[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text]<\/p>\n
Mara Malins<\/strong><\/p>\n Writing about tattoos, tattoo artists, and tattoo studios is a little difficult when you don\u2019t have any tattoos, have never stepped foot inside a tattoo studio, and have never even spoken to a tattoo artist. You can pick up the lingo from the internet and a good editor can spot the obvious mistakes (ode to Cori: to write is human, to edit is divine\u2014quote from Stephen King, a man who knows his stuff), but overall you should probably have a little more knowledge than I did about the subject you\u2019re writing about. I mean, isn\u2019t the general rule usually to write what you know\u2026?<\/p>\n I overcame my serious lack of knowledge by looking up tattoos and the tattooing process online. I\u2019m not going to lie, it was mostly on good-looking, semi-naked men.<\/p>\n What?<\/p>\n It was for research!<\/p>\n Honestly\u2026<\/p>\n But aside from the hot pics, I also researched famous tattoo artists, tattoo urban legends, and\u2014of course\u2014true stories that made me never want to think about tattoos ever again. So, for this blog, I thought I\u2019d put that research to use and share my top five craziest tattoo stories I came across. If they\u2019re in my mind, then it\u2019s only fair that I make them be in yours too. 1) Dad gets tattoo to match daughter\u2019s cochlear implant<\/strong> https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/men\/relationships\/fatherhood\/11789159\/Dad-gets-tattoo-to-match-daughters-cochlear-implant.html<\/a><\/p>\n 2) Tom Hardy\u2019s \u201cLeo knows all\u201d tattoo<\/strong> https:\/\/www.gq.com\/story\/tom-hardy-leonardo-dicaprio-tattoo<\/a><\/p>\n I guess there\u2019s worse tattoos to have. Which brings us to tattoo story number three:<\/p>\n 3) Man gets \u201cMini\u201d tattooed on his penis to win a car<\/strong> https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2011\/01\/25\/andreas-muller-has-mini-tattooed-on-penis-to-win-car-632961\/<\/a><\/p>\n 4) Brothel offers free entry to men who have its name tattooed on their arm<\/strong> https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/newstopics\/howaboutthat\/3477293\/Brothel-offers-free-entry-to-men-who-have-its-name-tattooed-on-their-arm.html<\/a><\/p>\n 5) Three-Year-old set to become the youngest tattoo artist<\/strong> https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-1266581\/Three-year-old-girl-set-worlds-youngest-tattoo-artist.html<\/a><\/p>\n So, there\u2019s my top five stories. I\u2019ll be honest, I read at least twenty such stories but these were the ones that stuck in my mind\u2026 and will probably still be there when I\u2019m ninety and can\u2019t even remember my own name. Thankfully, not all tattoo tales are as grim as the ones above. I\u2019d be interested in hearing other people\u2019s experiences with tattoos\u2014meaningful or otherwise. Put them in the comments below or send them over to me on Twitter (@maramalins<\/a>)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And don’t forget time is ticking away for you to pick up Mara’s INKomplete novella series for less than a buck each!<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image admin_label=”INKarnate Cover 200×300″ _builder_version=”3.12.1″ saved_tabs=”all” src=”http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/200×300-3.jpg” url=”http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/books\/inkomplete\/1-inkarnate\/” align=”center” global_module=”5949″ \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”INKarnate Buy Links” _builder_version=”3.17.2″ saved_tabs=”all” global_module=”5951″]<\/p>\n Available Now<\/strong><\/p>\n Free — iBooks<\/a> | Kobo<\/a> | Instafreebie<\/a><\/p>\n $0.99 — Amazon (US<\/a>) (CA<\/a>) (UK<\/a>)\u00a0<\/p>\n Or\u00a0go here now<\/a>\u00a0to read more<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image admin_label=”INKapable Cover” _builder_version=”3.12.1″ saved_tabs=”all” src=”http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/200×300.jpg” url=”http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/books\/inkomplete\/2-inkapable\/” align=”center” global_module=”5928″ \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”INKapable Buy Links” _builder_version=”3.17.2″ saved_tabs=”all” global_module=”5938″]<\/p>\n Available Now<\/strong><\/p>\n Amazon (US<\/a>) (CA<\/a>) (UK<\/a>)<\/p>\n iBooks<\/a><\/p>\n Kobo<\/a><\/p>\n Or\u00a0go here now<\/a>\u00a0to read more<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image admin_label=”INKurable Cover” _builder_version=”3.12.1″ saved_tabs=”all” src=”http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/200×300-1.jpg” url=”http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/books\/inkomplete\/3-inkurable\/” align=”center” global_module=”5932″ \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”INKurable Buy Links” _builder_version=”3.17.2″ saved_tabs=”all” global_module=”5940″]<\/p>\n Available Now<\/strong><\/p>\n Amazon (US<\/a>) (CA<\/a>) (UK<\/a>)<\/p>\n iBooks<\/a><\/p>\n Kobo<\/a><\/p>\n Or\u00a0go here now<\/a>\u00a0to read more<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image admin_label=”INKonsolable Cover 200×300″ _builder_version=”3.19.18″ saved_tabs=”all” src=”http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/200×300-2.jpg” url=”http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/books\/inkomplete\/4-inkonsolable\/” align=”center” global_module=”5935″ \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”INKonsolable Buy Links” _builder_version=”3.17.2″ saved_tabs=”all” global_module=”5941″]<\/p>\n Available Now<\/strong><\/p>\n Amazon (US<\/a>) (CA<\/a>) (UK<\/a>)<\/p>\n iBooks<\/a><\/p>\n Kobo<\/a><\/p>\n Or\u00a0go here now<\/a>\u00a0to read more<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mara Malins<\/strong><\/p> Writing about tattoos, tattoo artists, and tattoo studios is a little difficult when you don\u2019t have any tattoos, have never stepped foot inside a tattoo studio, and have never even spoken to a tattoo artist. You can pick up the lingo from the internet and a good editor can spot the obvious mistakes (ode to Cori: to write is human, to edit is divine\u2014quote from Stephen King, a man who knows his stuff), but overall you should probably have a little more knowledge than I did about the subject you\u2019re writing about. I mean, isn\u2019t the general rule usually to write what you know\u2026?<\/p> I overcame my serious lack of knowledge by looking up tattoos and the tattooing process online. I\u2019m not going to lie, it was mostly on good-looking, semi-naked men.<\/p> What?<\/p> It was for research!<\/p> Honestly\u2026<\/p> But aside from the hot pics, I also researched famous tattoo artists, tattoo urban legends, and\u2014of course\u2014true stories that made me never want to think about tattoos ever again. So, for this blog, I thought I\u2019d put that research to use and share my top five craziest tattoo stories I came across. If they\u2019re in my mind, then it\u2019s only fair that I make them be in yours too. 1) Dad gets tattoo to match daughter\u2019s cochlear implant<\/strong> https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/men\/relationships\/fatherhood\/11789159\/Dad-gets-tattoo-to-match-daughters-cochlear-implant.html<\/a><\/p> 2) Tom Hardy\u2019s \u201cLeo knows all\u201d tattoo<\/strong> https:\/\/www.gq.com\/story\/tom-hardy-leonardo-dicaprio-tattoo<\/a><\/p> I guess there\u2019s worse tattoos to have. Which brings us to tattoo story number three:<\/p> 3) Man gets \u201cMini\u201d tattooed on his penis to win a car<\/strong> https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2011\/01\/25\/andreas-muller-has-mini-tattooed-on-penis-to-win-car-632961\/<\/a><\/p> 4) Brothel offers free entry to men who have its name tattooed on their arm<\/strong> https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/newstopics\/howaboutthat\/3477293\/Brothel-offers-free-entry-to-men-who-have-its-name-tattooed-on-their-arm.html<\/a><\/p> 5) Three-Year-old set to become the youngest tattoo artist<\/strong> https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-1266581\/Three-year-old-girl-set-worlds-youngest-tattoo-artist.html<\/a><\/p> So, there\u2019s my top five stories. I\u2019ll be honest, I read at least twenty such stories but these were the ones that stuck in my mind\u2026 and will probably still be there when I\u2019m ninety and can\u2019t even remember my own name. Thankfully, not all tattoo tales are as grim as the ones above. I\u2019d be interested in hearing other people\u2019s experiences with tattoos\u2014meaningful or otherwise. Put them in the comments below or send them over to me on Twitter (@maramalins<\/a>)<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> And don't forget time is ticking away for you to pick up Mara's INKomplete novella series for less than a buck each!<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[155,156,157,158,154],"tags":[148,119,161,160,189,163,162,164],"class_list":["post-6512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inkarnate","category-inkapable","category-inkurable","category-inkonsolable","category-inkomplete","tag-discount","tag-guest-post","tag-inkapable","tag-inkarnate","tag-inkomplete-series","tag-inkonsolable","tag-inkurable","tag-mara-malins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6512"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6515,"href":"http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6512\/revisions\/6515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.penandkinkpub.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nBuckle yourself in, friends, we\u2019re going on a crazy ride\u2026<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m going to start with my favourite story that I came across during my research. When I think of meaningful tattoos, it\u2019s this one that my mind turns to. A father had a replica of his six-year-old\u2019s cochlear implant tattooed onto the side of his head so that she wouldn\u2019t feel different to other people. This story genuinely touched me because for the first time I saw that tattoos didn\u2019t have to just be personally meaningful, but they could also be meaningful to other people\u2014and not just in the romantic sense.<\/p>\n
\nThis one is a little less meaningful but I like it because it shows what type of person Tom Hardy is: someone who doesn\u2019t take life\u2014or his body\u2014too seriously. Tom made a bet with Leonardo DiCaprio, one that he ultimately lost and had to forfeit a patch of his skin to a tattoo of Leo\u2019s design. Tom now has \u201cLeo knows all\u201d etched into his skin in large, block capitals.<\/p>\n
\nNeed I say more? A man got his own\u2026er\u2026\u201cexhaust pipe\u201d tattooed with a name of a car (an unfortunate brand considering the placement of the tattoo) to win a car. Worse, the tat was done live on the radio and apparently the word \u201cshrieked\u201d wouldn\u2019t go amiss in describing how it felt\u2026<\/p>\n
\nAgain, the story is pretty much covered in the headline.
\nA famous German brothel gave men free entry if they became walking billboards for their business. One medium sized tattoo is all it takes. Now, anybody would think (hope?) that there wouldn\u2019t be too many people willing to take up that bizarre offer\u2026 but apparently over forty people queued up to get their non-washable club entry stamp. Let\u2019s hope those eager gentlemen read the small print before being inked because the tattoo only covered the entry fee and not any charges due to the prostitutes for using their services\u2026<\/p>\n
\nLast but not least is the three-year-old tattoo artist.
\nThis story has total ick factor. When I first read it, I was convinced it was an April fools but, alas, it was published on the 16th of April, fifteen days after April Fools so, unfortunately, we have to take it seriously. A girl of three\u2014yes, three\u2014is being trained to use tattoo equipment and will draw a small 2p sized spider onto her father for his fortieth birthday. Just to add more ick to this story, the girl\u2019s father\u2014who has seventy percent of his body covered in tattoos already\u2014imported a specially made tattoo machine from America that was specifically designed for \u201csmall hands.\u201d Yikes.<\/p>\n
\nTop Five Tattoo Stories<\/h2>
Buckle yourself in, friends, we\u2019re going on a crazy ride\u2026<\/p>
I\u2019m going to start with my favourite story that I came across during my research. When I think of meaningful tattoos, it\u2019s this one that my mind turns to. A father had a replica of his six-year-old\u2019s cochlear implant tattooed onto the side of his head so that she wouldn\u2019t feel different to other people. This story genuinely touched me because for the first time I saw that tattoos didn\u2019t have to just be personally meaningful, but they could also be meaningful to other people\u2014and not just in the romantic sense.<\/p>
This one is a little less meaningful but I like it because it shows what type of person Tom Hardy is: someone who doesn\u2019t take life\u2014or his body\u2014too seriously. Tom made a bet with Leonardo DiCaprio, one that he ultimately lost and had to forfeit a patch of his skin to a tattoo of Leo\u2019s design. Tom now has \u201cLeo knows all\u201d etched into his skin in large, block capitals.<\/p>
Need I say more? A man got his own\u2026er\u2026\u201cexhaust pipe\u201d tattooed with a name of a car (an unfortunate brand considering the placement of the tattoo) to win a car. Worse, the tat was done live on the radio and apparently the word \u201cshrieked\u201d wouldn\u2019t go amiss in describing how it felt\u2026<\/p>
Again, the story is pretty much covered in the headline.
A famous German brothel gave men free entry if they became walking billboards for their business. One medium sized tattoo is all it takes. Now, anybody would think (hope?) that there wouldn\u2019t be too many people willing to take up that bizarre offer\u2026 but apparently over forty people queued up to get their non-washable club entry stamp. Let\u2019s hope those eager gentlemen read the small print before being inked because the tattoo only covered the entry fee and not any charges due to the prostitutes for using their services\u2026<\/p>
Last but not least is the three-year-old tattoo artist.
This story has total ick factor. When I first read it, I was convinced it was an April fools but, alas, it was published on the 16th of April, fifteen days after April Fools so, unfortunately, we have to take it seriously. A girl of three\u2014yes, three\u2014is being trained to use tattoo equipment and will draw a small 2p sized spider onto her father for his fortieth birthday. Just to add more ick to this story, the girl\u2019s father\u2014who has seventy percent of his body covered in tattoos already\u2014imported a specially made tattoo machine from America that was specifically designed for \u201csmall hands.\u201d Yikes.<\/p>