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"Hungry squirrel reaching for two nuts..." – Tattoo artists share their wildest requests

Angela Price3 min read
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"Hungry squirrel reaching for two nuts..." – Tattoo artists share their wildest requests — Lifestyle
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Skull or what?

Skull or what?
One night I tattooed my friends, and one girl wanted a skull with two crossed bones on her thigh. I started with one bone, but since it was her first tattoo, she didn’t realize how painful it would be. It hurt so much that halfway through the first bone, she told me to stop because she couldn’t handle it. When she left, the others laughed and joked that it looked like a scrotum on her leg.

Squirrel

Squirrel
I tattooed a “hungry” squirrel on the inner thigh of a middle-aged man. A squirrel reaching for the nuts. Yes, those nuts you’re thinking of.

Stretched out

Stretched out
When I was still pretty new, a well-built lady wanted a violin tattooed on her chest. She placed one of her large breasts on the table, I sketched the instrument, and started tattooing. It turned out very realistic, and she loved it. Then she stood up, and the violin on her chest stretched into a long, thin cello. She got so upset she chased me around the shop, punching me with her fists.

Typo

Typo
A dad freaked out when he found out I misspelled one of his daughter’s names. The problem was, I worked from the paper he gave me—and he had misspelled it. When he realized, he apologized, and I fixed it for free.

The face

The face
A man in his sixties asked for a phoenix tattoo on his hip and buttocks—with Britney Spears’ face. That alone was unusual, but he liked it so much he asked how much it would cost to tattoo his penis as a dragon. He wanted the penis to be the dragon’s head and body, and his testicles as the dragon’s legs. I quoted him a price in the millions, he said he’d think about it, but luckily never came back.

Oops

Oops
A pretty young woman wanted two tattoos on her butt: the words “True” and “Love,” with stylized drawings of a bride and groom above. The twist? The groom’s face was a penis, and the bride’s was a vagina.

Names, and more names

Names, and more names
Every tattoo artist hates tattooing names, but so many people ask for them that it basically pays the bills. One girl had her own name tattooed three times: on her side, wrist, and back—even though it wasn’t a beautiful name. Sometimes a guy would tattoo his girlfriend’s name, then they’d break up, and we’d cover it up with a design. Then they’d get back together, and he’d tattoo the name again—only to break up again and cover it up once more.

LOL

LOL
I had to tattoo this, with the letter O around the guy’s nipple. I told him it wouldn’t be a chick magnet, but he didn’t care—thought it was a funny joke.

Why?

Why?
A young woman tattooed “ATM” and a long number on herself. When I asked what it meant, she said her boyfriend hacked an ATM and they tattooed this on her—the numbers being his “prison ID.” I still don’t understand why she wanted to mark that on herself, but I did it on her back as requested.

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