What do you think of tattoos? Do you have any or plan to?

[Prowler]

Women who have tons of tattoos? Turn off. A small tattoo or two is fine. Wouldn't turn me off.

[Andrew NDB]

I love it. Like Kat Von D-types? Super sexy.

[Leo656]

I'm a fan - I mean, I have a few, so obviously - and people can do whatever they wanna do, but I agree that there's generally a way to go overboard and have too many, and that to me doesn't look good, or else like some things just don't work for certain people. But again, people can do whatever they wanna do.

Like on one hand, I'm mixed on "sleeves". On one hand, okay, kinda cool - although yeah, you definitely have to have some tone or else they don't look good - but also, most times it just looks like a jumbled-up mess of ink and you can't even tell what anything is, anyway. Guys like Undertaker, CM Punk, or Randy Orton, it's like, good for you and I'm sure there's actually a rhyme and reason to it all, but it sure doesn't look like it to an outside observer. You'd never be able to tell what's going on unless you stared at it all up close while they explained it to you bit by bit, and that'd be weird.

And some things are just odd choices. Like guys who get tramp stamps. What the hell? There's a wrestler some people here may know (most people don't) who goes by Lance Hoyt/Lance Archer, he's a huge dude but he has a f*cking tramp stamp, and I'm convinced it's why he was never a bigger star in the wrestling business. Been around for like 20 years, he's huge, he has a good look, does okay at the actual wrestling part... but that F*CKING tramp stamp, man. Nobody has ever taken him seriously and he never really went anywhere despite having all the "gifts"... and I'm 100% convinced it's all because he went and got himself a ladies' tattoo when he was young and stupid. DO NOT get a tramp stamp, guys. Girls, it's fine if you have the ass to pull it off (shovel-ass chicks should avoid it), but guys? DO NOT do it.

Even CM Punk has some weird ones. I don't meant he Pepsi logo or the Cobra Commander insignia, that's whatever. I mean that the f*cker's supposed to be some tough guy and then he went and got a bunch'a f*cking' daisies tattooed all over his chest. I mean yeah, he also has a skull with a snake running through the eyes on top of it, but still... dude has a bunch of pretty flowers all over his chest, and that's just... I don't know, man.

But it's whatever, people can do what they want. I have four. First was in 1997, I was 15; things were loose back then and if you paid cash and you had a family member sign off on it, nobody was too concerned. My Dad came with me even though he wasn't a fan of tattoos, he was however a fan of doing what you like so he was supportive. Just a generic heart/sword/snake "rocker" kinda tattoo, because I wanted my first one to be something rather simple and affordable. I was the only kid at my school who had one, so that was cool, I was something of a celebrity when I went back to school on Monday. Soon after that a few other people started getting 'em. That was cool, I was a trend-setter.

Second one was 1998 or '99, the Guns N Roses cross from the cover of "Appetite For Destruction". I had wanted that to be my first one, but it would've been too expensive and I needed to thicken up my arms, first. That one came out great, but it's blurry now, still not bad for how old it is though. Ended up being about $500 for a one-shot, took about four hours. Bled like a motherf*cker, though. Sometimes they bleed, sometimes they don't; that one sure did. The guy asked me at one point, "Did you drink like three cups of coffee before you came in here?" I was like "No, why?" And he's like "Usually only big fat f*cks bleed this much when we ink 'em."

Third one was the "M" logo from the hood of the Mach 5; I got that one in 2008 when the movie was out. One day on a whim I just came home after work, walked a mile across town to the local shop and asked them to do it. Didn't tell my wife or anything; she was thrilled when she saw it but bummed I didn't wait for her so she could come with me. I wasn't in the mood to wait for her to get home, though, it was just an impulsive thing. What annoys me though is that nobody ever recognizes what it is since Speed Racer is so obscure these days. What's funny is that even a lot of people who know Speed Racer ask, and then when I tell them they're like, "Wow, I'm an idiot, I should've known that."

And then most recently is the Superman logo, which I finally got right after "BvS: Dawn of Justice" came out. I'd always wanted it but I'd been putting it off for some dumb reason; I had a couple hundred bucks laying around and was like "F*ck it, let's get it done finally."

There's more that I want but all the "good spots" are taken; I don't want anything on my back or my legs or anything like that. I'd love to get some more band logos, or like the Ghostbusters logo or the He-Man cross, or the sword, but I'm not sure where I'd put 'em. I think inside-bicep tattoos look a little weird so I'm not really looking to do that. Shoulders and outer arms for me, pretty much. And besides, I really need to get all of mine touched up before I get any new ones, especially the GNR one.

That's the one "bad" thing about tattoos, is eventually you gotta get some maintenance done and if it's a big piece that can be a drag. It's gonna cost me about as much as the original work cost, to get the GNR one fixed. That's a bummer.

It's actually fun though, I definitely recommend everyone get at least one. It doesn't hurt, it's a rather pleasant feeling generally. Depending where it is you don't feel much of anything. The only one that hurt at all was the second half of the GNR tat, that one started to sting because it took so long to do, so they were having to really dig into the fresh scar tissue to put the color and shading on, but even with that you kinda go numb after a while. It really wasn't bad and that's a big piece of work so you can't even compare it to the stuff most people get their first time, which is usually something small.

Hopefully I'll get at least one more one day. Like I said, I don't wanna go nuts but I'm a fan of the experience. It's rather addicting. People sometimes laugh when you say that but if you know, you know. As soon as you're done getting one you wanna go back and get another one. Almost everybody says this.

[Prowler]

Sleeve tattoos and tattoos that cover the majority of your body shouldn't be done unless you work or aim to work in a field where it's commonplace or no one cares if you have tattoos. Like the music industry, for example.

If you're a med or law student, getting a bunch of tattoos in visible parts of your body that you can't really cover up isn't a very smart thing to do.

[Andrew NDB]

Yeah, I wouldn't get sleeves. No way. I'm even a little peeved my middle chest tattoo goes up juuuust high enough that if I'm wearing a button up shirt, if I don't button the top most button, you can see part of it poking up. Was not my intent.

Tramp stamps on dudes? No way. As for the medical field I've been seeing a ton of people in it with more and more tattoos over the years.

[Powder]

I have two, I'd like more. I have a skin condition that wouldn't fancy me doing so, though, so that may be it. If that (& money) weren't an issue, I'd probably be covered head to toe, honestly.

[Leo656]

When I used to move furniture for a living, there was a scumbag-type kid working there, like 18-19 years old, quite a few tats and piercings and whatnot. One day, he comes in to work with a bunch of tattoos going all the way up his neck. We all just laughed. A couple of the older guys were like, "Great job, asshole! You're gonna be movin' furniture the rest of your f*cking life, now!" And the kid, being a dumb kid, was like, "Psssh, I don't care!" And the guys in their 40s and 50s laughed even harder and were like, "Yeah... you WILL, dumbass!"

The guy was always getting arrested for drugs and sh*t so he was probably never gonna get a decent job ANY f*cking way, but the fact is that regardless of all that he permanently cut himself off from any chance of a good future even if he'd stayed on the straight and narrow. Because "It looked cool." Good grief.

Like, do what you want, sure, but understand the Realities and the Consequences of your actions. Face or neck tats mean you're permanently stuck making less than thirty grand a year, forever, unless you're already rich and famous and that's obviously a whole other story. Real People can't/shouldn't do sh*t like that, it's dumb. Cutting your own neck for no reason.

[Prowler]

I met a guy like that when I was in HS. He was an aspiring musician and also did a lot of drugs.

I know having tattoos doesn't define your character, but I think old people have a point in not trusting someone who's tattooed all the way from their legs to their neck. There's a reason you don't find guys like that working white collar jobs.

[Leo656]

Ah for sure, it demonstrates impulsiveness and poor long-term planning. A guy who got their favorite band's logo tattooed on his neck at age 17 is telling you without words that he can't think beyond six seconds into the future, and you simply can't trust people like that with anything important. Plus, statistically, people with lots of tattoos DO tend to drink more and do more drugs than people with no tattoos at all, so there's another thing.

It's like a chick who f*cks a different guy every night. You're 100% allowed to do that but I have serious questions about your character and decision-making skills.

[Prowler]

I know they say to never judge a person by their appearance... but we all do that. Let's not try to pretend society doesn't judge people as soon as they first see them.

There's a reason most guys aren't allowed to go to their office jobs with long hair and ZZ Top like beards. I used to get a lot more weird looks back in the days where I adopted the typical Metalhead look than nowadays where I keep my hair short.

[Leo656]

For sure. I openly cop to being judgmental as f*ck, I don't care. I stopped playing the "You can't judge a book by its cover" game when I figured out a long, long time ago that 9 out of 10 times, yeah, you can.

That saying was clearly coined by the 1 out of 10 people who don't represent the stereotype. But stereotypes exist for a reason, the reason being they're true far more often than not.

I'm probably one of the most judgmental people anyone could ever meet. But... eh.

[Prowler]

Not to mention the way people dress and present themselves in public is a way for them to express themselves. I can't tell you if you're a nice or mean person just by the way you dress, but I can look at Kevin Eastman and tell he definitely smokes weed. As if going to art school wasn't proof enough already.

Just like if I see a Metalhead I know he likes beer. And if he does that... he's an exception to the rule.

[Leo656]

I mean, sometimes there's circumstances.

Example: Again, back to when I was a mover. Lotta those guys are very racist. That turned into a whole debate amongst the crew about why this one driver hated working with black people. He said "Listen, it's like this: 'If they're Black, they smoke Crack'. That's how it goes, and I don't wanna deal with it!" And I'm like, "That's not ALWAYS true, c'mon. They don't ALL smoke crack." And he's like, "Every black person on Earth? No. Every black guy in THIS f*cking business? YES, 100%." And everybody else kinda sheepishly shrugs and is like, "...Well... okay, yeah, unfortunately that is true, yeah..." And then we all just had to admit the guy was technically correct and so someone eventually just changed the subject.

So it's circumstantial, sometimes.

[newfan]

I don't have any, I just don't like them. I know a number of women who have like a small discreetly placed one but even that doesn't appeal to me.
To each their own though.

[Andrew NDB]

I think the culture about tattoos has vastly changed since the 90s, though. If you're not thinking about getting into high level sales (I'm talking corporate level, not like a car salesman) or be a lawyer, you'll probably be OK nowadays.

Particularly now. It is HARD to find employees now, post-COVID. People barely come to their first interview let alone anything else. If you walk into an interview charming, with a decent resume and full arm tattoos, I don't think you'll be shuffled down right now. In fact, I know it.

[Wildcat]

I know I mentioned it in another topic awhile back the only tattoo I’d ever get is the Sonic Team logo (minus the text). The silhouette of his head. Small on my upper shoulder. Not that I’m planning on it. Just if I decided to. Nothing else.

I agree with others that said a bunch of them are a big turn off. I don’t mind them on girls as long they’re reasonable and not covering a big portion of their body. It depends. Something nice or personal. Everyone has something meaningful to them. Nothing scary

No movie monsters or supernatural figures. I know some people have Chucky tattoos. I love Chucky but I don’t want to see him on someone I’m attracted to.

Imo a tattoo should be something simple that stands out just enough to make a statement when visible. Logos, symbols, a phrase, a particular shape etc. Many come off perfectly fine but the human body just looks better clean.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

I know I mentioned it in another topic awhile back the only tattoo I’d ever get is the Sonic Team logo (minus the text). The silhouette of his head. Small on my upper shoulder. Not that I’m planning on it. Just if I decided to. Nothing else.

I agree with others that said a bunch of them are a big turn off. I don’t mind them on girls as long they’re reasonable and not covering a big portion of their body. It depends. Something nice or personal. Everyone has something meaningful to them. Nothing scary

No movie monsters or supernatural figures. I know some people have Chucky tattoos. I love Chucky but I don’t want to see him on someone I’m attracted to.

Imo a tattoo should be something simple that stands out just enough to make a statement when visible. Logos, symbols, a phrase, a particular shape etc. Many come off perfectly fine but the human body just looks better clean.

I think I agree with you. Small simple tattoos seem to be the best ones. Like I dunno, a triforce or a snake.

[NeonTurtledude]

I don't have any tattoos but I remember as a kid when visiting my little cousin's school Christmas fair that I got a temporary one, it was of a rainbow butterfly on my hand, it looked nice at the time.

I'd never get a permanent one, but for some reason, I like the idea of getting one of a heart symbol with vital signs, probably symbolic of mental strength or something, if not that then a heart with wings or something sailor moon related.

I'm not great with needle pain though so if I did get another one it would have to be another temporary one.

as for tattoos on other people? it depends on the person and what the tattoo is

[CyberCubed]

I did have temporary tatoo's as a kid that would wash off in a week, I think everyone had those. But as an adult I never had an interest in a permanent tattoo, even now. I just...don't care enough. So I don't see it happening in the future either.

[DarkFell]

Tats look good on certain folks. However, I'm not certain if they would look good on me, and I'm not in a big hurry to go find out for myself. Also, some of them are very pricey.