Some times in the course of this project, I meet the nicest people. I’d like to introduce y’all to Sega. He works down at Oat Willie’s, one of Austin’s finest head shops. He explained that he had spent some time homeless and always enjoyed life no matter the circumstances. One hell of a nice guy. Thanks for letting me take the photo!
I met Lauren at the Red Eyed Fly during South by Southwest. She was great and let me take photos of her knuckle tattoos. When I asked about the meaning behind them, this is what she sent me:
My knuckle tattoos are rather ironic, and pretty straight-forward. Love is a concept everyone should be able relate to, and I live strongly by the word. I suppose it’s more of a personal statement to society. I’ve never been in a fight, nor would I ever want to inflict harm on another person. I got my knuckle tattoos not only for myself, but as my own way of being an open book to society, as well as having an easy gateway to outside conversation.
I didn’t get this lady’s name, but her knuckles are a reference to the great Lightnin’ Hopkins song of the same name:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4IS0TDcYEs[/youtube]
8 Ball here is the real deal. A one man wrecking crew. If you see STAY DOWN coming at you, there is a good chance you shouldn’t have been up in the first place. He is one of the legendary bouncers in Austin, and the stories are every where. Heart of gold and hands of iron.
I met Drew at Domy Books here in Austin the other day. When I asked him if he skated he answered “No, I got SHREDDER when I was playing guitar in Thumbscrew.” He also wanted to note that the green was a nod to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their nemesis, Shredder.
I met John Man at the hardware store the other day. He is a recent Austin transplant from Alaska. He says that he decided to get his knuckles tattooed at age 20 while climbing mountains in Alaska. He realized that he was living the life he wanted and that not every one really does.
I recently ended up at Your Mom’s Burger Bar in East Austin. Aside from the awesome food, there are knuckle tattoos. First up, we have Philip’s knuckles.
They are all things he likes. On the left: Snow cones, spray paint, pizza, PBR, and on the right, traditional symbols.
