(In addition to the Rings of Desire staff listed in the Piercer Bios)

I did indeed train and work at length with:

Paul King (formerly of Gauntlet LA and SF, now of Cold Steel USA, ) Haight Street, SF, CA (415) 933-7233, and Market Street SF, CA (415) 621-7233
Bobby (Baah-B) Sun (formerly of Gauntlet Los Angeles, now of The Piercing Sun) now in San Diego, CA (619) 889-3014
Steffan Santoro (formerly of Gauntlet Los Angeles, now enjoying Hawaii)
Dan Kopka (formerly of Gauntlet Los Angeles, and New York. RIP, Dan)
Brian Murphy (formerly of Gauntlet Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York)
Jennifer Dunham (formerly of Gauntlet Los Angeles)

I have NOT specifically worked with the following piercers, but I respect them as Board Members with whom I served a three-year term for the Association of Professional Piercers:

Jason King 23rd St. Body Piercing 411 NW 23rd. St. Oklahoma City, OK 73103 Phone: (405) 524-6824 Fax: (405) 524-7443 23rdstreetbodypiercing.com	Crystal Sims Evolution Body Piercing 4517 Central NE Albuquerque, NM 87108 Phone: (505) 255-4567 Fax: (505) 837-9623 evolutionpiercing.com	Alicia Cardenas Twisted Sol 1405 Ogden St. Denver, CO 80218 Phone: (303) 832-1311 Fax: (303) 832-1311 twistedsol.com
Bethrah Szumski of Virtue and Vice in Georgia worked with me for a time to polish her skills. She did not serve a complete apprenticeship, but she is a piercer I feel highly confident to recommend with the highest regard. We also served on the APP Board together for 6 years. She is an excellent piercer.
2261Cheshire Bridge Road Atlanta, GA 30324 (404) 315-6925	and	At Pain and Wonder 285 West Washington Street Athens, GA 30601 (706) 208-9588

I have allowed a number of Piercers to observe me work for several hours to several days, and helped to polish their skills.

Working Piercers
Bink Williams at Body Piecing by Bink in Tallahassee, FL, (850) 681-0060
Byriah Dailey at Taurian in Houston, Texas
Rich Hartwick at Adornment Deluxe in Detroit, Michigan. I have done many guest piercing visits at his studio in Michigan.
Tiffany Budgen at Lady Luck, Inc. in Waterford, Michigan. Tiffany worked at Rings of Desire for some while.

Though no longer piercing, they still bear mentioning:
Andrew Hoctor & Chris Holland of The Painted Bird in Cincinnati, Ohio (now closed)
Greg Dinkens of The Hole Thing, in Lexington, Kentucky (now closed)
Kim Strickland (Rest in Peace) at Smokin' Guns Tattoo in Fayetteville, North Carolina

There is another category of Piercer that also bears mentioning. These are the Piercers who worked at Rings of Desire either as guest Piercers, or for a period of time, but I did not train them per se. That is, they were experienced Piercers when they came here, and I essentially showed them our hygiene and safety procedures and let them to it.

Kevin Hinton (Now at Old Glory Tattoo and Barbershop in Venice, California 310 902-0368 or email.)
John Saletra (Now tattooing in Venice, California at Tabu Tattoo (310) 391-5181)
Kevin Jump (Of Infinite Body Piercing in Philadelphia, PA)
Cricket Keene (Thanks to her for helping us to make improvements in our tray set-up!)
Rocky Acosta
Jae Gillentine
Sharon Nickle (Rest in Peace)

There are a number of other Piercers who have observed me work at tattoo conventions, and occasionally for a day in the studio. I'm sure they could truthfully say they learned some things (maybe even a lot) from me. Once again, it isn't the same as having been trained by me or being apprenticed to me.

If a Piercer isn't mentioned here and they are claiming to have apprenticed or trained under me, please call or email to inquire. One would have to question the ethics as well as the skills and experience of an individual who is comfortable being untruthful about their training.

For information on training and apprenticeships, click here.

Thanks!

Elayne Angel

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