The Worst Tattoos Ever — According To Tattoo Artists On Reddit

Body ink can be beautiful, meaningful, or just plain fun (or all three!). But at the end of the day, if you're getting a tattoo, you want something you'll always love. It is fairly permanent, after all. So when a Reddit thread popped up asking tattoo artists to share the worst ink they've ever given someone, well, we had to read it. Because while we love body art, we've always wondered what goes through artists' heads when their clients request something regrettable. There are stories of covering up an ex's name; stories of phallic symbols, wrong dates, and punny jokes. The takeaway? Take time to listen to your artist — it may be your body, but it's also their work. And if you still want to get a Pokémon character, well, then, you do you. Read ahead for the best (err, worst) stories from the tattoo artists of Reddit. The Wrong Birthday
"A guy I know has a tattoo of Roman numerals with his date of birth running down his forearm. The problem is, he wasn't old enough to get one at the time so [he] lied on the form he had to fill out, and as a result, he now has a tattoo with the WRONG date of birth on his arm!" — UnclePepperpoty

The "Dad Joke" Tattoo
"My buddy has teardrops on the sides of his middle fingers. Anytime someone complains to him, he puts them up to his eyes and makes a pouty face." — KeytarPlatypus

The Giant Cover-Up
"I did a cover-up that I wasn't proud of, but that's what the client wanted. A couple came into the shop asking for a cover-up of an ex-BF. She showed me and, surely enough, a big guy's name on her side hip. The good part was it was done in a light-blue ink, easy to cover. I already started getting ideas in my head of what to cover it with. Guy steps in and says, 'No. We just want a star over it.' The name was about 5 [to] 6 inches long, and I explained that a star that big would have to be, at least...8 inches big to fully cover the name. Both said yes to this. My boss walks over and gets on my ass for not suggesting something else, but I explained to him that that's what they wanted. Both looked at him and nodded. By the time it was done, this small, petite girl had a blue star covering her entire hip area. It looked cheap, tacky, ghetto mad, just stupid. After that, I refused to do cover-ups if the client doesn't listen to reason." — tattooed_n_high

The Impossible Game Of Tic-Tac-Toe
"Not a tattoo artist, but a friend has a naughts-and-crosses game tattooed on his leg, however the resulting combination of Xs and Os is impossible. I give him shit for it every time he wears shorts. There are three Xs, which are forming a winning diagonal line, and four Os scattered elsewhere. The game should have ended at the third X, meaning there is no way a fourth O should have been played. Edit: Tic-tac-toe for those players from the U.S." — Trengroove

The Drake Reference
"When I was an apprentice, we had a 'DJ' that performs at a lot of local clubs call our studio just as I was walking out the door. My ears perked up immediately as I gathered that much from our receptionist on the phone and took the call. "He wanted a messy-looking smiley face (like his own Blink-182 kind of thing). Normally, I'd arrange a consult and make a booking, but he was desperate to have it right there and then, no matter the cost. I told him to come straight down, and I'll have a couple designs made up for him once he gets here. Thirty minutes later, he comes flying through the door and runs to my desk... [He] confessed he doesn't actually want the smiley face on his hip, but 'I DID IT FOR THE SNAPCHAT' in 'that font from the Drake cover.' "Looking at his arms, he was already covered in crap from backyard scratchers and it helped me justify doing it. While doing the tattoo, he explained to me he was getting it for a competition a club was doing amongst DJs to see who could promote the club's new name change on social media the best and win a contract to get to perform there for a period of time... I finished the piece and kindly asked him if he could not promote myself or the studio for obvious reasons. "He was over the moon and loved it, paid the agreed amount, and ran back out to see what he could do next. What I was unaware of was the girl that came in with him that I thought was his GF actually worked for this club and was Snapchatting the whole thing through the business' account. I didn't know about this until [my partner and I] brought up how our days were, and she showed me the Snap story... I didn't chase them up at all and just took it on the chin. Now, I use it as a reminder to only ever accept things that I'm happy to put my name to. Edit just to add. He didn't win." — Inztinx

The Inevitable Pokémon Go Reference
"My sister-in-law just put a Pokémon Valor tattoo on someone's neck." — Jilgebean