I got this tattoo when I was twenty or twenty-one. It’s a Nordic compass. Traditionally, they were placed on their ships to get from Point A to Point B safely. But I interpret it as “I’ll always find my way.”

Do you know how many free drinks I’ve gotten because of that? You’re at the bar and you’re just like, “Yo, I got your name tattooed on my ass.” Works every time.

It’s a little bit of a sad story. I used to work at a hospital. During covid, it was rough. My whole family got covid. My father was the first one to die. He died in a hospital bed by himself. He was a civil engineer. He used to do diagrams, but he wasn’t good with a computer. When he died, I got the last blueprint that he did by hand. This is that blueprint.

I used to study Greek mythology when I was younger. Medusa and her story always stood out to me because her story is always misinterpreted as if she is the monster. She had a story before the chaos she was made out to be. It’s a reminder to always be true to yourself regardless of anything.
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

This is the last tattoo I got, but 16th overall. This was my baby girl.. our family loved this dog so much and while we will continue to love her, she’s gone. She was attacked by a dog that wasn’t controlled by its owner. She is my angel now. Animals are the best though on this earth.

I got my first tattoo in my 50s after surviving an Incredibly abusive marriage and surviving suicide. I am a survivor!!

I used to have a chef that worked for me and he continually forgot to salt his food. So I got a tattoo of The Morton Salt Girl on my left arm so when we looked down the line at me he would constantly be remined to season his F*cking food!
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

What I thought would be a free flash tattoo at a birthday party came out to be a $70 permanent investment when I only had $80 in my bank account.
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

I got this tattoo 10 years ago. I had just ended my college program at Disney. My program was bookended by the loss of my dad before my program then the order of my sister right after. I was very depressed and suicidal. Working at Disney after the loss of my dad helped me see happiness in my life and then after losing my sister I chose to stay at Disney permanently and the magic again helped me through the loss. I got this tattoo to remind me that no matter how hard life may get and no matter who I lose, I can find the light and happiness in my life again. It is a daily reminder that the bad eventually does get better even if I forget sometimes.

The butterflies on my thigh represent each person in my family. since the monarch is symbolic to the region in Mexico I’m from it means a lot to me.
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

My grandfather died when I was six… he was like my dad. Every time I’m going through something very difficult, I find a feather on the ground and things get better. But this doesn’t just happen to me, it happens to my mom and her siblings too. So, we actually all got the tattoo.

I don’t mean to brag, but it took hours. My grandad was the most important person in my life. His name is Robert Earl Davis— his initials spell “red”. His favourite colour was always red. He had the biggest heart and he meant the most to me.

Barry Hannah’s novels and stories still astonish me. One in particular, “Love Too Long,” features a wife flying her plane over the house of her drunk, ruminating husband. He’s worried she’s going to crash it right onto the roof. Hannah was an airman, and this tattoo is the famous logo from his book, Airships. I’ve always loved it, as I love his unconventional, tough and tender prose.
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

It’s supposed to be the thread of fate. So, we’re together, obviously. The story goes that like, the thread of fate is the thread that connects you to your soulmate. It may stretch or tangle but it never breaks.

Got this eye from a guy in Saigon Vietnam, I didn’t understand what he was saying ever. I kept telling him I was in a lot of pain and wanted to stop but he couldn’t understand me and just kept saying “alright” and kept going back to tattooing

My first tattoo was “1999” on my lip— it’s all faded now and everything. My family used to have tattoo parties at the house. My whole family is tatted up.

“Blessed are those whose hearts are pure, for they shall see heaven. Matthew 5:8.” I feel like that’s how people should live. If you have a pure heart, whether you’re really religious or really spiritual, that’s the key. Have a pure heart. Move with good intentions and things will work out now and after.

In 1996, I go to Hong Kong. I’m twenty-five, twenty-six years old. I’ve always wanted to go there. Just a couple of my boys, we go to Hong Kong, this is before all of the bullshit now that is happening, right? We go to this place— a speakeasy before speakeasies were a thing, right? So, we go there and we’re drinking there version of moonshine— this Chinese moonshine, right? I’m fifty-six years old now. I grew up on 80s and 90s karate films— Kid With The Golden Arms, The Five Deadly Venoms, fucking Mark Of Death, and of course Bruce Lee. I got fucked up out of my mind, right? I’m fucked up. So, it’s two o’clock in the morning. I had no idea, but we stumbled into a tattoo parlour. And he goes, “What do you want?” I had never gotten a tattoo before, but I told him there are five things I cherish: mom, family, humanity, and love. This is pre cellphone. This is pre Google. So I had no idea— this guy could’ve fucked me. And I know the story you want, but he didn’t.

“Ariella”, that’s my daughter. I have to confess, I have a second tattoo, but it’s on my lower back. It’s my first born son— his name. So I had to get a tattoo for Ariella too. They’re the most precious gifts in my life. That’s the most meaningful thing I can tattoo on my body— my kids.

This one gave me fucking nerve damage. It destroyed my nerve all the way down to my fingers. They said my system attacked itself. That was my last tattoo— a black widow tattoo, of all things.

Reproduction of my favorite picture of my kids. Both grown now. One is a corrections officer in Frederick county, Md, daughter in college. Lyrics are from a Deftones song I love. My babies are always with me.

This is my favorite tattoo I have. Not only is it a quote from my favorite movie, but my best friends mom wrote it out for the tattoo artist. So it feels very personal.
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

“222” is my angel number. It means that I’m in the right place at the right time. I’m aligned with the path the universe has set for me.

My sister’s a tattoo artist. This was her first back tattoo. I did the hawk because it’s my spirit animal. I did the mice because they were my first lab research animal. And the broken lantern is to remind myself of my own abilities to be self destructive.

My godmother was always at the beach. I swear the woman was almost half fish. She passed away really young from early onset Alzheimer’s, which was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to watch and be a part of. I wouldn’t change being there for the world, and when she finally passed my cousin and I always wanted a reminder of her mermaid’s souls wherever we went. Now we have this to share forever.
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

I found a flower on the ground after yoga and looked up its spiritual meaning: Courage and Knowledge. A few days later I had it tattooed
#DareToBeDefiant
#Marcado28

Music’s what’s driven me to still keep thriving, so I got a tattoo that will forever remind me of why I’m still here
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

I had recently gotten divorced at the time and wasn’t thinking about commitment at all. But I met my now wife almost immediately after my divorce and I told her this was the most commitment I could give her (matching hops tattoos) we’ve been married for 6 years.”
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

I got this after I found a note in my phone when I was going through a really fucked up time. I was having a hard time finding self love. Two years later, when I found the note in my phone, I was in such a better place. So I decided to tattoo that reminder to myself that things are bad, they will get better.

Some brothers share your blood, others earn the title. #deoppressoliber #specialforces #nousdefions
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

They’re jasmine flowers. A very close friend from college passed— she took her own life. They’re in honour of her. She showed me what a true friend was.

My first tattoo is also my least favorite. When you don’t like something just X it out and pretend like it never happened.
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

After finding out through a DNA test at 55, that I was in fact NOT Italian at all, I was mostly Spanish and Greek, I decided to get my very first tattoo at 59 to honor my true roots” -John Hula. Litchfield, CT
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

For me, this tattoo represents the hidden wonders all around us, and the beautiful complex mathematics, physical phenomena and behaviours – that often cannot be observed directly. Also a reminder that nerd stuff is cool, and can also be beautiful if you know where, and how to see it!
A. Doyle, United Kingdom
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

I spent most of my early life fronting Miles of Wire, a band out of the belly of the Midwest. We wanted to be the next Replacements and, while we were pretty good, we were really good at drinking like the Mats. I miss those days and have this ink to remind me of music, memories and mayhem.
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

I got this for my grandparents to honor their life. It represents eternity and a yin Yang; bonds that will never be broken.
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

Basically, the swirls are the journeys in life— how things are not straight and narrow. The dotsrepresent how you start life, and then there’s the enlightenment, in terms of the lotus flower—how you grow through your mistakes. And eventually, you cease and go back to where you came from. It’s all Hindu and Buddhist symbolism.

Circa 1994, at Tower Records. I’m going to go see Morrissey. He was doing a signing and I couldn’t get in. I walked outside and I see a drawing of Morrissey that somebody must’ve thrown on the floor and I grabbed it and I’ve had it since 1994.

Me and my ex-husband have the same barcode. It’s a beautiful barcode, so I kept it. I’m like, well I guess I have to share a tat with my ex.

His name is Little Neron. We named him when I first got him. He’s for my grandpa who taught me how to fish. And now, every summer, we go out to Montauk to go deep sea fishing.

Everyone is my family has it— me, my sister, my mom, and my brother. It basically represents karma. Whatever you do on one side, you’ll receive on the other side— whether it’s good or bad.

I like to swim. I like the ocean. So, it’s me. It kinda looks like me.

This was my first tattoo that I got when I went through a difficult time in my life, and I wanted to get something that symbolized pushing through hard situations.
#Marcado28
#DareToBeDefiant

I have a needle phobia— absolute needle phobia. My mom took me down to Galveston and made me get a tattoo. They got like halfway through and I passed out and started having seizures. The worst part was waking up in the bathroom having no idea where I am— I woke up to my mom shouting, “You have to finish it!” My mom is mean.