UglyButProud

Yep....Jeff Zuck is awesome. If you make it to Ann Arbor, check out Tony Caporusso at Lucky Monkey tattoos just down the street. He does a rad modern take on traditional/folksy stuff and is a hell of a nice guy to boot. All of his flash is hand painted and BEAUTIFUL- https://instagram.com/tonycaporusso/

My opinion has definitely changed over time. I started with getting work by some of the new guys (back then) who were pushing the art to the next level. I loved the way it didn't look like all the "old guy" stuff that my grandfather and uncles had from their days in the military. I thought that the up and comers understood my generation and had a better grip on all of the newer art styles like lowbrow and graffiti. I couldn't imagine going into an old biker type shop, which is where I got my first professional tattoo, and trying to get one of those guys to tattoo a Robert Williams image on you? As I got more years under my belt (and tattoos), I really started to appreciate the imagery of all the traditional stuff. Even back in the mid 90's, I wanted traditional subject matter tattooed on me, but done by the new school guys with a modern take on it. Once all of the classic traditional guys started getting wider recognition with the releases of books full of old flash and the internet, I really got a good understanding of the history of it (as I'm sure a lot of other did too).My tastes evolved into liking/wanting straight traditional stuff, as I realized how powerful those images were. Even though these days I really wouldn't have any desire to get any abstract/painterly/realistic work done, I appreciate the hell out of it and am proud to wear that type of stuff. I really think the way abstract and traditional stuff share space together on my skin is pretty cool... Don't hate, APPRECIATE!!!!

Continued....(I promise this will be the last installment) So the wife is obviously feeling pressure from her social and career circles to be something she isn't. Like I mentioned earlier, I've been flying the middle finger at "normal" society for so long, it's almost cliché. Her and I have a pretty long history together at this point so I may not get a pat on the back and the "I'm proud you have so MANY tattoos", but I at least still feel, she's got my back. My kids are shaken by it but they have so many other friends in and outside of school, the sting only last temporarily. Just from the sheer osmosis of seeing their parents be proud to be who they are ( I assume), they quickly adopt the "I don't have time for people that don't like me " credo. I'm proud they're our kids and think this will pass and give them good fundamentals about real life. My wife seems to get over it too, but in a more therapeutic, cry with your friends type of way. We talk about it and she agrees that "some people just suck" regardless of the reason they chose to take it out on you..... Even though we come to an agreement that tattoos weren't the root cause of all this dumb school crap, I tell her that I will be on my best "tattoo behavior" when the need arises, like her formal work events or anytime she thinks I should cover up. As I said earlier, the whole time we've been together, I haven't gotten tattooed or really expressed any burning desires to. There was casual mentions of eventually getting more work done, but nothing definite or planned. So out of nowhere I get the "have you ever thought of getting tattoos removed" question. In my mind, life has been going well and all the perceived craziness about tattoos causing social damage in my families life, is in the past. As I mentioned, I was pretty upset and hurt by the question. It wasn't like my tattoos were done by some lousy scratcher or in a Russian prison, my tattoos were well done, colorful, and with the exception of the "death before suck-ass" dagger, appropriate. My wife tried to explain all of the reasons that she thought it would be a good idea, most of which, had something to do with social situations. I always had an answer to her concerns... Q;What if there's a formal party? A: I'll wear a tuxedo and look more handsome than I already am! (jokingly) Q:what if we have to go to a summer party with my important clients? A: I'll wear white pants and a blazer (like Thurston Howell) Q: what if it's a swim party? A: I won't swim (tell them I can't), just stand back and watch. You get the idea...... I told my wife in no uncertain terms, I'm more likely to cut off my legs than get the tattoos removed. She didn't like the answer but knew she couldn't reasonably go any farther with it. She said she was sorry she felt this way, but truly loved me. I said "if you truly love me, you wouldn't feel this way and ask me something so absurd". I was really bummed that the women I had been through so much with, was acting like one of "them"!! I think she had a bit of a crisis over the whole thing, because I think she planned the outcome to end differently and I would just happily agree to remove solid, beautiful tattooing, on a large portion of my body. Thankfully, she talked/cried/drank it out with a group of her close friends that rationally told her she was insane for asking of me what she did. Even people in her own family talked her away from these unrealistic notions and told her how lucky she was to a not be married to a "social automaton" (her aunt said that). She told me " I came to my sense and realized I was way out of line" and thanked me for being a great husband and father, tattoos or not. I was still a little hurt but relieved I didn't have to chop off my legs or get a divorce. This brings us up to 8 months ago.... I decided that the time was right to get more work done. I was sparked by seeing a local artists hand painted flash (included in an art show) in the newspaper. I was nervous, but cautiously approached my wife with the idea. Her reaction was a stern "NO" followed by a short lecture about "haven't we already been through this?". I reminded her that I hadn't been tattooed in well over 18 years and we never specifically discussed this, just causal mentions. I reasoned with her that any tattoo I was going get would not really change anyone's perception of how covered I already was. My left wrist has a Seth Ciferri piece and left forearm is covered by a Dan Higgs piece. other than those, I really wanted to "finish my arm" I told my wife. I also told her this was a good opportunity to get the kids names tattooed on me, something I always wanted to do since they were born. She reluctantly agreed with the stern warning "no hands/face/feet". A week later I was getting tattooed again...... But, I've since expanded our agreement to get "just my arm" to include my chest/pecs and some minor fill-in stuff on my legs.... Ain't life grand:):):):):):):):):) - - - Updated - - - Thanks.. As I said "required" situations like school...jeezus, I would never willing put myself in close proximity with those jackals if it wasn't for the kids. Most of those awful parents have just resurrected their high school clique hierarchy (or lack of) to prove how important they really are. It seems to be quite prevalent in elementary where teachers ask for volunteers and parents spend every non-working moment helicoptering around their kids. luckily middle school teachers want none of this crap (my daughter is already there) an the closest you have to come to any of these stepford mothers, is in the drop off lane... don't get me started on kids sports! Glad to hear there are some "good ones" holding down rationality on this crazy world of elementary schools :) - - - Updated - - - thanks...damn straight, but I've known this all my life. It's just taken my wife a little longer to realize. I hope she doesn't have a change of heart because I gotten and plan on getting some pretty kick-ass work done. Didn't a women chop her husbands penis off as he slept....?

...continued So now I've been told by my wife that she would like me to get the tattoos from my knees to my ankles removed. It hit me completely out of left field, didn't know how to feel except pretty hurt. You see, about 8 years before all this, my wife decided to change careers again and got her realtors license. She started selling real estate and was pretty successful right away. We live in a normal middle class area just a few miles north of Detroit. With things going pretty well for her after the first year or 2, she decided it was time to start going after bigger (read: $$$$) business and she changed companies she was a broker for. The new company she started working for is just a couple miles north of were we live. The new company also just happens to be in one the most affluent areas in S.E. Michigan. I'm sure you're thinking "uh oh" and so did I at the time of her decision to work in this area. The town and it's inhabitants are generally snooty rich assholes, not all mind you, but for the most part it's a mix of new/old money. I grew up in suburban poverty, so I already had a chip on my shoulder, not to mention having a few shitty experiences dealing with these snobs. I saw my wife wanting to work in this area as counter intuitive. She had done well for herself in the real estate business by being honest/down to earth and all the qualities you want when you're making the biggest purchase of your life. Now she wanted to proverbially "swim with sharks". My wife and I had many long conversations about the people she worked with/for, she being concerned that she "didn't fit in" and "those people can SMELL what you're made of" (meaning not from money). I supported and reassured her "just be yourself, it's gotten you this far...don't get caught up in all that pretend, rich folks game". She still had her clientele from the more "normal" areas surrounding where we lived, so it wasn't total immersion in the new game. She continued being successful but, breaking into the new area was tough, she knew she wasn't "one of them". She was determined to make this work, but insisted it would be on her own terms and she wouldn't become "them"...... fight the power, we've all been there right? Years go by and things are going well. We have 2 great kids and life is hunky dory.... My life is whizzing by and so many other things take precedence over getting tattooed that I hadn't stopped to realize how long it had actually been. I'm one of those people who get really focused on the moment and don't always see the big picture. I go back to college and get a degree in graphic design and get really focused on changing careers. I'm also in the thick of having a family and between the two, my plate is FULL! I start to notice small things about how tattoos are fitting into my 'normal" everyday life. You pull up to your kids school with shorts and a t-shirt, and even though the town you live in is pretty progressive/liberal, people stare and whisper. You volunteer in your kids classes and other parents start to take sides. You try you're hardest to get to know everyone in the situations you are absolutely 'REQUIRED" to be involved in and people still assume the worst about you....it's a dilemma as old as time. I've always stood solidly behind my beliefs, so I had no problem tuning the haters out...shit, I spent my whole life being the black sheep - so a bunch closed minded parents was just another day at the office. Well, it turns out, my dear wife, who had the same sort of opposition with her job, didn't see it the same way. When I said "fuck those people" and stood my ground, she wasn't fully behind me. I had made a lot of parent-friends and wasn't strictly a middle finger to everyone around the schoolyard. I could tell that my wife wasn't comfortable with what was being assumed about me, but it wasn't always vocalized by her. I started getting comments from her like " when you volunteer, please don't wear shorts" or "can you put on a different shirt when you pick up the kids" but these comments were infrequent. I was smart enough to know not to wear a GG Allin shirt or the ANTiSEEN hat that says "fuck all y'all" to school. I knew there was a growing concern in my wife's eyes but I figured if I kept everything in check, it would all just kinda fade, plus, this was the women dealt with the same type of dumb shit at her job so we had an unspoken understanding. She had some run-ins with a group of moms and was pretty disgusted by it all, we commiserated and I really thought we were on the same page. Then it happened.... those same mothers decided to wage a mini war on my family. Their kids were kept away from my kids after school, new haters were recruited into their group, all of the sudden it was like a suburban turf war. My wife and I (and our group of friends) just went about our business and tried to ignore all the nonsense. It followed us through everything we were involved with at school though, and for my wife, the final straw came when I was told I was no longer needed as a parent volunteer. It wasn't put in those exact terms, it was more like "we're going to start rotating volunteers to give other parents a chance so we don't need you to help anymore". Welp, guess who the other parents "volunteering" were? My wife kind of got the same treatment with some other committees/activities she was involved with at school. I was pissed but wasn't going to play the game. I was secure in who/what I was and would not be subject to the dislike of parent who thought they were still in high school. I had plenty of parent friends who liked my family so I wasn't worried we'd be run out of town by a lynch mob...... My wife had different thoughts though........ to be continued......

Man.... I could write for hours about my relationship/family and tattoos I met my wife when I was 29. We were both in the throes of early-life (as opposed to mid-life) career crisis and met in college. I had already lived a hard, but fun life and she was well traveled, but somewhat sheltered in, ahem, alternative lifestyles. I had already been travelling, getting tattooed for 11 years and had 1 full sleeve and both legs from hip to ankle completely covered. We met in winter and I was fully clothed and not really advertising any ink. She saw the tattoos on my knuckles and peeking out from under my shirt cuffs, but wasn't deterred from getting to know me. Once we started actually dating (and therefore getting nekkid) she told me "as soon as I saw tattoos on your knuckles, I knew you had A LOT of tattoos". To me, that was like receiving her approval, no matter how off handed. I started to notice quickly just how different we were in terms of of our background, and the way we had gotten to this point in our lives. She was Pavorotti, I was a punk...She spoke French, I knew drug-speak...She had friends at the country club , I used a club on some ex-friends....you get the idea. Culinary school and our shared love for cooking was our common denominator. We laughed and loved and became the best of friends and through all of that, tattoos were never an issue. Both of our careers took off wildly and for what little "me" time I had, I wasn't having any desire to get tattooed. Mind you, not "never again". just not at the new, exciting and extremely busy time in my life. At this point the relationship is going well and I find myself accepting of EVERYTHING that I had told myself I would never, ever do....namely, getting married and having kids! It felt good to be settling into, what my parents would call "a normal adult". Normal is a relative term for me, and even though I was getting married and planning a family, I never wanted to give up all the things I held dear. My future bride seemed to be on board too, saying "I would never ask you to give up the things you love (music/tattoos etc.)". We even had many discussions about tattoos and the fact that, even though they weren't for her, she didn't really care what I did. good to know........ Fast forward about 18 years: My wife and I are still in love and have 2 pretty great kids. We've both since changed careers and things are going pretty well. I had always kept a distant eye on tattooing and what was going on with it. I always had in the back of my mind that the itch would come back and I would ride out my "later years" with some new ink. This was all in the back of my mind though and I never really talked about tattoos with my wife. I suspected that she had some growing concerns about the tattoos as my kids reached school age and I started to volunteer there. I was asked, by her, to "not wear shorts" when I volunteered or "can you put a band aid over the bad word" (I have a big Sailor Jerry dagger with the words "death before suck-ass" down my left shin). I understood but never had any idea of what was about to come. One day my wife came to me and said " would you ever consider getting any of your tattoos removed?" I was floored and I asked "which one(s)?" She said "well, from your knees down to your ankles on both legs", and she was serious. I didn't know how to respond except to say "Never!!!" She tried to explain that she thought that my tattoos where somehow hurting our (read:her) status in her job and in the community. I was flabbergasted...the women i had spent 18 years with was now, in my mind, against me and what i believed in. The conversation ended with me angrily saying " I'd rather cut my fucking legs off" to be continued..........

Ha... I'm OK with the nerd part of the equation.... My daughter has already gone from bopping along to shit I listen to in the car to torturing the household with auto-tuned pop SHIT and every American Idol episode on the DVR... I still buy her 1 punk rock/metal t-shirt every year for X-Mas... last year was MOTORHEAD!!!

My 13 year old daughter draws all over her hands these days.... I facetiously asked if she was figuring out the designs she was going to eventually get tattooed. All I get is eye rolls and "shut up DAAAADDD! My buddy brought up a good point about alternative lifestyles and kids: "if you raise your kids on punk rock/tattoos and a non-mainstream lifestyle, how will they rebel when the time comes? Will they become nerds, go to church and listen to Coldplay???"

1979...I was 12, bored-sitting around with my older friends (15-16 y/o) who were smoking hash and doing hand pokes. I was dared to get marked by one of these role models, so not to look like wuss...I said "hell yeah". ended up getting "OZZY" on my knuckles (even though I knew Iommi was the man...duh, it wouldn't work)...it hurt like hell and I smoked so much harsh afterwards, I nearly threw up. my mom saw it few days later as 2 knuckles got infected and was pissed. she tried to scrub the infection and the marks right outta my skin but to no avail. For awhile, I was the baddest 7th grader in my school. GOOD TIMES!!!

Not looking forward to my chest...ugghhh. At least Nick Colella works fast. Armpit, ankle, knee ditch, elbow all in the next few months.... :(:(:(:(

A few years ago, my little dude came to me with his shirt off and a temp tattoo placed smack dab in the middle of his chest... He puffs up and says " when I'm old enough I'm going to get tattoos JUST LIKE YOU daddy!!!" With a sly smile, I reply to him " Oh yeah, that's cool...but what makes you wanna get tattooed??" He says "because I want to be a bad guy and people will be scared to mess with me" I ask him if he thinks I'm a "bad guy" and people are scared of me because of the tattoos. He says "No. I know you're not a bad guy but I don't think that other people who see you, know that". "plus, all the villains in movies have them and....." he makes the knife with his finger going across his throat "they do bad things". I tried the best I could to explain that I could to his 5 year old brain that tattoos are NOT just for bad guys, a lot of "regular" people have them too. I showed him that photo last night and asked him if he remembered that conversation we had and if he still wanted to get tattoos just like daddy, when he grew up. "Nah, everyone has tattoos now...plus , Mom would probably kill me". we had a good laugh.....

I've come full circle with my feelings on aesthetics, placements and overall look... When I started 30 years ago, I never had the thought of being completely covered and therefore, didn't have any plan other than WHO to get tattooed by. Once I started travelling to the artists I admired, a lot more thought went into what/where and how it would all work together. At one point I made "tattoo map" of my body. I took a roll of 3ft wide printer paper (used in BIG factory print shops), laid down on it and had someone trace me. I roughly sketched in the work I already had and then put the general idea and name of artist on the spots I wanted to get covered. That "map' hung on the back of my closet door for a few years and I got about 60% of the work I had hoped for (I had an entire body suit mapped out-HA!). At the time I really believed that the total coverage look was the right way and everybody who didn't think in those terms and got random work all over them was an idiot with no planning skills. A bunch of shit changed in my life and I put my map on hold for awhile....which turned out to be A LONG WHILE. Over that last couple years or so leading up to me diving back into this, my attitude towards total coverage has changed somewhat. Now I find looking at people with many tattoos not all tied together and the not-tattooed skin in between them, pretty cool. I still completely appreciate the well planned, total coverage stuff too but I no longer have a "tattoo map" and just plan on getting what I want, when I want and if the mood strikes me, get it all tied together in the end. Overall though, I've never worried about my "look" and how others perceived me. I may have be more aware back when tattooing was not "normal", but now-a-days, lots of neck/hands/face/feet tattoos make me look average..... or at least normal.

As other have said, take some time to plan and definitely consult with your artist or even seek out those whose work you admire. If you are into nautical themes and traditional style work, the history of modern tattooing is deeply rooted in that imagery. Check out classic stuff by the forefathers like Cap Coleman, Paul Rogers, Bert Grimm and Sailor Jerry (to name a few). As an old guy...my advice would be "pace not race". You have a damn nice start, but if you enjoy getting tattooed, what's the hurry? Use your travels to the advantage of getting work by people you admire around the globe!

I used the -derm for the first time a couple weeks ago on a large upper arm piece. The work was just black fill in and shading but still quite a bit of coverage. I had my artist put the -derm on as soon as he was finished and had cleaned/dried the area thoroughly. WOW...what a crazy feeling of security and relief the -derm gave me. The area didn't swell and was only mildly warm to the touch. I went to bed that night and actually slept on the area without even feeling it or having zero discomfort. It was such a different experience than any other post-tattoo session I've ever had, especially coverage on a larger area. I left the -derm for 3 1/2 days, and only had a couple areas pool up (but not excessively) and 1 near leak (because of the edge of the -derm being too close to the tattoo) that was easy to correct. It was removed SLOWLY in the warm shower, and like many other comments, basically in the sunburn peel phase. There were absolutely NO scabs formed and all of the peeling areas were tender but soft and manageable. Normal regiment after taking the -derm off and within a week of getting the work, looked and felt completely healed. Using this stuff has been, by far, the easiest post tattoo experience I've ever had. The next piece I get will be another large coverage area with full color and I won't hesitate to use it again. I may take the advice of the many comments before and wait until the next day to apply the -derm.

No more easy spots left.... JR Tubbs - inner arm, elbow to pit in May Nick Colella - chest eagle in June Mario Desa - Lower leg/ankle in June Smith Street crew - possibly later in the summer

Yeah, I find myself sometimes treating healed work like it was done yesterday... rituals, I guess. I've had some strange experiences with phantom pain though, which is why the title of this thread caught my eye. Both the backs of my thighs gave me seriously searing, cramping pain several months after being healed. On the back of my right thigh, plenty of nights I would wake up to deep, burning cramps which would last for 30 seconds to 3-4 minutes. It lasted a couple months and completely stopped happening. I chalked it up to be a one-off anomaly. A year or so later when I had several sessions to complete my other thigh, solidly from knee to hip, I had the same thing months after it being completely healed. Before all of this I had never experienced and cramping in my legs. I never experienced that with any other work I've had done on any other part of my body. Weird.....

Hi All- As most of the other introductions start....time to stop lurking. I started getting tattooed in 1985 and got addicted pretty quick (this is an addiction...right?). Fell in with the right crowd and continued travelling and getting tattooed by some heavy hitters for 10-12 years. My life took some crazy twists and turns and I changed careers twice and got married and had kids. Those changes put tattoo collecting on a temporary hold that lasted almost 20 years. Fast forward to October of 2014: Seeing a local tattoo artists hand painted flash in a newspaper article was all it took to bring me right back to the warm, stinging embrace of my dormant addiction. A week later I was getting tattooed again...... (sheepishly walking up to the podium and clearing throat) Hello, my name is Brian and I'M ADDICTED TO TATTOOS As of last Thursday, I've had 8 sessions and a bunch more booked for the coming months......