It's not the Comic Con of Body Piercing...

"You don't wanna go over there buddy."
"Why, what's happening over there?"
"Boring stuff."

   Most professional industries have trade conferences. Body piercing is no different. The purpose of a trade conference is usually to pass on information, get the majority of those within a given industry close to some standard for quality and safety, debut new items that may revolutionize said industry, and of course to help establish a network of professionals. The body piercing industry has a few different options for educational advancement from one-on-one training to advanced seminars or intensive classes. There are internationally even several trade conferences. However, here in the United States we have what is arguably the largest piercing specific trade conference in the world. Due to the hard work of the volunteers and staff of the Association of Professional Piercers (APP), every summer for a little shy of a week body piercers can get many of their educational and some of their recreational needs met. The APP Conference strives to accomplish the mission of the organization by disseminating relevant piercing health and safety information to professional practitioners. It is probably the single most important event a piercer can attend, at least in my eyes. Body piercers have been trying to achieve certain levels of legitimacy for years, some falling within areas where legislation requires continuing education that is specific to their trade. The APP conference affords attendees the opportunities to get much of the training that may be required by law for them to stay in business. As the industry grows and gains more popularity, and is taken more seriously by the general public, there is an important need for trade conferences to be more serious as well. In the early days of testing the water, it's not too hard to imagine that a body piercing conference may have looked somewhat like a cross between a sleep-over and the bar at a tattoo convention. In fact many people still seem to think that the APP Conference is a place to get procedures done, confusing it with the likes of a convention. That's not to say that important information wasn't exchanged or that the people who attended did not absolutely take it serious and put their heart and soul into it all. But as we progress now closer to twenty years later for this specific conference, it should resemble something more like a small business marketing seminar or a medical industry conference. Something where people try to represent the best of themselves in public and attempt to gain the most knowledge possible.

   For some of my friends, this conference is the only vacation they can justify every year. It brings together some of their favorite people, and it's an easy tax write off. Few piercers attend the APP Conference without exchanging knowledge, but I have noticed a trend arising where many who are not directly employed within this industry have taken it upon themselves to attend as well. I have no problem with information being shared, my clients are some of the most educated when it comes to piercing because they have sought out avenues to research their ideas. We also have no problem consulting for hours if need be to really explore everything behind their wants. The problem I do have with many non-industry professionals attending this industry specific conference is that many of them seem to think it is just a huge excuse to party. Many of them see this as their chance to hang out with like-minded individuals who will not judge them for choosing to look the way they do. It's also a way for those heavily modified individuals to experience something like Las Vegas, while in the safety of numbers who are similar in appearance. Some of the presenters at the conference have some minor celebrity from reality TV shows and cult followings. Some people try their hardest to figure out a way to get into the industry-only exposition where new products are released and some companies have incredible blow-out deals on past season inventory. I understand the draw and appeal, in fact the real shame to me is that more piercers aren't so heavily motivated to attend. Considering the amount of studios in this country alone I'm shocked how small the attendance really is, but that's another issue for another time. I will say that I must metaphorically take off my hat and bow to any international attendees who come to Las Vegas for this conference, your dedication to your trade is highly commendable.

   So you may be asking yourself, just what is the big deal then? Who cares? To which I say, I do. Some problems I have witnessed in the past that have been attributable to people "crashing" the conference include unnecessary violence, extreme inebriation, inappropriate public behavior, and the like. Trust me, there are enough piercers who do this on their own, the last thing we need is more numbers adding to the tainted view some outsiders might have of our trade. We also don't really need an audience of yes men encouraging these poor decisions. If someone happens to get access to an industry-specific class they are potentially filling a seat that could have been better used by a piercer whose livelihood relies on the information. Some attendees who are not in the industry don't realize what a balancing act it can be for the staff to keep everything running smoothly and often have very little respect for how it can all be affected by their actions. Whether it is someone causing a scene at registration or the expo door, whether it is someone creating a ruckus at the bar where we congregate afterwards, or someone who just decides to take a dip in the pool after hours and gets security called on them. It all reflects back on the conference. The host hotel doesn't care if they are an industry insider or not. People who come for the express intent of doing anything other than learning are often people who are expecting it to be an event of memorable proportions. Enough so that they may be willing to go a little farther with their actions and demeanor to make those expectations reality.

   If you take this conference away from Las Vegas and throw it in the middle of the country, certain truths will prevail: it would still offer some of the best piercing-specific education for professional practitioners; It would still be organized and staffed by caring individuals who want to see the industry succeed; and it would still be a meeting of some of the greatest minds in body modification. These are the fundamental characteristics that should prevail in your mind when thinking about attending this conference. It's rather boring if you don't do it for a living. I'd love to attend a trade conference on nuclear power, for about fifteen to thirty minutes until I'm so lost in the jargon my brain hurts or until I'm so bored that my mind wanders for other stimulation. I could see me unintentionally leaving a black mark on the reputation of that conference in a similar fashion as some who attend the APP Conference may do for us. 

   Over ten years ago there used to be a huge underground of meetings for people who wanted to celebrate their body art. For me, there was barbecues and get-togethers often promoted through a website called BMEzine.com. I made some of my best friends upon moving to Southern California by attending these events. They were fun, there were often games and stimulating conversations. It was no professional industry trade conference. In fact only a handful of the attendees were even in the body modification trade, most were enthusiasts. These meet-ups were an homage to the very types of private events and parties that sprang life into body piercing as an industry. Trust me, I totally get how they go so hand-in-hand. But things have evolved for us. We continue to move in a direction where our focus is ever more professional, and how we are perceived by other industries is ever more scrutinized. We want to be taken seriously when lobbying legislation, when fighting to maintain some semblance of relevance in the wording of the bills that govern us. We want to be taken seriously when trying to advance the sciences of our industry by partnering with those who have much better resources in the medical field. We want to be taken seriously when presenting lectures for academia. And a lot of that revolves around a week in Las Vegas. Agendas that vary greatly from these seem to become distractions more and more as the years go by. You can see your favorite piercer by visiting his studio. You can catch several of them together in a party atmosphere at the host bar after the tattoo convention closes. But there is a huge difference between tattoo conventions which are marketed to the public, where procedures are supposed to happen, where the vast majority of attendees are not trying to figure out which class they have to miss out on because the educational opportunities are so abundant that some overlap. Save your party for the local tattoo convention, get a hotel room in the host hotel there if you want to feel like you've gone somewhere exotic. I urge you though to consider whether attending the "shower curtain ring salesman's conference" of body piercing is really the right place for you to be. If you're not employed within this industry the answer is probably not. Of course there are legitimate exceptions like spouses, partners and nannies; but if you're part of an official entourage you already know it. There's no need to make up your own.

   I'm not trying to dissuade any professional piercers at all. If you push the needle for a living, even if you feel like you're a little too new to fit in, that's all the more reason why you should attend. This conference is about helping you succeed. It is about helping all professionals understand the standards for practice and even inspiring some new more advanced schools of thought. It is a completely accepting environment and that's even one more reason why it's important to have industry professionals only in attendance. We know what it feels like to have been there in our first few days. We know what it feels like to have made mistakes along the way. We share a common bond, a brotherhood of sorts that some of those outside of this profession just simply will not get. At least not in the same way. I'm sure I'll catch a lot of flack for this, especially considering my studio was one of the ones that was big on bringing a huge entourage in the earlier days. But I can't honestly think of a single experience in Vegas that was made better by having my friends there. I can't think of a single thing that was helped by their presence, except for the friends that were actually employed at the studio. The focus is learning, the rest is the icing on the cake. Nobody likes the person that just shows up for the icing.    

Wado (Thank You)
-Brett Perkins