Ronda's Olympic Tattoos

As many of my resources were tied up with the Tattooed Poets Project in April, I kept my encounters with random tattooed people in New York to a minimum, saving them for special occasions.

However, I couldn't resist on Tuesday, April 21, when I spotted a familiar symbol on the right ankle of a woman in the Amtrak section of Penn Station:


Those are, of course, the recognizable Olympic rings.

One can imagine how pleased I was when the individual to whom this tattoo belonged was open to discussing not only her tattoos, but their significance.

For Ronda Rousey, like many athletes (see this New York Times article here), getting tattoos to commemorate attendance and participation in the Olympics, is a rite of passage.

But Ronda isn't just any Olympic athlete. She participated in both the 2004 games in Athens, and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In fact, she won the Bronze Medal in China in the sport of judo (middleweight division)

and became the first American woman ever to medal in that event.

She actually has at least three pieces that circumvent circumnavigate her ankle. The tail end of one can be seen to the left of the Olympic rings. Here's the beginning (and majority) of the slogan:


That is "Citius, Altius, Fortius," which is the motto of the modern Olympic games. Translated into English it means "Swifter, Higher, Stronger".

Also on the ankle is a third element, which is a Greek head garland:


This is a symbol of the 2004 Athens games, at which Ronda also competed.

She did not medal that year, but she was also the youngest, at 17, judo competitor in the Games, and was a rising star.

A resident of Los Angeles, Ronda had all three tattoos done at Ink Monkey Tattoo in Venice, California.

On a side note, personally, I always get a charge out of meeting a complete stranger and talking to them about their tattoos. That excitement is the fuel that energizes the Tattoosday experience for me.

Days later, I was still pumped about meeting an Olympic athlete. Most Olympians will say they're just like everyone else, normal folks like you and me. But, I beg to differ. Ronda isn't a member of the "Dream Team" or a star in track or gymnastics or beach volleyball or any of the "marquis" events. Nonetheless, here is a woman who participates in a sport and, in August 2008, was one of the top three women in the world in that event. She accomplished what so many athletes aspire to. She stood on a podium and even though the Star-Spangled Banner wasn't blaring on the P.A. system, she wore a medal around her neck and saw the American flag raised because of her remarkable athletic accomplishment.

It is an honor to have her featured here on Tattoosday and I thank her profusely, from the bottom of my tattoo-loving heart.

Click here to see a recap of Ronda's Olympic medal run, including a glimpse of the medal ceremony.

Thanks to Ronda for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Ashley's Two Little Birds

Last July, I met two tattooed women, Becky and Ashley, outside of Borders (Becky's post is here, Ashley's is here) on Penn Plaza.

A few months later, in one of my more embarrassing moments as an ink-spotter, I approached Becky again, outside of Macy*s, and asked her about her tattoos. She reminded me that she was already featured on Tattoosday, and I reddened, apologized, and moved on. In my defense, the tattoo I featured was on her foot, and it was covered in the subsequent encounter.

Flash forward to the last Friday in April, and I spotted both Ashley and Becky again, outside of Macy*s. I wasn't sure, but something seemed familiar, so I approached cautiously. Becky had dyed her black, so my failure to identify the two of them immediately was again explainable.

But unlike the previous encounter with Becky, this time I wasn't embarrassed and Ashley volunteered her two newest tattoos.

Ashley, a make-up artist, about two months ago, had two small "Mom" and "Dad" tribute tattoos inked behind her ears. Mom is on the left:


And Dad is on the right:


The birds remind her of something that her mother would tell her when she was a little girl. She would tell Ashley that if she wasn't good, the birds would get her. That, combined with the small forget-me-nots, make these small, pretty, tattoos nice tributes to her parents.

The work was done by Mohawk John at Three Kings Tattoo in Brooklyn. Work from Three Kings has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Ashley for re-visiting us here on Tattoosday and sharing her newest tattoos!