Growing up in Florida in the early 2000s, navel piercings, stretched lobes, and tribal dolphin tramp stamps were seemingly integral to the human form. I was fortunate to have grown up in an enclave steeped in ‘casual’ body modification. One of my formative childhood memories was getting my ears pierced at four years old at the mall, and amidst coaxing to finish piercing both ears, I was enamored for what I had experienced as seeing my first ‘heavily’ modified person—a mall-rat teen with a stretched septum and green liberty spikes—strolling through the kiosks. Truthfully I was both perturbed and fascinated. But by god did the intrigue remain, and in my adulthood I find beauty in the serendipity of the stolen glance at some punk teen, unknowingly priming the childhood brain of a piercer-to-be receiving their own first piercing experience. Having that lighthearted, exploratory spirit of bodily adornment carries with me daily in my practice, and the notion that we can profoundly impact not only ourselves but passersby in our bodily choices stirs me.
My novice pursuit of information regarding piercing carried quite obsessively through the 2010s bread and butter: blogs and YouTube. Any vlog of a piercing experience, piercing Q&A, and entry post regarding healing information was poured over relentlessly and dutifully.
My professional foray into piercing came full circle when my hometown studio that I frequented was looking for an apprentice in 2021. I spent two years there completing my apprenticeship and working full time as a body piercer, taking up shadowing opportunities in North and Central Florida, traveling for APP Conferences, and seminars states away in my fervent pursuit all this craft has to offer. I grew exponentially in the years following alongside the team at Drift Piercing Studios in Orlando, Florida before making the jump to move to Philly and continue to devote myself to piercing in all forms possible.
My favorite piercings to perform are lip piercings, large gauge piercings, children’s piercings, and especially any piercing service where I’m guiding someone through overcoming the pre-piercing jitters. I’m almost equally passionate about hiking, emo/hardcore and goth music, birds, my darling cat Lupe, and immersing myself in the city.
Pronouns: She/Her
Email: lily@infinitebody.com
