OT - Do you have a tattoo? What does it mean to you?

[Shelby]

Alternatively, if you're deadset against getting tattoos, what is your reasoning?

 

[orangejuice07]

I am a tattoo artist and i have 8 tattoos. over 30 hours of work total. not even close to done. I love tattoos. Some people dont and to each is own but I have lots to go. My dad took me to get my first tattoo. a leprechaun tattoo that he has on his leg to represent our irish heritage and my brother now has it also. I also have a tattoo I got with one of my best friends a couple days before he left for Iraq.

 

[619muscle]

one on my back reads: SEMPER MEMORIA (always in memory or my life in memory) Below it are the numbers 9/11 (date) and 343 (number of firefighters that died on 9/11/01)

no plans to get anymore

 

[nycressida]

i have 2 from bicep to trap. one is a taurus my sign. the other is the cuban and puerto rican flag sharing the same star im half and half. i designed both tats.

 

[HawaiiMuscle]

I was going through a rough time in my life (but knew deep down I would be ok) and decided to get a tattoo of a beaten weathered stone with the chinese symbol strength ingraved into it.
Anytime something in my life in not going right, i look and it and remember that shit can be alot worse.

 

[Medic08]

Full Japanese sleeve on left arm, full rib piece on right side which is a hand holding a heart in front of a burning building, and the avenged sevenfold death bat on my back which goes from rear delt to rear delt. Honestly none of them have any true significance to my life. I'm just a fan of art, medicine, and music and all of my tattoos have that incorperated somehow. I plan on gettng my right arm sleeved one day.... What is sad is my job makes me wear long sleeves at work because of my full sleeve. Tattoos are a lot more acceptable now then say 10 years ago. Just as long as they're not disrespectful I really don't see why I should have to cover them up. I get multiple compliments all the time from complete strangers about my tattoos.

Shelby are you thinking of getting a tattoo?

 

[SmallTownIron]

This hits a soft spot for me Shelby so it helps me out when I can talk about this.

Left Shoulder : This was my first tattoo. It is a airplaine flying through clouds with a quote around it saying, "The purpose in life is a life with purpose".
On November 16, 2004, my older brother (by one year) was on the way to the hospital to see my "Papa" as he had a heart attack just moments earlier. On the way to the hospital, the left rear tire on my brother's vehicle came apart which resulted into him loosing control, flipping and eventually becoming airborne and striking a tree. He was announced "Dead on arrival" by FDOT. He was the one who set the bar for me and who I looked up to...and still do.

Right Shoulder Blade : This was my second tattoo. It is a portrait of an old man and a young kid fishing off of a cloud. The old man represents my "Papa" and the young kid is me. Below this are three words "Papa & Wewas". Wewas was a name my Papa used to call me since I was just baby. It was somethign I used to call Santa Claus so he just started calling me Wewas.
I mentioned that my older brother was on the way to see my Papa in the hositpal. Well, my Papa did not make it through the day or even a few moments after he left in the ambulance. So I lost both my Papa and older brother within 5 minutes of one another.
My Papa was my father growing up. He taught me everything a young man would need to know; how to bait my own hook, take a fish off the hook, work on things, build bird houses, took my hunting, taught me how to cook on the grill, play ball, how to hit a ball...everything!

Middle of Back : This is my third tattoo. It is two words " STAND STRONG". In September 2007, I was rushed to the ER due to having a pulse of 36 bpm. After being in the hospital for 3 weeks, loosing over 30 lbs, sleeping 4 hours a day due to running so many test, fasting for DAYS at a time and eventually leaving with a pacemaker..this caused me to become very depressed. I wouldnt eat, wouldnt talk and everyone was getting very worried about me; there were dies I didnt think I would wake up for my sleep.
This turned around for the best when I met SHELBY. I took him on to help me get back on track. He guided me with my eating, training, and kept me motivated when I wanted to give up. I have built a friendship with him through all this and I thank the LORD above that I met SHELBY as HE DID SAVE MY LIFE!!
But "STAND STRONG" represents that if you want to see the green grass on the other side, you have to stand strong when you feel like giving up and this represents the pain, agoney and stress I put myself though.

Left Shoulder Blade: This was my fourth and FINAL tattoo. This is an outline of two doves I drew up myself. Why two doves? Its may seem a bit "off" but it is a good point. When my brother and Papa both died, we have doves on both of their caskets and also engrave on their head stones. Everything time I would look around the yard or wherever I was, there always seems to be two doves. This is when a part me came to relize that they just werent two dove...this was my brother and my Papa.

Hope I didnt bore you all. But as I sit here in whiping the tears from my face, I feel as if I may not be the only once who has meaning ink on their body.


Thank you for this, Shelby!

 

[Jello]

Don't have any, not that I'm against them, just haven't found anything that I wanted bad enough.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

I have one. I wish I wouldn't have gotten it because one small tattoo looks silly (I think). Mine is chinese for strength.

Now that I have it, I want more. I'm getting the Darwin fish, the flying spaghetti monster, the anarchy A, the molecular structure for testosterone, and possibly others. Most of mine will be symbols of who I am. If you see me shirtless at the beach, I want you to know what kind of person you'll be talking to if you decide to strike up a conversation.

 

[whiteknucks]

This hits a soft spot for me Shelby so it helps me out when I can talk about this.

Left Shoulder : This was my first tattoo. It is a airplaine flying through clouds with a quote around it saying, "The purpose in life is a life with purpose".
On November 16, 2004, my older brother (by one year) was on the way to the hospital to see my "Papa" as he had a heart attack just moments earlier. On the way to the hospital, the left rear tire on my brother's vehicle came apart which resulted into him loosing control, flipping and eventually becoming airborne and striking a tree. He was announced "Dead on arrival" by FDOT. He was the one who set the bar for me and who I looked up to...and still do.

Right Shoulder Blade : This was my second tattoo. It is a portrait of an old man and a young kid fishing off of a cloud. The old man represents my "Papa" and the young kid is me. Below this are three words "Papa & Wewas". Wewas was a name my Papa used to call me since I was just baby. It was somethign I used to call Santa Claus so he just started calling me Wewas.
I mentioned that my older brother was on the way to see my Papa in the hositpal. Well, my Papa did not make it through the day or even a few moments after he left in the ambulance. So I lost both my Papa and older brother within 5 minutes of one another.
My Papa was my father growing up. He taught me everything a young man would need to know; how to bait my own hook, take a fish off the hook, work on things, build bird houses, took my hunting, taught me how to cook on the grill, play ball, how to hit a ball...everything!

Middle of Back : This is my third tattoo. It is two words " STAND STRONG". In September 2007, I was rushed to the ER due to having a pulse of 36 bpm. After being in the hospital for 3 weeks, loosing over 30 lbs, sleeping 4 hours a day due to running so many test, fasting for DAYS at a time and eventually leaving with a pacemaker..this caused me to become very depressed. I wouldnt eat, wouldnt talk and everyone was getting very worried about me; there were dies I didnt think I would wake up for my sleep.
This turned around for the best when I met SHELBY. I took him on to help me get back on track. He guided me with my eating, training, and kept me motivated when I wanted to give up. I have built a friendship with him through all this and I thank the LORD above that I met SHELBY as HE DID SAVE MY LIFE!!
But "STAND STRONG" represents that if you want to see the green grass on the other side, you have to stand strong when you feel like giving up and this represents the pain, agoney and stress I put myself though.

Left Shoulder Blade: This was my fourth and FINAL tattoo. This is an outline of two doves I drew up myself. Why two doves? Its may seem a bit "off" but it is a good point. When my brother and Papa both died, we have doves on both of their caskets and also engrave on their head stones. Everything time I would look around the yard or wherever I was, there always seems to be two doves. This is when a part me came to relize that they just werent two dove...this was my brother and my Papa.

Hope I didnt bore you all. But as I sit here in whiping the tears from my face, I feel as if I may not be the only once who has meaning ink on their body.


Thank you for this, Shelby!

thats deep man. my tattoos are all very personal also. without going into detail, i have two on my shoulders for each of my daughters and one on my arm to remind me of how it used to be and where i came from.

 

[number twelve]

i have the creation of adam on my left rib cage - speaks for itself

 

[Medic08]

I have one. I wish I wouldn't have gotten it because one small tattoo looks silly (I think). Mine is chinese for strength.

Now that I have it, I want more. I'm getting the Darwin fish, the flying spaghetti monster, the anarchy A, the molecular structure for testosterone, and possibly others. Most of mine will be symbols of who I am. If you see me shirtless at the beach, I want you to know what kind of person you'll be talking to if you decide to strike up a conversation.

Wrecking balm actually works great for removing smaller faded tattoos or atleast enough to fade it enough to where you can get a cover up tattoo.

 

[J_Diggs]

I don't have one but maybe some day!

 

[doc]

half sleeve on my left arm, modeled after a 16th century sea faring map, i was a sailor and it was my last tribute to the navy right before i got out.

Also have a pig on top of my left foot and a chicken on top of my right.
There are two versions of the story as to why a pig and chicken will prevent a sailor from drowning. The first is just that pigs and chickens do not like water, so they would like to be out of the water as soon as possible. A slightly more plausible explanation is that pigs and chickens were often carried on deck in wooden pens. In a shipwreck the pens would often wash ashore with the other debris from the ship. Pigs and chickens were at times th only survivors of ship wrecks. A more prosaic explanation was that having a pig and chicken tattoo would guarantee that a sailor eats well as he carries his hams and eggs with him at all times.
I got these two tattoos for my grandfather who was a sailor during world war 2 in the coast guard. He was the one who told me about them, and that he regretted never getting them during his service. He died while I was on deployment so when I returned stateside, I got them for him because he never did.

 

[Tom]

divorce tattoo on my left shoulder....small red heart( size of a quarter) with a lightning bolt going through it.

 

[ScottMcD1]

\ the flying spaghetti monster

Awesome lol

I know I'll eventually get some work done but I haven't figured out what it will be yet.

 

[IcyChill]

I'm thinking about getting a half sleeve tribal tattoo that would go into my pec. It would mean absolutly nothing to me but I just love black tribal designs. Still debating wether or not to get it.

 

[Alex A]

I have my daughters name and D.O.B written on my left shoulder..

I want to put a portrate of my son next to her name...Im working on that.

I auditioned for LA Ink and got an interview to have Kat do a portrate of him on my shoulder.. Hes one year old...shes 4

Anyways.. Your kids are your blood ....and I love them more than anything.. Im very proud to sport the name Alexis, my daughters name on me for the rest of my life.. Got the tat done during my prep for the 06 NPC LA and USA.. it was a good luck charm.

 

[JETHRO TULL]

I like tattoos but am afraid I wouldn't like it after a while.

I have my daughters name and D.O.B written on my left shoulder..

I want to put a portrate of my son next to her name...Im working on that.

I auditioned for LA Ink and got an interview to have Kat do a portrate of him on my shoulder.. Hes one year old...shes 4

Anyways.. Your kids are your blood ....and I love them more than anything.. Im very proud to sport the name Alexis, my daughters name on me for the rest of my life.. Got the tat done during my prep for the 06 NPC LA and USA.. it was a good luck charm.

Alex, your physique rocks, man!

 

[mike1107]

I have 5, tribals and japanese stuff