Some people come on the World Race and want to do a lot of crazy things in different countries. You’ll see a lot of pictures of people going on safaris, or zip lining, bungee jumping, shark diving, mountain climbing and all kinds of other stuff racers like to do. Those stories are fun, and a part of the adventure for those who do them. Personally, I like to take something with me from the places I’ve been that’ll be with me forever. A story i can take with me forever. That is why i get tattoos on the race.
I’ve always loved tattoos, tattooing, and tattoo culture, ever since I was a little kid. My uncle, who is a pastor and missionary, has two full sleeves and quite a few other tattoos all over his body. I remember seeing my uncles tattoos growing up and thinking “MAN! thats so cooool! I wanna have like a bajillion tattoos when I grow up!” So when I turned 18 I got my first tattoo at a tattoo shop I had been loitering at for a while. I designed it myself, and sold the design to the shop, making it FREE, which is awesome for a broke 18 year old kid. From then on I was hooked. I just wanted to get more and more, but being a young college kid, funds were minimal. I got a couple tattoos I managed to acquire for free, and even did some myself (giving my friends crappy tattoos was a fun way to make money) but for the most part I just dreamed about all the tattoos I wanted to get.
(my first tattoo)
Fast forward to after training camp. I was sitting in a church a few days before I was going to leave for launch, listening to the sermon and drawing as I usually do, when I noticed the stained glass windows. They were filled with really cool images that were reminiscent of american traditional tattoos (my favorite tattoo style). That’s when God hit me with “You’re gonna get these tattoos on the race.” to which I thought “uuuuh…sweet! but where? and how many?” and He said “Give me your whole left arm.” so I was like “AWESOOOOOOME!!!” and since I already had Jesus tattooed on my shoulder, it just made sense!
Now I had heard about people getting tattoos on the race, and even had a friend who got 5 on his race. A lot of them were horror stories of infection and sketchiness, but I was up for that challenge. Plus, getting tattoos in developing countries is just like getting them at home. DON’T go to the sketchy shops, find the good, clean shops. ALWAYS check their equipment is sterilized, and their needles are sterile and in the package. PLAN your tattoo out, make sure you really want it, and if you don’t like design the artist makes DONT GET IT TATTOOED. It’s that simple really. On top of that, tattoos are WAY cheaper overseas than they are back home.
So I set out, not only to beat my friend Brian and his 5 WR tattoos, but to get at least 11 tattoos on the race, hopefully more. Here’s the story behind the ones I’ve gotten so far:
The first one I got was in Nelspruit, South Africa, at Screaming Ink tattoo and it was done by my man Leroy. He was an awesome artist and we had a blast getting tattooed at his shop.
The frits tattoo is a lantern. My first team was called Illumination, so it just made sense to start with this one! haha I wanted it to symbolize bringing the light of Christ to the darkest places of the world. In Mark 4:21 Jesus says “Is a lamp brought in to by put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand?” So thats what this tattoo is all about, bringing light to the darkness, and how light is brightest in the darkest of places.
The second tattoo I got was in Ethiopia. Our second country was Swaziland, but I wasn’t able to find a shop there nor would I have wanted to because HIV/AIDS is very prevalent there. SO I waited until we got to Ethiopia. The problem there was that tattoos aren’t very common in Ethiopia, even in Addis Ababa, the capital. So myself and some squad mates went on a few searches for a good tattoo shop, and never found any good ones. So one day we get a tip from a local about a tattoo shop that was supposed to be really good. We ended up not finding that shop, but we found another one which had the best artist we’d met so far, and he even turned out to be a christian! His name is Nahome, and he’s the owner of Lucy Tattoo in Addis Ababa, and he was an incredibly talented artist. We had an awesome time talking to him about Jesus, and encouraging him to keep using his business as a ministry to reach people and spread the word about Jesus to people who might otherwise never hear it. That was an awesome experience! The “777” tattoo symbolizes the perfection of the Holy trinity. The number 7 in old jewish culture represents wholeness and perfection, so three 7’s symbolizes the perfection and fullness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Together they are one and perfect.
My third and fourth tattoos I got in the Philippines. Since I couldn’t get a tattoo in Swaziland, I had to double up in the Philippines. The Philippines was a cool story. We got to our debrief there and we were staying at this cool little beach hostel in San Felipe. The Circle Hostel was pretty much a couple of huts raised high up off the ground. Our whole squad slept in one hut that had three levels of bunk beds, and there had to be like 50 bunks in the whole hut, this thing was massive and awesome. Immediately some of my squad mates and I wanted to find out how we could get tattoos, so we ask the tattooed surfer dude that works there, Paco, where we could get some. Paco tells us he knows some guys and he’ll make a few calls. A few calls later we find out that the guys are coming to the hostel to tattoo us! So we all Got tattoos in one of the huts at the Circle Hostel, near the beach, in San Felipe, Philippines. Tattoos in Paradise.
Our artists RJ and Lester did about 15 tattoos in those two days! The tattoos I got were done together but have different meanings. The top one is a cross of nails surrounded by a crown of thorns. The obvious reason for this tattoo is Jesus dying for our sins, but the less obvious reason was that my uncle, who inspired my love for tattoos in the first place, has a cross of nails tattoo, and it was a bit of a tribute. The second one is a Bible, which was one of the images on the stained glass windows of the church where God told me to get these tattoos.
The fifth tattoo I got was in Vietnam. Our fifth country was Malaysia, and the only place we would’ve been able to get tattoos there was in Kuala Lumpur, but everything was pretty expensive, and I couldn’t afford the tattoo I wanted next there. So I had to wait for vietnam to get it, and I think I’ll double up again in another country. So when we got to Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) I went on my usual scope out of tattoo shops. One night we all decided to go out to get piercings, and found an awesome tattoo shop and got real friendly with the people there. We got 16 piercings altogether that night! I asked about my tattoo and they told me it would be out of my price range, but after some negotiation they agreed to bring it down to my price if i designed the tattoo. So, while my friend and teammate David Towns was getting tattooed, I drew up the design for my tattoo and they all loved it, and agreed to do it for the price I asked for. My man Phuoc (at Tattoo Dragon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) did an awesome job tattooing me, though it was the absolute worst tattoo pain i’ve ever felt in my life. The meaning of this tattoo is simple. The snake and dagger symbolizes God defeating the enemy. The simple but amazing concept of the victory of good over evil.
I’ll fill you all in on the rest of my tattoos after I get a few more. There are many still to come! Keep an eye out for the next tattoo blog!
For me these tattoos are more than an aesthetic choice of body modification. They’re an expression of how I am giving my life to Jesus completely, irrevocably, for ever. They are my way of saying that I am completely His, and will be until the day I die (and way way after that). Physical proof of God’s seal on my heart. I love my God, and I am His forever.
I am still about $4,600 away from my next financial deadline, which is quickly approaching. You can help me stay on this race and continue helping and loving others by donating to my account. Just click the “Support Me!” button up on that side bar up on the top left of this page. Anything you could contribute would help and would be IMMENSELY appreciated! Thank you for the support you’ve already given just by visiting my page, and God bless you!
