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From Jessi Lawson at Leviticus Tattoo in Minneapolis.

From Jessi Lawson at Leviticus Tattoo in Minneapolis.

From Jessi Lawson at Leviticus Tattoo in Minneapolis.

From Jessi Lawson at Leviticus Tattoo in Minneapolis.

Welcome, and you don't need to sell the idea of removal to us. check out the forum - we have a whole section devoted to it already.

From Jessi Lawson at Leviticus Tattoo in Minneapolis.

From Jessi Lawson at Leviticus Tattoo in Minneapolis.

Got this done at Black Garden Tattoo in London by Tutti Serra, super stoked with it

Interesting thread.
I'm not really a ritual guy but I do have some preferences. Ideally I would get a good nights sleep and have time to get to the gym for a workout a few hours before the appointment. After this I like to eat a good meal- not to big but enough to tide me over. I also like to take a shower right before I leave home if possible. Then it's all about relaxation and distress tolerance skills. Like others have mentioned- focused breathing during the tattoo is important. It works at the dentist too.
Afterwards I will be pretty pumped up so I like to party. We have had friends over a few times on tattoo day and that works well (especially when my wife and I both get tattoos on the same day- which is very fun). Beer will be involved. It's a day I have been looking forward to so I like to make it fun all around.
My wife and I have appointments at Great Lakes Tattoo in Chicago next week while on vacation so it will be difficult to adhere to a specific routine. We plan to be pretty chill the night before but I'm guessing we will have a lot of fun afterwards. Obviously I am looking forward to it.

Good for you for taking charge of your health. I have also gotten myself into better shape over the last few years and have found that this makes getting tattoos all the more fun. I have a tattoo I really like on my shoulder and I enjoy wearing clothing that shows it off (in the summer, it's below zero temperatures today). Three years ago I would never have worn sleeveless shirts. I feel like there is some kind of mutual incentive with all of this- I want to be fit so I can enjoy my tattoos and I like to get tattoos as an inspiration to remain fit.
Get something you like and that you'd like others to see. You will know what it means to you and no one else will probably even care.
I saw a wonderful quote recently that said something like "you will worry less about what other people think about you once you realize how infrequently they do so."

We've done a few at our shop... the first one was in the summer of 2012, and we had a decent volume of people, about half new and half repeat clients. Several of the new folks have since been back a few times, one of them every few months to add palm sized pieces here and there. The second one was this last October, and we were barely busier than a normal Friday. But, of the two of us doing them, there were only two or three people that weren't regular clients, and they came with someone who was. The first one was mainly to get new people in the door, and the second one was more to try and thank our customer base. In those goals, we seemed to be decently successful.
That being said, we don't intend to do them every Friday the 13th, because we'd prefer doing it as an occasional fun sort of thing, rather than a gimmick.

Good for you for taking charge of your health. I have also gotten myself into better shape over the last few years and have found that this makes getting tattoos all the more fun. I have a tattoo I really like on my shoulder and I enjoy wearing clothing that shows it off (in the summer, it's below zero temperatures today). Three years ago I would never have worn sleeveless shirts. I feel like there is some kind of mutual incentive with all of this- I want to be fit so I can enjoy my tattoos and I like to get tattoos as an inspiration to remain fit.
Get something you like and that you'd like others to see. You will know what it means to you and no one else will probably even care.
I saw a wonderful quote recently that said something like "you will worry less about what other people think about you once you realize how infrequently they do so."

Good for you for taking charge of your health. I have also gotten myself into better shape over the last few years and have found that this makes getting tattoos all the more fun. I have a tattoo I really like on my shoulder and I enjoy wearing clothing that shows it off (in the summer, it's below zero temperatures today). Three years ago I would never have worn sleeveless shirts. I feel like there is some kind of mutual incentive with all of this- I want to be fit so I can enjoy my tattoos and I like to get tattoos as an inspiration to remain fit.
Get something you like and that you'd like others to see. You will know what it means to you and no one else will probably even care.
I saw a wonderful quote recently that said something like "you will worry less about what other people think about you once you realize how infrequently they do so."

Remember reading someone, somewhere, saying that every time you get a tattoo you should ask yourself why it's not a dragon.
Don't have a dragon myself (plenty of space left though) but it seems like valid advice!

I can't remember where that post is, but what you said here is what I was going to say. I'd maybe only add that if you want a tattoo to mark having a healthy lifestyle think about tattoos that will accentuate your body. That's more of a size and placement matter than one of imagery and there are basically unlimited possibilities there.

I got this from Chad Koeplinger earlier this year. I love it, and I want to share it with you:

Greg Whitehead, Scapegoat Tattoo, Portland OR



All pinched from his instagram.
@cltattooing humility is a great thing, but from what I've seen, you're killing it too and should be included here. That Pharoah's Horses you posted in the tattoo of the month contest this month is a great tattoo period, not just great for a young tattooer.

Here you go, on my left thigh, koi, water and cherry blossoms done in Japanese style by Henning Jorgensen. Not completed yet and also now connected to my back piece project. Will eventually get a piece on my right thigh to balance things out. Maybe a tiger or dragon or both.

This is not something that has explicitly been said but I get a strong sense that my family thinks my wife's tattoos are cool because she is an artist but my tattoos are dumb because I'm just a regular guy who suddenly started getting tattooed at age 38.

I just got home from an weekend in Chicago where my wife and I both picked up some pretty cool souvenirs at Great Lakes Tattoo. Beautiful shop. Mine was done by Mario Desa. Here's a picture taken minutes after it was done.

From quotes to the other extreme: inkblots! Definitely a pretty original idea, but the finished product might look exactly like that.. a bunch of blobby black that you may end up regretting as much as the original quotes. Tattoos don't need to be literal. That's why you can get a reaper and have it mean death or life or party time or nothing at all. If you're going for full arm coverage start checking out some large-scale work. LST is a great place to start.. Maybe start with a portrait of Rorschach himself if you're really into it. I mean, he's not an unattractive man: Hermann Rorschach - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Plenty of great tattoos this month. I hold no illusions that mine here will win but I figure I'll share it anyway. I like it. The shark and a few water marks were done yesterday, the shipwreck is about two months old, the sea monster, compass star and an off screen squid, are all about six months old, and the map outline is about two years old. All of these were done by Kyle at Leviticus Tattoo in Minneapolis.

Given the tattoos that I see 21 year olds getting, I'm going to say 35.

Plenty of great tattoos this month. I hold no illusions that mine here will win but I figure I'll share it anyway. I like it. The shark and a few water marks were done yesterday, the shipwreck is about two months old, the sea monster, compass star and an off screen squid, are all about six months old, and the map outline is about two years old. All of these were done by Kyle at Leviticus Tattoo in Minneapolis.

Plenty of great tattoos this month. I hold no illusions that mine here will win but I figure I'll share it anyway. I like it. The shark and a few water marks were done yesterday, the shipwreck is about two months old, the sea monster, compass star and an off screen squid, are all about six months old, and the map outline is about two years old. All of these were done by Kyle at Leviticus Tattoo in Minneapolis.