Well, here it is; ...My first Tattoo! Sat through it all in one sitting, too! I will be honest with all of you, ...it hurt like a motherfucker! It was impressive. Definitely an interesting experience. I will admit, I couldn’t help but squint and curl my lip a bit and clench my jaw and tighten up & all that, but I didn’t cringe or flinch. I just sat there and took it.

I love it!!! I am SO stoked! I have to say Luke is a DOPE Tattoo Artist! I think he did a great job. I mentioned to him after he had the piece sketched out on paper that I had originally wanted the “What we do in life, ...Echoes in eternity.” written underneath the “Chaos” and “Honor”, but that I had always just sort of wrote it underneath when I would write it out, but I didn’t know if it would look that great on a tat like that. He then started sketching it out in pencil right there on the spot in a script-text to contrast the larger lettering and drew up the ribbon and simply said, “If I was going to do it, this would be the way I would do it.--I think this would look the best.” I have to say, I love it! I think it looks fucking awesome! As far as the whole piece goes, I think the quality of work by Luke is just amazing. Fucking awesome work. Just awesome! He really did a great job. “Drawing” on the skin is a much harder medium than any other. Keep in mind this pic was taken about 5 hours after he finished it. From my understanding, when it is fully healed it will look even better.

I had thought to myself that maybe I should have had the “chaos” and “honor” written slightly larger, spreading out a little wider in relation to the spacing of the letters in the word “VINDICO”, and perhaps the “ICO” in “VINDICO” brought up about a quarter on an inch as far as a slightly more even spacing between the letters, but I don’t really care. I love it as is and I have absolutely NO regrets what-so-ever. I think I just need to get the lower left side of the “N” in “vindico” touched up a bit. (...and maybe the shading in the “V” brought up just a bit higher?) I also sort of put him on the spot and asked him for the little hyphen thingy between the ‘s’ in “chaos” and the ‘N’ in “vindico” and the ‘h’ in “honor” after he already had it on my back. He did the best he could for being put on the spot. Now that I look at it I think maybe a little diamond shape, like the diamond symbol used for the diamond suit in a deck of cards would have been a better choice on my behalf considering the limited space between the chaos and the little nubbin on the ‘N’ in “vindico”. But whatever. Fuck it. I am so happy with my Tattoo I can’t even explain it. I have been wanting this for at least 7+ years now and I have been wanting Luke to do it since I first saw the work that he did on my good friend Cameron about 4 or 5 years ago, and now I finally have it, and I was able to have it done by Luke himself. I don’t mean to be redundant here, but I am so fucking stoked right now it’s really kind of hard to explain. I’m just really happy with it. I really think Luke did an amazing job. This piece is something that has *significant* meaning to me and is something I’ve been wanting on my body for a very long time, and to not only finally have it, but to have it done so damned well too. That is just, ...well, ...you get the idea. Most of you know I’m a good artist and that I have a very critical eye, and I’m really happy with his work. You all know that there are some amazing tattoo artists out there, but that there are a whole lot of not-so-good ones too, and that the latter significantly outnumber the prior.

...What’s even cooler for me as far as getting my first tat done by Luke is that I’m able to help him with his training and diet, so I’m able to really put my expertise to use to really help him excel within his sport. For me that’s just fucking awesome. I am extremely driven to do the best job I possibly can to help prep Luke for whatever path his career takes him. Instead of simply “paying” for his services, I get to really put everything I have into helping him. For me the whole arrangement is just a much cooler experience than just paying for each other’s services. I mean, we both are very talented and damned good at what we do and we are both really striving to provide the best product and service possible. It’s just damned cool. Those of you who have been reading my Blog or who know me as a person know full well that it is my service and commitment to my clients that fuels my existence and that my clients are the most important thing to me. Through that service and commitment I forge some amazing relationships with my clients and that is something I greatly cherish. ...I’m getting to know Luke as a friend and what better person to have do your first tattoo than someone who when you look at your tat you go, “that was done by my friend”.--I mean seriously.

...I’m really happy with my first tat and the whole experience getting it. I hope to get some more work done by Luke when time permits.

I have to say, Seventh Son Tattoo is a dope place. I love the way they have it all set up. You can definitely tell they are all artists, not merely by the art hanging on the wall, (which is some damned cool art), but by how they went about hanging that art, the placement and arrangement of it all, etc. Even the contrast of the external brass piping for the sinks with the color used on the walls, to the different color schemes used within the supply room, etc, etc. It’s just a dope shop with a dope setup and layout. They really did a great job. Should any of you be up in the city, whether thinking about getting a tattoo or not, you should take a moment to check out their shop if your in the area. It’s located at 1017 Howard St., San Francisco CA, and their number is (415) 551-7SON. (415-551-7766).

...My really good friend and fellow CrossFit Trainer, Brendan Gilliam, suggested I get my first tat in a place I could see it because it’s my first one and I’ll just want to be checking it out all the time and with it on my back I won’t really be able to see it and fully appreciate it. It was a must that this be my first piece. But I can certainly see where he was coming from. I am constantly looking in the mirror and checking it out. Looking at it on my desktop isn’t quite the same. :)

...Friday was a great day.