James Mark Ward (born June 28, 1941) is an American body piercer. In a 2004 documentary, entitled ''The Social History of Piercing'',

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

called him "the granddaddy of the modern body piercing movement."Chesler, Jessica (2003). ''The Social History of Piercing.''

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Early years

Ward was born in 1941 in

Western Oklahoma On a simple east/west basis, Western Oklahoma is popularly considered that part of the state west of I-35. I-35 creates a north/south line through the approximate center of the main body of the state (i.e., without regard for the Oklahoma Panhand ...

and moved to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

when he was eleven. In 1967, in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

he joined the New York Motorbike Club, a gay S&M group, and experimented with nipple piercing. During this time he also studied jewelry making. Ward then moved to Colorado, where he joined the gay Rocky Mountaineer Motorcycle Club and further experimented with piercing,

genital A sex organ, also known as a reproductive organ, is a part of an organism that is involved in sexual reproduction. Sex organs constitute the primary sex characteristics of an organism. Sex organs are responsible for producing and transporting ...

in particular. In 1973, Ward moved to

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writings about West Hollywood be ...

gay village A gay village, also known as a gayborhood or gaybourhood, is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Gay vil ...

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) where he met Doug Malloy. Together they developed the basic techniques and equipment that have become piercing industry standard.

Innovations

Ward pioneered many jewelry designs including the fixed bead ring and internally threaded barbells. He was introduced to barbell style jewelry by Horst Streckenbach ("Tattoo Samy"), a tattooist and piercer from

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

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, and his student Manfred "Tattoo" Kohrs from Hanover, Germany. Ward stated, "The first barbells I recall came from Germany. Doug had made contact with Tattoo Samy, a tattooist and piercer from Frankfurt. Over the years Samy came to the States a number of times and frequently showed up in LA to visit Doug. On one of his first visits he showed us the barbell studs that he used in some piercings. They were internally threaded, a feature that made so much sense that I immediately set out to recreate them for my own customers." With funding from Malloy (derived from his work with the

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corporation), Ward began using his home as a private piercing studio in 1975. Dubbing his studio the Gauntlet, he drew an initial clientele from a mailing list provided by Doug and by running classified ads in local gay and fetish publications. After three years of continued refinement with techniques and equipment, Ward opened the Gauntlet as a commercial storefront operation in

on 17 November 1978. The establishment of this business — considered the first of its type in the United States — was the beginning of the body piercing industry. In 1977, with the assistance of Malloy and

Fakir Musafar Roland Loomis (August 10, 1930 – August 1, 2018), known professionally as Fakir Musafar, was an American performance artist considered to be one of the founders of the modern primitive movement. Life Born Roland Loomis, he claimed at age 4 ...

, Ward started the piercing magazine ''Piercing Fans International Quarterly'' ('' PFIQ'').

Honors

In 2020, he was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame. He is an inductee of the

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Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Jim Ward
at the BME Encyclopedia
Running the Gauntlet
Jim Ward's column at BME {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Jim 1941 births BDSM people Body piercers American LGBTQ artists Living people Artists from Oklahoma LGBTQ people from Oklahoma