The world of grinders, people who modify their bodies with functional augmentations, is a growing sphere of people. We’re not talking about piercings or other forms of decorative body modification. Grinder mods have a function, even it’s to entertain.
One man, Rich Lee, is about to take grinding to whole ‘nother level. He’s going to make his favorite body part vibrate, for her pleasure.
Lee appeared at the Body Hacking Convention in Texas last month. If this is your kind of thing, plan to be there next year. Forget tattoos and piercings. Grinding is the hottest thing in body modification.
Rich Lee may soon be one of the leaders in the movement when he is successful with the boldest grind in the world; one to his male organ.
Grinders and Grinding
Grinding is nascent body modification. Early forms range from installing magnets beneath the skin, mostly for parlor tricks, to subdermal electronics.
First-timers start with easy stuff, like magnets. A magnet below the tip of your finger can be instrumental in creating an illusion. One could also use it to toggle a hidden magnetic switch, opening a door or turning on a light.
As far as tech goes, magnets are binary. Hardcore grinders install RFID chips, LEDs, even small boards. If you think that NFC feature in your phone is handy, imagine if it was in your fingertips. You could pay-at-the-pump with a swipe of your finger.
One of the most astounding cases of grinding is Neil Harbisson, who has had an antenna attached to his occipital bone since 2004. That antenna allows Harbisson to “hear” colors, as he is colorblind. It also allows him to receive messages directly to his brain via an internet connection.
Safe to say, the cyborg revolution is upon us.
Lee’s Exploits
Like most grinders, Lee started with simple installations, magnets. It wasn’t long before he installed them in his ears so he could listen to music whenever he wanted. That one didn’t work as well as he’d hoped, not when there’s too much background noise, but when it’s quiet he’s able to listen to music or news.
Another of his implants measures his temperature. Yet another allows him to convert text-to-speech via an NFC chip. These mods were not performed without risk.
In a recent effort to create natural shinguards, Lee installed tubes of foam under the skin over his shins. The swelling from that mod ended in one of the tubes bursting. No longer able to take the pain, he pulled the failed implants out himself.
In another anecdote, Lee postulated a mod for beating hypothermia. His idea was that a heating device installed in one part of the body might be enough to heat the blood for the entire system. To test his idea, he filled a bathtub with ice, then wrapped a heating pad around his arm and climbed in. The pad came in contact with the water, almost electrocuting Lee.
None of these fails would deter Lee from his long-term goal of turning his male organ into something special.
The Human Vibrator
He calls the device the Lovetron 9000. (Yep.) The plan isn’t just to risk it all for some kinky fetish. Lee plans to market his device to other grinders. He even has a site for it. When he is successful with his install, he will start selling kits.
The 9000 is smaller than your thumb, a haptic device, which installs at the base of the grinder’s penis. Simple in concept, the 9000 is a battery and motor, with a magnetic switch. If you’re already in the biohacking sphere, with a magnet below your fingertip, you’re all set to go to stage two.
Insertion of the Lovelorn 9000 requires a minor surgery to implant, something Lee says a piercer can do. It will take about two weeks to heal, then it’s rock n’ roll time.
Some of Humanity’s greatest advances, antibiotics, x-rays, were the result of pioneers not afraid to try things on their own bodies first. Lee stands in good company.
Until the FDA steps in to regulate grinding, this type of experimentation will remain the bold frontier of body hacking.
Source: Gizmodo