Do you like tattoos? People have different views on the subject. Some appreciate them for their artistry, while others don’t because of their personal beliefs.
Whatever your perspective, the worst thing that can happen is when you get a tattoo and it does not turn out as intended. Sometimes it is because the artist wasn’t good enough, or an accident happened during the tattooing process and the final result looks really poor. Either way, once a tattoo looks worse on your skin than it did on paper, you have a huge problem.
This is why you need to watch Sony Max’s two shows, Bad Ink and Tattoo Nightmares Miami, which show people who have had issues at tattoo parlours.
In Bad Ink we meet the hosts Dirk and Ruckus who are known for their fun approach to the sensitive subject of tattoos that went wrong. In Tattoo Nightmares Miami, we meet more people who have bad tattoos, but they show us how they cover up those almost-permanent mistakes.
In some cases, the story is not about bad tattoos, but about relevance. Some of the artwork that people choose to have is time, occasion and person specific so should any of that change they might want to alter their tattoos to suit their new life. It’s like the Nick Cannon situation where he had Mariah Carey’s full name tattooed on his back. When they divorced, the rapper was forced to painfully obliterate it with some extra inking on the calligraphy.
With that in mind, we chatted to two South African rockers to find out what they thought of tattoos and if they had had any bad experiences. Here is what they had to say.
So what are you thoughts on tattoos?
Arno Carstens: I don’t have any tattoos. I like tattoos on other people as they express so much about them. But I’ll rather watch TV than get tattooed.
Carstens has to be a rare find because most of his peers in the rock world love the idea of using their bodies as a canvas for expression through ink. Think guitarist Slash, Metallica’s James Hetfield and Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Then we met up with Black Cat Bones’ Kobus de Kock.
Do you know of any real-life tattoo nightmares?
Kobus de Kock: I don’t have any tattoos (yet). Being an artist, I find it hard letting someone else draw on me. I do, however, have tattoo artists as friends and let me tell you, most of them have had little mishaps and spelling mistakes in their careers. A lady I know recently wanted “Live This Life” and ended up with “Life This Live”. Nasty!
l Bad Ink airs every Tuesday at 9pm and Tattoo Nightmares every Friday at 9.30pm on Sony Max.