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BodyMods co-owners Nathan Arnold and Sarah Bolton never guessed how popular piercing would become. Though, they knew they were onto something from the beginning.

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“Back in the mid-’90s, we saw kids piercing themselves with safety pins and that trend kept growing,” Arnold says. “Around 2000 or 2001, we heard from a supplier in Los Angeles about this thing called a belly ring. We’d never really seen one before. They were saying, ‘This is going to be the next big thing.’ At the time body piercing was very underground — punks, goths and outcasts piercing themselves. But you could see it growing.”

Now, “absolutely everybody” is getting pierced.

“One hundred per cent, it’s mainstream. The core demographic is probably 18 to 35, but honestly everybody comes in,” says Arnold. “We see people from about eight years old — with parental consent — all the way up to 90. People will get piercings and tattoos now to match a grad dress. Or it’s part of a night out: ‘What are we doing Friday night? Let’s go get some piercings. Let’s go get matching tattoos.’”

While mainstream today, 24 years ago, opening a shop dedicated to nipple rings and tongue barbells in a mall was unheard of in B.C.

“We were the first,” Arnold said. “The malls have always traditionally been afraid of the stigma around tattooing and piercing. That’s what we’ve spent the last 25 years overcoming, building confidence with the malls and earning their trust.”

Since christening their first BodyMods at Lougheed mall, Arnold and his business partner have opened 17 more kiosks and storefronts across Canada.

Now, their business is about to expand in Calgary in two more outlets: Chinook Centre, opening Aug. 15, and Market Mall Oct. 1.

“We love Calgary. We’ve been doing trade shows there for 25 years — the Stampede, tattoo shows, comic shows, Taboo sex shows, Christmas shows, markets. We’ve built a huge following.”

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The challenge there has been the same as in B.C., he says. “Malls were hesitant. But they’ve seen our stores, our business model, the revenue we generate and the traffic we bring to malls in B.C., and now they’re saying, ‘We’re in. Let’s go.’”

BodyMods’ first locations, including the one at Lougheed, were strictly retail. But in 2013, Arnold and Bolton began offering piercing and tattooing services at the BodyMods headquarters in a light industrial area of Surrey.

“It was our proof of concept,” Arnold said. “After several years of operating there, we invited leasing managers and mall executives to see it. Then our first mall said, ‘OK, let’s go,’ and we opened our first studio at Central City in Surrey.”

They began converting shops to studios in 2020. Since then, “the services side has just exploded for us. Now, we’re about 60 per cent retail and 40 per cent services.”

With the Calgary additions, BodyMods will have 11 studios and two kiosks between B.C. and Alberta. Leases for 13 more studios will take the brand into Saskatchewan.

While tattooing is proving popular, “piercing is king,” according to Arnold.

“Particularly just before COVID, as our skills increased, our offerings increased and our jewelry selection expanded, the trajectory has been straight up.”

Arnold and Bolton source their products directly from manufacturers in Indonesia, Spain, China, Pakistan and the U.S. There aren’t any Canadian manufacturers.

“We don’t use middlemen — we create our own brands. Personally, I’ve spent weeks, months and years on factory floors teaching manufacturers exactly how we need things made — quality, craftsmanship, materials.”

Most of the items are made primarily with Grade 23 titanium and 316LVM surgical steel, both of which are known for their purity.

“It’s the highest implant-grade titanium used for surgical implants, and highest, cleanest grade of surgical steel. We also use PTFE, which is like Teflon. It’s great for retainers if someone needs surgery because they don’t have to remove their jewelry.”

Navel piercings are still popular, he says. But earlobes are the company’s ‘bread and butter’ business.

“Lobes and nostrils — cute little summer piercings,” Arnold says. “But the hottest trend right now is ear curation: Multiple piercings across the ear with different crystal arrangements, hoops and combinations.”