http://www.tatznw.com/blog/category/society/ Tatznw Blog categories... http://www.tatznw.com/Jared/blog/my-visible-tattoos/
It wasn’t until my early twenties that I decided to get a tattoo. Being a young man in the Air Force with a world of possibilities in front of me I thought I was untouchable. I was Superman. So like many other tens of thousands of young men with this mentality I had the Superman logo permanently etched on my calf. I love it. I felt much empowered in my own self expression.

I am an educated man who loves and is inspired by his own convictions and tattoos; however, I have long held the belief of not having visible tattoos. I always had felt more secure in whom I was and being able to control what others thought of me when making 1st impressions.

I believe that tattooists are incredibly talented and interesting people. When I started this journey of creating the Tatznw network for the tattoo culture in the Northwest I never realized how difficult it would be to become a trusted confidant, member and friend.

On outward appearance I believe I am nondescript. I am of average height a tad over weight, a typical normal white guy. I have no “rock star” qualities. I am fairly intelligent and business / technology driven. I see things very different from how artists conceptualize things. So trying to create a buzz within the tattoo culture has been challenging at best.

I was met on many fronts from Artists, Studio employees and Owners with skepticism, until I met Joe from 1928 Tattoo.

In the beginning he was as leery as anyone else of my intentions. It took many months of occasional small talk for him to finally share his view of me. I was a little shocked by his impression. I am usually thought of as a fairly nice guy who is pretty easy to like. Now Joe didn’t hammer me on my character he laid it out that one major reason he didn’t trust me was due to the fact that I am an outsider who doesn’t look or act like a typical person in the industry. He went on to say that he had reservations with helping me since ultimately I would like to make money off him and his hard work.

With the revelation that I was a “douche bag” (my words not his) I wanted to find out why I was so different? I believed in the art form and had by this point in my life a couple of small tattoos and a 1/2 sleeve.

It took another couple of weeks before we connected again. I saw him at the Portland Tattoo Expo and started a little small talk. Before I knew it he was sharing his view of what made me different. It was due in large fact that I was a closet tattoo aficionado. I was viewed as someone who walked the walk but only did so when it served me to share my tattoos. Now, this kind of sounds harsh as I read it after writing it but that wasn’t Joe’s intention or demeanor. He was drawn to my steadfast tenacity of continuing my project facing all the rejection that I have gotten. He said he would like to spend some more time with me and wanted me to spend some time in his chair. Now I was all about more tattoos so I was down. We talked more about it and he mentioned to add credibility to my project and my beliefs I might want to think about taking the leap to visible tattoos. Something that was a step to becoming more accepted within the community a sign that I was “one of us”

I reflected on this and wondered if I could have visible tattoos or was I really just, “the douche bag who is trying to make a buck off the industry.”

It didn’t take me too much thought about this. I love my tattoos, the culture and the meaning. I am not embarrassed by who I am nor am I someone who really gives a shit what people think of me. I only answer to my moral compass and my daughter.

I did want to be accepted within the community but more because I believe in the goals I am trying to accomplish vs. looking cool or fitting in. I asked myself a few questions that ultimately gave me the answer I had already known. Did I love having tattoos?... yes. Do they make me feel good?... yes. Do I believe they define myself worth?... no.

After answering these simple questions it became apparent to me that whatever belief I had in the past about visible tattoos was no longer valid. Thank you Joe for being and amazing artist, man and shrink ;-)

Now this is my belief system. It doesn’t work for everyone and isn’t meant say I am better or worse than you. I am at a point in my life where I have had to analyze and challenge what I believed as my boundaries and redefine them as needed. It is kind of like the thought that your tastes change every 7 to 10 years. In the past you might not have liked Tabasco but now you are a hot wing junkie!!

On a final note, am I still a douche bag? Probably…. But I don’t give a shit… I have an awesome pinup on my arm of a Vegas Showgirl sitting on a tattoo machine. I named her Josephine....

Jared]]> http://www.tatznw.com/Jared/blog/my-visible-tattoos/ Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:12:34 +0000 Jared Amato