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@beardedfancyman

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Gadabout. Music Snob. Nerd. Technocrat. Hooner. Chihuahua Enthusiast. Watch Fiend. Samsāra Wanderer...

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In 2004, I was a weird-looking, inquisitive kid from a rural town in South Georgia. I had 0 tattoos + 2 mall ear piercings and a burning desire for 95% tattoo coverage + earlobes I could fit beer cans through.

I discovered iam.bmezine.com a while later, and my life was never the same.

There, I met a community of people who were weird-looking and inquisitive. I was no longer "that weird kid" in a homogenous town: I was now "a weird kid" in a vibrant, heterogeneous community where (almost) everyone welcomed (almost) everyone else.

I met people on IAM who are still close friends today. I learned stuff on IAM + Modblog that crafted my interests and passions. My ideas have grown and evolved, but body modification has been one of my constants.

Simply put: BMEzine changed my entire life, and without it, I may not be here today.

I never met Shannon, and except for a couple messages exchanged with @glider on IAM, he didn't even know I existed. But without sounding dramatic: I owe a huge chunk of who I am today to who HE was and to the community he built.

Now that I'm almost 40, I look back on Modblog, and a lot of my current ideas about body mods are similar to his. I don't see body modification as a process whereby we collect shiny ornaments: I view it as a journey of pushing boundaries, discovering things about ourselves, and altering the trajectories of our lives, with or without shiny ornaments attached.

I bleed and suffer and choose voluntary hardship because doing so makes me feel alive. I feel like Shannon would appreciate that, and when I reread the words he wrote, I feel like he was a soulmate of mine that I was never able to meet in this lifetime.

This tribute to Shannon was done by @xbenstubbsx and took 16hrs over 2 consecutive days. During, I made sure to evangelize Shannon, BME, and body modification culture to everyone who stopped by to admire.

Here's to Shannon. Here's to the legacy he built and to the lives he changed. I owe my personhood and likely my existence to him, and I look forward to using this piece to spread the word about the culture he helped create.

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Tagging folks I know / know of from BME. Spread the word!

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Strength Depositions presents Chad Coy, @chadcoy55 America’s strongest man in the masters division and one of the best strength athletes of this generation. Chad took the time to answer some questions about training, strongman, programming and staying healthy. It was an absolute pleasure to speak with him. Look for more of Chad in the future. This podcast should be released soon. Only on @strengthdepositions on the @advicesradionetwork

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Sometimes I get pissed off and just want to be left alone. I spend a lot of time helping others (I’m a nurse) and I talk a lot on podcast and I’m also a Dad. I need the time I spend in the gym to unwind and reset. It’s the one thing that no matter that state of mind I’m in, I’m happy when I’m done. It’s truly a house of damaged souls. I’m glad I found it and I’m glad all of you have too. #houseofdamagedsouls #pissed #mychurch #zen #strengthandconditioning #strength #strengthtraining #strengthdepot #strengthdepositions #bodybuilding #bodybuilder #powerlifting #powerlifter #strongman #strongwoman #lift #figure #phsyique #bikinicompetitor #bikini #nsca #getstrongerhurtfeelings #powerhousegym #podcast

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