1,197 needles later, man breaks body-piercing record
Fort Worth/Arlington, TX’s Star Telegram first broke the news: earlier this month, mechanic Jeremy Stroud broke the Guiness World Record for the most body piercings completed in one day. Over a five-hour period in an Arlington tattoo shop, the body art enthusiast received nearly 1200 piercings: approximately 800 in his back, 300 in his right arm, 50 in his right leg and 20 in his left arm. Why the record-setting piercing session? No reason. Stroud proclaimed:
“A lot of people say I did it for this reason or this means something to me,” he said. “But not for me. . . . It’s just therapeutic.
And was Stroud — who was hooked up to a heart marathon during the marathon session — appropriately prepared for the big day?
“I did my homework,” Stroud said. “This isn’t just something you can go out and do; you’ve got to be prepared for it.”
In fact, making the record official required a witness, a photographer, notarized statements, two EMTs and months of paperwork.
And finally. What we all are just dying to know: how bad did it hurt?
As the session wore on, each piercing produced radiating pain that felt like an intense sunburn.
“After a while I guess the body just starts rejecting all the needles,” Stroud said. “It felt like my back was on fire and my arm was on fire. It was a totally different kind of pain. I just wanted those needles out of me.”
Whoa! So, Bodysparklers: How many piercings have you had done in one session? Tell us in the comments!
Jeremy Stroud said,
May 29, 2009 at 5:31 pm
I had 1197 needles. Thought I would stop by and say hello. As far as the press saying it was therapeutic, Those words did not come out of my mouth. I love how the press spins what a person says.
“how did it feel?”
Most of the needles were in my back. As i would get up the weight of the needles actually pulled my skin down, made all of my muscles ache all around my stomach and chest. The needles were so close together that every move that I made they scratched and cut me (wish Guinness counted those). Towards the end, my skin actually seem to toughen up. The needles were getting tough to push through, and it felt like my body was on fire. SO we stopped. pulled all the needles out, and I went and partied my ass off