Category Sister Organization

Point 89: UKAPP Review

W. Barron

W. Barron

As I sit here in the airport waiting to start my nine-hour flight back home, I reflect about how it is still so surreal to me that merely four days ago I traveled 4,000 miles to attend my first UKAPP conference in Manchester, UK. Prior to me making this trek I had never been off the continent before or instructed a class solo. Let me tell you this was one of my most enjoyable experiences at a conference I’ve had. I expect that this is what it must have been like for the early days of the APP Conference.

Held at the Radisson Blu Edwardian in Manchester, England, the hotel was gorgeous and not what it seems from the street. According to the hotel’s website, it is set inside the historic Grade II-listed Free Trade Hall, one of the UK’s oldest and most iconic buildings. The fifth annual conference was on the fourth floor that has one main lobby area and three classrooms total. While the room prices were a little high, the hotel was central to some more affordable options, which is great for attendees that may be on a tighter budget in their travels. Nonetheless, the interior of the hotel and conference were modern and updated to suit the needs for the UKAPP’s fast-growing event for this year and the next.

One of Cale’s classes.
Photo by Cale Difrancesco

The conference was very simplistic in function, with no computers in use. To sign in you just go up to the registration desk and show your identification and proof that you are industry affiliated. They look for you on a printed list, check your name off, hand you a blank conference badge to handwrite your name down, then you move down the line to pick whatever badge ribbons suit you best and then off you go to start your three days of learning. All classes were on a first come first serve basis. At the time of the class, you just jumped in the line that was forming at that specific classroom. When the doors opened, you entered the room and gave the volunteer your name, which was then checked off at the door on a printed list with all the attendees’ names on it again, so you got the credit for attending the class.

“The engagement was refreshing for me and showed that we are all truly teachers and learners in this industry, no matter if you have six months or 20+ years experience.”

Each day started with a morning class at around 10 am 11 am, then afterwards an hour lunch break for the attendees, preceded by an hour lunch for the vendors at the expo. It was definitely a different change of pace to have time built into the day to not have to worry about how you were going to eat without missing any classes. The rest of the class day lasted until about 6 pm. After lunch is when the bulk of the classes were scheduled; it was very difficult to decide what to attend as there were so many phenomenal classes to choose from.

Cale DiFrancesco (APP Board Member), Charlie Remy LeBeau (UKAPP Board Member), and David Osborne (UKAPP Board Member). Photo by Cale DiFrancesco, APP Outreach Liaison

The class that I had the pleasure of teaching for the first time was Versatility of Needle Blanks. The idea for the class was to introduce needle blanks and various ways you can apply them to be an effective disposable tool in your studio. I covered what a needle blank and transfer pin were, and several the ways the attendees are able to use them into disposable clamps. The feedback that I have received from the organizers has told me that my class was well received and really got the gears turning for a lot of piercers that attended the conference. By no means was my class the pinnacle of the conference. Other great classes that were offered include the following, just to name a few.

  • Cannula vs. Needles
  • PA FUNdaments
  • Lumps and Bumps
  • Aseptic Technique
  • Self Care for the Happy Piercer
  • Building your UKAPP studio
  • Introduction to High-End Jewellery
  • Jewellery and Studio Presentation
  • Sexuality and Body Piercing
  • Doubles, Triples and Beyond
  • Ear Complexity

Overall the conference came in at 126 attendees with 12 vendors. It was amazing and  ran very smoothly. The vibes were calm, cool, and collective. The list of educators and instructors were fantastic, every one of them had passion you could see reflecting through each of their presentations. My favorite part about the whole conference was the attendees; everyone was very welcoming, kind, eager to listen and learn about what every instructor—including myself—had to say or teach. The engagement was refreshing for me and showed that we are all truly teach ers and learners in this industry, no matter if you have six months or 20+ years experience. I can’t wait to see what the UKAPP comes up with for this event in 2020. I would highly recommend this conference to any piercer, new or old, looking to experience something new in their career.

Nikki Proctor, Helen Houghton, & Lola Slider
—Source: @boldandgoldpiercingart
on Instagram



Point 88: Upcoming Educational Conferences

Outreach Committee

Upcoming Educational Conferences

The 5th Annual APP Members’ Retreat

Portland, Oregon: October 1–5, 2019

With the theme of ALIENS, the five year anniversary of Camp APP will be taking place at Mount Hood in the Pacific Northwest! Spaces are limited so register soon. Learn more about this amazing retreat on Facebook or by using the Member Login at safepiercing.org.

The 4th Annual UKAPP Conference

Manchester, United Kingdom: October 6–8, 2019

Join piercers from the UK and surrounding countries for another astounding educational conference at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel and Convention Center. Find out more information on Facebook or visit ukapp.org.uk.

Point 88: LBP 2019 Review

by Luis Garcia

Photos by Autumn Swisher

I had the pleasure to attend the 6th Congreso Internacional de Perforadores Profesionales, and as  usual the Latinoamérica Body Piercing A.C. did not disappoint. Usually held  in fall during Dia de los Muertos, 2019 brought a change with it being held in the first week of April. Many attendees and instructors welcomed this, as the warmer weather made for more recreation time by the pool. The conference was held in Taxco, Mexico for the second year in a row. Taxco is a small mining town known for silver mining and silver jewelry.

The journey to the conference starts in Mexico City. Attendees and instructors met at LBP Board Member Axayacatl Nochipa’s studio, Ónix MX Estudio Tatuaje Piercing, for registration and to wait for the four large buses that would take us all down to Taxco for LBP. Many would dread a several hour bus ride, but the ride is always a lot of fun as everyone is excited for the conference and in great spirits. Before we knew it two hours had gone by and we were at the host venue. We had a few hours to settle down and have some lunch. Then there were classes before the opening party; a relaxed dinner by the pool with traditional local performers and dancers.

Now, let’s get to the best part of the conference: the classes and instructors! This year the instructors consisted of Sergi Tinaut, Didier Suarez, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Mauricio Torres, Aldo Gissi, Alicia Cardenas, Autumn Swisher, Paul King, Elayne Angel, Danny Yerna, Erika Gomez, Jef Saunders, Roberto Briseno, and yours truly. I got the chance to check out most of the classes taught by these instructors (except for the ones that were going on while I was teaching), and as usual all were stupendous. A personal stand out for me was Mauricio and Aldo’s class How to Elevate Your Studio to its Maximum Potential. They did some interesting things to make studio owners consider how they deal with their employees, and employees consider how they deal with their managers and bosses. Their approach created a great dialogue between the two groups. Another stand out for me was Paul King’s XXX History of Piercing in Porn, which isn’t shocking, as Paul’s classes tend to be very informative and entertaining.

Let’s not forget about the coveted jewelry expo, held in a lovely old church building. This year had more vendors than ever, featuring Namaste Adornments, Xamacalli, Gold Piercing, Tsar Jewelry, GL Pyrex Jewelry, Biometal, Industrial Strength Mexico, Diamonds MX, Kraken Jewelry, Ukuri Jewelry, Inari Organics, Quetzalli Jewelry, Gorilla Glass, Kiwi Jewelry, Sacred Symbols, Maya Jewelry, and Auris Jewelry. The expo hall was often packed between classes (and a little during classes), with everyone trying to maximize their time for buying all the gorgeous jewelry.

Mid week, the organizers set up a caminata (translation: walk or hike) through town to the center of Taxco and back. Guided by locals with donkeys carrying beverages, and local musicians, we walked through the small streets taking in the local architecture and artwork until we reached the zócalo (or “main square”), where we milled about the lively area and mingled with the locals. It made for an amazing evening.

As the conference came to an end, the Gala provided an interesting way to close out the event. After  dinner we were treated to a very powerful performance from Grupo de Danza Ozomahtli and Alfredo Martinez. The performance was a fusion of traditional Mexica (Aztec) and traditional Japanese butoh dance. They took us on a journey of all the animal energies of the Aztec calendar using slow rhythmic dancing that paid homage to Tlaloc, the Aztec god of rain.

The LBP always puts on a great conference for the Latin American piercing  community,  and  I  look  forward to hopefully being invited again to participate in the future. If you are a Spanish speaker, I highly encourage you to go and take part in this amazing experience.

Point 88: APPE (Asociacion Profesional de Perforadores Espanoles)

by Luis Garcia

Photos by Ruben Mac-Lean and Kent Tonning

APPE Attendees

The APPE (Asociación Profesional de Perforadores Españoles) is a newer organization— about 4 years old—and I’ve been lucky to have been invited to teach at their conference for the last two years. Held an hour outside of Madrid at a camping style resort with cabins, it’s a relaxed and laid back event. Attendees meet in Madrid and then board buses for the hour-long drive to the resort. The conference organizers and instructors are taken a day early to the venue, so we can get everything ready for the attendees to arrive. I enjoy this time, helping the APPE Board, and watching how they’ve evolved and improved everything over the last year.

The next day around noon, the attendees arrived at the venue, got assigned to their cabins, and had a few hours to get settled before the welcome meal. APPE doesn’t mess around and had four classes scheduled for the first afternoon and evening of the conference.

Checking out the
jewelry selection

Being a newer, smaller conference, there were only a few of us as instructors, with most of us teaching two classes. This year they had Anskar Caballero teaching Piercing History of Spain and Empathy and Laughter, and it’s Application in Piercing, Lani Soleil teaching Piercing Kids’ Earlobes, Eugenia Delphine teaching Optimizing Buying, Selling, and Displaying Jewelry, Laura Vikt teaching Nipple Piercing and Sterilization, Ruben Lew teaching Mystical Daiths and Photography and Portfolio, and lastly I taught Honing in on High Nostrils and Industrials: Keeping it Simple. The classes were all great, and it made me happy to see newer instructors like Lani and Eugenia kill it with their first classes.

Lani Soleil, Luis Garcia, Jesus “Sala” Cabanas, Laura Vikit, Anskar Caballero, Gladix Porca Miseria, & Ruben Lew

The time between classes was designated to use in the Expo for jewelry buying. Expo vendors included Quetzalli Jewelry, Sacred Symbols, Millennium Body Jewelry, Kraken Body Jewellery, Maya Jewelry, Industrial Strength Europe, Auris Jewellery, NeoMetal, Tsar Jewellery, Neilmed Piercing Aftercare, and Inari Organics. The Expo and the classes were in the same area and separated by a curtain, so this worked well to keep people focused on classes when needed, and gave vendors some breaks in between rushes.

Luis giving a presentation

On the evening of the second day they had their gala dinner at the resort’s restaurant and then the closing party, featuring sideshow entertainment from Håvve Fjell, Princess Tweedle Needle, and then a dance party with Norwegian DJ, MDR. Spirits were high, and the dancing went on well into the early hours of the morning.

Havve Fjell performance being captured by an attendee

The APPE Conference this year was a great experience, and I hope to be invited back for next year, so I can continue to see the organization grow and evolve. Many thanks to Jesus “Sala” Cabanas, Gladix Porca Miseria, and Jose Carlos Calvo (who are the three sole Board Members for the APPE), and all the instructors, attendees, and vendors that helped make this conference so great!

Point 85: RuAPP

by Arseniy Andersson

Left to Right: Brian Skellie (USA), Dmitry Sizov (Russia), Sergi Tinault (Spain)

While things have come a long way in the United States, in many places all over the world the professional piercing industry is only at the beginning. Russia is one of them. Traditionally, Russians are kept away from American community. Why? Well, it is not a big secret that there is political tension between the United States and Russia, so for common citizens it isn’t easy to get a visa to travel to the US.

I think in the whole history of the APP, only two or three piercers from Russia have attended an APP Conference, this is likely due to a combination of low Russian economy, language barriers, expensive flights, and poor industry standards (in Russia) that all play a part. So, this year we are so excited that we were able to hold the first and second of what we hope to be many of our own conferences, read on to find out more about the RuAPP and our Conference!

Russian Piercers Ofelia (left) and Zhanna (right)

I would like to give credit to fellow piercer Ruben Lew, and his article about LBP as I used it as a template for my article. .

RuAPP was officially established in November of 2017, but was conceived long before that date. We currently stand at 24 members. Requirements are significantly different than for the APP, but RuAPP has a 3-year member requirement rising plan (like the UKAPP has hi, fellows!), which is going to bring RuAPP to APP standards (slow and steady wins the race).

Our first RuAPP conference was held in Moscow in January of 2018, where 60 Russian-speaking piercers gathered from all over Europe. The second RuAPP conference was held only 7 months later due to overwhelming interest form local piercers so eager to learn. Hosted once again in Moscow, attendance nearly doubled to 110 people, 95 of which were piercers, including APP Board Members, Cody Vaughn and Brian Skellie, APP Business Members, Sergi Tinaut from Spain and Javier Retamal from Chile, who all taught 2-3 classes at our Conference. Overall, 25 classes and several live demonstrations were taught over the three day period of RuAPP #2. Eight vendors were present in the conference expo area, including companies such as Industrial Strength and Auris Jewellery. Also there we saw other crucial things as Katana Needles and even Statims!

We would like to show thankfulness to the APP for all of their help in ensuring we had a successful Conference.

Andrey Neurozis from Ukraine (left) and Valeriya Chigovanina from Czech Republic (right) making fun and preparing for the raffle!

Both conferences to date have been predominantly Russian-speaking, and lectures have had translations, but the next one is to become international in a fuller sense and have at least half of the classes taught in English with no translation. From now on we plan to have annual conferences and you can visit RuAPP #3 from June 18-22th, 2019 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. So save the date!

From the very beginning of the first conference, I realised that we had changed the game in Russia. Lots of old piercers who were “enemies” before were sitting at one table together right in front of me with no drama, no fights, no insults. Lots of new piercers who were unknown before the Conference  and  a  bit  shy to come out from the shadows showed themselves. I had no idea we have so many piercers interested learning! At that moment I understood that we’re doing  our  work  correctly. There is no better motivation in this world than seeing a result that was supposed to be impossible!

I was really happy to have our first foreign speakers it was a totally new organizing experience to me! I think you all understand that for many of us, conference is not only a temple of Forever Learning, but a social hub full of friends and dedicated inspiring people! Lots of attendees found a huge source of motivation and inspiration and I could read it on their faces!

Mario Santana and Javier Fingazz, owners of Shangri-La Body Arts in Chile

My personal view on our industry is that piercers are the kind of people who are not just making holes in a safe manner; we are more than that. What I intend to do within my piercing career is to solve clients’ troubles, and inspire them to change their lives for the better! The feeling of thankfulness I receive back is an unbelievable source of my inner motivation. During the conference, I think of all the piercers as my clients who I want to inspire. What we did gives me inspirational feedback and huge motivation to do it even better. After conference I have no post-conference depression, I’m running around full of projects and ideas along with energy as do a lot of other piercers and RuAPP organizers!

High-end jewelry on the expo floor
Arseniy Andersson makes marking on Andrey Safonov before freehand microdermal live demonstration
Industrial Strength Russia and their beautiful Marta Vagner
Did you already buy all the raffle tickets? If not, you have the last chance!
Sergi Tinaut (Spain) gives his class about anatomy together with Dmitry Sizov (Russia), who helps with translation

Of course, not everything goes according to plan and we make mistakes. There were issues with translations, issues with sound system; but no critical mistakes happened. We can analyse and improve our event planning to make the next one even better, same as we all analyse and learn how to do each piercing better.

I can’t as we start preparing the third RuAPP. For now I will have to do with the warm feelings I get while thinking of all those friends I met at APP, GEP, LBP, BMXNet, YouModify and UKAPP, who wished us luck and who want to come to Russia in 2019!

As know my opinions about the success of our Conference are likely biased so please read what some of our attendees had to say;

Vlad Bodmodov gives his class about microdermals

Cody Vaughn: Having the opportunity to attend and teach at RuAPP this year was an absolute pleasure and an honor.

The attendees and other speakers were incredibly nice and very eager to learn. The classes I attended were very insightful and it was great to see where Russia was at with their current piercing techniques and practices. Seeing and hearing so many similarities to what I have  encountered at conferences such  as APP and LBP popping up at RuAPP really made me proud to see how far and wide the piercing industry has become.

I sincerely thank everybody I got to meet and interact with. The RuAPP attendees and speakers were a pleasure to spend the week with, both teaching and learning. I wish you many more successful conferences in the future.

Brian Skellie: Thanks to the RuAPP for an enthusiastic and curious experience as a speaker and participant. I would be pleased to return in 2019 if you’ll have me. Overall, the conference seemed well put together with a balance of educational and social interaction. I arrived to the St. Scalpelburg shop in Moscow to the lovely view of Yuri Gagarin’s golden statue who welcomed me along with the smiles of friendly fellow speakers, organizers, and participants. The uncertainty that preceded about my visa, my travel arrangements, and my unfamiliarity with the language faded quickly. By the time we got to the event location, many productive conversations were started, and the group was dynamic and involved.

The presentations were a high quality and seemed well received despite a few complexities with translation. The questions and feedback addressed felt useful and impactful on many levels, towards a shiny future.

The vendors brought an impressive quantity of attractive jewelry designs, quite aware of the industry trends in precious metals and minerals. Their generosity to the raffle was greatly appreciated. APP Board Members, Cody Vaughn and I, were able to donate two of our full conference passes for 2019 in Las Vegas for two fortunate piercers Lala and Yuliana.

Russians without a party?

Javier Retamal: I had the great honor of being invited to do classes in Russia for the first time in my life. I felt completely happy to meet many people with the same passion that I can find every time I go to Brazil or Mexico; people looking to grow as professionals and at the same time as human beings. I always felt very welcome and with certainty RuAPP is going to be one of the best conferences in this part of the world!

Postscriptum: If you ever want to explore a new exotic destination and combine it with shopping or selling jewelry, taking or teaching classes, feel free to contact RuAPP international liaison, Arseniy Andersson, and remember: it is bad manners to keep an adventure waiting!

Point 85: New UKAPP Brochures

The UKAPP has created two new informational brochures addressing female genital piercings and national concerns regarding the same. Please read the previous articles in The Point (Issue 70, Issue 74, and Issue 77) regarding the classification of consensual female genital piercings as mutilation in Europe. These UKAPP brochures were written in full cooperation with the APP and are of interest to anyone concerned about issues of body piercing, female health, and human rights.

Print ready PDFs of these may be downloaded from the organization’s website: https://www.ukapp.org.uk/ Please note that the order of the brochure is formatted to allow for tri-folding when printed, much like the brochures available from the Association of Professional Piercers: https://www.safepiercing.org/brochures.php

The Point – Issue 85

Point 81: UKAPP – An Attendee’s Perspective

Jess Farrar

On a Sunday in late September 2015, I attended the first official UKAPP seminar then titled UK Piercer Meet Up. We met in a social club’s basement that smelled like stale beer and had vaguely sticky floors. The ceilings were low, the lighting was dim and the space was cramped, but it didn’t dampen any of our spirits as we were too happy to be part of something bigger than ourselvesto start forging a community like the APP overseas we all aspire to.

The first year, I felt was a success, with Ryan Ouellette coming to not only teach, but also show support for our infant organisation and help us along the way. I met Ryan for the first time there and spoke with him about my goal of attending the APP Conference the following year, if I felt ready and confident enough to apply for the scholarship. His advice was impartial and well thought despite him being on the committee of people that awarded the scholarships; I already felt my anxiety about the prospect abate. He offered invaluable advice and support to many of us and helped educate us as a collective with his informative and relaxed teaching style. Simply having him there made the whole day seem more legitimate and established.

This first year was casual and took place over a single afternoon with just over thirty of us, but we left feeling refreshed and invigorated, ready to continue self-improvement as piercers and to strengthen the bonds we’d formed as a fledgling community. The majority of us had only met that day, some coming from other countries, previously with only professional contact online, if that.

The year that followed was full of education and interaction on a daily basis as more folks joined the UK Facebook group and started contributing with advice, techniques, and individual expertise. By the time September rolled around again we were all ready to gain some knowledge.

Yet more folks from APP came this time including Brian Skellie, Luis Garcia, and Paul King, who gave great classes. The new setting was a business suite at a swanky hotel which was a far cry from the first year’s venue. I think the room was full to overflowing that year with yet more people ready to learn; about sixty of us were there in 2016 for the two day event and the feeling of excitement continued to grow as our community and bonds strengthened.

I didn’t feel ready the previous year to apply for the Al D. Scholarship, but shortly after this round of classes and socialising I began to feel comfortable with the idea of doing the same thing in another country, on a grander scale, surrounded by familiar faces that I hadn’t met yet in real life. As daunting a prospect as it was, I applied for the scholarship in December 2016 and when I found I had been successful and chosen such a mixture of feelings flooded me elation, pride, and a gripping fear of feeling in over my head. Despite having wanted this moment to come for the past three years, I still didn’t feel truly ready or even deserving of the opportunity I’d been granted and I was determined to put my best foot forward, shedding the fear with each step. The UKAPP group was a fantastic tool to help me, as the previous connections I’d made with UK piercers made it easier for me to reach out to some individuals who had been in my position and ask about their first APP Conference experience, readying me for my own.

June 2017 finally came and I flew alone for the first time a huge deal in itself across the Atlantic to meet all the wonderful people that make Conference magic, to throw myself into the world of APP and I enjoyed every minute. Working as a volunteer while being a first time attendee (who took far too many classes) was exhausting, but it also helped to keep me grounded as I was instantly welcomed into a family of volunteers and organisers that lived, breathed, and slept (a bit) the Conference experience. I felt like I quickly became an integral cog in the well-oiled machine that is APP Conference. We all had a job that needed doing, a place we belonged, and a want to help one another, to make the best possible impression all round.

I had such a wonderful experience at my first APP Conference. It changed my life, certainly my outlook on friendships and the community we’re all a part of. I feel without first stepping out of my comfort zone by travelling to meet strangers in my own country, I never would have thought I’d be capable of attending Conference solo. I’d thought about it for such a long time and with such fervour that I almost made it seem unattainable to myself simply because I wanted it so much. Yet here I am, writing about my conference experiences with such a feeling of tranquillity as I do so, knowing I belong there, the feeling of being an outsider started to fade at that first UK meet up in 2015, but it truly left me when I became a part of the volunteer family at APP in June.

Three months passed since I returned from Vegas and the weekend of the third UKAPP drew closer. I felt no nerves this time, not even a pang of anxiety, simply excitement to be able to reconnect with fellow piercers, some I’d seen in Vegas a few months before, but most I’d not seen in a year. The venue was the same classy hotel, yet this time we had the entire floor available. More rooms had been opened up as an increase of vendors came this year, bringing their stunning wares. In addition to the larger variety of jewellery available, the raffle prizes were more prestigious. A scholarship program had been launched and there was a marked increase in the calibre and quantity of classes some were lectures, others became hands-on  workshops in a smaller setting and a few were open forums for discussion each uniquely taught and presented. This year too we had even more international speakers. We also had a really nice show of camaraderie from the UK folks as people with information to share with the collective and our industry took a stand and taught a class or two.

UKAPP has continually grown each and every year. Having already outgrown the venue we’ve recently been situated in, I think we’re even moving cities to allow for a larger area in a better connected city for next year. The first meet up I attended was something I was already proud to be a part of, but seeing how much it’s grown in the past two years is unbelievable. So much love and passion has been committed to this movement of furthering the UK industry as a whole. Instead of just being a group of individuals trying to accomplish our dreams, we are all starting to pull in the same, worthwhile direction, sharing information we know to be worth learning, regardless of whether the person benefiting from it is our “competitor” or not quite at a level of skill we’d like to see. This is how we get there, together.

The lesson APP taught me is that we are all simply cogs, we can get along just fine on our own, but when we group together to become part of something bigger than ourselves, that’s when the magic happens. UKAPP 2018 is already something I know anyone attending will be proud of, and while it’s nowhere near as polished or developed as APP it is a foundling organisation ready to grow, take shape and gather momentum. For anyone in the UK reading this, you should absolutely attend next year; you will not regret it. Same goes for people within Europe, we’re all pretty well connected so let’s not let borders get in the way of our collective education! Even folks further afield will find this event worthwhile, especially if you can use it as an opportunity to see the beautiful English countryside and some of our studios, just make sure you bring waterproof clothing; the reputation of our weather is there for a reason, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I sincerely look forward to seeing what the UKAPP has to offer us all in years to come and it’s been a pleasure to be a part of, if only as an observer and an attendee. I hope my involvement will only deepen and my self-confidence increases as time goes by. Regardless, one thing I am sure of is that the UKAPP is already an invaluable resource to new and seasoned piercers all over the United Kingdom, and our nearby colleagues. With further involvement from anyone in a position to help, it will not only benefit the people already part of the organisation, but for future generations of piercers to come.

I already know that if the UKAPP was established when I started piercing I would have grown faster as a piercer, but at the same time I’m glad I had the shaky, self-taught introduction that I did into this industry.  I treasure so much because through my own pitfalls and shortcomings, I have been able to work harder to change everything with my own hands and now I get to taste the fruits of my hard earned labour. I’m under no impression that this is a rite of passage that every person wanting to become a piercer must undergo, and I hold no bitterness or resentment toward the newest generation of piercers that have all this pertinent information readily available to them, but it is up to them to utilise it to the best of their ability. I only hope I will be able to help in one way or another with someone’s quest for knowledge, the very same way people like Ryan helped me. Be kind and considerate and never knock someone for truly wanting to learn and better themselves.

No matter where you feel you are in your piercing career a seasoned veteran around since BME days or someone fairly new, perhaps at apprentice level these organisations are here for you to make yourself a part of and improve yourself in any way you can. If you have something worth teaching, you know where to find people eager to listen. If you feel that you are a small fish in a big pond with deep seated feelings of inadequacy (kind of talking to myself here) that  is precisely what the UKAPP and APP are here for self betterment and in turn the betterment of our industry as a whole. It is not an unachievable dream, especially not if you take a deep breath and jump into this world of readily available, invaluable information feet first. We’ve all been in questionable situations at one time or another. Half the piercers I know, myself included, wouldn’t even say we had a proper apprenticeship. I can only speak for myself here, but without the APP’s outreach program and public education I would not have picked up as many pertinent bits of information that my “apprenticeship” neglected to recognise as important. Instead, it’s being a part of all of these forums and groups, these pockets of subculture that willingly impart lessons on anyone paying attention and asking the right questions that taught me how much I truly still had to learn. Get involved and visit the next conference for your sake as well  as that of your clients, peers, and even the general public. It is lack of understanding that breeds ill will and resentment, so the more we know, the more we can help with the betterment of one another and the industry; we all help continue the legacy in our own ways. Now that so many valuable tools are available to us, utilise them to educate yourself, for knowledge is power and we are forever learning!

Point 81: UKAPP Photo Spread

Basics of tongue piercing with Ryan Ouellette
Photo by Sebastian Wolfe Pickersgill
Classroom photo of Mike Hill’s class Going Disposable
Photo courtesy of UKAPP
2016 UKAPP Board Members
Photo by UKAPP
Group photo at Whistle Punks
Photo by Sebastian Wolfe Pickersgill