Colton Pifer of Monroe, Michigan, USA, was about 18 years old when he first had his septum pierced with a 16-gauge needle.
He later stretched his piercing to 2.6 cm, creating the largest nasal septum flesh tunnel (male) as verified on 17 August.
“The initial piercing wasn’t bad at all,” said Colton.
“It was your standard piercing with forceps and a hollow needle.”
In fact, Colton says he just felt a slight pinch and sustained about a week of soreness afterward.
It wasn’t until about five years after initially having it pierced that Colton began to stretch the body modification.
Colton had not seen many people with a stretched septum as large as his and was encouraged to stretch his to the max.
After looking at the previous record holder’s achievement, Colton realized he was very close to achieving the title himself.
He realized that he could easily break the record, especially since he already had plans of stretching his flesh tunnel even larger.
“As I kept stretching, I kept thinking to myself ‘I wonder how big I can go with this’ and that thought eventually turned into ‘I wonder if I can be the biggest,’” he said.
So, from there I decided that I was going to attempt to be the biggest.
Colton also realized he could potentially be a Guinness World Records title holder when he noticed people commenting and saying they had never seen anything like it.
“I got to a certain size and was going to stop but so many people kept asking about it and saying things,” he said.
“I got curious and decided to look into the world record.”
Colton says he was especially motivated by his uncle Josh who has been doing body modifications since Colton was a little kid.
“I always looked up to him and thought the things he did were so cool,” said Colton.
“He’s got a lot more modifications than I do like horn implants and such, but if it weren’t for him, I never would’ve gotten into body modification myself and never would’ve started stretching my septum.”
Colton says the process of stretching his septum piercing was painful.
After the flesh tunnel reaches a certain size, the jewellery begins to push on the cartilage in the nose, creating a less-than-pleasant feeling.
“The process is similar to ear stretching,” said Colton.
Put a slightly bigger size in, wait a period of time, and repeat.
However, Colton says stretching his septum piercing was a little tougher because the cartilage is harder and takes longer to stretch and distort.
Not to mention, it tends to be a lot more painful and takes longer to heal.
Colton even has to have custom jewellery made because he can’t find anything in his size in shops.
The only other disadvantage to having the largest nasal septum flesh tunnel is drinking from cans or eating sandwiches.
“My jewellery tends to get in the way of that, so I have to use a straw when drinking from a can, and a knife and fork when eating a sandwich,” said Colton.
“Sure, I could wear different jewellery, but the jewellery is part of what makes it unique.”
However, Colton says the reactions he elicits from onlookers far outweigh the cons of having the largest nasal septum flesh tunnel.
In fact, he says he gets a lot more positive reactions than negative ones and that he’s been stopped in public before because people think it’s very interesting.
“I’ve had people stop me and take pictures with me and of me because they’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said.
I have definitely made a lot of new friends simply because they were curious about what I had in my nose.
Colton also enjoys reactions from kids.
“Children’s reactions are priceless too,” he said.
“They always stare and they have no filter to what they say. It’s great.”
Colton even has a few party tricks he enjoys performing with his flesh tunnel.
“My favourite is to take out my jewellery and put a hotdog through it,” he said.
“I also like to stick my thumb in it. That always gets people riled up.”
However, Colton’s favourite part about having the largest nasal septum flesh tunnel (male) is that it’s unique, and not something many people have.
Colton feels that his body modification defines him as an individual and reminds him to keep pushing his limits.
“Even if it seems you’ve reached the end, you can always go one step forward, not just with piercings but anything in life, really,” he said.
When I first started stretching it, I never imagined I’d make it to this size.
Colton is currently in the process of stretching his flesh tunnel to the next size and doesn’t have any immediate plans of stopping anytime soon.
He was excited to learn of his Guinness World Records title and received many congratulations and praise.
He encourages those interested in similar body modifications to take it slow.
“So many people are impatient and try stretching before their body is ready,” said Colton.
“Patience is the key.”
He also recommends people stretch in very small increments.
“I use bondage tape that is skin-safe and sticks to itself,” said Colton.
“I wrap a single layer around the section of jewelry that fits in my septum, wear that for a while, and repeat until I can get the next size of jewellery in.”
In the future, Colton would also like to attempt another body modification-related record title.
“Maybe most piercings in the body or maybe another stretched piercing title,” he said.
I love body modifications. They’re just so cool, and it’s one of my passions.
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