00:00:05people are not content just to get
00:00:07pierced or tattooed they want to make a
00:00:10personal statement in scars they’re
00:00:14getting their flesh burned with searing
00:00:17hot metal they’re getting branded until
00:00:22yesterday
00:00:24Tyler Ballentine had never set foot in
00:00:26New York City but Tyler has not really
00:00:29come to see the sights
00:00:30he’s in New York for just one reason to
00:00:34get a brand at home in Toronto Canada
00:00:39Tyler works as a professional body
00:00:41piercer so far he has pierced himself 16
00:00:45times including the holes he has
00:00:48stretched in his earlobes he’s part of a
00:00:51growing subculture in North America that
00:00:54its devotees call body modification body
00:00:58modification
00:01:04reshape their bodies from tattoos to
00:01:08scarification to implanting objects
00:01:11under their skin body modifiers admit
00:01:15much of what sets them apart is
00:01:17dangerous and excruciating ly painful
00:01:20but nothing they say feels or smells
00:01:24like having your skin melted away with
00:01:28burning hot steel
00:01:31Haven for his brand Tyler has turned to
00:01:34Brian Decker a fellow body modifier
00:01:38clapping huh yeah how low would you want
00:01:41to go sir I’m about halfway how about
00:01:47here – Tyler his brand represents
00:01:51freedom specifically his freedom to
00:01:53modify his body any way he wants unlike
00:01:57branders of the past Brian will burn
00:02:00Tyler’s arm inch by inch it will take
00:02:04several hours I was him right now in
00:02:08this circumstance I definitely been
00:02:09nervous Tyler knows there’s a very real
00:02:13chance he may simply not be able to take
00:02:15it by law Brian cannot give him an
00:02:21anesthetic
00:02:22Brian’s only tools are a wedge of
00:02:25stainless steel a vise grip and a
00:02:28blowtorch from the first strike the pain
00:02:31is excruciating heated to at least 1,000
00:02:37degrees Fahrenheit the steel instantly
00:02:40vaporizes Tyler skin even after the
00:02:44metal is removed the tissue continues to
00:02:47burn branding is so torturous Tyler is
00:02:51running the risk his body could go into
00:02:53shock at the very least his inflamed
00:02:56skin will remain susceptible to
00:02:58infection for days to come
00:03:01you’re getting a third-degree burn if
00:03:03you don’t take care of a third-degree
00:03:04burn then you know just definitely
00:03:07possibility for an infection that
00:03:09obviously could spread gradually Tyler
00:03:13grows accustomed to the pain and he is
00:03:16able to lay still and watch Bryan finish
00:03:18that’s cause hopefully it’s going to
00:03:20look decent in all the process has taken
00:03:25five hours and despite the torment Tyler
00:03:30is content with his accomplishment a
00:03:31question he didn’t quit and he’s gotten
00:03:35another unique mark to signal his
00:03:37identity it hurt really bad but what
00:03:41just made it all the more worse was the
00:03:43smell of it and hearing my skin pop I
00:03:47know there’s going to be mixed reactions
00:03:50there’s going to be people calling me
00:03:51nuts but that’s kind of the beauty of
00:03:55modifications because you get to be able
00:03:57to see who actually looks into people
00:04:02really it doesn’t really matter what you
00:04:04look like it shouldn’t matter at all
00:04:10for body modifiers brands are not just
00:04:14an extreme way to signify their status
00:04:16as social rebels there are also keys to
00:04:19a separate and very elite club they can
00:04:23call their own
”