Tactics and Technicalities
Jo Rodriguez and Mammas
Gina Simon Photography
THIS MONTH I wanted to share a suspension story from my September tour. At the beginning of the year I went out for 30 days and one of my stops was to see friends and do suspensions in Merced, CA. There were a lot of people who were close friends with a piercer friend of mine who were asking to attempt suspension for their first time. One of the people interested was a guy named Jo Rodriguez. Jo was like most who are attempting to venture into the realm of suspension for the first time. He was nervous and lacking information. After some period of discussion it was decided that he would do a pulling first. He wanted to get a feel for the actual insertion of the hooks and a small understanding of what the actual lift would be like. The hooks were set into his back and he was attached to the line. At first he was reluctant to pull against the skin but after some time getting used to it he was in his comfort zone. All in all the pulling was successful, but it left him slightly unsure of what direction he would take in pursuing suspension. I was in California for quite a while that tour and after some healing Jo approached me again and had decided that he wanted to go up before I left. We discussed it again and the decision was made to proceed with his suspension. The location we had selected was a close friend’s yard that was in a neighborhood that had many small businesses intermingled with the houses. We spoke to the neighbors and store owners and agreed on a time that the suspension could be done so that it wouldn’t disrupt anything for anyone. The owner of the house, Brian, had a pit named Lucy who was very friendly and obedient. A short while prior to the suspension Brian was outside working on his yard when he was surprised to be approached from behind by his dog. He thought she was inside so how could she be in the front yard with him? Then he realized that it was not his dog. It was another female pit that had been abandoned. She was skin and bones, throwing up and had obviously had puppies. He had her scanned and looked at and it was agreed that she had no disease but was suffering from malnutrition. Being a dog lover Brian decided to try to nurse her back to health so the dog stayed, we all pitched in and shortly she was considering it her new home. The day of the suspension Jo appeared unfazed. He was ready and stoked to go up. We set his hooks, walked him to the rig and gave him a minute to ready himself. He was up in under a minute and stayed up for about 5. When he was ready to come down he asked that he be lowered into a seated
meditative position. Then the magic happened. The Dog we had grown accustomed to calling “Mammas” approached him, sat down and began to show Jo some love. She licked his face and rubbed her face against his as if to express her happiness to be there and that he was fine. It was beautiful and quite a few people began to tear up watching this amazing rescued dog lock this suspension into our minds forever. The story doesn’t end there… I mentioned September earlier so you must be curious why I’m still talking about January. When I returned to Merced in September, Jo asked to go up again. We selected the same location and proceeded to get the “ok” from the neighborhood. When I arrived at the spot I was shocked and happy to see our old friend “Mammas”. She had gained back all of her weight and was excited to see us. We set up for Jo to go up, set his hooks again and tied him into the rigging. We talked about the idea of him lifting up from the position that he had been lowered into at the end of his first suspension. I explained that lifting from a “dead weight” position would be very uncomfortable but that if he wanted to try I was willing to let him. He sat down, we adjusted the rigging and up he went. Jo’s second suspension was awesome. He was up for far longer and tried many new things including lifting my weight. All in all it was an amazing suspension. When he decided to come down we lowered him back into the seated position again and he relaxed and took it all in. Then just like before up comes Mammas showing her affection only now she was healthy. It was incredible to witness. To see these two lives face and conquer the obstacles set before them and to share that experience with them is something I will not soon forget… This is the power of suspension Hope you enjoyed, Stu Please send suspension and survival stories, questions and tips.