Recently inspired by my Texan friend Allen Falkner at Hook Life, I set myself a goal to successfully pull off and shoot a complex, awkward yet picturesque guerrilla suspension at a public location, in this case a skytrain station here in my neighborhood of East Van City. My plan was to safely suspend from the structure of the station while capturing the controversial East Van Cross sign illuminated in the background of the final image. With East Van being a personal symbol of pride, I find myself enamored with this location thus why it felt like a perfect fit for the experience. Our team assembled on short notice and pulled together the plans necessary to achieve this feat.

We found a structural beam to safely sling the Harken blocks to, but due to the height, gaining access to our termination point proved to be a bit of an endeavour. That didn't stop us.

In regard to the artistic aspect of rigging this suspension, the plan was to suspend me in such a way that imitates free-falling face-down with my legs at significantly different heights. This was a perfect opportunity to use my calves in a suspension for the first time.

We used two Gilson shackles (made by Steve Haworth) to support my upper back and two modified Mustad size 9 fishing hooks for my calves. We used a double braided dynamic nylon
anchor rope (1950lb shock load) for our disposable rigging and ran directly to a Petzl twist-lock carabiner in order to leave the the rigging plate out of the equation.

We were able to achieve my planned body positioning through a combination of pre-rigged static lines and delegating the initial tension onto my upper back prior to lowering the final weight on my calves. Once rigged in, Luke and Harley were to hold my legs up in the air as Sal lifted my upper body via pulleys. Lastly my legs were to be lowered into tension by hand.

Our first pitfall was evading the security guards and police that patrol our skytrain stations at all
times. Due to an abundance of police showing up just minutes prior to my planned rigging and hang time (I'm still unsure whether that was coincidental or not) there was looming concern that our plans may had been foiled. Painted, pierced and on standby, the team was as prepared as could be.

We waited until the coast was clear and moved in fast. The fact that it was a damp 4°C (39°F ) was not about to dissuade us. Through the patience and determination of the individuals who helped out (you know who you are!), the goal was achieved. Even though it was an awkward and first-time suspension, it went off beautifully. It's inspiring to see what we can achieve even with the odds stacked against us!

Check out more pictures from behind the scenes here.

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Team Credit: Modern Body Suspension

Model: Russ Foxx

Photo Credit: Anathema Photography

MakeUp: Kalynn Kallweit & Stephanie Postulo