth in our membership. In the last three years alone, we have seen membership increase by more than double. Our next big benchmark will be one thousand APP Members from all over the world!

The future has some big things in store for our community, and I can’t wait to see what we accomplish! Excelsior!

Point 85: The President’s Corner

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by Jef Saunders

Welcome to The Point: Journal of Body Piercing—Issue 85, where we celebrate our piercing history. There is so much to consider when we look at the history of piercing: of course, there is the anthropological and historical record. There is also our far more recent piercing “industry” or “community” history.

A knowledge of both is quite rewarding. One of the often overlooked resources for people interested in learning the recent history of piercing, and of the APP, is what you are reading right now—The Point. Our issues are available for free online and provide tremendous insight into the kind of battles piercers had to fight in the 1990s versus the challenges we face today. It is worthwhile to see that things like jewelry standards and safety requirements have been a part of the organization from the very beginning. It is also of no great surprise to see that our industry’s leaders, from piercers to manufacturers, were often active in and supportive of the APP from the very beginning.

It is somewhat expected that two of the people who come to my mind when I think of the production and editing of The Point have also released books. Both Elayne Angel (The Piercing Bible) and Jim Ward (Running the Gauntlet) have produced works that have educated and entertained piercers and the public. The APP has also benefited from the extensive and challenging work that has been performed by the Body Piercing Archive. This group of piercing enthusiasts has put thousands of hours into protecting our history and presenting it for us at our Conference. The APP is deeply appreciative of this committee and committee members for all of their hard work. The APP Conference in May 2019 will feature a Body Piercing Archive  exhibit  about the life and work of Fakir Musafar. Fakir was a hugely influential figure, to our entire community and to me personally. The Association of Professional Piercers mourns his  passing and celebrates his legacy. I encourage all APP Conference Attendees to make time for the Body Piercing Archive’s exhibit at the upcoming Conference.

Point 83: My Journey with Fakir

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By Jef Saunders, APP President


Fakir with Jef’s son Simon, wife Laura Jane Leonard, and Jef himself. Photo by Ken Coyote

On May 4th, 2018, Fakir Musafar posted a farewell message on his Facebook account: “The time has come for me to inform you that Fakir’s shelf life is running out. I have been fighting stage 4 lung cancer since last October, and I am near my expiration date….” While I have known about Fakir’s diagnosis for months, witnessing Fakir make his short time remaining public really hit home. The outpouring of emotion, thanks, and support from all over the world has been quite a thing to behold. I’m confident the letters, cards, and photos you send are deeply appreciated by both Fakir and his wife Cleo, and may provide an air of closure.

Fakir with Jef’s son Simon Saunders. Photo by Ken Coyote

My journey with Fakir began over 20 years ago, the way it has for so many others: through reading Modern Primitives. I was struck by the audacity it took to modify one’s body in so many different ways, all of it done long before body modification was an accepted element of Western culture. He seemed larger-than-life, brilliant, and enigmatic beyond description. Who was this man, and how had he developed this devotion to piercing, corsetry, and suspension?

It wasn’t long before I met him in person, in the spring of 1999. I remember thinking to myself, “I hope I look as good as this guy does when I’m in my fifties,” not realizing I was taking a class from a man in his late sixties. Fakir’s apparent defiance of his age turned out to be nothing compared to the impact his Basic Piercing Workshop had on my life. I learned directly from Fakir about the cultures he admired and about what compelled him to modify his own body. I was exposed firsthand to the ritual and spiritual experience that piercing and body art could be, and I was awakened to a perspective on body play that came from the immersive experience of the workshop. Fakir and his Intensives changed me forever.

I felt compelled to revisit the magic in the Fakir classes. Within eighteen months I had attended his Basic, Branding, and Advanced Intensives. Five years later I was visiting regularly, at times even driving from Rhode Island to San Francisco, just to experience a class. In 2005 I started teaching for Fakir, and I’ve grown increasingly devoted to the unique quality of the workshops the Fakir Intensives deliver. For Fakir, however, teaching the body arts is really only half the story.

It’s difficult to explain the amazing life he has led. You may be aware that Fakir has been an advertising executive, a military demolitions expert, and a lifelong photographer. You might not know that he was a magician, a ballroom dancer, and a pioneering corset designer. There’s a unicycle in his garage, surrounded by shelves of piercing supplies, rigging for human rituals, and Body Play magazines. The man has lived that kind of life.

I’ve had the good fortune to grow close to Fakir, first as a student, and then as an instructor, but more significantly, as a friend. He is the patriarch of my chosen family, and I can say without hyperbole that the most important relationships in my life all trace back to Fakir, the Fakir Family, and the Fakir Intensives in some way So, although I write this column with a heavy heart. I’m thankful that Fakir chose to inform the broad piercing community about his condition, providing anyone who has felt his substantial impact the opportunity to reach out to him by sending a card, a photo, or a letter before he moves on to the unseen world. Through this considerate gesture, Fakir is showing us once again the type of person he is, and the extraordinary value he places on human connections. I truly hope you’ll take him up on it.

My journey with Fakir resonates as one of the greatest joys of my life. Thank you, Fakir. Your contributions to body art will be celebrated by our community for all time, and I, personally, have been forever blessed by your influence in my life. Your example and guidance have led me not only to evolve into the piercer I am today, but more importantly, the person I have become.

Merry Meet, Merry Part, and Merry Meet Again!

Point 82: The President’s Corner: Bethrah Szumski

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By Jef Saunders, APP President

This issue of The Point is focused on Women in the Piercing Industry. There are countless women who have  inspired  me and  who I could thank for my own personal voyage. That said, I’d like to put the spotlight on someone who I couldn’t imagine the Association of Professional Piercers without: Bethrah Szumski.

Bethrah served the APP as Secretary for many, many years, and it was Bethrah who called me when I was elected to the Board to give me advice. Being a Board Member involves a lot of responsibility, and the learning curve is steep. Were it not for Bethrah explaining the ins and outs of joining the Board, I would have been lost. In hindsight she may regret making that phone call to me, because I have leaned on her for advice in all aspects of my life ever since. Very rarely does more than a month go by without me reaching out to her for insight, advice, or just a shoulder to lean on.

For those not in the know, Bethrah has been with the APP since just about the beginning. She has served as President and Secretary, but also was deeply involved in our Conference for years. She also spearheaded some of our organization’s forays into international Conferences in Amsterdam in the early 2000s. These Conferences helped inspire piercers in Europe to start their own organizations. There is virtually no part of the APP that has not benefited from Bethrah’s involvement.

It is tough for us today to remember that the APP was once a very young organization that could have disappeared without spectacular leadership and tremendous sacrifice by our early volunteers. Bethrah’s commitment to the APP and its mission led her to put in countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears. As someone who has benefited tremendously from the efforts of the early APP, I have huge amounts of gratitude for all of the early Board Members and volunteers. That gratitude knows no bounds when I think of Bethrah.

As she segued out of her role as Secretary (and in the process trained our current Secretary, Aaron Pollack), Bethrah pitched the Board a new idea: “Why don’t we do something for our Members that is different than Conference. Something in nature where they can learn and bond and relax together. It can be a Member’s Retreat where we all camp together”. A lot of people would have come up with the idea and then asked other people to do the work. Not Bethrah. She immediately found appropriate locations, developed a budget, figured out all of the things that would go into a wonderful camp experience and then made it happen. To say it has been a success is a gross understatement. Camp APP has quickly become a must-attend event, and once again it is due to the vision, leadership, and hard work of Bethrah Szumski.

Along with Bethrah, I’d like to send a special thank you to all of the women who make the piercing community a better place. The APP and the piercing industry as a whole are benefactors of your leadership, intelligence, strength, wit, and talent.

Point 81: The President’s Corner

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Jef Saunders
APP President

“The Association of Professional Piercers (APP) is an international health and safety organization. It is a nonprofit voluntary alliance dedicated to the dissemination of information about body piercing. Governed by a voluntary elected Board of Directors, the APP is a united group of piercing professionals that freely shares information to help fellow members, piercers, health care professionals, legislators, health inspectors, and the general public get the best and most up-to-date information about body piercing.”

You’ve probably seen the preceding text so many times that you may  already  know it verbatim.  As a piercer interested or involved with the APP, you aren’t surprised by what our mission statement is. But have you really considered the importance of that mission? I can tell you, as a Board member, that the Mission Statement is a compass that always points to the kinds  of  decisions we should be making. The Association of Professional Piercers is a health and safety education organization. Our job is to openly share with anyone who might care to learn. This is a powerful mission, and one that touches me deeply.

Fakir Musafar speaks about body art, and body piercing specifically, in a way that few others do. To him, modification of the body isn’t just a fun thing we get to do to ourselves, it is an innate human right. That is something far deeper and far more important that can get lost in the day to day routine of a piercing shop. But I like to think about this art of ours the way Fakir taught me to think of it: a human right.

That puts our mission as an educational organization in a very unique light to me. By providing education in so many forms, we are trying to assist the entire planet to safely express themselves. What a responsibility! Yet, so many from our community rise to the occasion again and again. Some of us provide education at the Association’s annual conference, of course, but there is so much out there for piercers and the public alike. From sister organizations, to independent schools, and even online forums; our community has embraced the mission of the APP and run with it.

Imagine where we might be if the earliest members of the piercing community had attempted to keep  their  techniques  entirely secret? If they had refrained from writing magazines, publishing books, producing tutorial videos, and making piercing schools? The piercing community wouldn’t be anything like what it is today.

In this issue of The Point you will read about body piercing education not only through the APP Conference, but outside of our organization as well. To those who have given so much of their hard work to help improve the art of body piercing, we say thank you.

Post Script: I am writing this just a few days after the passing of a career-long educator, Rick Frueh. Rick was an APP Board Member, an instructor for our conference, an instructor for Health Educators, Inc., an enormous part of the 2013 APP Procedure Manual, creator of the Body Modification Learning Forum, and a friend. He’s left a legacy of body piercing education that we have all benefited from in one way or another. He will be missed.

Point 80: The President’s Corner

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Jef Saunders
APP President

Again and again I heard the same sentiments echoed throughout this year’s APP Conference. “This year  has  a  great vibe.” “There are so many new people, and they are all about the classes.” “Everyone being so focused is making this my favorite Conference ever.” It really was remarkable.

I have to say, as President of an organization, going into something like our annual Conference comes with no small amount of nervous energy. You want it to be successful, but what I really want is for the attendees heading home to have that infectious energy that makes them want to improve their piercing techniques and health and safety. I want our attendees to be overjoyed about the goodies they are bringing home to their shops from our incredible Expo, and most of all I want them to leave excited to come back again.

In my humble opinion, this year’s APP Conference truly delivered. This was a top to bottom group effort, and really speaks to how well our community works together when focused on a common goal. I was blown away by the size of the Expo and the continued ingenuity of our Vendors. In addition to our vendors’ commitment to improving and innovating their products, the APP receives awe-inspiring support from sponsorships of our Conference activities and our raffle prizes. My deepest thanks goes out to our Vendors for all of their support. The Mentor Program continues to grow and continues to support our new attendees. This year I was able to see Mentors meet their Mentees, and watch how that system works. I was very impressed to see how it was managed, but I was also stunned by the size of the undertaking! It is a genuine pleasure to see so many new faces in classrooms and in the halls. The volunteers, no doubt, have established themselves as the glue that holds Conference together. I tried to say it as much as I could in person, but my gratitude to them for all their hard work knows no bounds.

There were several times that I ran into Caitlin’s office, panicked, asking if something was done. On every single occasion, not  only was everything handled, it was handled months previous and I left her office thinking “how does she do it?” Thank you Caitlin, and thanks for making me look prepared even when I wasn’t!

A lot of this year’s success can also be credited to Kendra Jane, our new Vice President. It is a pleasure to serve with her on the Board, and I’m sure she is as thrilled as anyone at how well this Conference went.

Of course, when we look back at each Conference we also do so with a critical eye, imagining what we can do better. It has been this constructive criticism, from within the organization and from our attendees and vendors, that have made each Conference work a bit better than the one that preceded it. We will continue to develop, innovate, improve, and experiment, and I’m excited for what we have to come.

Which brings me to Camp APP 2017! As a camper in 2016, I can’t heap enough praise upon Bethrah Szumski and the Camp APP volunteers and instructors for the quality of experience they are able to deliver. It is absolutely one of my most treasured moments in my piercing career. I strongly recommend it to all of our Members.

There is a lot of wonderful activity happening within the organization, and I am very much looking forward to discussing it in the next President’s Corner. Enjoy Issue 80 and thank you for supporting safe piercing!

Point 79: The President’s Corner – Jef Saunders

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Jef Saunders
APP President

I vividly remember my first APP Conference experience. I had about $300 to my name, and I was waiting on a check to clear when I landed in Las Vegas. When I arrived I had no money at all to get to the Conference hotel; this was in the Riviera days. I actually looked through my junk mail, activated a credit card, and took a $20 cash advance to catch a cab to the hotel. When I arrived I was intimidated and excited, but before long I wasn’t amongst strangers, I was with friends.

I image that many attendees have similar experiences their first year. I know that many arrive at our Conference for the first time, low on money, but with an abundance of nerves. I think it’s safe to say we’ve all been there. Everyone has had a first  Conference.  I say it like that, because very few attendees have just one Conference. There is a special kind of magic that surrounds the entire event. We all end up making relationships that last a lifetime. We are learning together. We are buying jewelry and supplies from our hardworking vendors. A lucky few of us will even win raffle prizes that will alter the course of our careers. It is hard to put into words how special our Conference really is.

Until my involvement with the Board, I didn’t have an understanding of all the work that goes into the magic that is our collective learning, sharing, and growing experience. Since Conference continues to grow, more and more thought is required in addition to a tremendous amount of work and cooperation. Our volunteers, instructors, vendors, sponsors, mentors, board, officers and employees put in so much all year for this one week. They have my thanks for all the good times I have had over the years.

I’d love to be able to point to one moment in particular that cemented my love of Conference, but how could I? I was there when Rob Hill proposed to Stephanie Hill during the banquet (I mean right there, sitting next to them!) I was in the 20 years of APP roundtable listening to my heroes talk about the behind the scenes history of the APP. I got to teach a class about nostril piercing with Alicia Cardenas to a room about twice as full as I was counting on. I saw one of my closest friends, Cody Vaughn, win a huge raffle prize within months of opening his new shop. The list goes on and on.

If you’ve attended before, I’m sure you have your own moments like these. If this is your first Conference, I’m sure you’ll make your own memories that will stay with you a lifetime. If you ask me what my absolute favorite experience at Conference is, my answer is: the next one. The next time I get goosebumps. The next time I learn something that changes the way I pierce forever. The next time I cry because Caitlin is crying. That’s my favorite.