Lorenzo Mata, Center, basketball
“This is a praying hands and a cross and it says, “˜Only God Can Judge Me’ and it has my mom’s name in the middle. And this one’s an Aztec warrior with some pyramids that actually got added to it. It kind of represents me.
A lot of people talk smack about me and judge me and they don’t even know me. It’s my mom ““ she’s always been there for me and is still there for me. The cross and the praying hands ““ just praying for everything that she’s always done because of hard times and everything. … I got (the tattoo) for my mom. She would always pray for me. I do it all for her.
I’m Mexican and the Aztec warrior ““ I’m like a warrior on the court and I do whatever it takes to win. … Aztec warriors, they did everything for their people and I’m doing everything for me and my people ““ the Mexican people ““ another role model for them to look up to.
I got this one (of the hands and cross) last summer. And (the Aztec warrior tattoo) I got last summer and I just added the pyramids two weeks ago.
(The warrior tattoo) took five and a half hours because of a lot of detail. Obviously it does hurt. Once you start doing it, it goes numb for awhile. I’m just on my Sidekick the whole time trying to keep my mind off it.
The first (tattoo), my mom was kind of mad but then she was like, “˜Whatever.’ Then she kind of liked it. Then the (warrior tattoo), and it was two weeks, and my mom didn’t know I had it. After that I was like, “˜Might as well just show it to her,’ so I showed it to her. She was mad, obviously. I can’t take them off.
When I got (the first) one, coach Howland, he sounded surprised I got a tattoo. But then he was like, “˜Oh, it’s for your mom.’ Then I got this one and he was like, “˜How many more are you going to get?’ I’m still planning on getting a couple more this summer.
I want to get my initials somewhere and I want to get my other arm. I don’t want to get anything down here (on my forearms). Not yet. Not until I make some money. So when I make some money, I’ll get some down here. Something like a half-sleeve. My mom wouldn’t really like (a full-sleeve tattoo). It kind of hurts. I almost cried when I got it.”
With reports by David Woods, Bruin Sports senior staff.
Brigham Harwell, Defensive tackle, football
“I have two tattoos with the Bruin “˜B’ on my left arm and then my last name “˜Harwell’ on my right arm. But the Bruin B, it means a lot to me.
Well, out of high school I wanted my last name because I’m sort of a family person. (In the Harwell family) we’re all loved and we’re all together and everything.
And then the Bruin B tattoo has so much meaning to it. It’s a Bruin B, then there’s two little Bs inside of it, which is for my two little brothers, Brent and Byron. We’ve been through so much. I can go on and on about the struggles we went through, growing up and everything. They’ve been my biggest fans throughout high school, throughout college. They go to all my home games. I love them like their my kids and everything. As I get older I want them to live with me. So they mean a lot to me. They’re 17 and 16.
“˜Harwell’ I got in high school. The Bruin B I got my sophomore year after the season. I got it because I’d been wanting to get it for a long time: the shape of the Bruin B. Coming to UCLA was a blessing. Coming from my background, none of my family got the chance to go to a university. So being able to come to a university, playing for UCLA, staying close to home ““ I love it here. I’m a senior next year, so the time is ticking, but I had a great time here. UCLA, this program, coach Dorrell, everybody ““ it means a lot to me.
“˜Harwell’ ““ really no reactions (to that tattoo). But my Bruin B: Every time we have fans come out or whatever, they go, “˜Damn, that’s a big B!’ You hear kids going, “˜Mommy, look at his arm!’ You get a lot of people saying, “˜Wow, that’s nice.’ And you hear people in the background, “˜I’m gonna get that too.’ It’s funny and everything, but I like it. You get a lot people walking around that are like, “˜Damn, did it hurt?’ or “˜Wow, that’s big.’
It didn’t hurt that much because I was used to the needle, so it didn’t hurt that bad.
As of now, no (plans for more tattoos), not right now. But I have some plans to do some more work but no more new ones.”
With reports by Jason Feder, Daily Bruin Sports senior staff.
Mike Zaher, Defender, men’s soccer
“It’s kind of crazy: My brother (Joe) and I were talking, maybe a month or a couple months before his death. Another player had passed away, Greg Griffin, who was a big-time soccer player over at Furman. He got in a car accident and died. We both knew him from our respective national teams.
When he passed away, it was kind of a shock. (Joe and I) had a kind of serious conversation: “˜Hey, if something ever happened to you, I’d get (a) tattoo.’ We had a random conversation and low and behold, he passed away (after a car accident) a couple months later.
I ended up telling my mom, “˜(Joe and I) had this conversation and I’d really like to get a tattoo on my back.’
We discussed where (on my body) to get the tattoo, me and my brother. I wanted it to be in a place that was for me. Not that I have anything against tats on your arms or on places that are exposed, but it was for me. And only the people I feel need to see it can see it. It signifies he’s got my back. He’s on my back, there with me, supporting me.
It says “˜Joe … Heaven’s All-Star … Brothers Forever.’
We had a ritual when we used to play together in high school. We always wore wristbands around our forearms and we wrote in “˜Zaher Brothers’ around the wristband. And anytime one of us scored … we would run up to each other in celebration and we’d hit wrists.
It came to me and I thought, “˜I really would like to get my hand and his hand.’ You know his is the one with the jewelry on it because he used to wear all the jewelry. I had his hand and my hand hitting to signify what we used to do.
My mom was there with me. She was totally supportive as long as it was something that I could live with for the rest of my life, which obviously she knew it was. She actually sat there with me for the two and a half hours that it took to get it. There’s a lot of detail. It’s our arms crossing and then in the background it has clouds and sun rays coming through. She has a tattoo on her ankle now. It says, “˜Forever 5,’ with a heart around it, for her five children.”
With reports by Bobby Gordon, Daily Bruin Sports senior staff.
Bruce Davis, Defensive end, football
“This (on my left arm) is actually done by a well-known tattoo artist. I went to him because I had to cover some stuff up under here, so I went to him and was like, “˜What can we put over it and what do you think would look the best?’ I just totally trusted his judgment just because he’s such a great artist. He’s done work on some of my other teammates like Eric McNeal. He’s done all his tattoos. So that’s how I found out about him, and he came up with this (tattoo on my left arm) and I loved it.
Then this (on my left arm), I got this when I was 16. It means “˜Fear No Man’ (in Chinese). And this (on my right wrist) is the initials of me and my brother and my sister, and it’s our birthday. I’m close with my brother and my sister so eventually they’re all going get this too. So it’s kind of like a family thing. …
(The one on my left arm) I got about a year ago. This (tattoo of Chinese symbols) I’ve had for three years now. And this one (of my siblings) I got a couple months ago. …
(The one on my left arm) took nine hours. I had to go to two sessions and I’m not done yet. I still got another four hours to go. He’s got to cover the whole back of my arm too. It takes a long time and when it takes a long time like that sometimes he goes over spots he’s already done and it hurts. But I mean, it’s not that bad. Once you get started, and once you get 30 minutes under your belt, then it kind of goes numb. It’s not too bad. … I just turn my iPod up as loud as it goes and that’s it. …
When I went home, my mom rolled up my sleeve and was like, “˜What were you thinking?’…
Do I have a favorite? I think this one (of my family) is my favorite just because, you know, it’s of my family. And I’m so far away from home. My family’s in Texas so, you know, this is my favorite one just because it reminds me of my brother and sister. …
I might get a couple more but I’m going to have to surprise you guys.”
With reports by Jason Feder, Daily Bruin Sports senior staff.
Jerzy Siewierski, Defensive tackle, football
“I got four tattoos but seven total sittings about three hours apiece. …
I got my first one when I was 17. My father passed when I was 8 so this is my first one right here: “˜In Loving Memory.” I’m Polish so I got the Polish Eagle under it. …
This is for my pops right here and I’ll keep going with it. I’m going to add a set of Polish words on the bottom. I got a theme on this side and I’m going to half-sleeve this, half-sleeve this, and I got two on my ankles. So I’m all about themes, so this one is to my dad in Polish, so I’ll probably get a flag on the back that’s like “˜First to Fight.’ This theme right here (on my left arm) is religion. So I got Psalm 23, Rock of Ages, with hands of the stigmata and the Virgin Mary. On my legs, I got “Self Made” on my ankles. And I’m going to sleeve one on my legs that’s a John Wayne theme. … John Wayne’s the man, you know? I’m going to get a tattoo of him. And I like tattoos so …
I’m from Reno and it’s the straightedge capital of the world. Hardcore is the big thing there. Everybody has tattoos so it’s nothing really different. My ears are stretched out to 1 inch. So I didn’t really get a reaction back home. But when I came here, it was like, “˜Ah, you got a lot of tattoos’ and I’m like, “˜Yeah.’ It was a shock for them, but it’s just the way I am. I don’t even go to a parlor, my boy (Tattoos by Garrett in Reno) does my tattoos. …
All of my tattoos come from what I wanted. This is a prayer I say before every game, Psalm 23, so I was like, “˜You know what? I say it every game, I might as well get it tattooed on me.’ But I mean, I guess growing up I liked the bikers with the tattoos. If I didn’t play football, I’d have a motorcycle. So I guess bikers (are an inspiration). I mean tattoos are cool to me. That’s why I got them. …
The next one is I’m going to finish up this half-sleeve here (on my left arm). I’m going to get a sacred heart, which is what Mary usually holds in her hands. It’s the heart with the hole in the top. And I’ll just get some shading and some little stuff. I’m actually going home on the 11th to get it finished up. …
Definitely this one (of the Virgin Mary hurt the most). That was three and a half hours of pure shading and pain. I stood up to count the money to give it to him, and I was so dizzy it took me a couple times to count it.”
With reports by Jason Feder, Daily Bruin Sports senior staff.
Kiyoko Guillory, Throws, women’s track and field
“I have six tattoos. Two on each arm, (one) on my back and (one) on my hip.
All of them have spiritual significance except maybe my first one on my hip, which was for me and my best friend. All of the main big ones have spiritual significance.
There is the yin-yang signifying balance and the light and dark, polarity and the opposites of everything in life. And it’s a reminder.
These on my arms are an excerpt from one of my poems. It’s written in Japanese. My grandma is Japanese so she wrote it out for me. It means “˜beautiful moments of internal struggles forces my soul to be uplifted.’
And then on my back (there is) a bible scripture.
It’s, “˜Thy word is a lamp unto my foot and a lamp unto my path.’ And that was directly out of a Japanese bible.
I like body art and wanted to put things on my body that I knew I would remember for the rest of my life.
(I’ve gotten one) every year or so in college, the bigger ones (in) the past three years.
(I’ve gotten) big reactions: “˜Wow.’ Really big reactions like, “˜Whoa, this is really big.’ There are a lot of extremes. People love them to death or people are like, “˜Whoa, that’s a little much.’ But that’s part of my personality. People that know me are like, “˜Oh that’s so you, Kiyoko.’
My mom is super like me, so the first thing she said to me was, “˜Kiyoko, are you cleaning that well so it doesn’t get infected?’ I thought she was going to say something completely (different). But she was fine with it. She just kind of thinks it was a trend and it probably is to a certain extent because tattoos have gotten so much bigger over the past six years or so.
I think it’s fine as long as (it has meaning). I just hate tattoos that don’t signify anything. Butterflies or birds ““ I can’t stand that. I like stuff that I can look at 60 years from now and be like, “˜I got this, and I know exactly why.’
I might get one more. I’m planning on one, but I have them all in the places where I want them, and I don’t want any tattoos on my lower body.
I’m not positive about (what the next one will be) but it’s on my right hip. I have a symmetry issue; that’s why I have everything on both (sides) ““ a really compulsive thing.”
With reports by David Woods, Daily Bruin Sports senior staff.