Spilled Ink: Brooklyn Bartenders Talk About Their Tattoos
Tyler
The Levee, Williamsburg
Can you talk a bit about the tattoo on your forearm?
Oh, that’s my astro-chief skeleton.
He looks fierce.
Yeah, I guess if it has any symbolism, it’s that the death of one civilization is the birth of another. American exploitation, you know? See his headdress? And he’s holding an astronaut helmet…
Was that your first tattoo?
No, my first was this one [points to green star outlined in black on forearm]. I got it when I was 14 in the back of a guy’s trailer in upstate New York.
Oh, so it was a stick ‘n’ poke?
No, he was just really bad. And this one [points to tattoo below the star] is a picture of Jesus and Satan fighting. I don’t really remember the rest. It’s a little spotty [laughs]…