[2][3] Born Roland Loomis, at age 4, he claimed to have experienced dreams of past lives which, along with his anthropological studies, influenced his interests in body modification.

[5] He was an extra ('Man in hotel room') in Die Jungfrauen Maschine (The Virgin Machine) in 1988,[7] and in 1991, he appeared in My Father Is Coming as Fakir.

[15] His death was initially announced in a public Facebook post by his wife Cléo Dubois, and later confirmed by an obituary in Artforum.

[21] UC Berkeley's Bancroft Library and the Association of Professional Piercers also have large archives of his work in photography, published writings, workshops, and BodyPlay magazines.

His memorial bench in Byxbee Park in Palo Alto reads "Body is the door to Spirit".