College Times

Once considered taboo, body modification is now among the most popular forms of self expression.

Piercing norms in America have progressed from the ear, to the tongue, nose and naval, to the genitals, as well as any other part of the body. Tattoos have experienced a similar evolution over time: present-day tattoo aficionados often spend thousands of dollars jacketing entire limbs.

Some body art enthusiasts, though, are unconcerned with the commonplace. These extremists push the limit with new and shocking body art, beyond the traditional tattoo or piercing.

Greg Churchill is a piercing apprentice at Mastodon Professional Body Piercing in Mesa. He's far from unfamiliar, though, with the art of body modification.

"I've been into the body modification industry since I was 14," he said. "I was always hanging out at local shops, trying to listen and learn. I rented movies, bought books, anything I could get my hands on. More than anything else ... it just felt right."

Churchill has countless tattoos, more than a dozen mostly stretched piercings, a split tongue and innumerable scars from body pulls and scarification work. His plans for future modifications are diverse.

"As an apprentice, I want to be able to tell people what to expect," he said. "When they ask 'Does it hurt?,' I want to be able to answer honestly, to have direct experience."

Vibrantly colored, yet thematically dark tattoos envelope the whole of Churchill's left arm, "HOPELESS" lines his knuckles and an interpretation of the Virgin Mary springs from his calf. Decorative scars adorn his cheek bones, just beneath warm hazel eyes.

Within the next few years, Churchill plans on extensively expanding his tattoos and scarifications. He also plans on implanting several ribbed silicon triangles under the skin of his shins.

"It's just the next step," the 24-year-old said. "I want to experience it all."

Churchill has been pierced more times than he can count since his first piercing in the fifth grade, and currently has 15 pieces of metal penetrating skin and cartilage throughout his body. He describes the piercing process as uncomfortable, rather than painful.

"I hate getting pierced with a passion," he said. "Right before, I'm nervous, like a child. When a needle goes through your body, it just doesn't feel good. I've never been into pain, but [body modifications] are worth it. They become a part of you, who you are."

Churchill has five ear piercings, including two daiths and an industrial. His earlobes are gauged to 3/4 of an inch, down from 1-3/8 inches in July when he quite literally stretched himself too thin and tore a section of his left ear at a local concert.

He has a smiley on the underside of his upper-lip, as well as a bridge piercing just above his eyes through the cartilage in the top of his nose. His septum and both nostrils are stretched to an 8-gauge. He also has a 9/16-gauged labret piercing, centered just below his under-lip.

"Stretching my nipples to a 6-gauge was the worst, though," he said. "One of the worst experiences of my life. The pain was just phenomenal, constant and intense."

Churchill's most unusual body modifications, however, aren't even visible to passers-by.

He has two genital piercings, including a pubic surface piercing above the base of the shaft and a Prince Albert gauged to a double zero, which enters the urethra and exits below the head.

Additionally, Churchill's tongue is split right down the middle.

"I can do with my tongue what you can do with your fingertips - pinch, massage, tug," he said with a knowing smile. "The inside of your tongue is so much more sensitive. When you learn how to control it, it's just like having two tongues."

Churchill has undergone multiple body pulls, which involve large, specialized hooks inserted under the skin of the back. Participants then pull against rope attached to a stationary object or another person experiencing the pull.

"The endorphins running through your body produce the most incredible natural high," he said. "It's an intense pain, a rush, and then, all of a sudden, everything falls away and there's just calm. For me, it's spiritual. It's pure."

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