Pumping parties and injectables: How silicone is killing gay men

Injections are all the rage throughout the beauty community, as it allows you to get a fuller, smoother face or other body parts. Whether you rely on Botox, silicone, or fillers, many beauty gurus rely on injectables to get the signature look we all know them to have. 

But as we’ve seen from bad cosmetic surgery photos, it’s easy to mess up these injectables as well. All the research and preparation in the world can’t save you if you go to the wrong doctor to get injections, or worse, try to do DIY injections. Blogger Jack Chapman, better known as Tank Hafertepen, died from silicone injections in 2018.

The blogger known in the gay community in Seattle was in a master-slave relationship with Dylan Hafertepen, as a sub to Hafertepen’s dom. Chapman was also big online for him and Hafertepen’s bear lifestyle, bulking up to be as big as can be. But Chapman wasn’t just bulking up his muscles. He was bulking up his testicles and penis. 

Big changes for Chapman

When Chapman met Hafertepen, he was still fairly new to America after moving from Australia around 2015. The two had been talking online in a long distance relationship as Chapman was exploring the bear community in Australia. 

Hafertepen, known online best for his stories of BDSM circuit parties and his polyandrous relationships, welcomed him with open arms. Chapman’s popularity grew after reaching the states, growing his network of bears. Living with several other “pups”, friends of Chapman became concerned with his relationship.

Abusive relationships with a sexual twist

Past lovers of Hafertepen have noted him to be manipulative, and friends of Chapman felt like he was being taken advantage of thanks to his desire to find his place in the world. Chapman and Hafertepen’s relationship was well documented online, showing the control Hafertepen had over him.

Chapman was told to get a tattoo that said “Property of Master Dylan”, as well as follow a list of rules regarding how his body proportions should be, and if he wants to alter anything, he has to get approval from Hafertepen first. Hafertepen also had control over most of Chapman’s life: his finances, phone, schedule, and online accounts. 

Of course the question remains: did Hafertepen force Chapman to get the silicone injections that took his life?

Injecting to death

While both were using silicone to bulk up their genitalia, both also were publicly warning their followers about being safe while doing it. Making sure you’re not going overboard with size, getting it from proper sources, and having a professional inject the silicone for you. 

Yet as time went on, Chapman’s bulge got bigger and bigger from injections. In 2016, someone asked how big he planned on getting, to which Chapman responded, “Master will decide when enough is enough.” In features about bulking up, Hafertepen noted he had an addiction to getting bigger, so did he push this onto Chapman?

Hafertepen continues to deny that he forced Chapman to get the injectables in the first place, nor that he forced him to get as big as he did. Claiming that Chapman wanted to get big on his own and he only helped him do it safely, Hafertepen denies responsibility for his death. 

Why it’s dangerous

People fail to realize the full danger they put themselves in when they even get a little bit of a silicone injection, let alone try to go too big. Whether you inject it into your genitalia or your lips, you need to know the side effects you’re risking. 

First off, if you’re not using proper mixtures for the injections, removing the silicone will cause more harm than good, even if you’re suffering. The silicone will shift, meaning any removal can damage the surrounding tissue remaining. In even more severe cases, it can enter the bloodstream and cause serious damage.

Even legitimate silicone can still enter the bloodstream if it’s used in excess. Chapman died from lung issues relating to silicone injectables, specifically an embolism in his lungs. That silicone most likely entered his bloodstream, traveled to his lungs, causing a blockage in an artery. 

Will Hafertepen go to jail?

As one Seattle Police Department spokesperson said, there isn’t anything they can charge Hafertepen with in terms of Chapman’s death. If a boyfriend introduces someone to heroin, they use it and get hooked, then overdose and die, they can’t hold the person that introduced them responsible. 

Since the silicone is being treated like an illegal drug overdose, they cannot charge Hafertepen with Chapman’s death, regardless if he was the one who told Chapman to get injections or not. But this will hopefully leave a lasting impact on the community, warning what silicone can do if not used properly.