A piercing appointment at a family tattoo shop turned into an unforgettable cautionary tale about workplace safety, proper training, and the importance of honesty with clients.
What started as a teenage employee covering a shift escalated into a deeply uncomfortable situation that would ultimately change how she approaches her profession.
Teen Tattoo Artist Recalls Uncomfortable Piercing Experience
In a viral video with more than 192,000 views, Indiana-based body piercer Madam Mods (@madammodspiercing) shared one of the “wilder, crazier experiences” from her early days working at her aunt and uncle’s tattoo shop as a teenager.
Madam Mods was 16 or 17 years old and working at the family shop when a client came in requesting a genital piercing.
Her mentor and uncle was nowhere to be found, leaving her to handle the appointment alone despite having never performed that type of piercing before.
“I had no clue how to do one of those,” she explains in the video.
The piercer admits she didn’t even fully understand her own anatomy at the time, let alone how to safely perform such an intimate piercing while avoiding sensitive tissues and nerve endings. Without an adult to guide her, Madam Mods says she turned to YouTube and Google for guidance.
“I’m not getting a lot of search results because this is YouTube. And I’m looking up something that’s below the belt,” she says.
With only a few pictures and one vague article about the piercing’s location, she cobbled together a game plan and brought the client into the piercing room. The situation became even more uncomfortable when the client’s boyfriend accompanied them, a man Madam Mods describes as being 25 to 30 years older than his girlfriend.
“This man was old enough to be my great grandfather,” she recalls.
The Boyfriend’s Inappropriate Behavior
As she attempted the piercing, asking the client multiple times if she had the right spot, the boyfriend began making inappropriate comments and sounds from behind her. Nobody in the room knew Madam Mods was a minor, information she’d been discouraged from sharing with clients.
“He starts making comments about how this might be the hottest thing that he’s ever seen in his life, that he can’t believe that he’s got a front-row seat to this,” she explains.
The man’s behavior escalated further.
He suggested they close the doors “and that we could make it a different kind of experience,” asked if she wanted to leave her shift early to get dinner with them, and made both Madam Mods and his girlfriend visibly uncomfortable.
“The whole time this poor girl is looking up at me like, ‘Sorry,'” she says.
Despite the harassment, Madam Mods says she completed the piercing. Though she admits she used the wrong needle and jewelry. She did manage to pierce the correct spot, though she questions whether it turned out well. She says the boyfriend tipped her well, and they left.
Weeks later, the client returned alone to swap out uncomfortable jewelry. She apologized for the previous appointment and explained that while she and her boyfriend were still together, the situation had been so uncomfortable she felt it was best to come by herself.
“That was pretty much it. That was the last time I saw the client,” Madam Mods says.
An Update On Training
The piercer reveals this was one of the last times she performed a piercing of that nature, noting she had another experience that went even worse. While she now understands how to perform them properly, she doesn’t offer the service because she lacks sufficient positive in-person experience.
“The few experiences that I’ve had with it where I just tried to trial and error my way through. I either harmed somebody, or I ended up with a bad experience,” she explains.
Madam Mods emphasizes that no piercer should ever practice on clients without disclosure, calling it “a health and safety issue, more than it is about your ego.” She urges piercers to be honest if it’s their first time doing a procedure and to avoid charging for the service, charging only for jewelry at most.
“If this is your first time doing any type of piercing. For the love of God, don’t charge those people,” she says in the video.
These Types Of Piercings Carry Serious Health Risks
Such piercings pose significant health complications that go beyond typical body modification risks.
According to Healthline, they can cause pain during certain activities and carry risks of bacterial infections, abscesses, and bloodborne diseases like hepatitis B and C. If left untreated, infections can lead to sepsis or blood poisoning, a life-threatening illness that causes organ failure and death.
A Loyola University Health System study highlighted the growing trend of such piercings among women and the dangers that come with it.
Perhaps most concerning is that this piercing remains unregulated in many states, making it difficult to ensure body piercing professionals practice proper hygiene and sterilization techniques.
The study also notes that these piercings can complicate childbirth due to their proximity to the birth canal, with doctors asking patients to remove piercings prior to delivery to prevent obstructions and protect both mother and baby.
Health experts emphasize the importance of proper aftercare and transparency with healthcare providers.
According to Healthline, healing times for genital piercings can take up to a year for some individuals. Patients should alert their doctors about these piercings before undergoing emergency surgery or MRI procedures, where the jewelry would need to be removed for safety reasons.
The risks are especially high for people with diabetes, allergies, skin disorders, or weakened immune systems.
Commenters React
“Honestly the fact that you’re being honest abt your mistakes makes me wanna get a piercing done by you so bad bc a lot of piercers act like they’ve never made a mistake or anything and the fact you’re sharing this story makes me trust you 1000000% more than a piercer that acts like they are perfect,” a top comment read.
“I can’t believe you went ahead with it. Why wouldn’t you just say you’ll have to make an appointment for that, I am not able to do that yet. Would you like to make an appointment?” a person said.
“Honestly I think the aunt and uncle are responsible for this not you. this was not okay,” another wrote.
“I’m so sorry multiple adults put you in this situation, that really wasn’t fair to you and others,” a commenter added.
@madammodspiercing Another story time about that one shop 😅 #piercing #piercings #bodypiercer #piercingtok #bodymod
BroBible reached out to Madam Mods for comment via TikTok direct message and comment. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds.