Do you have a tattoo? Are you a guy or a gal?

I have one that I’ve had for 15 years and I still like it. I’ve considered a second but haven’t found exactly what I want. Female, btw.

Add to original question: big or little, normally covered or in-your-face?

I am a girl and I have five relatively small tattoos. Only one of them is visible all the time (on the back of my right wrist). I am happy with all of them. Removal is possible, but the thing I like most about tattoos is the permanence of them. Everything else in my life is so unreliable. The only reason I’ve ever thought about removal is becuase I have feared that people hiring for jobs wouldn’t hire me because of them. However if that is the case, it probably wouldn’t be a good match anyway.

I am a girl and i have three. One on the inside of my right wrist, on at the very bottom of my spine, and one just below my neck line. All three are very personal to me, and i would never get rid of them, they are part of my history. BTW I’m thinking of getting another on the inside of my ankle.

I have 1 on the back of my shoulder. It’s a little bigger than a silver dollar. I’ve had it for over 15 years and I still love it. I’m about ready to get another.

I waited 20 years to get one and here is my story: I was in hawaii in 2000 and went all over the islands looking for vintage hawaiian shirts. I went to Baileys Antiques (the vintage hawaiian shirt mecca) and saw this amazing shirt hanging from the rafters and told her “I want that one” she let me know it was $5000.00! and I told her i would still like to see it. It was so beautiful. A 50’s yellow silky with Duke Kohanamoku surfing on the breast pocket and him kneeboarding on the back with a hibiscus lei surrounding him, a beautiful and simple design, i’m not a fan of the (busy shirts).. I admired it and put it back in the rafters. But the story was just getting started… about a year later i was looking on ebay and saw the shirt on there and bid it to $ 600.00 but it sold for around 4000.00 and change. When i was building my first restaurant I had this 20 foot wall and didnt have any artwork to put up there so i thought about trying to find the shirt on ebay again and grabbing some pictures of it. Amazingly it was the first shirt up there when i searched by highest priced first:) Sadly someone had washed the shirt and the natural dyes had bled all over the beautiful yellow silk. But it had really great pictures so me and my friends spent the next couple of weeks painting it on my wall. About 2 years ago i decided it was time to get my tattoo and naturally decided if Duke Kohanamokuu followed me all the way back to tulsa it was him that needed to come with me on the rest of my journeys through life. I had it put on my laft shoulder, I went back to hawaii in 2005 and went to baileys antiques and they had a reproduction of the shirt! it was an exact copy, the owner had partnered with a local company and done 60 limited edition prints, luckily i got the last one they had! what timing:) i would put pics up if i knew how… mahalo:-)

not sure why it got a strike through?

I waited 20 years to get one and here is my story: I was in hawaii in 2000 and went all over the islands looking for vintage hawaiian shirts. I went to Baileys Antiques (the vintage hawaiian shirt mecca) and saw this amazing shirt hanging from the rafters and told her “I want that one” she let me know it was $5000.00! and I told her i would still like to see it. It was so beautiful. A 50’s yellow silky with Duke Kohanamoku surfing on the breast pocket and him kneeboarding on the back with a hibiscus lei surrounding him, a beautiful and simple design, i’m not a fan of the (busy shirts).. I admired it and put it back in the rafters. But the story was just getting started… about a year later i was looking on ebay and saw the shirt on there and bid it to $ 600.00 but it sold for around 4000.00 and change. When i was building my first restaurant I had this 20 foot wall and didnt have any artwork to put up there so i thought about trying to find the shirt on ebay again and grabbing some pictures of it. Amazingly it was the first shirt up there when i searched by highest priced first:) Sadly someone had washed the shirt and the natural dyes had bled all over the beautiful yellow silk. But it had really great pictures so me and my friends spent the next couple of weeks painting it on my wall. About 2 years ago i decided it was time to get my tattoo and naturally decided if Duke Kohanamokuu followed me all the way back to tulsa it was him that needed to come with me on the rest of my journeys through life. I had it put on my laft shoulder, I went back to hawaii in 2005 and went to baileys antiques and they had a reproduction of the shirt! it was an exact copy, the owner had partnered with a local company and done 60 limited edition prints, luckily i got the last one they had! what timing:) i would put pics up if i knew how… mahalo:-)

@Hawaiiguy; a very good story.Unfortunately, I don’t think that the site supports pix….yet.

I am female, and have had a small tattoo on the back of my shoulder for almost 13 years. I love it, but have no interest in getting another. Incidentally, my father, who is a business analysist, says that the smartest proposal that has crossed his desk recently is for a chain of tattoo removal parlors. He expects it to be a very big moneymaker.

I’ve got a tattoo on the back of my shoulder. It’s about palm sized, and it hides underneath any shirt I wear. (I’ve only had it for a year so I can’t really answer your question to the full extent)

I have a tat on my lower right arm on the inside. It represents possibly the hardest time in my life I will EVER have. Ive had it for about a year and love it so far. Im a guy and I would say if your thinking about getting a tat make sure it has multple meanings…and that you have thought it out for a couple months at least.

No, I am not doing research for myself. A younger friend got an impetuous, not-very-well-thought out, huge and garish serpent down one arm while he was going thru a very rebellious period and was also strung out on coke. Now he is clean and sober, a grown-up. and sorry. I am curious about others’ experiences, and am enjoying hearing your more meaningful stories. Thanks to all.

I am male and have a warrior angel on my left shoulder blade. I got her done on my 30th birthday as I had planned to do for nearly 10 years. It’s a four hour piece that was done in one sitting. It’s the only tattoo I’ll ever have, though I found the experience to be so awesome. Sometimes I find myself wanting another one, but I won’t get another one just because.

Your friend can get a cover-up tattoo now that he’s passed all that, gail. Its fairly common, and works quite well if you get a really good artist.

I have 17 tattoos and wouldnt’ change a thing. Might like to get a few touched up.