Christophe: All His Ants In a Row

Christophe, 41

First tattoos hold a special place in every tattoo collector’s heart, even if they don’t look perfect after a few years. This is the story of the mandala that is Christophe’s ant tattoo on his right forearm.

In 2004, Christophe, his then wife, and former bother-in-law flew to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where Christophe ended up getting his first tattoo.

“I’ve always had this love/hate relationship with ants because they freak me out just watching them in their lines and just how accurate they are, its unnatural. It’s absolutely mesmerizing and unnatural and terrifying to watch. Who I would like to be in this world, in this utopia, is something like the ant who’s strong, who’s versatile, and who’s dedicated and selfless. So, these are the things that I try to embody day to day. So, when I was thinking about getting the ant, I thought that was the most appropriate first tattoo because it was a mantra for myself, or at least a mandala so I can look at it. I guess that’s what tattoos are, right?”

Christophe’s brother-in-law took him to see his artist for the design, but not before uttering some…questionable sentiments.

“On the drive to 'his guy' he said ‘I’m really glad I’m going with you to get you this tattoo, I’m going to pick out the ant image for you’ and he said very sternly and seriously ‘I’m going to put something on you that we can all recognize because if you ever do anything to my sister, they’ll know who that arm belongs to.’ I think he meant it as a joke but he was a bit off kilter and it was Bowling Green, Kentucky.”

Despite a bit of a scary back story and now faded appearance, Christophe still holds the tattoo as a reminder to keep up the qualities he wishes to embody.

“I never got it touched up or anything but I think it’s appropriate in its imperfection.”