Exotic Expressions Excerpt: Septum Punch
Added 2025-02-26 16:31:50 +0000 UTCThe 1990s saw an increase in documentation of the emerging tattoo and body piercing boom; the best of the best were in-community projects - videos, books, magazines etc from folks who were in some way connected to the body art scene versus folks just looking to make a buck or a splash by documenting the "weirdos" - by folks like Charles Gatewood, Michael O. Stearns, and problematic though he was, Royboy Cooper of Gary Indiana.
Roy was a biker, a showman, a tiger owner (kept tigers and cobras at his tattoo shop) and eccentric whose behavior would equally match that of the Tiger King, but he always had a soft spot for piercing and erotic content (possibly due to his connection with Cliff Raven early in his career) and some of the best video documentation of the piercing scene in the 80s and 90s came from Roy.
This clip, from his film Exotic Expressions, features Jay Borne (who has since passed away) using a stainless steel biopsy punch to pierce the septum of Travis Phillips. Travis had an amazing back piece by Tony Olivas and piercing work by Jack Yount; I can't say I know what ever became of him.
