For our second celebrity interview, we here at ToddBlog chose a very interesting individual. He has been a part of the modification community for longer than most of you have been alive. He ran his own modification based website called SPC, has hosted all 3 Scar Wars events, hosted and co - hosted many others, thrown countless parties ( some of you may have attended these. if so, i think you dropped something.), and holds an archive of some of the most fascinating stories and moments of the modification community. Ladies and Gentlemen we are proud to give you,
Jars Filled With Wisdom:
An interview with Shawn Porter.
Pictured above: The infamous Shawn Porter.
(Although it may look like Shawn is praying, he isn't.
God just asked him for a personal favor in hopes that people would follow.)
bitch bitch bitch. gimme a damn minute will ya?!
ToddBlog: Shawn, could you please tell our readers what you are doing right now?
SP: Hello Todd-
Thanks for the opportunity to spend some time with the ToddBlog readers.
It's been a pretty long day, so I'm unwinding the same way I normally do; I'm laying fully clothed in my oversized bed while my semi-naked, barely legal girlfriend gets dressed so she can run to the ATM to treat me to Chinese for dinner. As I type, I hear the Ice Cream truck driving by, so if she hurries she can also buy me a a Ninja Turtle icecream bar- those have gumball eyeballs. I hope she'll get Donatello, but I'll take Raphael if they don't. If she brings me back a Michaelangelo, it's going straight to the trash. Sure they all TASTE the same, but I do have some standards.
ToddBlog: Coincidentally, we are having chinese food for dinner at the TBHQ as well. I guess great minds do think alike. Although we wont be fortunate enough to enjoy a tasty Ninja Turtles ice cream bar before hand. So as we have mentioned, you have done a lot for this community such as hosting and organizing major events, passing on stories and interviews with some of the founders of the tattoo and piercing industry, running web sites, and much more. After all this, you only needed to know Sarvas to be recognized as an part of the industry. That seems a bit off, don't you think?
SP: Not really, Todd.... and I should point out that I'm much more readily identified by my string of star-fucking exes than I am my connection (and possible parentage) of Sarvas Berry. Hell, there are shops that are primarily staffed by women I've been intimate with. That said, the piercing industry (which I've taken to calling "the Hobby" of late) is a young man's game these days- and if it takes a man-baby like SB to prove my connection, which in turn keeps the steady stream of young trim coming, then by christ I'll take what I can get. I could have a worse legacy than that.
ToddBlog: We have no doubts of the countless women you have been intimate with in the industry (and out). Would you say that being intimate with you has somehow gotten them where they are today? And if so, would you recommend any women new to this industry, seek you out for help with making a name for themselves?
SP: I'm more the patient old bull than the rough and ready young calf these days; truth be told I feel it's my place to encourage and mentor the next generation or "morally flexible" practitioners out there to seize the opportunity to trade what they know for a little slap and tickle. I saw a bunch of business cards in Las Vegas that let me know that the practice is still alive and well. Besides, I have much more respect for the lladies who got into this industry the old fashioned way: by making up their references because no one checks anyway.
ToddBlog: You mentioned that lately you have been referring to piercing as a "hobby", would you care to enlighten our readers on what you mean by that?
SP: In fairness, Todd, I did give it a little more respect than that. I didn't call it "a" hobby. I called it "The" Hobby.
It reminds me of that old joke: Those who can, Tattoo. Those who can't... become a piercer.
You'll have the coolest job outside of Hot Topic for at LEAST a couple of years; which is MORE than enough time to get heavily tattooed on your hands, neck and face. That should allow you to catch up to the 3.5" you "gauged" your lobes and nostrils to.
If you time it right, it should coincide with your 20th birthday and your fifth year as a piercer. After that... its time to start looking into "buying in". Learn to tattoo, buy a shop, grow marijuana... anything that will actually yield you a consistent income and provide you with some sort of tangible, realistic future.
ToddBlog: We apologize for miss reading what you wrote, and thank you for clearing that up for our readers. We would hate for all the ToddBlog fans to feel you didn't support their drive to be a part of this industry. Which leads us to our next question. As you've pointed out, heavy mods are becoming more and more popular with the younger generations of (dare we call them) modders. Do you think that this is something that will stand the test of time, or is it more likely a fad that will soon die off leaving a lot of work for those who do correctional procedures?
SP: The body modification community, particularly the online community, has been living in a reality bubble for the last few years. The ideology was sold that you're somehow a cultural revolutionary for getting your pecker pierced, and that not only do you have the right to get your face modified till you don't look human anymore, but it's damn near your obligation.
But as my old friend Erik said to me in Dallas recently- "you always hear people talk about rights, but you never hear anyone talk about responsibility" (which is totally paraphrased... I was drunk and he's a human lizard) The lack of responsibility in the BodyMod Community (tm) is at an all time high.
Modification itself will stand the test of time; sure. But the echoes of what we're seeing right now- increasingly younger "kids" with questionably safe certainly inadvisable modifications- won't die down for a while. There's a light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel is long and the path is populated by a bunch of people who are out to make a name for themselves and to get exciting pictures for their portfolios but who by and large could care less about the client.... Jesus. That got serious there, didn't it?
ToddBlog: We can't thank you enough for taking time out of your very busy schedule to chat with us. Before we conclude this interview, are there any last words you would like to leave our readers?
SP: No worries, Todd... you know you're one of my favorite piercers out there- I knew when I apprenticed you (seriously, who's actually going to check your resume) that you'd eventually "get it". And you do. Final words? Sure.
"It's grammatically correct to say gauging. Stop being an elitist douche".
cheers.
