Tattoos in Memory of Brian

On September 25th, 2005, 12 of us went up and got a tattoo to remind us of Brian. His mother, father, 2 brothers, 3 sisters, 1 of his brother-in-laws, and 4friends. We all spent the entire day with Eric our tattoo artist. Eric was so great. He welcomed us around 10am with coffee, loads of yummy pastries and a beautiful bouquet of flowers. We were so lucky to get such a great artist. He works at Jinx Proof in Georgetown. Some of us had already drawn the tattoos we wanted but he was able to redraw these and bring the tattoos to life with the vivid colors he used and the extreme attention to every little detail.

Tom, Brian's father went first, mostly because he is deathly afraid of needles and I think Eric was a little scared that he was going to faint! Eric let a few of us watch him get his done (I couldn't because I was way too nervous!!!!), while the rest of us stood right around the corners just waiting to hear Tom scream in pain LOL!!! You have NO idea how surprised we were when we heard him laughing and joking around!!! We all were secretly relieved because if he could do it then we knew we might be able to handle it too! Tom got wings in the shape of a heart with Brian's name in the middle. It turned out so good; the colors are perfect! He had his tattoo done on his right upper-arm.

Eileen, Brian's mom, went next. She was so proud to get her tattoo and swears it didn't hurt one bit (YEAH RIGHT!!!!!!)! Eric did such a great job on her tattoo, it is small but the details are so fine, it is just awesome! The design of this tattoo was a collaborative effort. Almost all the guys in the family worked on this design (the heart with the banner and the different things such as the paintball spat, the mountains, and other symbols that remind us of Brian). Eric, the tattoo artist, helped with the design as well. The end result was better than even she thought it would be! She had her tattoo done right over her heart.

I (Vicky, Brian's sis) went next. I'm not gonna lie, I was scared sh#$less!! I don't care what any of you say, that junk hurt!!! It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but for all you people that have ever told me that it is an annoying pain, well I say you are full of it!!! I was SOOOO happy when he finished mine! I love my tattoo so much. Duncan drew it for me and it is Arabic script. It is the letter in Urdu that makes the sound "B". I love how Eric did the colors. He is so good...I told him I wanted orange so you better believe I was happy with the results of his creativity! I had my tattoo done on my back, at the top, right in the center on my spine. I LOVE IT!!!!

Sherry and Steph, Brian's sisters, went next. They both acted like they weren't scared at all (but I could tell otherwise haha!). Steph has been wanting a tattoo since I can remember so she was super-duper excited to be doing this. They both got butterflies done that somehow incorporated Brian's name into the design. The both had theirs done on their ankles.

After they had theirs done we went for lunch at Clyde's, right across the street. They paid for our meal and everything (Rich works at the Tyson's Clyde's and Brian used to work at both the Alexandria and Tyson's Clyde's too). They are so sweet there. They all knew Brian, so when any of us go to Clydes for a meal it is hard to get out of there without someone sending over a bottle of champane for mimosas or sending a special appetizer. Anyhow, we headed back to the tattoo shop for Round 2.

Natalie, one of Brian's good friends went next. She was so cute getting hers, she decided to get hers on her inner-ankle. She had Eric design her tattoo, she had him draw a cool letter "B" and put wings on it. It's hot.

Kelsey, Brian's old girlfriend went next. She has a bunch of tattoos already but was still a little scared to get this one! She got a heart with sun rays and B's initials. She got it done on her lower back, in the center. Looked like it hurt a lot in that place!!

I think it was Chris, Brian's brother-in law (Steph's husband), that went next. He had a sacred heart that he had drawn done on his calf. It turned out really good, the colors are so nice. He also has other tattoos so he knew what to expect!

Will, a friend of the boys, had the same sacred heart done on his forearm, but he changed the colors a bit so it looks different. The design looks really good. Eric did a great job on the colors. I still need to get a pic of his tattoo for this webpage.

Josh, Brian's best friend, went next. He got his tattoo on his upper arm too. He had the same design as Mom but changed some of the symbols in the heart so it is slightly different. I know his hurt like anything but I didn't hear a peep from him!

Last but not least, it was Rich and James' turns!!! They got a similar design as Mom and Josh, but they also changed some of the symbols (had to add a rifle to the tat of course!). They got the same tattoo but James got his on his right arm and Rich got his on his left arm. They were the last ones to get tattoos and Eric finished up at around 12:30 in the morning!!!

Eric worked on our tattoos for 14 1/2 hours, with only one break for lunch! He was so cool, you have no idea! He so went out of his way for us and that meant so much to each and every one of us. He understood how important this was for us and he really made the experience for us. He will never know how special he made this!! If you are ever considering getting a tattoo I would tell you to go to no one but Eric!!

Here are the pics of the tattoos (I still need pics of Rich and Will's tattoos):