It’s always fun to see Arseniy from #Leeds Airlines (Russia) suspend.  He’s behind the scenes of so many fantastic suspensions, it’s good to see him get up.  This suspension took place at Oslo Suscon, and was facilitated by an all-star cast of practitioners.  With the help of Havve from Wings of Desire (Norway), Matt “Superboy” Kirk from Skindependant (New Zealand), and Lari from Finland, Arseniy went up in a 3 point, 1 knee, 2 elbow suspension that he then transferred into a single point knee.

There were a lot of great moments from the 2011 Dallas Suscon, one of which was this suspension from the ihung.org crew.  If I recall correctly, this is Drew from ihung, and he suspended pretty early on in the weekend.  The dome he’s in is ihung’s portable suspension rigging, which can set up pretty much anywhere they want to suspend someone, without having to find a building or a tree.

If you haven’t had a chance to read this weekend’s recap of the 2011 Dallas SusCon, stop what you’re doing right now and go read it.

One of the most talked about moments of the weekend was Swing Shift Side Show’s Andrew performing a face-lift; a 7 point facial suspension.  A little back story on this suspension is needed.  About 5 years ago, Supa performed the very first facial suspension, using 10 hooks.  Since then he’s performed the feat 2 more times.  Andrew, a consummate performer got in touch with Supa and inquired how to go about performing this extremely dangerous suspension.  Fast forward a few years, and here we are, with the second person to perform this suspension.

It must be noted, time and time again, this is not something to attempt to do ever.  Andrew trained for years just to be able to develop the strength in his neck to make this possible, and even then, there was no guarantee of success.  Those who have seen him perform live will know just how strong his neck is after witnessing his rope act, where he suspends himself above the crowd help up only by a band of fabric wrapped around the back of his head.

So today you’re going to get to see what only a few people have witnessed so far, Andrew’s 7 point facial suspension.

Again, do not even think of attempting this suspension.  Even surrounded by some of the best practitioners in the world Andrew made it clear that the results were unknown and under no circumstances should anyone try to replicate any part of this suspension.  With that said, if you want to check out the video of the suspension, keep on reading.

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It’s 4am, and I’m sitting in a hotel room.  Videos are being uploaded to BME in the background, and I’m gathering my notes from today’s incredible events.  Before I start, I want to share with you something Mekare wrote about what suspensions mean to her.

Suspension is a thing; a living, breathing thing but a thing all the same. As a thing suspension will never lie to me, betray me or break my heart. It will never lose interest in me or deny me what I need.  Suspension returns every bit of the love and effort I give to it.  It reminds me of the strength that resides inside me. It encourages me to learn more about myself, to challenge my boundaries, to test my limits. It teaches me to grow and to trust in myself. It allows me to be myself, in my purest, most unapologetic form.  Suspension feeds my soul.

The reason I’m sharing this with you is that without Mekare, SusCon couldn’t have happened this year.  She was the grease that kept the gears turning, and with the number of suspensions that occurred today she deserves recognition for all the hard work she did.  So thank you, from myself, and all the other attendees.

So, enough with the thank yous, lets get on with today’s recap.  Upon arriving at the site today I noticed that the energy was even more charged than it had been the days prior.  With time running out, today was the day that anyone who was going to suspend needed to get their butts in gear and get some hooks in them.  With 10 separate points to suspend, there was always something happening.

The first thing that caught my eye today was the triple tandem suspension hanging from the crane.  Now, I have to mention that this was an extremely dangerous suspension, and wasn’t performed under ideal conditions so there are a number of safety elements missing.  In particular, backup harnesses, and blood barriers between the suspendees.  All the participants (including those on the ground underneath were aware of the risks, and worked with what materials were provided.

Participants in this suspension were Tricia on the top in a superman suspension, Raul in the middle with a coma, and Brandon on the bottom in a resurrection.  Tricia in particular was a trooper as she was up there for a long time as the men below her were added.

There’s much more to come, including a suspension that affected every single person in attendance.

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Well, after yesterday’s camera fiasco, Naked Lens stepped up to help out and provided the photos for today’s recap.  So a big thank you goes out to him.

Today was the big day.  Everyone who is attending this year makes an appearance on the Saturday.  Even before the official opening of the event, suspensions were taking place.  The first suspension of the day goes to Samar and her “Shrimp” suspension, put together by Christiana, Havve, and Alan from Wings of Desire.

I believe Havve is responsible for naming this modified inverse resurrection.

And with that the day had begun.  The first order of business was to welcome all 180+ attendees to Dallas.  The day started out on a somber tone as we took the time to remember Adam.  Mike from Hooked then approached the microphone to talk about the other member of the community that was unable to attend this year, Arwen (Spliff).  Mike read a letter from Jill, and turned the stage back to Allen who led the crowd in the Disgraceland chant which must have been heard all the way in NYC, as it shook the walls here in Dallas.

I’m going to take a quick break here just to save some space on the main page.  To read the rest, you know what to do.

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I’m spending the weekend in Dallas for this year’s annual SusCon.  For those that don’t know, SusCon is an annual event hosted by Suspension.org’s Allen Falkner.  The point of the weekend is for suspension crews from all over to come together to learn from each other, and of course have a good time.  This weekend is very much a learning weekend as crews bring not only their most experienced members, but also new members who are learning the ropes.

This ended up being a bit wordy, so I’ll save some space on the main page by bumping it behind a click though. So just click the read more button to see the rest.

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Yep, I’m going to be “that guy” this year.  I completely forgot to put this up yesterday, so it’s coming in a day late.

Anyway, this past weekend Allen Falkner celebrated his [REDACTED]th birthday!  Allen has been a huge part of this community for years, and even in his old age he isn’t slowing down any.  This coming weekend will be the 2011 Dallas Suscon, hosted by Allen and sponsored by BME.com, which is the annual gathering of suspension practitioners, to learn new techniques and new ways to make suspensions even safer than they are now.

So take a minute today to wish this living legend a happy birthday today (even though his birthday was on Sunday).

(photo stolen shamelessly from Facebook.  Photocredit: Nakedlens.org)

Now in addition to all the learning to be had this weekend, there is plenty of fun happening as well.  On Friday night, The Lizard Lounge and Allen are presenting Freaks and Fetish!  This year’s show includes a performance by Swing Shift Sideshow, who we’ve seen on ModBlog before.  In addition there will be performances by Mosh, Genne Lasko, IAM: southtownbaby, and Håvve Fjell, from Pain Solution.

The event is open to the public, so even if you’re not attending the conference, if you’re in the Dallas area stop on by.   Doors open at 9:00 – 18+ $10 over / $15 under 21 / $5 off with dog tag or Church VIP - You can get more information right here.

The 2011 Dallas Suspension Practitioners Convention just opened up it’s registration a bit over a week ago, and it’s filling up fast! If you are unaware of what it is exactly, or if you are interested in signing up, check out the official website.

The video below was made from footage from last years event and it really does a great job of capturing the spirit of the event and letting everyone know what it’s all about.

Two of three days are done and I could already write a book about what is going on at this year’s APTPI SusCon in Italy. Well, my english writing abilities are limited and I don’t want to bore anyone with endless text, so I do what is hardest for me: keep it short!

Great suspensions, great lectures and (considering it is october) great weather! Go check these APTPI SusCon Galleries for more pictures and just to give you an idea here is a “guess what”:

Guess what Suspension she is going to do ...

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