People around the world have scarred their bodies for thousands of years now, but tattoos have never been more present than they are today. In fact, while permanent ink used to be the trademark for rebels and outsiders, 38 percent of the Millenial generation decided to turn their skin into their personal canvas. While some might wake up with something more permanent than a hangover to remind them of last night’s drunken whimsy, others put a lot of thought into their body art.
Taking things to a whole ‘nother level is a little trend going by the name of „sponsorship tattoos“. A New York real estate company recently promised their employees a pay raise if they got their logo tattoed on their body – and people followed through! While we’re all for team spirit and bleeding purple here at STYLIGHT, actually bleeding purple ink might be a bit drastic! We did however manage to get under the skin of some awesome STYLIGHTers, who were happy to share their body art with us!
So let’s play a little game: Can you match the art with the canvas?
“Got it on New Year´s Eve – ever since my first flight when I was only a month old, I´ve averaged at 30 flights a year over my life. In each and every country I´ve found another piece of myself and shaped who I am today. I´ll keep flying away until I´ve mentally crossed off every part of the map. The tattoo is a daily reminder for me, anchoring me to Amsterdam and spurring me into future flights!”
“I got my tattoo whilst studying at uni together with a friend in 2010 – we did it as a sign of freedom and being able to make our own choices, (parents disapprove). I chose the three swallows as they´re beautiful birds that are free to fly wherever they want to but always return home and always fly together in a swarm like a family. I think I am sort of the same – I frequently travel and also lived abroad, but I always come back home to be with my family who is very important to me.”
“I got this tattoo in Wichita Falls, TX in 1991. We just graduated from US Army Basic Training and getting inked together was our last rite of passage into “adulthood” (oh, the dreams of youth) :)”
My other tattoo at the top of my back was much quicker. I had it done before leaving all my friends at uni to go on my Erasmus year when I was 21, almost 22. A friend of mine also has the same tattoo; I wanted to get something to remind me of them whilst I was away because they’re all amazing!
I don’t have any plans for another tattoo at the moment but never say never!”
“I got it on my 22nd birthday in New York City, and it will always remind me of the amazing and special year I had. I had always dreamed about moving to NYC, and was really fortunate that this dream became reality at such a young age.
I hadn’t decided whether to get the tattoo up until I got home from the Lorde concert I was at with two of my best friends. She got up on stage, and talked about how New York was the place for personal growth, where people go to become who they want to be. I guess that was the final push I needed. It will always remind me of how happy I was at that time in my life.”
Feeling ink-spired yet? If ever you consider walking into that tattoo parlor to permanently paint your skin, keep our awesome bunch in mind. Who knows, maybe your next!?
|By Annika Lange|
