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Tatoo's: yeah or neah?

I haven't seen a thread on Mdot tatoos...so I'm starting one.  What are the thoughts out there about getting one post IM?  Are they cool or over the top???  Expensive or not?  I have seen lots of different styles...some huge, some teeny tiny and everywhere inbetween.  I have been considering getting one...but not sure I like the thought of needles under my skin too much.  Any thoughts and pics???

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Comments

  • It's tattoed on my soul. 

  • I want to get one, but haven't had the guts yet. I've read that some people are opposed because it's a corporate brand. My take on that is that the M Dot symbol long ago transcended it's corporate owners. That's why a lot of people get a M Dot after doing an Iron Distance race even if they've never done a WTC race. For them an Ironman is an Ironman is an Ironman regardless of who is making money off it. I've seen a few people with 140.6 tats but the first time I saw a 140.6 sticker on a car, I thought they were advertising a radio station.
  • I'm a no, for me personally, cuz I'm 42yo and gots no bidness getting a tatoo. In 20-30yrs I think the world will be full of people regretting poor tattoo decisions...but that's another topic

    Besides, if I got an MDot I'd need to get a USMC one first, as that's more important to me. Until then, I'll just show off the scars on me knees, elbows, arms and legs

  • That's a no for me. Jewelry all day long though. Tattoo has never appealed to me. Also, I've asked some of my older patients if they have regrets and many have said "yes". (But it may depend on the tattoo.)
  • I love tattoos, I think they are so cool and sexy on gals!  I've got a couple non-IM tats - on my arm and ankle.  For a long time I said that the day after completing an IM I would get a m-dot tat (I joked I would get it on my forehead just to show off).

    Recently I've been thinking that Ironman has only been a part of my life for a year and something that has been a part of my life for that short a time has no business getting permanently inked on my body.

    I've also questioned my motives for wanting the Ironman tattoo.  I think I've wanted it to brag or show off.  Bottom line - the wrong reasons.

    When I trained with a bunch of Ironman vets this summer and saw all the m-dot tats I was really turned off.  It is just not that big a part of my identity to justify a tattoo.

    The jewelry or clothing or pictures seems like a better use of souviner money for me right now.

  •  We had a thread or two in the old forum:

    http://www.endurancenation.us/en_fo...ght=tattoo

    Love reading some of those old threads, hmmmmm, where did that 4 keys logo come from ? 

    ANYWAY......... As I said in the prior thread, before I did an Ironman I would tell folks that if I ever did one I would get a tattoo.  But  when the time came I backed out for many reasons.  I said I would buy a cool piece of jewelry.  The idea was to have a custom bracelet made to replicate the athlete bracelet you get when you check in at registration (took me MONTHS to take that thing off after the race).  But I still don't have it!

  • I have never looked at a guy / girl with an IM tattoo and said, wow, that's cool. I have a tattoo and like them, but no on the IM one. Probably b/c most triathletes who do IMs already LOOK like they do IMs: skinny, veins, gear, schwag...everyone else doesn't need another (permanent) hint of who you are...

    P
  • Hmm, I guess I shouldn't post pics of my EN tramp stamp.......
  • None for me. I hate needles---well, when I'm on the receiving end.
    I'm not one for alot of Mdot memorabilia either--in fact, I've donated my finisher's medals to Medals for Meddle (thank you, Pam!). As Linda said, the experience is tatoo'ed on my soul.
  • Maybe I'm old skool, but IMHO think IM tatoos are for Kona. It's a personal choice and obviously by the very many ones I see (even 70.3.. WTHeck?)
    many don't agree.

    Just my 2 cents....
  •  no for me, like rich happy I did not get anything stupid in my 20s. 

  • It is a personal choice and I could care less what others think.

    I got mine after IM CDA 08. I was pushing 58 at the time so doubt that I will have any buyer's remorse when I grow up and mature.
  • Going on 52 here, not a fan of tats, don't have any. However, I am seriously considering getting one when I complete IMLOU. (See, I'm thinking positive! image
  • Much like everyone else, I contemplated it for a while but there is definitely some negative stigma associated with it. There were a lot of times when I was beginning to race when I would see an M-dot on someone's calf and just be awed, I had nothing in my portfolio to compare so to speak. However, over time I've seen less tasteful and more gratuitous examples that kind of turned me off from it.

    In the end though, I don't have a problem with it, it's each person's own decision what they put on their body, if it means that much to them and they do it for the right reasons then more power to them. I personally have no tattoos, I'm in my 20s and so far have managed to avoid the confluence of free time + alcohol that usually bred tattoos, having narrowly dodged the bullet on fraternity tattoos in college. All that being said, I personally would not rule out an mdot tattoo, but if I do get one, it will be after I've had some time to let everything soak in and it certainly will be one of my own design more subtly located than blasted in large font across my calf. To each his own though.
  • Posted By Rich Strauss on 24 Aug 2010 06:38 PM

    I'm a no, for me personally, cuz I'm 42yo and gots no bidness getting a tatoo. In 20-30yrs I think the world will be full of people regretting poor tattoo decisions...but that's another topic

    Besides, if I got an MDot I'd need to get a USMC one first, as that's more important to me. Until then, I'll just show off the scars on me knees, elbows, arms and legs



    The spouse has an Uncle Sam's Misguided Children tat.... He loves tattoos but decided he would never get another one for personal reasons but I have considered it.  I doubt I will follow through.  Kathy and I have this discussion on every trip to Madison.....I think I'll get a piece of jewelry to commemorate the accomplishment but Linda I love your answer!!!

  • Posted By Patrick McCrann on 24 Aug 2010 07:56 PM

    I have never looked at a guy / girl with an IM tattoo and said, wow, that's cool. I have a tattoo and like them, but no on the IM one. Probably b/c most triathletes who do IMs already LOOK like they do IMs: skinny, veins, gear, schwag...everyone else doesn't need another (permanent) hint of who you are...



    P



    I hope someday to look like I do IM's....hahaha....not today though....but someday...hopefully!

  • Feel like an old timer but not a big fan of tattoos in general. If I had to get a tat I guess it would be the MDot but prefer my IM hats and T's. Those I can take off if I want to!
  • Nope. I do this stuff for my personal gratification . I don't need any external announcement of my accomplishments. I know what I've done & that's good enough.
  • It's a corporate logo - would you put a Swoosh on the other leg? 

    maybe a discreet little symbolic swimmer, biker, runner?

    Way back when I was doing my first IM in FL 2000, and saw a red MDot on an ankle, I craved one. But, I told my wife, whom I discovered after 20 + years of marriage (the subject never came up before) is very anti-tattoo, and she nixed it; odd for a former flower child, but then, we're not jewelry people either.

  • Got a big sun between my shoulder blades after losing 55 lbs and running my first marathon in Maui. Wish I didn't do it. Never considered the Mdot as veins, quads, calves and shoulders tell the take as P stated earlier. Problem is the gut I'm carrying doesn't say IM but weightlifter, which I ain't...anymore.
  • I'm toying with the idea of getting a teeney-tiny script M dot added to my existing tattoo.
  • I actually have seen a swoosh tat at a road race!  But the Nike swoosh doesn't mean anything...doesn't stand for any accomplishment.   Like I noted in my post, the MDot symbol long ago transcended it's corporate owners. 

  • Posted By Beth Schwindt on 25 Aug 2010 06:13 AM

    I'm toying with the idea of getting a teeney-tiny script M dot added to my existing tattoo.



    or an EN Chica 

  • I might get the logo for Oscar Meyer when I complete an Ironman, but then again if my plan comes through I will be sponsered by them.

  • What Linda said.

  • I toyed with the idea, especially since the man who talked me into it has them all over his legs.  This surgeon friend has done some pretty extreme things though from everest to morocco ultra marathons and those may be a bit more "inkable" plus his resume of 13+ IMs.  I'm not nearly there.  Plus, I'm too damn hairy, there would be too much up keep with that alone so people could see it!   

  • I thought they were cool and kind of envied them for a bit. But then the event came and went and I felt no compunction. I'm not *against* it - just no need. Don't have any tattoos. Maybe if I did, I'd take Beth's solution.
  • I have no tatoo's and while I shortly considered an MDOT it I'm glad I did not. With all the changes in the last 2 years I was reminded that IM is a brand and a business and I don't really agree with many things they do and the direction they are going. If I were to get a tatoo, I MAY consider something swim, bike, run, or even 140.6. Like others have said, it is pretty easy to pick out other triathletes. I was at a cubs game last week and saw three people (separately) wearing mdot clothing. The probably noticed my Zoot shoes as well.

    However, I love seeing guys running or riding with an MDOT on their calf as it motivates me to pass them during my workouts. Yes, I'm a jerk but I'll take any motivation I can get during a long ride or run and a rather enjoy flying by someone with an MDOT tatoo.

    Too bad I can't do the same thing to the guys in the pool....but I'm working on it.
  • I have two (plain black) already, but want to get some more colored ink on my right arm. Yes, I want it to include the m-dot as a representation of triathlon as a whole, which has had such an impact on my life. Along with some fraternity symbols and my parents' initials. I don't care what anyone else thinks, if they're all meaningful to me.

    Like David, I like chicas with tattoos mostly - it always depends on the choices (designs and locations).

    My friend Claire, has a GIANT m-dot on her right calf. She swears up and down that the tattoo shop made it bigger than she agreed, but I know for certain this place draws it before they ink it - so it was her mistake. Seriously, this thing is HUGE! I laugh every time I see it.
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