Safe suspension depends on gear

Nicole11@unm.edu

Suspension, like any other form of body modification, requires strict sanitation and caution. Steve Truitt, founder of the suspension group Ascension, operates under a stricter set of rules than the state of New Mexico requires.

Fishing hooks are the cheapest hooks of choice for suspension, and Truitt files down the barbs so they are usable. He said sometimes multiple people suspend from each other, meaning they are attached to the primary suspender by hooks and ropes. For these types of suspension, the group uses hooks designed for suspension. He said they have never broken any of these hooks.

Ascension group member Mark Fischer said suspension accidents are very rare, but usually occur because of problems with rigging, not because of the piercings or hooks.

“The dangers come more with the rigging and the physics itself, using the right type of ropes and rigging it proper for a dynamic or static load,” Fischer said. “Most breaks don’t come through skin and hooks. They come through connectors.”

Truitt said the worst accident he’s ever heard of was when someone’s rigging broke and they fell and broke both of their hips. Nothing like that has ever happened in Albuquerque, although Truitt said he did fall once during a show.

“I had one person hanging from each of my legs, so when they fell, they both landed on their knees and I landed on top of them,” he said. “It was a show, so we were like, ‘Yay, this was on purpose.’”

Fischer said that even with his medical background, he was impressed with what the human body can withstand.

“From an anatomy and physiology viewpoint, I was surprised,” he said. “The densa zones are incredible. That’s what holds your skin cells together, they’re the connections. You can get a really nasty paper cut, but under these set of circumstances, you can lift your body up with potentially just one hook. Just the way the body is adaptable under stress is impressive.”