by Arseniy Andersson

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!

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.

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!

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!

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;

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.

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!