At six-foot-three and around 200 pounds, with tattoos covering 40 percent of his body and multiple piercings, Brink sings while suspended by four large shark hooks in his upper back. “The experience is one of nervous anxiety coupled with pain, culminating into a weightless feeling of euphoria as I’m lifted into the air,” he says. “It stretches the skin on my back to its tearing point, and then I begin to sway back and forth, which always gets the crowd going.”
Atropal debuts October 29 at Ramona Mainstage as part of Hellaween Screamfest. “In this age of piercing, body modification, subcutaneous inserts such as horns on the head or spherical bumps under the skin, you might think hanging from a thin metal wire with hooks in the body would be a bit more commonplace than it is,” says Meidinger. “But live-flesh suspension seems to remain a taboo thing. Most people have never seen anything like this done, and there are very few who risk their bodies to this particular activity, much less do it for public view.”
So, who do they expect to show up in Ramona? “There’s a huge subculture of people who are fascinated with this type of act, people who don’t necessarily fit into or even care to be a part of regular society.”
What Occupational Safety and Health Administration laws apply to such dangerous performances? “We searched the OSHA database and found no precedent for this act. In our case, the ritual is overseen by an A.P.P. [Association of Professional Piercers] - certified piercing instructor, Chris Glunt, our theatrical engineer.”
Meidinger admits the stage show will be “ominous and brutal. If we could, we’d throw battle axes at the audience!”
Also appearing at Hellaween Screamfest are Sweeteverafter, Contrary to Reason, Silent Vice, Her Bed of Thorns, and Judas Priest tribute Hell Bent.