Talking About Tattoo Culture with a Non-Traditional Student
I emailed some questions to Dennis Fausz, a 28 year old student at Front Range studying the arts. He has multiple tattoos, including one below his eye, and he gave me some interesting insight on tattoo culture. Dennis plans on attending Colorado State University and his goal is to end up in the graphic design and animation field.
Q: When did you get your first tattoo?
Dennis: I got my first tattoo when I was about 15 years old. I had a girl friend that liked tattoos and pain and she let me practice on her. To build confidence in tattooing her, I practiced on my self first. Not a good choice.
Q: Has having tattoos affected the way people approach or treat you both in a professional setting and in a social setting?
Dennis: Yes, because I’m constantly worried about what he/or she is thinking in the professional or work setting. I’m always prejudging the interview and it just builds anxiety I have not completed one interview without shaking. I got these tattoos in times of weakness. I was really depressed.
Q: Are you worried that having tattoos will affect your chances at getting a career once you graduate?
Dennis: Yes, I’m truly worried the tattoos affecting life after college. It was very hard for me dealing with employment and other opportunities because of the few interviews I had. I wonder everyday will going to college actually change my situation in the employment areas.
Q: With tattoos becoming more common, are you hopeful that the negativity around them will disappear?
Dennis: No and Yes… I’m not okay with my tattoos. They looked awesome and cool at the time. Also when I first stated getting tattoos. It was about the pain taking away from the depression and anxiety. My tattoos poor choices because as much as I’d like to say I like them… I should of just drawn them on paper. The only tattoo I’d keep is my daughters name but also every time I actually look at it, it makes me cry because I have not been the dad I wanted to be.
Q: What’s something you would tell someone considering getting a tattoo?
Dennis: Don’t get them… if it’s cool and you love it so much, hang it in your room. Pay someone to paint it. If you want other people to see them have it painted on a car or display them as art on social media. There is hardly anything so awesome today that I’d get tatted on my body after all the humiliation during my recovery process. Not being able to find or locate employment, lead me to a life full of what if’s.
It helped keep me homeless. When people ask me about my tattoos I tell them about what I was going through and I’m left with the feeling of being lame. It gets depressing being turned down in life based upon tattoos. If you’re going to get some keep them personal. Yes body art looks great… but in today’s world you can have awesome stuff painted on that looks just as cool if not even more cool.
