Vicente Zamarripa-Zoucha
Jewelry Specialist
Born in Pittsburgh, Vicente recently relocated to Philly after receiving their Bachelors in History and Spanish at Duquesne University. Their interest in body modification began when they educated themself on the piercing and modification methods of their indigenous ancestors (part of Vicente’s family is of Mexican descent)—in addition to being a rebellious teenager at a Catholic high school.
While in Philly, Vicente plans to involve and educate themselves more into the body modification community. Additionally, they will be working on their Masters of Social Work at Temple University where they plan to focus on advocacy for QTPOC (queer and trans people of color) through community engagement, sexual empowerment, and HIV prevention and destigmatization. In their free time, Vicente does disposable film photography, travel, listens to techno, deep house, punk and the occasional death metal.
Pronouns: They/Them
Charlie Borelli
Charlie's interest in body modification firmly took hold with the re-emergence of modern ear stretching in the early-2000s emo music scene. At the first sight of stretched lobes on her high-school classmates, she was enamored. Growing up in a conservative household, body modifications of any kind were frowned upon, but at the age of 13 she defiantly bought her first pair of larger gauge earrings at Hot Topic and has been stretching ever since. Continuing with various facial piercings over the years, including her first nostril piercing done by herself at age 15, Charlie discovered piercings to be both an act of self-expression and autonomy.
After graduating from Rowan University with a Bachelor’s in English and Education, she set off to pursue a teaching job but was constantly torn between removing and hiding her piercings in order to maintain a job in the education field. A career change came in the form of healthcare and a job in a hospital. Unfortunately it was still not a good fit as body modification continued to be an important part of her identity and being involved in the community a lifelong dream.
As a customer of Infinite, the studio represented the accepting community and interests Charlie felt was lacking in her prior positions. She is elated to join Infinite’s counter staff and feel that sense of coming home. Outside of body modification, her interests include reading Stephen King and all things true crime, playing video games, and curating an Instagram for her cat, Smush.
Pronouns: She/Her
Sander Adelsberg
Jewelry Specialist
Sander's love for body modification began with a love of the aesthetics of body modification, a fascination with individuals covered in piercings and tattoos, and soon morphed into a desire to take control of their own body—and to create the version of themselves they would finally find beautiful. Their first notable piercings—an industrial, conch, and paired lip piercings—were done at Infinite in 2015, and since then they have been hooked. Sander continued to visit Infinite to get more piercings, realizing that the body modification community was where they belonged. Growing up in a conservative household they spent time stretching their ears in secret and dreaming of all the mods they would get when they were older. After many years as a customer at Infinite, their dream came true when they were hired. This meant everything to them, as Infinite was a safe haven filled with like-minded individuals and free from the judgement they unfortunately faced from family members. It also represented a first step towards their dream of one day becoming a professional body piercer.
In addition to body modification, Sander is also passionate about criminal justice reform and mental health advocacy and destigmatization. They love reading manga and horror, binging anime, watching true crime docs, collecting enamel pins, and snuggling their cats, Gizmo and Squish. When not in the midst of a global pandemic, Sander also loves attending concerts, music festivals and raves, and traveling. (They would move to Iceland or Alaska if they could.)
Pronouns: They/Them
Hal Marie
Jewelry Specialist
Coming from the Bay Area, Hal moved to Philadelphia during 2020 before joining the Infinite team. They have always had a strong interest in body modification, starting with watching how the counter culture engaged with it in San Francisco as a child. This sparked a desire to shape their body on their own terms, developing alongside a strong concept of self.
Growing over the years as they became involved within the punk scene, they spent much of their time volunteering at a local venue, and began their piercing journey with a septum ring. They love sharing this passion with others and building community around the empowerment of self determination through body modification.
Graduating from California College of the Arts with a bachelor in Illustration, art has always been a forefront for them throughout the years, often mixing with their passion for botany and the natural world. In their spare time, they can often be found out hiking with their dog, working on various projects both artistic and utilitarian, or practicing banjo.
Pronouns: They/Them
Khyla Corbin
Jewelry Specialist
Born and raised in South Philly, Khyla became interested in the world of body modification at a young age. As a kid, she spent much of her free time on the internet dressing up girls with piercings and tattoos on fashion websites. When she was 16 she asked her mom to take her to get her nose pierced, and although her mom said yes, she never did take her in. When Khyla turned 18 she came to Infinite to get her nose pierced and has been pierced here several times since. While at the studio, she loves looking at jewelry with clients and helping them find the perfect piece for their piercings. When she's not working, she enjoys biking, reading, hanging with her dogs, and gaming.
Pronouns: She/They
Rye Vargas
Jewelry Specialist
Born in Perú and raised in Puerto Rico, Rye’s interest in body modification started when they were just a little 14-year-old emo kid stretching their ears behind their parents’ back (to no success once they got “too big”). Through this process, they felt enamored after visiting multiple websites, Facebook groups, forums, Youtube videos and finding a welcoming community of people with the same ideas and values towards body adornment.
After watching countless hours of videos, reading multiple articles,and the strength of unsupervised access to Amazon, Rye got their hands on piercing equipment and felt emboldened to begin piercing their friends at the ripe age of 16. They will never forget that one time they pierced their friend Vivian’s nostril at a booth inside Ben & Jerry’s– although irresponsible, it only fueled their dreams of one day becoming a professional piercer.
As soon as they turned 18, they tried to pursue an apprenticeship to no avail, which made them put their dreams of piercing aside and began their college education, focusing in music and marketing. It was through frequently visiting a college cafe that they got sucked into the coffee industry, which became a long-term yet short-lived obsession. Their coffee career consisted of visiting coffee farms in Colombia, Ecuador, and PR, running a coffee omakase, and having a kind of successful competitive career, placing 14th and 10th at the US Barista championship and winning Roast Masters in NY Coffee Fest. However, after 8 years of working in coffee, they started feeling like this journey was starting to hit a ceiling.
Rye has always had a deep appreciation for the traditional roots of how piercings originated as symbols of different stages/milestones of life, and have evolved in modernity as a way to not only decorate your body but also as a tool towards gender affirmation, body positivity and an expression of self love. This led to a rekindling of their lifelong love for body modification, which brought them to seek out a job opportunity at Infinite.
In their free time, they are an avid gamer, obsessed with any form of competitive game out there (Apex, Valorant, Fortnite, Overwatch, and the occasional guilty pleasure of LoL). Rye spends a lot of time reading manga and watching anime, as well as making way too many songs in different genres and never following through with just one thing, as they are equally in love with the emo music they grew up with as the reggaeton that flows in their veins from growing up colorfully caribbean.
Pronouns: They/Them
Jessica Rae
Operations Manager
Jessica Rae has worked in the piercing and tattoo world since early 2008. Originally from Portland, Oregon, she spent six years working at Adorn Body Art, where she learned the ins and outs of the industry. During a visit to Philadelphia (and Infinite) in the summer of 2012, she fell in love with the city, and just one year later she'd packed all of her things and made the trip back—this time permanently. She was thrilled to hear of an immediate opening at Infinite, and joined the team in 2013.
Jes oversees all aspects of the office for both Infinite locations. She's based in Philadelphia, but has a hand in almost every aspect of the studios, from our in-store operations to the online store and website. She has over a decade of experience in management within the industry, and has been an associate member of the Association of Professional Piercers since 2014, attending their annual conference and exposition each year since.
At her core, Jes has a deep appreciation for all things strange and unusual, and body piercing remains a big part of that. She loves her cat, her motorcycle, exploring and adventuring both near and far, reading, running, and just generally having a good time.
Email: office@infinitebody.com
Pronouns: She/Her
Noorann Matties
Assistant Operations Manager
Noorann moved to Philadelphia from Baltimore, Maryland in late 2017, and was delighted to join the Infinite crew shortly after. Her love of body modification stems from many things, but was sparked as a young teenager when she discovered BMEzine online—and realized she knew exactly what she wanted to do to herself and with her life. Throughout the years, Noorann has begun to focus more of her interest in body modification on the roots of many of these practices in South Asian culture, seeking to carve out space for herself and others to be modified because of their heritage, and not despite it.
Outside of body modification, Noorann maintains a robust film photography practice over at noorannmatties.com and is an avid collector of vintage t-shirts, novelty home decor, tapes, and comics. When she’s not in the office, Noorann can be found hanging out with her cats, Nermal and Hollywood, scanning film, driving around to ‘90s radio rock, and taking on ambitious home improvement projects after watching a single YouTube video on the subject.
Pronouns: She/Her
Beatrice Benefield
Assistant Counter Manager
Beatrice first knew she’d be a modified babe when they stole their mother’s hoop earrings and clipped them onto their unpierced lobes in kindergarten. Raised COGIC and one of four children in a small town in North Carolina, she knew she’d be grown before getting to fulfill those expressions. In the meantime, she spent too much time on the computer, falling in love with punk, skating, rap, and Janet Jackson.
And so, Beatrice promptly got their first nostril piercing at nineteen and struggled in a bit of a piercing desert but was still so very enamored. Upon moving to Philadelphia in 2018, they got the opportunity to be a counter person at Infinite Body Piercing and simultaneously got deeper into the art of building oneself. And found out much to their pleasure that she belonged, and since began a journey of immersing themselves in the world of body modification, especially enjoying reading interviews with piercing’s important innovators and legends.
Beatrice loves big brass weights, genuine stones, and being imaginative with jewelry from lobes to large gauge projects. They love when body modification pushes boundaries in ways that excite all involved. They’re a poet, a parent, an auntie, and spectacular at karaoke. She’s Infinite’s shop auntie/counter queen/fundamental freak. She loves Octavia Butler, 70’s Brazilian psychedelic music, Bad Brains, 90’s drum and bass, and being a Black trans lady. You’ll know Beatrice's around when “Mistake” by Fela Kuti or “You Did It Yourself” by Arthur Russell is bumping on the lobby speaker. She’s an official “she/they” but can get down with “she/her,” too.
Pronouns: She/They
Maddie Akers
Office Staff
Maddie’s appreciation for body modification began when she was just a kid, when her older sister introduced her to punk rock. She remembers seeing photos of all of her favorite bands from the 70s and 80s, and was transfixed by pictures of her idols adorned with rings, chains, and safety pins through their skin. As a teen, Maddie discovered BMEzine.com, and it was this discovery that nurtured an already growing love of body modification and taught her about its history. Being exposed to all of these new ideas further fueled her own desire to modify herself.
Maddie’s first significant piercing she had done was her labret, at 15 years old. She fondly remembers the experience as a significant right of passage. It gave her a sense of control over her body, and showed her what she was capable of. After graduating from Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School in 2008, Maddie moved to Philadelphia for a brief stint at Temple University and at the Community College of Philadelphia. It was at this point that she discovered Infinite Body Piercing. Maddie started as a frequent customer of Infinite, adding more to her collection of piercings, jewelry, and knowledge about the industry. After a short time it became apparent to her that she had found a community she could call her own.
In addition to body modification, Maddie also has a passion for record collecting, video games, and playing bass guitar. Come by the shop and talk to her about Frank Zappa and alien conspiracy theories.
Pronouns: She/Her
Ariana Flores
Office Staff
Ari’s interest in body modification originated from a class called The Body Adorned: A Look at the Personal, Societal, and Historical Context of Decorating our Bodies. In that class, she explored some of the earliest examples of body art, learned about the varying methods of body adornment (painting, piercings, tattoos, jewelry, clothing, etc.), and discussed how body adornment is used to express ourselves and convey messages. When she’s not working in the counter or the office, she’s listening to music, watching anime, or learning how to make her own clothes.
Pronouns: She/Her