A SCAR IS BORN

"This is not like tattooing," he says. "The first time the needle hits you, you get a little jumpy, but then you get used to it. With branding, there's no getting used to it. Ever. You've got to figure that nobody likes getting burned."
So what new bod-mod techniques are lurking around the corner once the branding craze cools off?

Vaughn claims to already have his finger on the pulse of the next one: elective amputation.

"People are going to start cutting off digits, like fingers, just to look strange," he predicts. "I've already called a number of plastic surgeons and doctors inquiring about having my left little finger removed down to the first knuckle. But no one takes me seriously, even after I tell them I'll sign waivers and release forms," continues Vaughn. "Basically, they thought I was nuts. But given time, I'll find some physician, somewhere, who will do it on request. Amputation isn't going to be real popular, but it is going to happen. You'll see.