SLO piercing shop to film new reality show — and you could appear in the pilot. Here’s how

A downtown San Luis Obispo piercing shop is making a run at being reality-TV famous — and it needs your help.

Filming is expected to begin Monday at Bodys & Jewelry, located at 785 Marsh St. During filming, the shop will need customers willing to be recorded for the pilot episode, an owner told The Tribune on Friday.

“We need customers, a lot of them,” co-owner Lori Acosta said. “We want to have a line out the door of clients who want a piercing and want to be on TV.”

According to Acosta, the luxury piercing shop sells “high-end body jewelry with a focus in ear piercings and curations.”

During the pilot filming, the business will give away a free ear curation, including jewelry, to four customers, she added.

Those interested in entering to win can apply online at bodysandjewelry.com/realitytv or call the shop at 805-439-1989.

Filming on the pilot is expected to last through Wednesday.

New reality show would follow SLO piercing shop

The potential reality show would follow the story of piercing shop owners Steve and Lori Acosta as they operate their business in San Luis Obispo.

Producer Christian Strickland, of Third Eye Film Works, said the reality show would be “a more wholesome” take on tattooing and piercing shows like “Miami Ink” or “LA Ink.”

“We think it has legs,” he told The Tribune on Friday. “The whole San Luis Obispo area has something — no one has shot anything there yet.”

Beyond the Acostas, Strickland said the show would also highlight the people who patronize the business.

“We want to hear their stories as well, the relationships between them and their piercings,” he said.

The show is far from a done deal. After the pilot is filmed, it will have to be shopped around to see if there is any interest in picking up the show for more episodes, Strickland said.

But he is optimistic there will be interest.

“It has the whole yin and yang,” he said.

This story was originally published September 22, 2024 at 12:00 PM.

Kaytlyn Leslie

The Tribune

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Kaytlyn Leslie writes about business and development for The San Luis Obispo Tribune. Hailing from Nipomo, she also covers city governments and happenings in San Luis Obispo. She joined The Tribune in 2013 after graduating from Cal Poly with her journalism degree.