Paul King has been a professional body piercer since 1991. He has lectured on body modification since 1993. He apprenticed for 18 months under Elayne Angel, master piercer and author of The Piercing Bible. He worked in all three former Gauntlet locations, managed LA and NYC and was awarded the title of Master Piercer. He has a UC Berkeley B.A. degree in Anthropology. In 1999, Paul King partnered with Grant Dempsey to create Cold Steel in San Francisco. In 2007, he received the APP’s President’s Award for contributions to the Piercing Industry. He has served as a board-appointed treasurer of the APP since 2008. In 2022, he published his book Alan Oversby: Documentary Evidence, edited interviews about UK's iconic piercer and tattoo artist, Mr. Sebastian. In 2014, with the support of the APP board elect, Paul King founded the Body Piercing Archive: www.bodypiercingarchive.org