I’ve always been a piercing enthusiast. I started doing body suspension in summer 2010, which led me to meet a lot of people in the piercing industry and made me believe that I could become a body piercer myself. I started my apprenticeship a few months afterwards by shadowing some well known piercers and attending piercing conferences like BMXnet in Essen, Germany and APP in Las Vegas, as well as some other workshops led by most notorious piercers in the industry.

In parallel to my apprenticeship I was also learning to facilitate body suspension which is my biggest love in life. Hanging from hooks can be such an empowering experience, and being able to facilitate this for people is a beautiful gift. Hook suspension can be used in many different ways such as for fun, for personal challenge and growth, art, rituals …

I enjoy working with its diversity to match my Suspendees needs. In the past few years I have also been working with Shibari. I am developing a technique I call ‘shibari therapy’. Shibari or Kinbaku is known for its sensual tradition, for which I am breaking the stigma and use it as therapy to reconnect with one’s own body without the sensual touch from the rigger.

Charlyne Chiappone

Instagram: @the_occult_therapy