Are you thinking of getting Inked?
The Tattoo Industry and the Tattoo Culture in general has exploded in the past decade and everyone is now getting aboard the hype train. If you are in your twenties I’m 100% certain that the idea of getting inked has come across your mind at least once.
For me seeing the Rock’s first display of his Giant Polynesian Arm/Chest piece gave the first real push into the Rabbit Hole of tattoos. That was around 2011 I guess.I was 17 back then.
I was toying with the idea of getting a tattoo since 2011 but I had to go through a transformational time period in my early twenties to be mentally ready to dive into tattoos. Fast-forward 7 years, that’s when I got my first tattoo in 2018. Why did I get a tattoo? Well in short, I wanted to look cool.
Sounds a bit cliche, but everyone really get their first tattoo to look cool. The first tattoo I got was a minimal roman numeral tattoo. It was not very big and it was a bit mainstream during the time. However for me it was good first step to get the feel of tattoos.
And typically after you get a tattoo one of two things will happen(In my opinion). Either you’ll be a little bitch and regret the tattoo or you’ll pretty much get addicted to tattoos. For me it was no doubt the latter.
I went ahead and got like 5 tattoos afterwards and one of them is the start of my leg sleeve-which I want to cover my entire leg one day. So yeah, it’s pretty addictive.
So far I have zero regrets on my tattoos and I’ll definitely be collecting more and more over the years.
Okay now the question, “Should you get a tattoo?”
In my opinion there’s really one real thing you have to consider when it comes to deciding whether to get a tattoo. You should ask whether you are up for to be a part of the tattoo culture. Let me put it in context. Imagine you are a dude and you want a tattoo. But you really don’t want to get in to the tattoo lifestyle but rather want a tattoo to seem cool or seem rebellious. And you don’t do your research and you get a cliche ass tattoo in your forearm (For everyone to see- Because you you are the rebel, remember?)
Okay now what? Now you’re the cool dude with the forearm tattoo. But you see, now people expect you to be tatted up. No one cares that you have that one tattoo anymore (And if I’m being honest people really don’t care at all but that’s a whole different story). Now imagine you don’t want to get more tattoos. You don’t want your girlfriend’s dad to think you are up to no good. Or you feel ashamed when people low-key give you the judgmental look.
Okay now you are fucked. You’re gonna be that dude with the ONLY ONE small to medium size tattoo for the rest of your life.
Is that what you want? Let me tell you getting inked is legit addictive and once you get one you’ll definitely want the next. So what I want you to do is imagine yourself tatted up. I don’t mean like a full blown body suit. But imagine having a decent amount of tattoos spread out in your body. And also picture your lifestyle as you go older and think how tattoos will fit in that life.
Now how does it make you feel? If you are sure that you’d be comfortable having a number of tattoos on you then go ahead, the coast is clear.
I would recommend that you don’t jump the gun on getting a tattoo right away though. Wait a couple of months and really figure out whether you are up for that lifestyle, and let me tell you it’s a lifestyle. I’m not boasting here. I don’t have that much tattoos and it’s not really a 100% lifestyle yet for me. But just look up “Japanese body suits” and see what comes up. It’s really a bloody lifestyle.
And if you’ve done the research and you’re up for your future as an inked up dude, by all means get that first tattoo and join the tattoo culture. And even if you just want one small tattoo for your entire life, do it if you feel like it. Life is short so just do what you feel like doing, more power to you.
Closing thoughts
Deciding to get tattooed is only half the battle. The difficult part comes next. Deciding size, style, placement and artist is very important things that you have to do next. In future articles I will explore above areas more.
