What were they thinking?

Published Dec 15, 2014

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Munya Vomo

THE ear-piercing phase for men has come and gone, well, in general. I’m glad that I missed that era because it would have been uncomfortably apparent that I had a disturbing past.

The same goes with tattoos, which, I must admit, have got cooler and cooler over the years. Today everyone is rocking all sorts of ink art on their bodies. The most common being the tribal art and the mashed up “sleeves”. The Rock is famous for his inked tribal designs which work well with his large frame. Soccer legend, David Beckham broke the good Englishman clean-cut image by getting tattoos all over his body, especially on his arms. To both men the tattoos mean some-thing deeper than what we see.

As tempting as they may be, it is too much a commitment for some of us because once a tattoo is done, it can’t be reversed. Well, not to the original state of your skin.

In Tattoos After Dark, we meet a group of tattoo artists who co-own a tattoo parlour and they open it beyond ordinary working hours because come night time, a different type of clientele flock to the shop. If you think about it, tattoos can be created at any time of the day, but there are people who prefer to have one done at night, making it interesting to find out why.

Methinks some of the people we will see on this show are those who regret the tattoos they have and want to discreetly get rid of them. Remember when Nick Cannon recently made the news for breaking up with Mariah Carey. Stupidly, in a moment of “passion”, Cannon had tattooed her name on his back and it obviously became a weird sight after they split up. He went on to have another tattoo inked on top of that so that we will not be seeing his ex’s name. The new tattoo, which must have been painful to attain, is a scene of clouds, with rays of sun cutting through and a huge crucifix. It looks good, but if you look closely you will see the traces of the word “Mariah”. What was he thinking?

Then there is the Angelina Jolie situation – she tattooed Billy Bob Thornton’s name on one of her shoulders. As we know, she is now with Brad Pitt and so that couldn’t have sat well with him. So the actress had the tattoo removed and then replaced it with the co-ordinates of the birthplaces of her children. That was pretty smart on her part.

Eva Longoria fell hard for NBA star Tony Parker, so much so she had a tattoo done of his basketball number and their wedding date. Well, since the relationship did not last too long, the Desperate Housewives actress had to remove them.

These are the kinds of jobs that the folks at Tattoos After Dark have to deal with thanks to the mistakes people have made in the heat of passion.

Here are a few ideas on tattoos you won’t regret. Tattoo your offspring, sibling, parent or pet’s name. Religious mantras work well. One thing to avoid is a lover’s name, because they usually hurt you in the end and you have the tattoo as a reminder. They will hurt you again, through the pain you will feel as you have the tattoo removed.

Tattoos After Dark, 9pm on Sony Max (DStv channel 128) every Wednesday.

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