Church of Body Modification

One issue regarding suspension for me lately is my weight. I'm a bigger guy…not a behemoth, but big, ya know? I've suspended many times now, each and everyone of them “superman style,” horizontal, with either 12 or 10 hooks. Mind you, I love suspending like that…to the point that I have ALL of my hooks thown “Texas style” now…all hooks thrown at ONCE, five piercers on either side. That's all well and good, right? However, I need something new. I want to suspend vertically or cut down to vertical, but I've got an irrational fear that I'll tear free. I know the tear strength per square inch. I know that I'll have enough hooks to distribute my weight responsibly. But, still, there is an irrational fear there that I have to overcome through spirituality, I think. I need to BELIEVE that the Universe wants me to do this and will support me. This is just an initial post on this topic, and I hope to revisit it more in the coming days, but feel free to give me YOUR thoughts. How do you overcome that fear that your lardy bum is gonna pull ya straight back down to the cold embrace of the Earth?

David/Midian2000

AllyKat,

I've been lucky in that I've found a welcoming and understanding element within the suspension community. In fact, I found one person what was extremely knowlegeable when it came to suspending “larger” folks. Much to my surprise, there IS a method and manner of setting hooks for us bigger folks that distributes the weight more evenly and relieves some of the “tension spots” that can arise if the weight isn't distrubuted correctly. At one event where I was going up superman style, this person came forward and offered, as I was being marked for hooks, “Hey, you know, there is another way…a way that is going to make David MUCH more comfortable.” All of the people involved list to what he had to say and gave it a shot…and he was RIGHT. It was the most comfortable suspension of its type that I've done. Of course, I recognize the irony in saying that ANY suspension was comfortable, as they all hurt to one degree or another, but I DID feel that my weight was riding more comfortably on each hook, that no one set of hooks seemed to be pulling harder than any other, and that there was no inward or outward pulling sensation to disrupt the other sensations that I was looking for in the suspension. I'd be happy to put you in touch with this person to hear exactly what they have to say on the topic…they're a bigger person, too, so you are certainly going to have a sympathetic ear. Feel free to contact me personally for more info. However, the point of this story SHOULD be that there ARE people out there who understand the challenges of hanging a weighty/curvy individual and are HAPPY about doing it. That's one of the great things about sharing our experiences here…we can discuss issues that might seem “fringe” to some people…there are those of us who know exactly what you mean, no matter how esoteric it might seem to most. I'm REALLY pleased that someone responded to this post and that I might be able to provide a service, pointing you in the right direction. Now, if I could just distract myself from the gnarly blister I got on my thumb today bbqing, I'll be happy… Goofy that I'm talking about hanging 300 lbs of Dave on hooks and then bitching about a tiny blister on my thumb. Hee hee! *rolls his eyes*

Looking forward to hearing from you, AK.

David/Midian2000

I've even had people balk at tattooing me due to my size.  Mind you, I'm not huge…I carry my weight pretty well, thank you.  In terms of spirituality and modification, I would say that getting modified by someone who is not comfortable with your body AS IS is the same as getting married by someone who doesn't support your union.  Why would you do it?  Keep searching, and find someone who sees the importance of your modification and feels HONORED to help you along your path.  Life is too short and wonderful to waste getting modded by someone who is negative about your journey.

David/Midian2000

AllyKat, it is my pleasure to serve.  Really.  Please feel free to hit me up if you'd like more information, contact info for the person I've worked with on this, or wanna chat about it in general.  I'd be more than happy to share the ups and downs (no pun intended) of my experiences with regard to suspension and weight issues.

David/Midian2000

Thanks for the input, Ryan.  I think there are a LOT of larger folks out there who are afraid of suspending based upon their weight, when the truth of the matter is that we can easily do it with the right hook placement and number.  I am looking forward to more posts in this threat to encourge our members to do what they want to do and beat their fears.

David/Midian2000

Mad-Skin, that is EXACTLY what I found, with the cavet that if you SEARCH, you can find people that are EXPERTS at hanging folks just like you!  Yay! 

David/Midian2000

The funny thing for me was that I had done HOURS of research before hand…I knew how much weight each inch of skin, each hook, could take.  I trusted the piercers with my life…they were dear friends.  I knew my mind/body/spirt could handle anything I threw at it, but when it was time to go up, the old tapes I had about my body, the negativity I had built up around my body, started to play and I had to actively press STOP.  My rational mind knew what was up.  My emotional mind knew what was up.  My spirit knew what was up.  But my irrational mind made up all kinds of horrific scenarios about what the experience was going to be like (including all kinds of STUPID thoughts about how my lumpy girth was going to look hanging like a side of beef up there).  The irrational mind, indeed, is a powerful thing…both ways.  Don't let it WIN!

David/Midian2000