THE ‘wows’ you get from guys and girls is worth the pain,’’ chirps 19-year-old Vivienne Kauds, as she flashes her recently pierced belly-button jewel. If you haven’t noticed already, everyone’s flaunting one.

Call it a style statement or the determination to stand out, youngsters today are confidently displaying piercings in various areas of the body—the upper ear, nose and belly being the most popular.

Al Alva, tattoo and piercing artist at Nail Bar, Pali Hill, Bandra, agrees. ‘‘A lot of women come in for a belly piercing and, once their friends see it, they all want one.’’ With at least three clients coming in for body piercings, daily, Alva has his hands full. And among his growing clientele of youngsters setting out to be ‘‘marked’’, 80 per cent are women.



So what’s got so many pretty young things lapping up the trend? Says production designer, Rakhi Basu (25), sporting her nose ring, ‘‘I have a strange nose. So to look different, piercing seemed like a cool idea.’’ For her, it was more a change of image, than a style statement. But Harpreet Arora (22), playing with his silver earring, feels it’s not so easy: ‘‘It’s important to carry it off or it’ll look out of place. So a confident attitude is vital.’’

However, there are still those who believe that piercings are childish acts of rebellion or cries for attention. Salman Jhourie, a call-centre executive, agrees that body piercing is for ‘‘wannabes’’. ‘‘Why would somebody go through pain and injure themselves, for the sake of fashion,’’ he wonders.



But for the studded lovelies, pain is merely incidental. Many piercing enthusiasts take that extra step, by exploring alternative body canvases. Ask Ashwini Ahuja (24), a TV researcher who got her tongue pierced in London, ‘‘just out of curiosity and for some fun.’’ Handling shocked parents took a while, but she feels it was a worthwhile experience. Globe-trotting DJ and event manager, Sachin Bopanna (24), backs the idea. ‘‘ It’s good to do it for yourself, not to show-off. What matters is that you’re comfortable with a piercing,’’ he points out.

With unusual being the by-word that sells with trend-conscious city youngsters, there’s a large variety of jewels or studs you can choose from. However, Vijay Surtiwala, a body-piercing artist in Colaba, cautions: ‘‘The after-care for a piercing is very important in the first month. With the latest available techniques, pain is minimal. There’s nothing to worry about.’’

So, if you want a dramatic change in look, just choose your skin spot, pick your jewellery and grin to bare it.

cities.expressindia.com

Gail Tait (Letters, April 13) referenced a column by Margie Boule (April 4) that made the case for parental consent for body-piercings procedures, including the piercing of nipples and genitals.


Tait wrote that it is ironic that Boule and parents make the case for parental consent for this procedure when the same-age girl can legally obtain an abortion without parental consent or notification.

Abortions are done by well-trained and licensed medical doctors. Training, licensing and regulating people doing body piercing per Boule's column seem to be lax.

Ninety-five percent of teenage girls wanting abortions do involve one or both of their parents, and most of those who do not fear abuse.

In Oregon, 15 is the age of consent for any medical procedure performed by a qualified doctor. Thus, teenage girls under 15 require parental consent for an abortion.

Planned Parenthood has always encouraged child/parental communication for teenage girls seeking abortions.

www.oregonlive.com

Fashion trend from overseas sparks concern among optics experts.

Along Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, Calif., you see almost every kind of jewelry in almost every place imaginable on a person's body.


"I have four ears, one nose, one navel, one genital, and two nipples," says Evrim Cakir, who sells rings, studs, and jewels at Zebra, a piercing parlor that does a flurry of fringe-fashion body-piercing business.


Except one.


You won't find anybody here with a jewel in their eye. Not even R.C. Cohen, a 40-year-old father who's reliving his adolescence with rings in his ears, nose, and tongue. But the eye?


"No, that sounds stupid to me," he says.


But as you'll see on "Tech Live" tonight, eye jewels are a new fashion statement at The Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery. Some Dutch eye doctors who remove cataracts and transplant corneas decided to run a research project on eye fashion. They developed a way to sew in tiny gems, jewels, or images such as hearts under the conjunctiva, the thin tissue that covers the white of the eye.




It's those wacky Dutch at it again


For now this fashion statement is only being made in the Netherlands. And the American Academy of Ophthalmology hopes it stays that way.


Andrew Iwach, a San Francisco eye surgeon, also acts as an AAO spokesman.


"It makes no sense to me that someone without reason, without need, would expose a seeing eye to this type of risk," he says.


When eye implants make sense


Actually, eye surgeons occasionally implant small things in eyes, but only as a last-ditch resort if therapy or drugs don't work. That's what happened to Barak Kassar, a 37-year-old businessman and one of Iwach's patients. A rare form of glaucoma accumulated fluid that could potentially blind his left eye. So Dr. Iwach implanted a tiny tube that drains fluid before it causes any trouble.


"Sometime's my eye's itchy," Kassar says. "Used to be I could just stick my knuckle in my eye and rub it. Can't do that anymore."


Eye problems: bad


With implants the eye could try to flush it out. And as the eye pushes on fashion implants, tissue could tear and allow infection to seep in. Iwach worries about damage to the eye and ultimately the brain since the eye's optic nerve is a direct pathway into the brain's vision center.


"You do not want infections in this area. You do not want problems in this area," he says.


Unlike rings or jewels that can be applied at tattoo parlors and piercing salons, only doctors can operate on the eye. And the FDA has given no specific permission for American doctors to decorate eyeballs.


Dude, killer eye patch!


If it did, doctors might have some takers, such as Justin Johnson, another co-worker at Berkeley's Zebra piercing studio.


"I wouldn't mind it if I lost an eye," he says. "I'd wear an eye patch."


In the Netherlands there's reportedly a waiting list for eyeball jewelry. The jewels take about 15 minutes to implant and cost between $600 and $1,200.


It's a burgeoning fad that worries people such as Barak Karras, who struggles to save what vision he has left.


"I have really come to appreciate how fragile the eye can be," he says.


Doctors hope others feel the same way.


www.techtv.com

Two of the main focuses of my life and work are body modification and sideshow. I spend time every day researching online for new information, going over the books in my personal library, and generally contemplating and updating my information base on both these subjects. Thus, it surprises when I find out I have somehow missed or overlooked a major player in either of these communities. Nippulini stands out in both, but still I somehow managed to miss him for a number of years.
A little less than two years ago was the first time I ever heard of Nippulini — via online references and then his postings in an online sideshow discussion group. Since then I have gotten to meet and even share a stage with him at the 2ND annual Sideshow Gathering. He has made a serious dedication of himself to body modification and taken it to the stage with a rare passion.

Now, in his own words; The Great Nippulini!


 

THE LIZARDMAN: Name, rank, and serial number — you know the drill. Give us the usual biographical data.


NIPPULINI: I am the Great Nippulini, World’s Strongest Nipples. I am Philadelphia Licensed Body Artist #8,586, and have been piercing for over twelve years — over fifteen thousand piercings in my career. I live in the Philadelphia area, own a two hundred year old historical house, am currently in the middle of a divorce, have two dogs, three cats, seven reptiles, a blue faced Amazon parrot, and a Madagascar hissing cockroach who just had about twenty or thirty babies... yay!.


THE LIZARDMAN: Describe your body modifications.


NIPPULINI: I have fourteen piercings around my body (five in my ears, two in my nipples, a Madison, and five hafadas), a few tattoos here and there, some scarification, and nipple hair electrolysis. I used to have a frenum, but removed it a while ago. I took it out to an 8 gauge. It’s been years since I’ve had it, but I can still fit a 14 gauge through it.


THE LIZARDMAN: What first got you started in body modification?


NIPPULINI: Actually I got started in all this through my family’s business. In 1989 they started adding body piercing to supplement their retail clothing store. At first things were new, we had to learn a lot, but we grew and became the area’s largest high volume body piercing only shop. For promotions, I would go to local tattoo shops (at the time, no tattoo shop did piercing), and I got interested in getting inked. I also have had done some self scarification with a Dremel cut-off disc with excellent results. Electrolysis, by definition, is also a body mod I’ve gone through.



THE LIZARDMAN: When did you first decide to start working at lifting and pulling with your piercings? Why the nipples?


NIPPULINI: I first started to lift heavy stuff in the shops to freak out customers. I started off with a 7 pound towing spring, then gallon bottles of distilled water (for the autoclave) and so on. I chose the nipples as my piercings of choice for this because at the time I was at 6 gauge. This must have been around ’96-97. I was most impressed with Fakir Musafar’s nipples, and at first wanted to get them so I could put a finger through them — he was my main influence for increasing my nipple size. Now I am at 00 gauge and am quite happy.


THE LIZARDMAN: How did you first train your nipples for weight and what regimen (if any) do you use to keep them ‘in shape’?


NIPPULINI: Like I said, I started with 6 gauge, (when lifting... I actually started at 14 gauge in 1990) and comparatively small, light weights. As my nipple size increased, I would try out slightly heavier objects. Over the years I became able to do heavier and heavier items. As far as keeping them in shape, I can only say that I keep them moisturized and am very cautious when it comes to anything going near them.


THE LIZARDMAN: You use some interesting custom jewelry — tell us the story behind that.

NIPPULINI: I have a few different types of jewelry depending on my mood. For major shows and competition, I use 00 gauge 5/8” circular rings. They are basically circular barbells with only one bead, they lend the appearance of CBR’s. I use them because installing 00 gauge CBR’s onstage would be close to impossible.



For show and other things (heh heh) I use my custom shackles. These are pieces that I designed myself and had fabricated for me. They are comprised of 00 gauge solid bars that have 4 gauge ‘U’ shaped barbells that run through the main bar. For everyday wear, I use flat disc ended barbells or standard 00 gauge barbells. I also have custom hollow acrylic pieces I wear in case of things like surgery or when I get my occasional nipple hair electrolysis (that shit really hurts!).

THE LIZARDMAN: When you say ‘competition’ do you mean impromptu contests with people you meet or is there an underground nipple fight club?


NIPPULINI: Heh heh, I wish! When I say ‘competition’ I mean for the hardcore weight. The shackles are nice, but when large amounts (over thirty pounds) are applied, they tend to pull from one side or the other being that the main bar is straight. For thirty pounds and up, I prefer to use the circular barbells because they are safer and hold the weight better.


THE LIZARDMAN: You are well versed in the historical aspects of your act. Besides simply continuing the tradition, what do you see as your contribution or development to the act?


NIPPULINI: The various stunts that I do with my nipples I have seen before, and whatever I create are basically hybrid acts or just way out there type of stuff (the cup crusher, iron grinder, and so on).
I started using anvils as a tribute to Rasmus Nielsen, one of the forefathers of pierced weightlifting. I have also come up with these creative nipple acts so that maybe someday in the future will be replicated by someone when I’m not around to do this anymore.



THE LIZARDMAN: How important is it to you that acts like yours are remembered in the future and that people continue to do them? Why?


NIPPULINI: Being remembered for strongest nipples is the most important thing for future generations to reference. It’s more important than fame or money. Everyone dies eventually — we are born dying. This in some small way is my immortality. As I have been inspired by Rasmus and the like, I would hope to do the same for someone hundreds of years from now. My current goal at the moment is to break a buck (100 pounds) in a lift. I can’t really explain why, it’s just something inside of me that I want to do.


THE LIZARDMAN: Are your nipples your primary focus for your show or do you plan on expanding to other piercings or even other acts?


NIPPULINI: I do use my ear piercings for my “Bowling” stunt, and have played with the idea of using my hafadas in the act. I just don’t know how comfortable I’d feel displaying my genitals onstage... yet. I am waiting for my Madison (frontal neck piercing) to heal so I can have some fun with that. I got that from Rasmus too. I believe he pulled wooden carts with people or sledgehammers in them with his Madison (I’m sure they didn’t call it a Madison back in then). Other than that, I prefer to have my nipples to be the main focus of what I do. It helps me stick out in people’s minds.



I get asked a lot why I don’t perform other sideshow stunts. Mainly it’s because this is what I am best at, and if I started doing other things it would detract from the seriousness of the nipples. Plus, I am not too good at other types of stunts... I know how to do them, just not well enough for me to feel comfortable doing them onstage.


THE LIZARDMAN: What does the word ‘freak’ mean to you?


NIPPULINI: Freak? Michael Jackson? Seriously though, in the sideshow definition of the word, it means born freaks or oddities. In modern slang, freak is used to describe someone “offbeat”, “alternative”, what have you. I believe everyone is a freak, and that freakdom is a part of human nature. Those of us who embrace this part of ourselves are the ones who have the courage to admit it. The guys in their three-piece suits and the housewives who all think they are ‘normal’ are too afraid to be in touch with that part of themselves and it’s their loss.


THE LIZARDMAN: Shout out time — say anything you want:


NIPPULINI: Pierced weightlifting is something not to be taken for granted. I’ve seen many people toy around with it and hurt themselves. I have spent the past eight years taking myself to the point where I can lift 55 pounds, or tow 2,000 pound cars with them... this isn’t just something you can “jump into” like blockhead or bed of nails. Don’t try this — if you do you’ll see what “it’s a great stunt, but I can only do it once” means.



www.bmezine.com