My Raider Tattoo − 15 June, 2001
I've liked the Oakland Raiders since this day. After my first tattoo, I was looking for something better and bigger. I thought about all the things in my life that I have been passionate about and the only thing that stood the test of time so far is my love of the Raiders.
I decided on the theme, now I wanted the look. Luckily, the Raiders were a pretty damn good football team in the early 2000's so there was alot of art based on the logo and revisions thereof. I settled on a pretty bad-ass old school drawing and something without the shield. Although, anyone interested in football would be able to see right away that it's a Raider tattoo. All it was was the haggered football player with the eye-patch and the leather old school "helmet" with two daggers intertwined behind him. It was perfect. Now, I needed an artist to do the work.
I did alot of research and found Triple X Tattoo in Manhattan. They've done work on Tommy Lee and other celebrities, even Britney Spears of all people ! :) It turns out that when celebrity tattoo buffs come to New York, they try and make a stop at Triple X.
I went there a week before I planned on getting it done. I saw Mike Bellamy, he showed me his work and while I was looking at his portfolio he was stenciling my design. He added the look I wanted. (The daggers digging in to my skin exposing my "Silver and Black blood") and told me he could schedule me in a week.
I went home, did some research on Mike and Triple X again and thought it was definately the place I wanted to go.
Now: On this day I showed up at the shop after work. I brought a bottle of water since I heard that hydration makes it less painful. Mike was nice and showed me, as all good tattoo artists do, how sanitary he must be. Actually, at the time, Mike was on the NYC board of tattoo artists for safety. I'm not sure if he still is.
Anyway, I sat for two hours, listening to Sevendust. I'm not a huge fan of them by any means, but something about listening to hard metal, while some pierced dude is inking you, just feels right. I went home that night and downloaded about 15 songs of theirs and played them for 2 weeks straight. I'm like that, I play songs over and over till I'm tired of them.
I got the lotion Mike suggested and 2 weeks later, my tattoo was able to breathe without lotion or anything. I showed my coworkers who all thought I was crazy, and they actually liked it afterward and thought that they wouldn't get a tattoo of a sports team, but the quality of art was undeniable. I think that's cool. I don't expect anyone to love the tattoo, I got it for me, but even if you don't like it, you have to admit, Mike Bellamy is one hell of an artist.
I'm thinking of getting another tattoo now, but on my left arm under my taurus sign. I'll wait till after I'm married and do something to signify that life change. I'm getting alot of ideas from the show Miami Ink on TLC, I might even take a trip down there and get work done by Chris Garver and Ami James. I'd hate to go to some kid locally that has only been tattooing for a couple of years. I took that chance with my first tattoo and I'm not as happy as I am with that one as I am with my Raider tattoo.
Triple X Tattoo is now Red Rocket Tattoo, I found another XXX tattoo shop online so they probably had to change it. But the shop is still in the same place with the same artists.
I decided on the theme, now I wanted the look. Luckily, the Raiders were a pretty damn good football team in the early 2000's so there was alot of art based on the logo and revisions thereof. I settled on a pretty bad-ass old school drawing and something without the shield. Although, anyone interested in football would be able to see right away that it's a Raider tattoo. All it was was the haggered football player with the eye-patch and the leather old school "helmet" with two daggers intertwined behind him. It was perfect. Now, I needed an artist to do the work.
I did alot of research and found Triple X Tattoo in Manhattan. They've done work on Tommy Lee and other celebrities, even Britney Spears of all people ! :) It turns out that when celebrity tattoo buffs come to New York, they try and make a stop at Triple X.
I went there a week before I planned on getting it done. I saw Mike Bellamy, he showed me his work and while I was looking at his portfolio he was stenciling my design. He added the look I wanted. (The daggers digging in to my skin exposing my "Silver and Black blood") and told me he could schedule me in a week.
I went home, did some research on Mike and Triple X again and thought it was definately the place I wanted to go.
Now: On this day I showed up at the shop after work. I brought a bottle of water since I heard that hydration makes it less painful. Mike was nice and showed me, as all good tattoo artists do, how sanitary he must be. Actually, at the time, Mike was on the NYC board of tattoo artists for safety. I'm not sure if he still is.
Anyway, I sat for two hours, listening to Sevendust. I'm not a huge fan of them by any means, but something about listening to hard metal, while some pierced dude is inking you, just feels right. I went home that night and downloaded about 15 songs of theirs and played them for 2 weeks straight. I'm like that, I play songs over and over till I'm tired of them.
I got the lotion Mike suggested and 2 weeks later, my tattoo was able to breathe without lotion or anything. I showed my coworkers who all thought I was crazy, and they actually liked it afterward and thought that they wouldn't get a tattoo of a sports team, but the quality of art was undeniable. I think that's cool. I don't expect anyone to love the tattoo, I got it for me, but even if you don't like it, you have to admit, Mike Bellamy is one hell of an artist.
I'm thinking of getting another tattoo now, but on my left arm under my taurus sign. I'll wait till after I'm married and do something to signify that life change. I'm getting alot of ideas from the show Miami Ink on TLC, I might even take a trip down there and get work done by Chris Garver and Ami James. I'd hate to go to some kid locally that has only been tattooing for a couple of years. I took that chance with my first tattoo and I'm not as happy as I am with that one as I am with my Raider tattoo.
Triple X Tattoo is now Red Rocket Tattoo, I found another XXX tattoo shop online so they probably had to change it. But the shop is still in the same place with the same artists.
Comments:
texasnative73 (September 8, 2006. 07:44pm)
I love Miami Ink, especially Garver. I watch Inked on A&E also. It doesn't seem to be as over the top (well, sometimes).
BrianZimm (September 15, 2006. 04:05am)
Yeah, I've watched Inked too. I've never seen a tattoo being done though. Everytime I watch it, it's just the owner yelling at his employees. It got boring quickly.
jm0511md (March 15, 2007. 06:58am)
On one episode of Miami Ink, they had to fix a tattoo for the person. It takes a real creative mind to turn a tribal tattoo into a whole different piece of artwork. Miami Ink looks like the place to go.