2004: Branding: Branding is a form of "scarification" in which heat isused to create a scar in a specific and pre-determined design. I learned this practice from Fakir Musafar (A pioneer of modern body piercing and he's from Aberdeen, SD, just down the road! Neat!) I was the only licensed scarification artist in the state. I offered this service from 2004- 2014.
2007-APP: Association of Professional Piercers safepiercing.org In 2007, I became the 1st APP member in North Dakota! Pushing up the bar and going above and beyond the required safety requirements in order to keep my clients safe!
2014 Rough Rider: Fargo was due for a bigger Body Art Convention so I brought up my idea to a pal that puts on local events and the 'Rough Rider Expo' ('Rough Rider Ink & Iron') was born! A meeting of great tattoo artists, piercers, vendors, and entertainers. This event ran from 2014-2024 and became known as the 'Roughrider Ink & Iron'
Late 2019/Early 2020: I'd been piercing professionally for over two decades at this point. Though I have always appreciated my clients, and I enjoy piercing, there were brief periods of "burn out' over the years. Until this point, I was always able to bounceback pretty quick. However, in-shop tensions between owners were growing and I felt that it was time to try a different career path, so, I decided it was time to leave the body art industry and find something new.
March 17th, 2020- COVID: Covid hit and we closed the shop for a few weeks. During that time, I gave a lot of thought to what I wanted to do. I decided that I had to keep piercing because I really enjoy it and my clients have always been the best! Now, it was time to figure out what needed to change in order for me to keep doing it. My conclusion was that I needed to do my own thing and try my hand at running my own shop.
July 6th, 2020: Chuck's Body Art LLC is registered with MN. (CBA is born! ...now it needs a home.)
November 2020: The day before Thanksgiving, I received a call from my bank letting me know that my small business loan was accepted!! My time at Dead RockStar had come to an end.
May 6th, 2002 until November 19th, 2020 I had a good run there. Just a few months shy of 18 years.
CBA! December 4th, 2020: With shop keys in hand, the building was mine! I loaded up my truck with tools and some elbow grease and headed to my new shop. I've always had a DIY attitude when it comes to things I want to do. This was going to be a fun project!
February 12th, 2021: With any project, there will be unforeseen obstacles to overcome. CBA was no different but I am stubborn and resilient. I am proud to say that aside from help with a floor sink and my badass floor, I managed to do all the work myself. The shop and I were ready and CBA was opened to the public!
April 2025: I Joined the Association of Professional Piercers, again, as a Minnesota member.