10/29/2026
I had never actually pierced a human being. Then my first client sat down. 🎉 Happy Birthday to the very first person who EVER willingly sat in my piercing chair!
I’d love to tell you this beautiful story about how I pierced his nose almost 20 years ago, how everything went absolutely flawlessly, and how that moment confirmed I was exactly where I belonged.
But that would be a complete lie. 🤣
Here’s what actually happened.
I had just gone through what I would later discover was a complete scam of an apprenticeship. I genuinely believed I was a trained body piercer, despite the fact that I HAD NEVER ACTUALLY PIERCED A HUMAN BEING.
So when he asked me to pierce his nose, I was like, “YEAH, I CAN TOTALLY DO THAT!”
Y’all.
A simple nostril piercing took me almost an HOUR.
AN. HOUR.
And here’s why I share stories like this.
Sometimes people forget that those of us who have been in this industry for decades started at the absolute bottom. Some of us started with terrible training, misinformation, and practices that we now recognize as wildly inappropriate and unsafe.
And when we talk about those experiences, it’s not because we’re bragging about the stupid s**t we did.
It’s because piercing is serious. Training matters. Education matters. And not knowing what you don’t know can be incredibly dangerous.
Thankfully, nothing bad happened that day.
But DAMN. What a way to start a career. 🤣
And here’s my favorite part.
HE CAME BACK AND LET ME PIERCE HIS NOSE THREE MORE TIMES OVER THE YEARS. 😂❤️
So happy birthday, my friend. Thank you for being the first person to trust me with a needle, and somehow trusting me AGAIN after that first experience.
We all start somewhere. What matters is what we do when we realize we need to do better🩷
