How did you get into tattoo's / piercings?

Will

Sparked by an AH thread, wondering how people here started getting pierced or inked? Any motivation behind it?

My story is more or less a boring enough one.
When I was younger my dad travelled across burundi, kenya and some other countries and brought back ornamental statues made of ebony wood. The statues had stretched lobes and was always relatively fascinated by them.

Years later when I was 17 I thought, hmm wonder what I'd look like with a labret piercing. Pondered about it a while, looked at pics on the net and thought 'feck it, it'l suit me' Then went from there.

Getting a tattoo, felt (to me) like a natural progression, that and I wanted some art on my body permanently. The doodles I drew were crap so got an Italian to draw swirls on me :pac:

What's your story?

hot2def

I was (am) a Rocker, back when being a rocker meant hiking in on the bus from the suburbs on a saturday to cower at the Bank hoping you won't be beat up again, and describing everyone (including your fellow rockers) as trendies, whilst wearing home-made band t-shirts.

piercings and tattoos were part of the plan.

12 years later, all my then mates have a short back-and-sides, no piercings, expensive clothes and a job in a bank. I have a Pink Floyd t-shirt, hair down to my arse, and I tattoo for a living.


In yo face Trendies!

miss enzo

dunno really got my ears pierced when i was ten the first time and then 5 or 6 more times in my teens, always loved tattoos despite my parents dispising them. when i was 18 i just decided one day that i wanted one and got it! have 8 now and have never looked back! needless to say my dad isnt too happy with all my inks (he reckons i have problems because i like tattoos!!!) but i love them so thats all that matters!

Captain Ginger

A few years ago when I was 17 none of my friends had any mods or people I saw or anything, so the idea of getting something like that was a massive shock to me, had never really seen anyone in person with anything but lobes done, so I thought about a labret piercing for a while and wondered what it would be like.

Decided to get it done for the hell of it (could always take it out if I didn't like it.)

Ever since that I have been hooked on body mods, it even determained what I study and the career I'm choosing to follow.

Looby_Loo

When I was 18 or 19 I got my first tattoo- a totally generic one, straight from the wall of the studio. I had been wanting one for a while even though none of my friends were into them. I was bitten by the bug then and just recently got my 4th tattoo. I am proud of them even though they are small and I don't think I am finished yet.
Piercing was never really my thing, even though I got the same piercing twice but I just took it out and let it heal up.

nicolaonfire

I have always admired piercings, much more so than tattoos.
I guess it's the whole, if you get bored you can take it out unlike tattoo's!
At 5 I got my ear lobes pierced.
At 12 I got them done a second time.
At 14 I got my auricle done.
At 17 got my tragus done twice due to it falling out!
I always wanted to get my labret done but I got braces in my teens and so decided there was no way I was having a piercing there or anywhere on my face while I had braces!
So I got back into it last year.
At 18 my labret (to the left)
At 18 my septum
2 weeks later septum fell out and closed up
At 19 got it done again.
At 19 got my tragus done again because it fell out
At 19 got my labret pierced again because it fell out!!
And my most recent is the diath (lso most annoying)

I really should take more notice to my piercings. All the re-piercings I've had!
I don't know how I got into it. None of my family or friends like or have piercings! I would feel bare without them!

Sean7

Always wanted them, tattoos in particular. I'll blame films and rock music for corrupting my young mind but when I was a kid and I thought of myself grown-up I just assumed I'd have tattoos. When I grew up the feeling hadn't changed and I got my first just before my 19th birthday. Would have gone to get one as a kid but cash flow, etc. meant I had to wait. Glad I did as I got something I still like 31/2 years later.

oeb

Always wanted tattoos, for as long as I can remember.

Now I have lots

Kya1976

I've always been fascinated by tattoos and when I was 18 I got my first one. Yeay! Did anthropology in college and read a bit about tattoos and piercings, very interesting.:D Not really into piercings myself, had my tongue pierced, thought it hurt like **** to get done and eventually I took it out. I now got 5 tattoos and am planning my next one as we speak, a pin-up girl on my leg.

Molberts

Piercing wise it started when I got my navel pierced at 14, my mum was realllly strict with me and I think this was my little way of rebelling I still love it though, ugh just realised its there 10 years now - I feel OLD!:(

Pierced my ears for the second time at 18 during a stint working for claires accessories :rolleyes: I don't want any other ear piercings as I dont like my ears so wouldn't want to draw attention to them.

Got my tongue pierced at 18 because I was bored in work! :eek: But I still love it so I'm glad I did.

Tattoo wise - I only started this year. The piercer in celestial ring told me after he pierced my tongue that I best not ever show up there looking for a tattoo as I was such a wuss about the tongue! He actually did me a huge favor as I would most likely have several unfortunate tattoos by now if he hadn't put me off.:rolleyes: I kind of put it to one side and only started thinking about it again in the last year or so.

I have two tattoos now that I absoloutely LOVE and am so glad I waited.

Next up: I'm thinking about a piercing for the bottom of my navel next, but don't have any other piercings planned... for now Tattoo wise, lots more planned for the future :P

Oh just to add, aforementioned strict mammy now wants a tattoo! LOL!

hairyfairy00

My mum's 50th was coming up and i asked her if she wanted a tattoo, she jumped at the chance and got her 1st one the same day as me. I've had 4 more since and planning the 6th and my mum and dad have 2 each.

Raze_them_all

My old lad had a tattoo my uncle was covered in them so I was always wanting one...as for piercings...On my 16th birthday i said **** it and got my nipple done... which my father demanded i took out...he gave up around number 30 ha ha

hairyfairy00

Forgot say that i'm now starting to stretch my lobes!

xXxhotstuff xXx

i jus reali like the look of tattoos and piercings always have.. got my ears pierced at 6 and again at 9 10 and 13, bellybutton nose and tongue at 16 and have 2 tattoos designed jus have to get round to gettin them

ChewChew

have always loved them. Wanted my tongue pierced when I was 16. mum said no. I said I wanted a tattoo. she said fine. (strange I know) and I'm 25 now. . 6 tattoo's later and I got the tongue pierced and am hoping to get more tattoo's. . . next one will be on my neck!

Gauge

I got my navel pierced because I was a 14 year old girl with a flat stomach (at the time) wish I had a nice spiritual reason but after that I pretty much got addicted.

I stretched my ears because I find stretched ears incredibly beautiful. Nice, healthy stretched lobes are ridiculously aesthetically pleasing to me

Sofaspud

As with most people, I've always been interested in tattoos, so as soon as I could afford it when I was 19, I got one and didn't tell anyone.
I love surprising people so even my best friend didn't know until the night after I got it, when I "accidentally" showed him. Most other people just saw lines that looked like scratches sticking out of my tshirt and asked what happened to my arm. I Now have 2 tattoos and intend on getting many more.

I never thought I'd be interested in piercings but less than a year ago I went to town with some friends, both of them were getting things pierced, so why not!
I now love getting pierced, have 9, intend on getting many more

jenizzle

I don't think I ever saw a "strange" piercing till I moved to Dublin for college. I had wanted to get my eyebrow pierced when I had finished the Leaving, but the Mammy was having none of it. I was obsessed with labret piercings for the first year, but was always too scared to get it done until one day I was having a bad day and got it pierced. T'was the best thing I ever did! Haven't stopped getting pierced since.

The tattoos were the natural progression. The one on my shoulder, I totally love. I still prefer piercings to tattoos though, and I'll definitely be getting more of both!

RxQueen

My uncle is covered in tattoos, so i use to spend hours pestering him to show me, when i was younger. Then when i was 20 i got my first tattoo and got the 2nd one back in july , which is my baby and i totally love it. Everyone i hang around with hates them , but that ther personal choice, i choose mine and im happy with it.

Starting to get really fasinated by piercings at the moment, so watch this space!

Crumble Froo

i've kinda always been interested in piercings, and 'rock/alternative' culture, i think particular credit has to go to one of my cousins i always got on pretty well with, and really looked up to. he sorta introduced me to all that (ones taht stand out particularly are incubus, rage agaisnt the machine, piercings other than on the ear, dreads and all things with bass, as well as the concept that liking one type of music doenst mean you can't like another), before i was even familiar with any music outside of christy moore and 98fm (*glares at parents*). i always loved it, had, as long as i can remember, just *assumed* i'd get a tattoo by the time i was 18, though what it'd be varied greatly, though since i was 12 had decided on my first one, and indeed, got it done while i was 18.

had always been more fascinated with piercings, and slowly worked on more in my ears through my teens. think i found this board when i was looking at gettnig my nipple done, and it's kinda opened my eyes as to the amount of potential there is to piercings and tattoos, and it's all so much more limitless than i'd ever dreamed as a youngster.

Le Rack

Can't remember why but I distinctly remember wanting my tongue pierced from age ten...tattoos...just always wanted them, thought they were cool and bad ass...

I've always been somewhat "different" and when I say that I mean at home, I always stood out from having mad close to having mad hair, in Dub no one bats and eyelid but at home I was always considered "extreme" or summit, and just always wanted tatts n piercings...

Had the school rules changed at 14 for apparently being a "cultist" and a "devil woreshipper"...all I did was come in with hot pink hair, a nose ring and a lip ring...

FTA69

I got my first one on my chest at 15 to reflect my political beliefs, and haven't regretted it since! I now have a Celtic motif covering the inside of my forearm; and I'm planning a similar one on my other arm as well. It's an expensive hobby though!

Hellrazer

Suppose mines similar to hot2defs.Growing up in the late 80s early 90s it was all about hanging around the Bank,the stretchies and home made band t-shirts--tattoos were always part of the whole "scene"--as soon as possible you got inked.

Then I started going to biker rallies with the disciples(never even rode a bike in my life-even to this day) and got into tattoos that way--there was always an artist at the Skerries one and I just kind of spent the weekend watching them.

Looby_Loo

Hellrazer wrote: »

Suppose mines similar to hot2defs.Growing up in the late 80s early 90s it was all about hanging around the Bank,the stretchies and home made band t-shirts--tattoos were always part of the whole "scene"--as soon as possible you got inked.

Then I started going to biker rallies with the disciples(never even rode a bike in my life-even to this day) and got into tattoos that way--there was always an artist at the Skerries one and I just kind of spent the weekend watching them.

I got pierced the first time in Garryhill and got my second tattoo at a rally too!

A racy brainrot

I don't know actually.
I got my lobes, then my nose when I was in secondary school.
Then on my first trip alone I got my lip done in memory of it - I went to paris for a week last year in June
In august i got my cheek done, in memory of my second trip alone.
I've had six more done since then. Had to take two of them out.

I just find them so pretty.

Fantasy_Suicide

I dunno how it started.... Tongue piercing at 16 and it went on from there by the looks of things lol!! I got tattooed at 18 quite randomly, and it continued from there. Plannin my biggest piece to date. The saving's begun lol!

RubyXI

Cos i like to personalised so personalising me just makes sense. I'll draw on anything and when i was a kid i used to draw on myself. Or use those fake tattoos. So having body art always just seemes like the thing to do.

ladystrange

I've been a 'rocker' since I can remember & always loved the long-haired, tattooed, rocker/biker types. Even tho I've always wanted to get tatooed/pierced myself it took me till I was 25/26 to get my first tat, and 39 to get my first piercing. Never regretted any of it!!

MysticFaye

I've always wanted a tattoo since I can remember but never knew what of. As soon as I saw the film Battle Royale I instantly knew what I wanted! After 3 years, I finally got it done as my boyfriend paid for it for me.

I want another one, but just need to decide what I want again. XD