On Having an Apprentice

I adore that this industry consistently gives me new experiences, new perspectives, and new things to focus on. We are about 6 months into Alex’s apprenticeship at the time of writing this, and he’s just done his 111th piercing! Watching him progress has been amazing, and what a wonderful feeling to see his growth and progress.

I’ve known since very early on how excited I was to have an apprentice. When I was just getting into the industry, I was so so excited for my mentor and to be an apprentice, to share that bond with someone. Even as I was starting to learn, I appreciated the connection and effort that it took to pass an entire craft along to someone else. I knew that being at a level where you could take on an apprentice meant something, and I looked forward to the day I was ready.

Parenthood has never been in my future, but this comes pretty close. Getting to watch the moment a technique or grip or tool makes sense and clicks for him, seeing the spark happen and the understanding settle in. Watching his excitement in being able to realize his dreams, and being there to comfort his disappointment when something doesn’t come out the way we intended. All of this has simply been the most beautiful journey. And made all the more special by the fact I get to pass it along to another trans person.

Selfishly, it’s also been incredibly healing. I’ve been honest about my experience with apprenticeships, and it wasn’t an awesome one. Getting to provide a safe, paid, structured apprenticeship for Alex has healed wounds I didn’t realize I was carrying. A big part of that was financial trauma- I was unpaid for the first 3 years of my apprenticeship, working 12-hour shifts 7 days a week. I worked part-time nights stocking shelves to make ends meet, and my mentor let me live in his home. I was fully financially controlled by my mentor, what I ate, and where I went. It made having a life, friends, and family nearly impossible. Just the fact that I know Alex can afford to pay his bills, go out from time to time with his girlfriend, and get himself cool new jewelry, feels really good. I was screamed at any time I made a mistake, and occasionally had things thrown at me, doors slammed, etc. I already felt extremely guilty when a piercing didn’t turn out right or a transfer was missed, and as an apprentice, I was honestly more terrified of my mentor's response to a mistake than I was of a client's response. But mistakes are part of learning; no one is perfect at everything right away. When something Alex does comes out wrong, I fix it, and then we talk about it. His mistakes are corrected with kindness and compassion, a discussion of what went wrong and how to improve it, and not a raised voice or a slammed door.

I also did my apprenticeship in isolation- other studios were the competition. We couldn’t be friendly- they were our enemy. Here, it’s the polar opposite. Alex is encouraged to connect with other piercers and studios, get pierced there, and connect with his local community. They aren’t competition; they are peers with whom he can learn and grow. And while his homework list is long, it’s not unreasonable. I encourage time off, days away with a partner, and taking time for his hobbies outside of piercing. A work-life balance is something we talk about often.

But one thing that stands out about having an apprentice is how horribly easy it would be to….simply not do these things. The siren song of capitalism and perpetual growth whispers in my ears. Recently, we had a stint of 11 days straight at work (this was discussed prior. I was taking time off to attend the BMXnet conference and planned to work some long stints before and after to make up for the time away. Alex was offered to work his regular schedule, sans the BMX days, and do admin tasks for a few days while I was away. Or, to work the long stints with me, but get to take a week and a half off to take a trip with his partner back home. He opted for the trip, which meant we both got a lovely little summer vacation!) On our 10th day of work, I was so excited for the days off to come. Alex, surprisingly, wasn’t. “I mean yeah it’s a lot of work but it's like…..I've gotten a taste of this thing I’ve dreamed of and wanted for so long. It feels so good to be piercing people and having these moments. I’d come in every day a week just to be doing this. I’m still just so excited about it.” I saw in those words a reflection of my younger self. Who celebrated their 100th straight day of work with giddy excitement to be doing piercings. I saw how easy it would be as a boss to prey on that excitement. To say yes, come in unpaid on your weekends. Work 7 days a week. Make the shop more money. In another conversation about wages, Alex commented, “I mean, this is more money than I’ve made at any other job. But I’d do it for less, hell, I would probably do this for free, I just love it so much.” I recalled feeling the same way. Being so desperate for an apprenticeship and so hungry for it and so enamored with the industry that I worked for free with a smile on my face. Not knowing any better. Not realizing the hundreds of thousands of dollars I was generating in revenue for someone who never cared enough to pay me for that labor. I also saw how easy it would be to prey on that enthusiasm. That motivation. That drive. I saw how so many big studios were able to get big quickly and grow. The exploited, unpaid labor of apprentices.

It would, without a doubt, be easier and probably triple my revenue at Nexus to get a bunch of excited young people to come apprentice, tell them they were trading labor for education, and watch the shop inventory multiply rapidly, and watch the shop expand. It would be easy to tell them “we are building this together” while all the money goes into my accounts. And I know it would be easy because it’s how many, many studios in this industry got their start.

It’s also unequivocally wrong, and I bear the years of trauma and scars from that type of setup. I will never have an unpaid apprentice, I will never have multiple apprentices at one time, and I will never value their labor more than their education. Even if capitalist structures tell me that it would be a better business decision to do so.

Having an apprenticeship has healed many things in me, and also shown me how much work we have to do for the next generation, and the rest to come. The apprenticeship system needs to change. Apprentice labor is labor and deserves to be compensated. Apprentices are learning and should be given time to learn, grace to make mistakes. There should be structure, comprehensive education, and apprentices deserve to feel seen, respected, and valued in their studios.

Congrats on 6 months Alex, I’m proud beyond words of the piercer you are growing to be!