Piercing Wizard Podcast

J'son D'souza is a piercer and studio owner from Mumbai, India. I met J'son at a conference in Germany and was happy to see him apply for, and receive, a legacy scholarship from the APP to attend their 2023 conference. Lola and I sat down with J'son to talk about some of the cultural history of jewelry and piercing in India. You'll find some fascinating details about how similar, and how different...

Ryan and Lola are getting ready for the 2023 APP conference! We talk about our classes and what we'll be doing in the expo. After our conference chat we talk a little about industrial piercings and our opinion(s) on if they should be healed with one piece of jewelry or two. We wrap up by talking about some of the progress Lola has made with her apprentice recently. If you are an active subscriber...

Surface anchors (aka microdermals, dermal anchors, single point piercings) were the coolest thing ever at one point... but many piercers, Ryan and Lola included, have either scaled them back or eliminated them altogether at this point. We discuss their inception, the innovations for jewelry and techniques, and also their limitations and common problems. If you'd like to know more about surface anc...

Lola and Ryan discuss one of the most common issues facing today's piercing studios, and its not even about using a needle! Downsizing backings, changing out jewelry for retainers, and handling referrals from other studios is a daily occurrence for many of us. Sometimes this can be a quick service to fit in, but sometimes it becomes a speed bump to studios with limited time and resources. If you d...

Back at the grind in 2023 but Ryan and Lola want to start off with a quick vibe check. We talk about the balance between the energy we give to our clients and the energy we keep for ourselves. Lola will be performing a Talk APP session about self care at this year's conference so its at the front of her mind lately. We touch on bedside manner, silent appointments, transparency in relation to prici...

My final episode of 2022 is all about Scarification. Kevin Jump came on for episode 146 and we did a show called "keep piercing sacred". Kevin is a skilled scarification artist and while we were in Germany teaching a scar class together I thought we should record "keep scarification special". Scarification has changed a lot for me over the 20 years I have offered it. We share our thoughts on what...

2022 will go down in history as a year that definitely happened. Ryan and Lola talk about some of the year's occurrences and highlights. We say a few thank-yous and dive into submitted questions and subjects. How do you avoid toxic communities while you are searching for teachable conversations? How do you avoid being the toxic element in a learning environment? Does regulation create a better pie...

Evan Quinno is the piercer at Precision Body Arts (my shop) and I am really happy to have him on the show. Evan worked his way up from the front desk to an apprenticeship to being a very experienced and skilled piercer. We talk about how the shop has changed recently and what working at our shop is like these days. Check out the new video content available at www.patreon.com/ryanpba and submit ide...

Matias Tafel (formerly known in the industry as Rata) is a heavyweight piercer and educator from Argentina. Matias has been a leading educator to the Latin piercer communities in Central America, South America, and Europe for decades. I've wanted to get him on the show for a long time. This interview was recorded in August 2022 at the GEP conference in Brazil. Check out my new first aid video abou...

If you are a professional piercer looking for financial assistance to attend the 2023 Association of Professional Piercers conference listen to this episode. If you know someone who might benefit from applying, share this episode with them. APP administrator Caitlin McDiarmid comes on the show this week to talk about the Legacy Scholarship, the minimum requirements involved, and how to apply. I ha...

In the early days of the professional piercing industry there were big shop names and even bigger personalities. NOMAD was a studio pushing boundaries in a time when body piercing couldn't be defined by one name anymore. Blake Perlingieri, founder of NOMAD, was exploring and sharing a new aesthetic to the piercing community and helping to create a new branch on our piercer family tree. Like the po...

Enjoy this haunted episode where Ryan and Lola talk about scary stories for piercers: fainting clients, bleeding, creeps, and more (content warning; brief mention of stalkers and inappropriate client behavior). We threw this together for you early Halloween morning. Check out my new video on vertical labret piercings at www.patreon.com/ryanpba .

Regular guest Jef Saunders comes on to talk about troubleshooting and how troublesome it can be. As piercers we all have our preferences for aftercare, but problems can and will still come up. How do we handle troubleshooting? Reinforce our aftercare? Try to figure out what is the root cause of the issue and adapt to resolve it? What things can be helpful or harmful in these scenarios. Tune in to...

I needed to take a few weeks off because I was way over-extended, partly because of what I was doing when I recorded this episode. I went to Essen for the BMXNET conference, and Manchester for the UKAPP conference. Lola and I instructed a combined 11 classes over two weekends and it really wiped me out. I'll get back to editing and publishing all the great content I got at the GEP conference in Br...

Becky Crossan is a piercer from the northeast of England and is currently serving on the board of directors for the UKAPP as their public outreach liaison. Becky talks to us about growing a business through planning and dedication. Getting involved in the local business community, curating a jewelry inventory, and making upgrades to your studio layout. We also talk about the UKAPP's upcoming confe...

Watch the video version on any tier at www.patreon.com/ryanpba . Lola gives Ryan a makeover and they discuss:  -central eyebrow and bridge piercing safety -how long does it take to write a class -navel rejection and re-piercing -anodizer safety -comparing staple items from different vendors -how often do you disinfect -industrial piercing viability -safe ways to cut costs After you watch on patreo...

Do you have a complete understanding of what a mill certificate is, how to read and verify one, and how it relates to quality body jewelry? Don't worry, I don't either. Fortunately, we have some very smart and engaged people in our industry who can help explain it to us. Brian Skellie is a current board member for the Association of Professional Piercers, a member of the American Society for Testi...

One last conference episode for you, legacy scholar Royce Green comes on the show this week. We talk about Royce's week in Vegas and the connections he made. Royce is a great follow on social media. ig: rollsroyce09 tiktok: HeyItsRoyce_. I have a new narrated video about Vertical Clitoral Hood (VCH) piercings available at www.patreon.com/ryanpba . And don't forget that I have a Aug 14 2022 webinar...

APP board of directors member Pablo Perelmuter comes the show to talk about how much of a nerd he is (in the best way possible). Pablo grew up in Argentina and had quite the journey to be where he is today. If you're looking for your daily dose of inspiration here it is. We also talk about the APP's new jewelry certification program and how it will benefit our industry. I have lots of news and inf...

Rivka Chavi has pierced for thirty years. It takes a lot of thought and self care to make it that far in a career, especially one that can be so taxing on the body and the mind. We talk about longevity, ergonomics, boundaries, more. We also talk honestly about imposter syndrome and how even after decades in an industry you can still feel like an outsider. I have two classes open for registration n...

My next 2022 APP conference episode is with legacy scholar Fatma Tarek. Fatma grew up and started piercing in Egypt, now she is living and working in Dubai. Fatma received a scholarship to conference this year and we talk about her journey to get there and her experience as a volunteer. I have two classes open for registration. Sunday August 14 2022 will be an online webinar on Bevel Theory. Get m...

The first of my 2022 APP conference interviews is with Jasper Valke. We talk about piercing younger children and how to make it a positive experience for the child, the parent, and ourselves as the piercer. We walk through our processes step by step and share some of the valuable experiences and insight we have picked up along the way. Whether you pierce younger kids or not this is a great episode...

The Association of Professional Piercers conference 2022 has came and went, and I thought it was a great success. I took some classes, I instructed some classes, I saw old friends and made new ones. Thank you so much to everyone who made it possible. This week I recap some of my conference experience and give you a preview of the upcoming episodes I recorded while I was there. Now lets all go catc...

Ryan and Lola are going on an adventure! Join us at the 2022 Association of Professional Piercers conference in Las Vegas for a week of classes, fellowship, jewelry, and fun! If you can't be there in person we will capture some of the conference magic for you. If you are in Vegas stop by the Piercing Wizard Podcast booth at expo and say hello! If you are a new or existing arch-mage supporter at ww...

The Association of Professional Piercer's annual conference is back after a three year gap! The APP conference will have loads of changes this year due to covid, no on-site registration, scheduled expo sessions, and more. Ryan is joined by Cale from the APP's board of directors to go over some helpful info. Topics include: checking in and getting your badge, orientation and the mentor program, exp...