IronMan Tattoo's

I wonder what my parents would think but then they think I am completely mad for doing it anyway so wont change much.

Nam, Hope and I are all going to go and get one together!!!  (Aren't we girls?)

Mine is very discreet but I am missing 4 flags so it might get bigger

The dilemma is,

when ? if you don't have it done within a month of the IM, you want to start training again and it becomes an issue for pool swimming as you are not supposed to go in chlorine while it is scabbed over.

where ? my suggestion is not where you can see it all day everyday or it will pee you off,

what to have, well there is many designs, I have a few on my website of ones done already for others as my bro is a graphic designer.

do I have the M logo or not - personal choice, as smithy says, its transcended the corporate issue now more as a badge of honour so to speak - but I do like his version of the Norseman tattoo

Mine is my avatar, the only reason I haven't put the other 4 races on is that 2 of them are germany so am working on logo for Roth and one is Wisconsin, so do I do US flag or state mmmm,

And at the end of the day its personal but I would say go to a reputable place and of they don't ask you why you want it or question your logic and reasoning I would walk, most places have a duty to make sure that you are aware that this is for life ( unless you can afford 5 times the price to remove it lol)

Flamin' nora, if I managed to get round an IM, I'd have it tattoo'd on my flippin face!

arctic lady wrote (see)

Dad Of Two wrote (see)

Damn you AL!

I had this dilema after Lanza a few years back - and never got around to it.

Then the same question raised its head after Nice last year, and I convin ced myself that if I was going to get one I'd have done it after the first.

I'm not even doing an IM this year and yet you've got me thinking about whether I should get it done anyway!!

Do2 hello! Right you have to get one now!

So as well as IM virgins, we have tattoo virgins as well.

I do have a tattoo already. It had (and still has) huge significance to me about the way I like to lead my life.

I'm very proud of my IM achievements, but then I'm also very proud of other things, ranging from my children to climbing Kilimanjaro to representing my country, yet I don't feel the need to have any of those things inked. I suppose some people would (and do) though.

I think the M. can be very cool, and seems different in some way from the other things I've mentioned, but I can't logically describe why.

Still unsure about getting it done though, because the flip side is that sometimes I think there are other more subtle ways of sharing the achievement.

The IM tatt is one of 4 I have, the others are very significant as records of times and places (leaving uni, my 2 years in Oz etc).

The IM one does feel like a badge of honour, and it does draw like minded people into conversation. I love it.. even though it did scar and is imperfect *fittingly*.

I do understand what people are saying about it.

I'm so undecided..... I keep thinking about my dads "teddy-boy" tattoo on his forearm he had done when he was young, skull & crossbones with "Death Before Dishonour" underneath... this may have looked ok when he was a rough teenager, when he was in middle-age it looked a bit stupid, but now he's knocking on 70 its starting to look cool again !

Now, if I was to have a M. tattoo it would have to be somewhere visible(ish)... maybe on the calf, not sure what the kids would think.

Its a bit "cliquey" though.....

Now if they had a tattoo parlour just after the finish line I'd probably do it, if I think too much I probably won't. 

Ah... dad's tattoos...

My dad has a tattoo on his forearm of a heart with an achor through it and underneath it says "Hans und Elfie"...

my mother's name is Heidi...

Gertie wrote (see)

lol

Isn't it past your curfew?

LOL it was... Sssshhhhht!!!!!

DTB, Ultra Cake Pimp wrote (see)

* applies for job of Ironman cowboy and runs around the forum waving red hot branding poker *

ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

muhaha.... 

LOL Ditchy!!! 

LOL Farnie   I already have a few tattoos and absolutely adore them, so have no issue with the permanence thing - it's more the aesthetic side for me. As much as completing an IM would mean everything to me, I don't know if I'd have the logo somewhere visible. Maybe a tiny one on the inner arch of my foot or something, with the date...

That said some people have done interesting things with it. I like this one:

I have a red M. with a white cross in the centre, at the top of my left arm (IMCH 05)

the white doesnt really work well but it is obviously a cross, I wish I had it outlined in black.

most of the time I like it where it is and feel proud when people ask me about it. I dont like it when people just stare at it, then I feel a bit self concious, somethimes I wish it was on my shoulder so covered most of the time. I like to wear short sleeved tops in the summer so it is mostly on show.

I dont regret having it done, it represents a momentous part of my life and when people ask me about the ironman, I have a huge smile on my face when I talk about it.

I also thought might impress the nurses when I am old and wrinkly but my dad says the whole ironman thing is so mad and crazy they would probably just think I was senile and talking rubbish anyway!