40,000 people attend Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth
http://www.examiner.com/article/40-000-people-attend-biggest-tattoo-show-on-earthI have always been fascinated with tattoos. I remember playing with my friend’s junk gun, which consisted of a guitar string a battery and a slot car engine. So when I had the chance to check out Mario Barth’s Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth, I had to say yes.
I walked through the doors expecting to see gorgeous tattooed models. Instead I was greeted by a large, older man wearing no shirt and covered in tattoos. Not quite what I was expecting but still pretty interesting none the less.
As I began to walk through the convention, I came by a booth called Addictions Tattoos and Piercingsfeaturing Athena Funk. To my surprise, the coach of theFabulous Sin City Rollergirls was in the chair. Athena was tattooing a roller derby scene on his shoulder. I couldn’t believe the detail; this could have easily been a photo I took from one of the derbies.
Moving on, as I walked I noticed booth after booth of people getting tattoos. From my understanding there were tattoo artists from all over world being represented. It was really interesting seeing so many people relaxed as the needles poked ink into their skin. Some had headphones on and seemed to be in another place, while others joked around with their artist. Though one guy looked like he was going to pass out, from what I could see he seemed to have psyched himself out and wasn’t breathing. This was a strange occurrence, because out of the hundreds of people getting tattoos, he was the only one having problems.
I might have been one of the only people in the building without any ink. I have been discussing with my wife about getting tattoo rings and I am not afraid of getting a tattoo. I just haven’t figured out any art I would like on my body for the rest of my life. After talking to some artists about doing my ring finger, I think I will start researching some art work to get this done.
About half way through the convention floor, I noticed a stage with people taking pictures. I glanced at the sign, “Sulu’ape Tatau, Marks of Polynesia.” Since I had a clear view of the stage three, Samoan’s werehand-tapping a tattoo onto a woman’s leg. This was quite interesting. There was no tattoo gun, just a man holding two sticks. One stick had a sharp part and the other acted like a hammer. While the man was hammering the ink into her skin, it came out like a musical beat. I was enthralled and sat watching this; this was something I expected to see on National Geographic, never in person. I can honestly say though I might get a tattoo some day I don’t think I have the patience to get this type of tattoo.
Not being part of the subculture, I walked by plenty of old time tattoo artists whom I couldn’t tell you who was who. There were many celebrity artists at this event, all of whom had their own unique followings. From what I was told, this event drew over 40,000 people to the Mirage this weekend.
As I walked to the other side of the convention, there is a gathering going on. I couldn’t believe my eyes that there was a wedding going on. Apparently the bride and groom felt that this subculture is what brought them together, so what better place to get married? What a great way to end the convention for me.
I walked out the door thinking what a blast this was and was thinking of what I was going to write about. The public relations person for Mario Barth interrupted my thoughts. She informed me Mario was on the floor and asked me if I would be interested taking a photo. Of course I followed her back into the show.
I sort of expected a prima donna who was going to tell me how and what I could shoot. After all, his name was in the title of the show. To my surprise, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Mr. Barth is very down to earth, and very pleasant. He asked me if I had seen the Bald Eagle. Bald Eagle? I looked around at people’s tattoos not seeing anything, Mario noticing my confusion informed me it was a real Bald Eagle.
As Mario took a few pictures for me, he talked into his radio to find out where the eagle was on the convention floor. He informed me that we had to hurry, as Mario and his staff rushed me threw the crowd; I was feeling like a VIP being whisked away from the press. We get to the main stage and a woman is talking, and as she walks down off the main stage, she still talking to gathering group. She puts on a glove and reaches into a cage and to my surprise; she pulls out a Bald Eagle.
Mario Barth looked pleased since I had that “kid in a candy store” look. A Bald Eagle was less than three feet from me. The woman posed with the large bird and then continued to talk to the gather crowd around the stage. The speech was about rescues and the animals themselves. Yes, animals. Not only did they have a Bald Eagle, but also a lemur, wallaby, great horned owl, and Dwight the alligator. Apparently Conservation Ambassadors brings the zoo to conventions in efforts to promote conservation. At this convention, they got the message across to the hundreds of people who gathered to watch the animals and listen to the message.
What an awesome ending to a great show for me. I got to see some great looking tattoos, met some really interesting people. I even got to learn about dermal implants, which are kind of like piercings that go under the skin. With more than 40,000 people attending this show, it proves that not only are body modificationspopular one could say it is even mainstream.
To see what other Kool things Mario Barth is up to:
To learn more about the Conservation Ambassadors :
If you are interested in my pictures check out more from this story and my other stories at:
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