274 tattoos

Viko – San Francisco, California, USA

“I have 274 tattoos,” Viko begins, “274, so continuing to get lots more…lots more, definitely.” His first tattoo, which he got at age sixteen, is across his chest and reads Punk Boy (just like his shirt). Though he has a variety of designs and symbols, his current image-interest is skulls.

Viko’s love for tattoos started when he was a young boy. “My mom died really young. She had all kinds of tattoos, and I always thought she was the most awesomest lady to have tattoos. Most of them were her boyfriend’s names, but the one I remember when I was younger, she got a tattoo of a Virgin Mary on her back with the angels and stuff. Just watching her get it done, I just was so fascinated by it. I kind of really got into it. Since I didn’t how her that well, I thought I’d keep the tradition of having tattoos. Since I have six sisters who are very kind of ‘normal’ and not really into the tattoos, so I thought I’d carry it on. They just don’t think like me; I’m a little wild and crazy.”

Like his mother, Viko has no definite or unifying theme to his tattoo designs. Often, they are simply images to remind him of various places and stages of his life, e.g. trees and flowers to represent his boyhood in South Carolina, tribal work from his time in Los Angeles, and various designs on his arm that remind him of living in Las Vegas. His favorite is still the Punk Boy tattoo: “I still try to represent the punk rock era, even though it’s hard in San Francisco; there isn’t that much punk rock music. But otherwise, I like to keep the punk rock tradition going.”

Viko sketches his initial designs, and takes them to various artists for interpretation. Sometimes they get finished, sometimes not. A number of artists he worked with in L.A. were drug addicts, and weren’t always around for the duration of a project. In some cases, such as an unfinished design on his arm, and the sparrows on his neck (one is done, the other is not), Viko actually likes it that way. To him, it represents the freedom of his life, and the continual unfolding of his story.

Occasionally Viko encounters those who are not a big fan of his tattoos. As a bisexual man living in San Francisco, he occasionally meets others who like him, but are put off by the tattoos. These same individuals may occasionally have a small tattoo, like a dolphin or a wave, but “they don’t know the true meaning,” Viko complains, “they just kind of like walk in (to a tattoo parlor), ‘Oh, I want that one,’ and that’s it.” From that Viko offers the following suggestions, “I think the one thing is that anybody who gets tattoos, definitely think about it before you get it, instead of walking in there and just getting something that you’re not quite sure that you wanted. Definitely actually think about what you want to put on your body.”

Viko shares the one occasion where he did not think carefully enough. “The one that I did have was making the mistake of getting some guy’s name tattooed on me. It was right when I turned eighteen, right when I came out, was experimenting. I haven’t got it removed but I definitely, like, accept it. It’s still there and of course people ask me. But you know, it was a good experience in my life, and I think that’s why I’ve kept it for the long time.”

So Viko will continue to think about his future tattoos, and he will continue to get them. His goal is to cover 95% of his entire body; everything with the exception of his face. And he will do so without regrets. “I can’t see myself…stopping, or even thinking ‘Oh, I don’t want this anymore.’ I couldn’t see living without them.”

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