4. Ron

Taking the advice of a friend, Ron avoided getting tattooed simply for tattoo's sake. He made sure his tattoos mean something to him.

Ron knew what he wanted his first tattoo to be since he was 25, but he waited until he found the right artist and the right time to get inked.

He was 40 the first time he went under the needle.

While visiting family in Winnemucca, Nev., he walked into Rodriguez Ink and told shop owner Robert Rodriguez what he wanted.

Together artist and client talked about the imagery and worked together to get Ron's vision into the design. From conception to execution, Ron spent about eight hours in Rodriguez's shop.

Now his right shoulder bears his family name "Manzanares" along with his astrological symbol, Taurus. For Ron, the bull represents his strength. He chuckled as he shared that his dad said Ron was like a bull in a China shop.

When asked about the pain associated with getting tattooed, he again laughed softly and said, "I loved it. It's addicting."

That positive first experience led him back to Winnemucca and back to Rodriguez Ink. This time Ron celebrated his dedication to his Christian faith and his two sons — for life — por vida.

1. Connie

It's apropos that the first profile for the American Tattoo Project begins with a classic tattoo story.

Connie was 18 and suffering through a break up with her first true love. It was the pain of love lost which prompted her to walk into a tattoo shop and get inked for the first time.

 

Inspired by the rose tattoos worn by her father and her aunts, Connie chose a single, red, long-stem flower accompanied by the words "love hurts" to permanently symbolize her heartbreak.

Like so many, that first experience under the needle sparked Connie's desire for more ink. 

She wanted her next tattoo design to be more personal. Connie asked an artist friend to draw a few ideas. The designs played with the ethereal ideas of infinity and the celestial bodies.

All three drawings are now part of Connie's ever-growing collection of tattoos.

Connie's right arm is sleeved in imagery dedicated to the elements of earth and air, tying in the patterns of moons and stars from tattoos on her back and shoulder. The future will see her left arm bearing a sleeve dedicated to the elements of fire and water.

Across each of her sides, she wears the names of her two sons and, when both sides are completed, will include the flowers associated with the astrological symbols for each son, herself and the boys' father.

Even though Connie has been collecting tattoos for 13 years, we find her still only in the middle of her journey.