1) Do you have any visable (difficult to cover up) tattoos?

My right arm is sleeved, and it comes down far enough for some of it to be visible at the end of a cuff of a long sleeve shirt.

2) Do you feel you are or have been treated differently because of your tattoos?

Not especially. Most people admire my work, and I receive compliments on a regular basis. Sometimes people act as if I may steal something, or perhaps attack them, but that is most likely due to the fact I’m a very large man with very long hair and my manner of dress.

3) Before you had your tattoos did you think about how you may be viewed by others?

No. I’ve never really been concerned about that. Obviously tattoos are not completely socially acceptable, but for the most part, the fact that I’m well spoken, competent, and carry myself in a confident manner makes more of an impression than my ink.

4) Did this influence the type of tattoo you had?

My first tattoo has the caption “I feel Pretty”. The entire purpose of it was to make a viewer laugh.

5) Have people in your workplace ever commented on youor tattoos, and if so were these negative or positive comments?

Overwhelming positive. In my last position, in an office working for Macy’s Credit Customer Service, visible tattoos were permitted, so I did nothing to hide them. Putting them on display caused many people in my department, including the older employees, to ask to see them, and not once did I receive anything but admiration for the skill and design concepts that went into them.

6) Do you feel your tattoos have influenced the type of employment you have engaged in?

The only job they’ve prevented me from getting is as a cashier at Wal-Mart. Otherwise, not in the slightest.

7) What is your occupation? (This question is optional and you donot have to answer)

I just finished with college and am seeking employment.

8)do you plan to have more tattoos?

Yes. I plan on at least doubling my current collection, and if I manage to become a tattoo apprentice, as is my hope and plan, to cover all viable areas with ink.

9) Do your friends comment or have any opinions about your tattoos?

Most of my friends either have ink, or wish they had the guts to get some done. For the most part though, as my tattoos are well done, and somewhat humorous, they tend to attract positivity.

10) have you ever experienced comments from people unknown to you on your tattoos, and were these positive or negative comments? (please state)

As I’ve stated elsewhere on this forum, I have problems with little old ladies. For reasons unknown to me, strange women in their sixties to eighties have a tendency to approach me and ask about my tattoos. They tend to be delighted, and this no longer surprises me. Persons at my gym also come to me on occasions to talk about ink, also waitresses. Honestly, I can only think of one negative experience relating to strangers commenting on my ink.

It was about six years ago. I was getting married to a beautiful young woman who just happened to come from this fundamentalist church. It had no denomination, no larger associations, it was just a tiny church back deep in the woods of Kentucky. My fiance wanted to be married there, as it was her home church. Being an atheist, I could have cared less about what where and how we were married, as long as it was legally binding, so I agreed to give it a try.

In order to make the request, we had to attend a service and ask the preacher once he was done with his sermon. He came out, holy rolling, moaning and crying and screaming to the Lawd. The entire place erupted, people babbling and speaking in tongues. Having grown up in a church that placed a premium on quite, passionless services, I was…intimidated. To say the least.

Somewhere in the chaos, the pastor began his sermon, covering a broad range of subjects, everything from Evolution to how other Christians aren’t as pious as they. In a room of twenty three or so people, his eyes settled on me, and seeing my tattoos, his sermon pivoted, and began speaking about those “tattooed and pierced devils” who are apparently going to hell. He informed the congregation, while looking me in the eye, that getting tattooed is an unforgivable sin, and those thus marked are irredeemably bound for hell.

Surprisingly, he agreed to marry us after the sermon. However, he called my cell phone and told me he talked to the Lord about our marriage, and Lord told him my fiance shouldn’t be marrying me about an hour later. My wife would later be informed by her grandmother, another member of the church, that several prominent members of the church told the preacher that he should not be preforming a marriage ceremony for someone who’s irrevocably damned.

Overall though, my social experiences with tattoos have been overwhelmingly positive, and that event was an extreme outlier.

11)Do you think that the minimum age of 18 tears is acceptable with regards to having a tattoo? (Please state)

Yes, being 18 is important. Tattooing comes with major risks to your health, and can severe social consequences. The fact that my own experiences has been positive doesn’t negate the fact that certain tattoos, or having certain areas tattooed, can have life altering consequences.

What’s more, without knowing the difference between a professional shop and a scratcher, you run the risk of blood-borne diseases, Hep C, and the other legions of diseases that can be communicated if your artist doesn’t follow proper sterilization techniques.

And I just don’t trust a 16 year old to have that kind of forsight.

Besides, your aesthetic tastes are still developing at that age. There’s virtually no chance that something that you found to be pleasing at that age won’t be an embarrassment by the time you’re thirty.

Love. Peace. Metallica.