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Hoosier Tattoos

Student-athletes share the stories behind their ink for National Tattoo Day

By Indiana Athletics

July 17^th, 2017

kennedy Goss

What does your tattoo mean to you? The Olympic Rings mean a lot to me, it was something that I have worked for my whole life and it finally came true. It is also motivation towards the next Olympics. I also got the same tattoo as my father, as he is a two-time Olympic sliver medalist.

Why did you get the tattoo where you got it? I got the tattoo on my hip, so I can see it wearing my suit. But when I am older I will be able to cover it up.

What location did you get the tattoo at? Evil By The Needle.

Jake Hinz

What does your tattoo mean to you? It was just when I had found my church group back home. I met a really good friend. I kind of had a rough patch for a second and God and the Bible helped me stay on track. I realized that the overall purpose is of being here is not always just sports or trying to make people happy, but it's pushing through some things. Everything is going to be tough, especially with wrestling. It's a very mentally tough sport and it takes a toll on you throughout the year, usually. At least for me it does, and this helps remind me to get my head on straight and stay on track, or try to at least.

Had you always wanted to get a tattoo? Yeah they're cool! I didn't want to get some random stuff on my body that I would look at in ten years and be like, wow what was I thinking? So I think this is something I'll be happy with for the rest of my life.

What location did you get the tattoo at? Evil By The Needle with other wrestlers Zach Horowitz, Garrett Pepple and Devin Skatzka.

Zach Horwitz

What do your tattoos mean to you? The cardinal is for my grandma who passed away about ten years ago and believed in reincarnation. She was always into birds so she thought she was going to come back as a bird, so I see the cardinal and recognize that as being her.

The other one is for my dad. It's a picture of us when I was younger, and he passed away in January. The pattern behind it is called the flower of life.

Had you always wanted to get a tattoo? I had always wanted one and this is actually the one I had first wanted. My mom was extremely against them so it took me a while to finally convince her. A bunch of the other wrestlers got some the exact same weekend too so she finally let me get one.

What location did you get the tattoos at? Evil By The Needle with Jake Hinz, Garrett Pepple and Devin Skatzka.

Lilly King

What does your tattoo mean to you? Having the rings tattoo is tradition (at least for the swimmers). It's one of the first things you will be asked after making the Olympic Team. "Where are you getting your rings?" It's also not very common. Only the Olympians have the tattoo. It's like being in an exclusive club.

Why did you get the tattoo where you got it? I got the rings on my hip. It's a really good place for the swimmers to have it, because you can only see it in a swimsuit. I would probably not have a tattoo other than this one, so it's nice to be able to hide it when I eventually go off into the real world and search for a job.

What location did you get the tattoo at? I got mine done at Evil By The Needle.

Steven Leonard

What does your tattoo mean to you? My tattoo is called the Golden Ratio. Some people like to refer to it as the Fibonacci Sequence. Essentially, it's a rectangle, and 61 percent of the way down you draw a line. You keep doing that with each rectangle that's created, and you this this perfect spiral. This is sort of like an equation for, for lack of a better word, perfection.

This sequence happens in nature all the time. It happens in butterfly wings, it happens in waves. People actually look at other people's faces and they try to subconsciously look at this because we find it more attractive. The Mona Lisa was painted after it. So, for me, I use it as a tool for my photography and when I'm designing something. I'm trying to think about what is appealing to the eye.

It's something that I felt was important in my life and I wanted to get, so I thought about it for months and I never thought, nope, I don't want it anymore.

What location did you get the tattoo at? My cousin is a tattoo artist in Indy at Fountain Square Tattoo and he told everyone at a family reunion that it's his goal to give every Leonard a tattoo. So I was like, you know what, why not.

Had you always wanted to get a tattoo? I'd never thought I'd get a tattoo. When I first went there, (my cousin) was like, I think it's a good tattoo for you. He said if he thought the tattoo was stupid, he wouldn't have given it to me.

DAMEON WILLIS, JR.

What does your tattoo mean to you? I got the IU tattoo the day I committed and then got my favorite phrase. The phrase, “a dream without a plan is nothing but a wish”, was mainly because I wanted to play Big Ten ball. Always being told you’ll probably be better off in, you know, the Big East or the MAC, but my dream was to play Big Ten ball. And when I received the opportunity, I had to make that permanent because I was going to make my opportunity permanent playing Big Ten ball with the Hoosiers.

Why did you get the tattoo where you got it? Wanted one arm to be faith and one family sleeves that relate.

What location did you get the tattoo at? Focused Tattoos. Tevin Coleman, Shane Wynn, Ricky Jones, Zeke Roundtree also went there.

Footnotes

Interviews by Nakel McClinton. Photos by Craig Bisacre & Mike Dickbernd. All content is property of Indiana University Athletics and protected by copyright laws.

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FootNotes

Interviews by Nakel McClinton. Photos by Craig Bisacre & Mike Dickbernd. All content is property of Indiana University Athletics and protected by copyright laws.