Seth Mecklenburg | Arts & Life Co-Editor

“Tattoo Tales” is an ongoing series that features Buena Vista University Students/Staff tattoos and the stories behind them.

Johnathan Surber is a freshman digital media major at Buena Vista University (BVU) and he has a couple of tattoos. The first of which he got when he was seventeen. Surber and his friends had always found tattoos enticing and would even look at magazines, so when his mom offered to pay for his first one at a tattoo party, he jumped at the opportunity.

“I got a tribal bird. I figured since I was underage, it was symbolic of freedom. It’s not as meaningful as my first one, but it still has something to it,” Surber said.

His family and friends are very accepting of his tattoos, as his mom and grandparents have their own. Surber had his most recent tattoo done over Easter break. He put a lot of thought and meaning into its design.

“The triangle has to do with my favorite band, 30 Seconds To Mars. Its their echelon triad symbol. As I was looking through some pictures of the triad its self, I saw someone had the triangle with the words in it. And the words are, ‘I will never forget, I will never regret, I will live my life.’ Those are lyrics to the song, ‘Closer To The Edge,’ which is one of my favorite songs,” Surber said.

The triangle has more to it than just music, however, as Surber likes to think of his tattoo as a symbol representing his family.

“The triangle [also] has to do with my family, which includes my mother and my two brothers. The line through the middle is me, representing how I am surrounded by my family. The words actually words that I have always lived by,” Surber said.

The planning of the tattoo didn’t happen overnight, as the first challenge wasn’t even what to get for a tattoo but where to put it. He knew he wanted to see it, but at first it clashed with his original personal restrictions of getting a tattoo.

“I have been wanting a new one for a while and I wanted one that I could actually see. I originally always had a rule of not getting a tattoo below my elbows. But I can still hide it and I figured that if that’s how you want something done, might as well just do it,” Surber said.

He does have a plan to get another tattoo because he wants to add on to his back and get his biggest tattoo yet.

“I do want to add something else later. I’ve always had a thing for the angel wing tribal back tattoos. Those big pieces that look like they have wings. I’ve always wanted that and I’m trying to lay the groundwork for that,” Surber said.

Surber believes that no matter what kind of tattoo you get, it will define you and that its important to get something that you enjoy.

Photo courtesy of Johnathan Surber