Allan (He/Him), Piercer
I was born in Plano, TX in 1984 and moved to Albuquerque by age 7, where I have lived ever since. My first initial contact with body modification came through my mom and my older sister. When I was a kid, they each had several Helix piercings going up and down both of their ears, and I loved the way they looked and how my family chose to express themselves through their piercings. At age 13, I received a worker’s permit and took a job as a bagger at a grocery store. The grocery store had a strict dress code, which was something I really struggled with as I sought to openly express myself.
Soon after, I got my very first piercing, which was an eyebrow. This experience made me feel like myself in a way that I never had before, and I was instantly in love with it. When I returned to work, they wanted me to remove my fresh eyebrow piercing, or else I would be fired. I was not about to give up this new modification that I loved, so I ended up quitting. The amazing way my first piercing made me feel in contrast to working at the grocery store made me realize that I wanted a career that accepted or encouraged self-expression, so I continued to get more piercings and started hanging around local piercing studios and meeting the people who worked there.
Over the years, I accumulated 35+ body piercings along with several other tattoos and modifications all while I spent more time with other body art professionals. I always loved the variety of reasons and meanings that piercings and modifications had for the many different types of people I met. So as my personal passion for piercing continued to develop, I knew that I wanted to be more than a client. I desired to be on the other side of the table, helping others achieve their special, unique goals through body piercing.
My first break into the industry came through my longtime friend (and now fellow Evolution Piercer) Scott Self. I began an apprenticeship under Scott at a local piercing studio, and one year later became a licensed professional piercer. Since then, I have worked at various locations in Albuquerque over the last seven-plus years, finally landing my dream job at Evolution Body Piercing in early 2018. My goal has always been to learn as much as I can while working around the best, most professional individuals in our industry, which is one of the many things that Evolution has provided for me.
When I’m not at work, I enjoy spending time with Lucille, my Red Tail Hawk that I have trained to go hunting with me. I enjoy bow-hunting, health and fitness as well, and have helped friends with their personal fitness goals and meal planning.
At Evolution, my desire is to continue growing in both knowledge and skill while doing what I love most in life, and I hope that through piercing, I can give people the special and personal experience I had 20+ years ago.
