Suspended In Time: The Phoenix Remembers Adam Aries

Published Mar 25 2011, 01:22 PM by Chris Faraone

Adam Aries

The Boston music scene lost a favorite son this week. The same goes for the local arts community, the body modification world, and the Cambridge anti-establishment. Adam Aries, an activist and animal lover who was renowned as the leading piercing guru in the region, was as prolific in his creative endeavors as he was hard-working for rent money. When not stretching ears at Pino Bros Ink in Inman Square, Adam was heading the security team at the Middle East; and when he wasn't ejecting unruly dipshits from rock and hip-hop shows, he was tweaking cuts and videos at clubs around town as VDJ ZiD.

Adam, who passed in his sleep Tuesday for reasons that have not yet been determined, was a New Hampshire native who brought his craft and ambition to Boston six years ago, when he came to work at Darkwave Tattoo in Roxbury. Remembering his days as an ace swimmer and Granite State Ballet dancer in Nashua, his family describes a perpetually motivated young man who was intent on pushing all and any boundaries. At age 10, Adam's mom promised he could get his first earring if he won a swim competition. A driven and agile athlete, he did just that, and continued to explore his passion for ink and piercing over the following two decades (Adam was 28 at the time of his death).

A member of the Rites of Passage East Coast suspension group, Adam reveled in extreme acrobatics, dancing through the sky strung from metal hooks and custom riggings. As was always the case when he applied himself, Adam earned incredible respect in the suspension world, and was prominently featured in “Suspended in Time,” a masterful 2007 ambrotype project by New York photographer Matthew Larkin. Adam's intrepid mid-air swings toward higher consciousness exemplify a work ethic that both his friends and family emphasize as his defining attribute. “He never did anything the easy way,” says Frank Pino, a co-owner of Pino Bros. Adds Dave Norton, a Pino buddy who also hired Adam at the Middle East six years ago: “He wouldn't microwave popcorn if he could put it over a fire.”

Along with an eclectic group of friends to rival Andy Warhol's crew, Adam's family will remember a compassionate risk-taker who, as his mother, Susan, puts it: “was always looking for something different – something more.” He is survived by his parents, four younger siblings, his two adopted Boston terriers, and, any moment now, several dozen tribute tattoos – some of which, no doubt, will pay homage to the elaborate locust stretched across his windpipe. Even his brother Paul, 23, who until now has kept his canvas clean, is prepared to mark the memory. “I never really thought about getting any ink,” he says, “but in the past day it hasn't been a question of whether I plan to get a tattoo, but what I plan to get and where.”

A Celebration of Adam’s Life will be held, 1-3 and 5-8pm, Saturday, March 26, 2011 at Davis Funeral Home, One Lock St. in Nashua, NH. Family and friends are invited to attend. Also, there will be a party at ZuZu (Middle East), 474 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, MA, on Saturday April 2, 2011 from 12 to 4pm, to Honor and Celebrate Adam’s Life.

Those who wish may make a memorial contribution to the Humane Society for Greater Nashua, 24 Ferry Road, Nashua, NH 03064-8109 or your local branch of the Humane Society.

Filed Under: The Middle East, Suspended in Time, VDJ ZiD, Adam Aries, Pino Bros Ink

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6 Comments

Andrea Sevinsky said:

That was so great! Thanks so much for praising a man well worth the praise. He was a wonderful nephew to me and I am missing him so much. You've brought great joy to his mother's life. Thank you.

March 25, 2011 6:39 PM
David said:

This is a great piece on an amazing guy. Adam was one of a kind. He is sorely missed. May his legacy inspire and guide future generations of kids in the body modification world.

March 25, 2011 11:18 PM
Joe Moylan said:

Excellent tribute to a dynamic individual. From ballet to suspension, Adam defied and inspired. It is heartening to know that his impact on the world has been aknowledged and remembered, as it will always be. Much love.

March 26, 2011 12:54 AM
Bryan said:

An excellent tribute to a great guy and a good friend. You will be missed, Adam

March 29, 2011 1:47 PM
Someone missing you said:

Adam, you cut a distinctive swathe through life, through our minds, and most of all, through our hearts. You are deeply, deeply missed.

I want to express my love by offering the only practical service I can do for him now, which is to tell you, someone whom he loves, about someOne more powerful than raging, fiery comets; someOne who indeed breathed the stars into existence thereby establishing Himself as the all-time most awesome pyrotechnician; someOne who loves you in a deep, yet practical way, as shown by the fact that He died an excruciating death to make a way for you to be able to come to His open arms and be safe from everything. He'll bear your griefs and carry your sorrows (Isaiah 53:4). Sometimes it's a comfort to pray with people: 1-800-4-PRAYER has live people who personally know the God of all comfort who'll gladly pray with you, or prayer.ag.org allows you to submit anonymous requests for prayer any time, day or night. Spiritlessons.com and needGod.com have compelling information, and I think www.chick.com/.../0086_01.asp would've made Adam laugh.

May God bless you all.

April 2, 2011 12:36 PM
nicole said:

thank you so much for this piece. adam was such a great guy and deserves to be remembered as such.

April 9, 2011 12:07 PM

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Filed Under: The Middle East, Suspended in Time, VDJ ZiD, Adam Aries, Pino Bros Ink

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Suspended In Time: The Phoenix Remembers Adam Aries

6 Comments

Andrea Sevinsky said:

David said:

Joe Moylan said:

Bryan said:

Someone missing you said:

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