i've always liked steve-o's

+1 on this. don't get it because you can. get it because it means something.

I got some when I was 18 just to get them, Always regret them, wanting to get them removed. If you don't know, and you're just going to do it for the hell of it. Keep your body clean you don't want regrets in a year or 2.

I actually have had 2 tattoos removed, both on my upper neck. I was lucky, they were both just black and not very deep and small, but bigger/deeper/more complex ones can take forever!

Why did I have them removed? I thought I was going into film and radio at the time so thought "fuck it" all "punk rock" style and did it. Later, when I realized I was NOT going into those fields and had a wife, I started changing my mind.

Another good tip: LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!

I say wait if you gotta man, you'll really appreciate it more.

that guy with the earth crisis tattoo on his face...yikes.

personally i don't have any. i can appreciate those who do, but i could never commit to just one design for the rest of my life.

if you don't know, don't go. or wait until you figure out what you want.
and then wait 6 months and see if it's the same choice.

i live vicariously through others. i'm not allowed to have one now

Once you've past life's halfway mark (if yer lucky), established a career, a family and most of your life choices have been already been made, it kinda becomes less of a major commitment.

I kinda despair at some of the beautiful young people getting some random ink or there face filled full of holes just because it's the thing to do! . . . I can see a lotta regrets and Laser Tattoo Removal being a boom industry in 5-10 years time!



Great advice!

i always thought that i might get one after i turn 40, but i've been told otherwise

at this point, i would still get it somewhere that isn't visible to everyone anyway. probably my shoulder or back, perhaps a leg, but definitely someplace it could be covered up.

i'm sure some of the tattoo enthusiasts here will roll their eyes at that comment, but to me it would be a personal thing for myself, not the entire world to look at. and i'm also too practical when it comes to holding a job, etc. working for a conservative investment bank will do that to you i suppose.

Sounds on the money to me! . . . . I'm half suited but my sleeves stop a couple of inches shy of my wrists for that very reason . . . even when you don't really give a damn in general there are always going to be times when discretion may be needed (my Gran still doesn't know I'm tattooed . . . I'd never hear the end of it!

I've got a couple of dumb ones done when I was 15. But i'd never get them removed, they have their own charm and stories around them.

Tattoo's also don't have to mean something. Watching Miami Ink and seeing someone trying to justify and produce a story about why they've picked a swallow tattoo gets real old.

Just re read my post . . . damn I'm soundin' like my dad!

i was thinking about a set of wings on my lower back

oooo some ass antlers

I think you should get a dude tramp stamp.

If the ones I had removed weren't TOTALLY visible all the time (my neck) I wouldn't have, so much money and time.

I agree on your second statement too, though "I got this naked goth-fairy because my dad died" type stories crack me up. Or rather, it should mean something in a sense , but it doesn't NEED to be something deep and thoughtful with some crazy story.

1. find a good tattoo artist, one that you have seen work from and know people who have gotten work done from said artist (with positive reviews of course)

2. take some source material in, a pic of the monster you want (lets say you want Bemon) along with a pic of another tattoo or design that has a similar treatment of what you want done with the monster pic(say a pic of the sacred heart of Jesus). Tell the tattooer that you want a bemon in a sacred heart of jesus pose/treatment.

3. Listen to the tattoo artist for ideas and suggestions. This is their medium, a good one knows what they are talking about especially when it comes to how images translate onto skin

4. get tattooed

5. pay tattoo artist (expect to pay around $100 per hour)

hey, that's looks cool. i think it will compliment well with my micro sweat shorts with my alma mater's name on the back.

Barber shop pole.

I'm with you 100% my tattoos mean much less then people want them to, but they are like bookmarks to me.
Permenant reminders of points in my life.
And considering my memory is shit, i need all the help I can get.

But I wouldn't say that bad memory should in anyway work into a reason for getting a tattoo, you'll just end up like the memento guy.
Find something you like. Make sure it fits that part of your body or find where it is best suited.
Go from there.

That whole "it represents the time my son fell down a well and the firemen save him by tying 9 lucky cats into a rope and pulled him out only to find my nan attached to his leg, what a lucky lucky wonderful day" bullshit can go straight out the window, makes me sick. Fuck off and be sentimental somewhere else. My body is blank to be filled, and not with pictures of my childhood puppy or my fucking mother, but whatever I choose, whether it makes sense or not.
You try explaining that that Samurai Zombie represents the birth of your cancer ridden first son - actually it might... that would be a really cool thing now that I think of it. I hope my kid has cancer so I can get that tattoo...

sorry for the rant... and if you have a kid with cancer... or a nan that got trapped in a well....

I worked in a tattoo shop for 4 years and nothing bothers me more than about that show. It makes me want to go out to the first shop I see and get a aloha monkey.

Anyways what magilla and blooddrinker said is correct.

Here's something though for you guys. In 2004 a small group of my friends and I, who are all pretty heavily tattooed, decided to fuck up our lives even more. We did a tattoo grab bag. There were a few rules but basically we all put a idea in a bag and pulled it out. What you pulled is what you got. The rules were as follows:
1. No words, tribal or swazis(or anything related).
2. You had to get it done within 30 days or everybody involved gets to punch you in the face.
3. The tattoo had to have 10/20/04 in it somewhere. That was the day we pulled.
4.You get to pick who does it and where it goes.
5.anything goes(almost rule1), even letters. "No words" did not mean you couldn't use legit abbreviations.
6. NO COVERS UPS! see rule 2.

I pulled a good luck troll. Not nearly the worst one. I just looked for photos but couldn't find any.

I think you should just get the words "your name" tattooed somewhere. That way, you can go into bars and do stuff like this:

"Hey, I'll bet you a beer that I have your name tattooed on my ass."

"No way. Okay, you're on."

(you drop your pants to show the tattoo that says, "your name")

Could be profitable.

i got a rat because i like em

this will matching tattoo number 2 for you and me.

Ok, now that sounds good.

this thread is gonna make me go get some more

you can't afford not to