Continued from Body Modification--or Mutilation?

Kimberleigh Smitheower-Roseblade, 24, proudly sports elf ears sculpted by Foxx. She and her boyfriend were thrilled with results--but her mother wasn't. "My mom is not very big on body modification, she flipped out when I got my nose pierced at 23. She thinks I'm beautiful as I am, but she's accepted it. At first, she said she felt sick to her stomach." But her mom since has embraced her new look. And so has her employer.
 
Russ, during his pre-interview with his clients, also finds out how other people might react in the customer's life--including what job they currently have or want in the future. Kimberleigh, who works as a full-time nanny for two kids, was upfront with the mom,  "She supported me when I told her it was something I always wanted to do. Now the older kid brags to his friends that his nanny is an elf!"

Her job helped her pay for the elf-ear process, which can cost roughly $500 and requires months of aftercare. But price wasn't the biggest concern for Kimberleigh--it was the idea that the "operation" would be done without anesthetic. Russ Foxx believes, "If someone wants to go through it, they should be able to undergo the procedure without any painkiller." Kimberleigh agreed. "We basically just froze the ear a bit," she says. "In all honesty, there were a few times when it actually TICKLED when the vibrations from him slowly slicing off the piece from my ear traveled down my tubes and toward my ear drum--very interesting sensation!"

Are these kids nuts? Why would anyone want to do this to themselves? PAGE 3

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