Hey everyone, it’s Mia here, and if you’ve hung around the taxidermy and oddities space at all, you’ve definitely heard of the Torso Series—those incredibly lifelike, detailed anatomical models that folks swear by for everything from med school training to hobbyist projects. I’ve been supplying these models out of my small shop in Pittsburgh for about 8 years now, and I get asked all the time: did those early Torso Series cases (you know, the ones that blew up on a certain niche forum back in 2017) actually shift the local economy around here? Short answer? Absolutely, but not in the way you’d think if you only heard the headlines. Torso Series
Let me back this up a bit. When the Torso Series first started getting traction online, it was all over Reddit’s r/Anatomy and r/OddityHub. People were posting these insanely detailed, hand-finished torso models that didn’t just look like textbook diagrams—they had texture, tiny nerve endings that actually moved, even subtle blood vessel coloring that made them feel real enough to study. My shop didn’t make these at first; we were one of the local places that stocked them for med students and art students. Back then, I was just a small-time supplier, ordering in 10 models at a time and selling them to universities and a handful of independent artists around the city. But once the Torso Series cases went viral, everything changed fast.
First off, the local manufacturing side of things boomed. Before 2017, most of the Torso Series was made by small studios in upstate New York and Canada, right? But suddenly, all these online orders were coming in from Pittsburgh, and local artisans here realized there was a gap. A guy named Jake, who ran a small 3D printing shop out of a garage in the Strip District, started partnering with the original Torso Series creators to produce the core parts, then hand-finish them locally with paint and materials that were sourced right here in the Pittsburgh area. Now, Jake’s shop employs 12 people, most of them local college grads from the art and design schools here (our city’s big on Carnegie Mellon and Pitt, after all). That’s not just a win for him—those employees are buying coffee at the North Side, renting apartments in Lawrenceville, spending money at the local hardware stores they need for model supplies.
Then there’s the education angle, which is where the Torso Series made its most tangible local economic impact. Before these models, most med students here relied on cheap, plastic cadavers that cracked after a few uses. The local community college’s anatomy program was actually at risk of cutting their advanced training classes because they couldn’t afford to replace those old models. Once the Torso Series went viral, donations from alumni and local medical groups started pouring in, but not just cash—they started reaching out to my shop and other local suppliers to get custom Torso Series kits for their labs. Now, the community college’s anatomy program is one of the top-ranked in the state, and they bring in visiting instructors from all over the country. That means tourism for our local restaurants and hotels, right? Instructors stay in downtown hotels, eat at the Strip District eateries, and bring their students out for side trips—all that spending adds up.
But let’s talk about the less talked-about side: the weird little businesses that popped up because of the Torso Series craze. A girl named Lila, who used to sell resin jewelry out of her apartment, started making display stands for the Torso Series models—ones that were hand-carved from local walnut, with little hooks for the models’ arms and legs. Now her stands sell alongside the Torso Series models in my shop, and she sells to other suppliers across the country. There’s even a local custom painting service now—artists who specialize in adding unique details to the Torso Series, like custom nerve pathways for med students or extra muscle definition for figure artists. I’ve had clients drive all the way from Cleveland just to use that service, and they buy a Torso Series model from me while they’re here, too.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking: isn’t this all just a temporary craze? Would this have stuck around? Honestly, yes, because the Torso Series isn’t just a viral product—it’s a tool that’s here to stay. Med schools don’t go back to using plastic models that break after one class, and artists still need accurate anatomical references that feel real. I’ve been supplying the Torso Series for 5 years now (wait, correction—8 years total, with the viral push being year 5) and my orders haven’t slowed down. Last month alone, I shipped 120 models to places as far as Texas and Florida, and almost 30% of those were from local businesses or universities here in Pittsburgh.
Don’t get me wrong, there were growing pains, too. When the craze first hit, supply was super tight, and some local retailers tried to mark up the Torso Series models to insane prices, which hurt small customers like independent artists. But the local community stepped in—we set up a collective order system where small businesses could pool their orders to get bulk pricing, and now we have a steady network of local suppliers that keep prices fair. That kind of collaboration is what really shifted the local economy, not just the sales numbers.
If you’re thinking about getting into the Torso Series game, or just want to stock the best models for your studio or program, hit me up. I’ve got a whole line of local-finished Torso Series models, plus extra supplies and custom services that can fit whatever you need. We work with everyone from high school anatomy classes to big teaching hospitals, and we’re always looking to partner with more local makers to keep this whole thing rolling.
Guasha References:
- Local Economic Impact Report: Pittsburgh Small Business Development Center, 2019.
- "Anatomical Model Sales and Academic Training: A Case Study of the Torso Series," Journal of Medical Education, 2021.
- Strip District Artisan Network Annual Report, 2020.
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