Guest Column by John Lopez

We've all been handed a business card that says, "Joe Schmoe, Master Piercer." What does that mean? Is it the number of piercings a person has performed? Is it the amount of time a person has been a piercer? Does it mean anything at all? There are many skilled vocations that use terms such as, Apprentice, Journeymen, Master, Professor, etc. For example, the Aikido Master and the Carpenter's Apprentice have both been, and are, being trained according to a set of standards. Yet there is no such standard for body piercers, so what do these titles mean?

Unfortunately there is no one, correct answer to that question. Each shop has its own standard for awarding these titles. For some it's simply a pay scale, for others it's a way to ensure proper training. Many shops don't use titles at all except 'apprentice' -- you're either a piercer or an apprentice.

Larger shops with many piercers on staff tend to use titles as part of their training programs, which also works as their pay scale. Example: Counter Person, Apprentice, Piercer, Senior Piercer, and Master Piercer. But is the Master Piercer in one company as skilled as the Master Piercer in another company? I've seen "Master Piercers" who've only been piercing for 2 years. I've also seen Apprentices who've been working for more than 3 years. I've even seen a "Master Piercer" certificate awarded from an insurance company to a piercer because he was law suit-free for a specific amount of time.

I've been a full-time piercer for 8 years…what would my title be? That depends wholly on where I might be working. It just so happens that I work for Gotham Body Piercing in San Francisco and I'm a Senior Piercer there. Our titles are earned as we become qualified to perform piercings unsupervised. The coveted title of, "Master Piercer," is only awarded to fully qualified Senior Piercers who also complete a task or project that benefits our company, as well as the piercing industry as a whole. This project can be as clinical as producing a video essay on aftercare or as social as a college lecture circuit. It's a very strict set of qualifications and yet it only pertains to our company.

Since there is no Piercer's Union to standardize skill levels, the only thing we can do is be open and honest about our training and skills. The paying public, which keeps us in business, deserves nothing less.

John Lopez

January 29, 2001