You might think that adding tattoos and piercings to your body is rather extreme to express yourself but not Sydney Smith. On the contrary, the 20-something thought it relatively tame compared to what she had in mind.
The young woman had yearned to elongate her neck since she was a child. Yes, this isn’t a typo. Sydney wanted her neck to be as long and thin as possible, and she was willing to do anything to achieve this unnatural goal.
Outside Influence
Living in Los Angeles, Sydney was used to seeing people opt for plastic surgery and body modifications to achieve a particular look. But, of course, these procedures were mainly done to fit the given status quo of a slim waist and exaggerated curves.
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While Sydney at the time didn’t credit the casualness surrounding plastic surgery to have impacted her decision, she would later admit that if doing what she did wasn’t as accessible as it was, she wouldn’t have gone through with it.
Childhood Inspiration
Smith claims that she has always wanted to have an elongated neck since she saw a documentary on National Geographic about tribal women of Thailand and Burma. It was considered a right of passage for women in these tribes to stretch their necks using rings.
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The impressionable young Sydney, who was only in Middle School when she saw the documentary, was instantly inspired. She even tried pulling her neck longer with her own hands every night for weeks to emulate the same look.
Wrong Message
We are sure that the documentary’s intention was never to set any beauty standards but more an insight into exploring different forgotten tribal cultural practices worldwide and how they differ from modern-day trends.
Life, Hope And Truth
But the purpose was lost entirely on the young middle schooler, and instead, she became obsessed with elongating her neck just like the women of Thailand and Burma. And it was only when she started announcing to her friends her plans Smith was finally made aware of the bizarreness of it all.
Personality Changes
Smith recounted how her friends made fun of her and coined the mean nickname “Giraffe Neck” for her. It didn’t take long for the news to spread that Syndey wanted to elongate her neck in such an odd manner.
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She started getting teased and even bullied by her classmates, and soon, the bubbly and energetic young girl turned into a shy and tormented teenager. During this time, Sydney decided to take action finally.
Teenage Years
She had been embarrassed and hurt by being called “Giraffe Neck” for years, but now trying to find her footing in the world, the teenager decided to take ownership of the name and started calling herself “Giraffe Woman.”
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Her fascination with this tribal trend intensified during these years, but since she was a minor, she couldn’t go through the extreme steps needed to achieve the look. And despite her many pleas to her parents, they refused to allow her to go through with them.
Just A Phase
As far as Sydney’s parents were concerned, this was just a phase for them. They had hoped that what had started as childhood fascination would fizzle out as soon as Sydney grew up.
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They had witnessed their daughter getting tormented in school and tried to protect Syndey as best as possible. Her parents even tried to teach her how elongating her neck with rings wasn’t medically safe, but the teenager would have none of it.
Conforming
And despite Sydney’s rebellious teenage years, her parents were somewhat correct. However, as she grew up and it was time to move out, get a job, and enter the workforce, the young woman’s plate was so full that she found it near impossible to focus on her childhood dream.
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She was overburdened with work commitments and public life. Years had passed, and Sydney hadn’t had the energy to think about her dream of elongating her neck until she saw a pop singer on t.v.
Modern-Day Inspiration
It was Lady Gaga who brought Sydney back into the world of extreme fashion choices. The singer was known for her risky and Avante-Garde fashion, from wearing sky-high heels to intense makeup looks.
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But it was Lady Gaga’s confidence that resonated with Sydney. When the pop star fearlessly wore a dress made entirely of raw meat, the young 20-something was reminded of her desire to express her personality through her style.
Blind Devotion
Though, Sydney failed to consider that Lady Gaga only wore over-the-top clothes and nothing that she did permanently modified her body. While elongating her neck with metal rings would leave a lasting and negative impact on her health.
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But she was blind to this fact and decided to invest herself back into researching gold rings for necks and body modification. And now that she was an adult, living alone with a stable job. There was no one that could stop her from achieving her lifelong dream.
Finding The Right Person
Of course, it wasn’t easy to find someone to commit to altering Sydney’s body in such an extreme way. She called tattoo shops and body modification experts across the state but couldn’t convince anyone to help her.
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She even called artists based all around the world, but all she heard was no. And just as she was about to give up hope, a friend of a friend finally connected her to a tattoo artist who specialized in body medications.
The Process Begins
And after hearing about Sydney’s story and learning that she had been determined to put gold rings around her neck since she was in middle school, the artist was convinced and agreed to go ahead with the modifications.
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While Syndey was ready to go all out and add ten or so rings during her first appointment, the artist told her that was impossible. Instead, she would have to start with a few rings first, and only after her body adjusted to them could she add more.
Slow And Painful
It was good advice since even a few rings left burn marks around Sydney’s neck. And each tight ring would pinch at her skin and leave painful bruises as they stretched and elongated her neck.
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But despite Syndey’s extreme discomfort and stares, she was feeling her best emotionally. It didn’t matter that she was physically in pain 24/7 because her childhood dream was being realized.
Completing The Look
It took some time for her body to get used to the idea of having metal rings slowly but surely elongating her neck, but after a few months, she wasn’t in constant discomfort. Instead, her body had adapted to the rings around her neck.
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This allowed Sydney to complete her set, and by the end of the process, the rings alone weighed 5 pounds. Even the person responsible for her body modifications urged her to reduce the number of rings and weight, but Sydney refused to do so.
Fame
Sydney documented her transformation on her social media platform. She had initially done it to remember the process and keep her friends and family in the loop. But when she soon noticed that strangers liked her pictures, she decided to commit herself to sharing her body transformation journey fully.
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She hoped to connect with people who would understand her need and desire to elongate her neck, and she finally found them on the internet. Before she knew it, thousands were following her on social media, and she could make money through sponsorships.
Talk Of The Town
With 5 pounds of gold rings slowly elongating her neck, Syndey finally felt like her looks reflected her essence. But of course, wherever you went, people stared and asked her questions about her neck rings.
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She was a celebrity by now and was even asked to model for several brands looking to use Sydney and her look as a way to launch themselves. The young woman had never expected her childhood dream to turn her into a successful model, but here she was.
Five Years Later
Five years late, Sydney had 16 gold rings around her neck, and while she still loved the look of them and was getting modeling contracts based on her look, the appeal of it all was disappearing for her. She was older now, and the rings made it nearly impossible to do some basic tasks.
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Even wearing clothes was becoming a chore. And during the last five years, Sydney had focused on her career in marketing, and having the neck rings limited the types of projects she could take on.
Second Thoughts
She wasn’t able to swim anymore or even go on hikes. Any form of extreme physical activity left Sydney writhing in pain for weeks. Finally, she felt that the neck rings were doing more harm than good.
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Sydney was also in a committed relationship, and her partner tried to help her feel beautiful without using extreme methods. However, exposed to a new way of looking at herself, Sydney was not as committed to her neck rings as she once was.
Taking Them Off
What pushed her to make a decision was a doctor’s visit, though. She was told that the neck rings put extreme pressure on her collarbone and rib cage. And if Sydney had any hopes of living every day and full life, she should remove the rings immediately.
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And finally, after years of wearing the neck rings and bearing through the pain of her neck slowly elongating, Sydney took off the rings for the sake of her health. While it was an emotional choice, she felt it was right.
New Chapter
As soon as the neck rings were removed, Sydney’s ticket to fame also disappeared. She was prepared for that and was grateful that she had never given up on her marketing career.
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Thankfully, she was committed to helping her body heal from the experience of being unnaturally elongated, and she hired a chiropractor to help her realign her neck and strengthen her body. She also married her partner and welcomed a daughter, Skyler Rose, born in 2017.
No Regrets
Nowadays, Sydney lives a private life with her family. While she doesn’t wear neck rings anymore and has no plans to return, she still has no regrets. “I really enjoyed the feeling of them around my neck,” she claimed.
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The young mother believes that if she hadn’t chosen to wear the neck rings, she would never have been able to find happiness and credits the rings to helping her emotionally grow. While she wouldn’t recommend it to everyone, it was a worthwhile journey for her.