((( TATTOO )))

In continuation of my last post about My First Time at Stereo, I thought I would provide the in-depth story behind my (((tattoo))). It is a simple enough design, but there is a lot behind it. As previously mentioned, the idea of getting the Stereo logo was implanted in my head as I was leaving the club for my first time.  But it took a good 2 years for the process to be conceptualized, visualized and completed.

For originality purposes, I wanted to add my own signature to the Stereo logo. In the beginning, I was going to add the religious Hindu AUM symbol to the middle of the Stereo brackets (see picture). More specifically, the aum symbol is a reflection of absolute reality without beginning or end – embracing all that exists = divine energy. Sounds like Stereo right? However, as much as I loved this idea for what the aum symbol represented, I was never 100% certain about it. I needed to feel that this tattoo was going to reflect me and this stage of my life – after all, it was going to be there forever haha. I didn’t dwell on it too much since I knew when the right idea would surface, I would immediately know.

On Valentine’s Day at Stereo with Victor Calderone behind the decks, the idea of a heart in the middle of the brackets just suddenly popped into my head. Magic. Of course the heart made complete sense: I put my heart into everything I do and into every relationship I have, and quite simply, I love Stereo. I feel the heart is a natural representation of me. 



I let this idea of a heart in the middle of the brackets simmer for quite a while since I was now unsure about location of this tattoo. At first, I thought the perfect place would be on my foot – since we dance at Stereo. But, I did not like that it would be covered by my shoes most of the time, and the placement on the foot seemed awkward for the shape of the tat.  Back to the drawing boards...The right inner ankle idea again just came to me and I ran with it.  I just simply love this location! 

The Outline - its ready

Now for the important part – who was going to do this tattoo?  When I was sharing my preliminary ideas with PM, he mentioned that one of his friends was a tattoo artist & highly recommended him – Jimmy Strip.  So I had a lead...And oddly enough, when I was at Stereo in January to see Ned Shepherd, Sultan and Maher Daniel I was chatting with someone on the dance floor. They asked me where I was from and when I replied Ottawa, they said they only knew one person in Ottawa, a guy who does tattoos by the name of Jimmy Strip. I could not believe it...Soon after, I messaged Jimmy on Facebook, and never got a response back. But in all fairness, that was best since I had not quite figured out the design and location.  

The Process

On a Thursday morning at work in July 2010, I decided that this was going to be the day. No more talk of getting this tattoo – I was going to get it done!!! On my lunch hour, Audrey & I walked to Planet Ink to get a price quote and to see if I could be squeezed in after work. Everything seemed fine & I just had to come back in later.  Oddly enough, as I returned back from my lunch hour at 1:11 pm Jimmy Strip had messaged me back on Facebook on that very day. I called him and we had a great chat – I felt comfortable, he had time in the evening, and then I discovered he was also a DJ.  The appointment was booked & I was going to get inked for my very first time.

The finished result

Seeing as I was quite nervous about the entire process, Audrey volunteered to go with me. As we arrived at the tattoo studio, I came to realize it was the same location where my cousin got her tattoo, and the studio name was 666 – I am a firm believer in the 11:11 theory, so this was a good sign.  Jimmy made me feel comfortable with the whole process, sick house music was playing in the background, we designed the tattoo, got the outline on, and before I knew it – the ink was in. Did it hurt? NO ! In fact, I could not stop laughing because I had been so nervous, and I expected complete pain.  The great part about it is that I made a new friend in Jimmy, he has also helped me with my DJing & I had a beautiful work of art now permanently part of me.    

 

My Stereo logo tattoo means numerous things to me:

1.  Stereo – the club
     * Related values: Be Yourself, Love, Openness, No Judgement, Passion

2.  The heart representing my love & life resonating throughout everything I do and everything I aspire to do

3.  Music frequencies – my love & respect for house music

4.  A journey through one part of my life

5.  My dream to become a superstar international DJ hehe



Jimmy & I showcasing the tat on Cday

Sometimes when I meet new interesting people at Stereo, I will show them my tattoo. People will either get it or they don’t. But so far, the most common reaction to is “Oh wow, is that real?” haha hilarious! My parents were fine with it - at first, their comments included : Why is it so big? Why did you choose black? What does it represent? but I think my dad is still waiting for the day I say it was a joke and wash it off.

And there you have it ladies & gentlemen, the story behind my (((<3))) tattoo...