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The story of Jim Ward and Gauntlet is the direct result of the financial success of Doug Malloy (real name Richard Simonton), who made his fortune from selling distribution rights of recordings that he made of great European orchestras. According to Jim Ward Doug seems to have been the source of numerous lies such as Romans holding their capes on with nipple rings and various versatile uses for a Prince Albert piercing.
What made Doug so valuable is that he was obsessed with the idea of popularizing body piercing, and dedicated his resources to bring like minded people together.
According to Jim Ward Richard Simontons ashes were scattered, and his immediate family did not share his interest in body modification, and would prefer that he be remembered for his contribution to the music industry.
Richard Simonton (alias Doug Malloy) provided the start up money for Jim Ward to start Gauntlet, which was not profitable until Elaine Binnie (now known as Elaine Angel) came on staff. Sadly due to claims of unreliable production schedules, uneven quality, and alleged mismanagement Elaine moved from the West coast to New Orleans out of respect for Jim. Unfortunately Gauntlet fell into bankruptcy and the body piercing industry that it helped popularize was largely taken over by tattoo shops that do piercing as a sideline to tattooing.
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