Hinske brings his ‘living canvas’ tattoos to Braves
Here is Eric Hinske's Japanese warrior, breathing snake thingy.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Nobody has added more color to the Braves’ clubhouse than utility man Eric Hinske. How about a $5,000 tattoo that took two entire offseasons to complete?
The tattoo on Hinske’s back, pictured left, was just completed this winter.
“It’s just traditional Japanese styling tattoo,” he said. “I got a tattoo of a cross on my left arm when my grandfather died and I liked it so then I got one of a dragon on my other arm. I just liked the way it looked. Then I got addicted to it and I couldn’t stop. I had my arms and chest plates done so I just wanted to tie it all together so it looked like 0ne big piece. So I just got this big Japanese warrior and this snake wrapped around with the snake’s mouth open, with wind and clouds and stuff. It’s pretty cool.”
Hinske, who was signed as a free agent from the New York Yankees, said there is no special significance to the design. The outline and shading for the tattoo was done last winter. All of the coloring was done this winter, in nine or 10 settings covering 30 hours Altogether, it was 18 to 20 sittings covering 45 hours and totaling $5,000, paid to the order of the appropriately named, “Living Canvas” in Tempe, Ariz.
When asked if getting all of those tattoos hurt, Hinske said, “It’s hard to explain. It’s annoying. It’s like you’re getting stung by a bee for three or four hours.
“It was fun. But it was a lot of work. I finished all the color this offseason and by the end I was ready to stop. A lot of pain.”
Did his wife, Kathryn, object?
“I would call my wife an enabler,” he said. “She likes the way I look. She said, ‘Do whatever you want, it’s your body.’”
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186 comments Add your comment
FUZZYBEE
February 25th, 2010
4:13 pm
I wonder if likely UGA grad dude also knows that tattoos like that also reduce your body’s ability to sweat and release heat… The heavy drinking Japanese mafia guys with tatoos like that sometimes end up with organ failures as a result…
Todd - Dacula
February 25th, 2010
4:14 pm
STUPID, in my opinion… Just wait ’tilhe start to rinkle… one big saging dragon…
J Foxworth
February 25th, 2010
4:14 pm
“If you have your shirt tattooed onto your body, with your underwear sticking out of your pants?, You might be a Redneck!”
BravesFanLostInOhio
February 25th, 2010
4:16 pm
Well, it is his body…but
If I was going to do something that intricate and that permanent, I would hope it would have more meaning than just to look cool. But, like I said: It’s his body…
BravesFanLostInOhio
February 25th, 2010
4:17 pm
Free ad space for banana republic. Maybe they will pay for his tatoo.
country boy
February 25th, 2010
4:19 pm
Jeffy boy – could you help the cause and take Bobby to Seaworld???
Gwinnett Fred
February 25th, 2010
4:22 pm
1) No further proof needed that John Shurholtz no longer has anything to do with free agent signings; and
2) This was obviously a slow day in spring training OR Schultz got sloshed last night so bad this was the best he could come up with today.
Pretty sad when Schultz doesn’t have the Thrashers to kick around, he has to find half naked men to write about.
MCook
February 25th, 2010
4:24 pm
Nice ink, but it by the way his body looks, should have spent the time in the gym instead of the parlor. Looks like crap…
Larry
February 25th, 2010
4:25 pm
This is why eveyone with more than a double digit IQ is disgusted these cognitively retarded animals called “Major League Baseball players and National Basketball Association players are given millions upon millions to play a game with a round ball.
Jay Dubu
February 25th, 2010
4:26 pm
tmack652,
He hit 7 homers in 84 at bats for the Yankees, and only 1 homer in 106 at bats for the Pirates?
What gives? Does his power exist in the uniform, or is there some other tactic at work here?
The Hangover
February 25th, 2010
4:28 pm
Schultzie got so sloshed last night that he forgot he wrote this insane story about this idiotic tattoo. CLASSIC!
Boise State Bronco
February 25th, 2010
4:29 pm
I sure hope he can hit
lanier
February 25th, 2010
4:31 pm
The AJC sent you down there for this? If I was your editor I’d make you walk back.
Come on Jeff get to work
Ron Burgandy
February 25th, 2010
4:32 pm
Stay classy Atlanta!
MCook
February 25th, 2010
4:32 pm
BTW, how much did they sign this tool for??
JP
February 25th, 2010
4:33 pm
Does this Ed Hardy-ish tatt make him a certifiable D-bag?
Larry
February 25th, 2010
4:36 pm
That looks terrible. But if the guy can make an impact on the roster then I dont care if he has the Pillsbury Doughboy tattooed on his face. Play some solid ball and all is forgiven.
/Mets suck
Richham
February 25th, 2010
4:36 pm
Imagine that mess when he’s 80.
siskel_god
February 25th, 2010
4:37 pm
I got a tattoo when I was 20 and drunk in the Navy. As a 30ish year old married father of two I have no desire to have anymore much less have my entire torso covered. Whatever its his body but jeez….kind of hard for me to pull for a complete idiot. And make no mistake, if you sit in a tattoo parlor for thirty hours and get a tattoo of a Japanese guy, when you are American, your an idiot. I bet KK and Saito crack up at this loser. Is it to late to bring back Greg Norton?
DamYankee
February 25th, 2010
4:39 pm
What SeanM said.
fordcobra
February 25th, 2010
4:39 pm
Looks like spring training is pretty slow if this is the best we can do?????
Lowcountry Bulldawg
February 25th, 2010
4:39 pm
Permanent reminder of temporary insanity.
Hal
February 25th, 2010
4:39 pm
His shemale friends must love it. The cigarette just falls out of their tooth gap and they drool RedMan when he takes off his shirt.
Larry
February 25th, 2010
4:42 pm
Between the actual tattoo, the comments here, and the sh*t he is gonna get from teammates over this, I actually feel sorry for the guy.
So overall I would consider this blog a resounding success.
Lets pick another new guy to run into the ground tomorrow!
/Mets suck
ASHEVILLE DAWG
February 25th, 2010
4:43 pm
All I can say “What the HELL”. Does this guy have kids. Always wonder about folks like this, how do you talk to your children about this. No don’t write on the walls write on yourself? Did notice that the lower arm hasn’t been tattoo’d yet. Must be looking for endorsement deals.
The Braves must be so proud, just like his parents.
The Whopper
February 25th, 2010
4:44 pm
Spunk all over dat thing baby.
Homo
February 25th, 2010
4:44 pm
Can you send my his number?
Gen Neyland
February 25th, 2010
4:48 pm
Can’t wait till he does the pants…and to think, when I was a kid I’d have to pay a quarter to see the Tatooed Man at the county fair’s freak show. Now it comes with the price of admission to a MLB spring game. Two drinks, two dogs, parking, one program and the Tatooed Man, $10 dollar.
TB
February 25th, 2010
4:49 pm
Wasn’t that Japanese guy on an Emerson Lake & Palmer album?
crackbaby
February 25th, 2010
4:50 pm
Q: One Brave has a “living canvas” tattooed on him. Can you guess who?
A: Yup, the stupidest one. You win Hinske. You are the new John Rocker. Dumb as a box of rocks. Hope you can hit a curveball.
Hinske is a toolski
February 25th, 2010
4:52 pm
Gives his boyfriend a chance at target practice.
There goes the neighborhood
February 25th, 2010
4:55 pm
Guess there was no room in the NBA for a tatted up short white dude now that Jason Williams is back in the league?
Ted M
February 25th, 2010
4:57 pm
upon further review that Japanese guy on his back only has one leg…whats up with that?
Tucker T
February 25th, 2010
4:57 pm
Pretty dumb to do that to your body. I just hope he can play baseball. That’s all that matters really.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 25th, 2010
5:04 pm
Second worst tattoo ever, after DeShawn Stevenson.
Interesting how the word “thug” doesn’t pop up though. I was under the impression that tattoos were one of the key indicators of “thuggery”.
Tojo
February 25th, 2010
5:06 pm
This guy got screwed. In Japan that character on his back is a male Geisha so we don’t have to be concerned if she has any children. Maybe she can play ball
JRP
February 25th, 2010
5:06 pm
@gdawginkalamazoo..LMAO..You said it all..
Terrible Truth
February 25th, 2010
5:09 pm
Great tattoo of John Belushi’s Samurai Warrior! It’s not? Daaaamn, what an ugly tattoo!
The only good thing about my daughter defacing her body with three tatt’s is every time she wants to borrow money I just say, “I bet you wish you had the five, six hundred dollars you threw away on those hideous tattoo’s.” The conversation ends pretty quickly.
After tough transition, Escobar says, ‘I feel like I’m home’ | Jeff Schultz
February 25th, 2010
5:11 pm
[...] ♦ Eric Hinske and his $5,000 tattoo. [...]
WTF
February 25th, 2010
5:13 pm
Guy obviously has more money than he knows what to do with.
Pulpwood Smith
February 25th, 2010
5:33 pm
Yeah, I think I’ll permanently disfigure my body with ugly artwork that you wouldn’t hang in your college dorm room. What an idiot.
Jeff R
February 25th, 2010
5:39 pm
Wow, I’ve never gotten the tattoo thing to begin with, especially ones that cover big portions of someone’s body.
Hinske’s got to live with his “artwork” the rest of his life. Hope he enjoys it as much at 70 as he does now.
John Stossel
February 25th, 2010
5:40 pm
Give me a break!
What is baseball coming to?
Not a role model.
I guess this guy does not plan ahead as one day he will age and this will look like a mess.
Must not have kids that he wants to set an example for.
It however is his money and he can throw it away however he sees fit.
melissa's mom
February 25th, 2010
5:40 pm
SO UGLY!! This is one lifestyle choice I will never understand…sigh! What will HIS kids do to their bodies to be “different”? I think we are slowly evolving into aliens! In not too many years from now the human race will look something like Star Wars characters.
Nathan
February 25th, 2010
5:40 pm
Bet he and Peter Moylan will be best buds.
The Sarge
February 25th, 2010
5:41 pm
I don’t want this dude in a foxhole with me . . .
DB guy
February 25th, 2010
5:46 pm
Y’all need to lighten up. His tat, underwear and love handles are smokin’ HOT!!! Can we get this guy to play shirtless? I’d pay double to see that!
mark d
February 25th, 2010
5:47 pm
That tattoo takes alot of time and commitment. The reason all you guys wouldnt do it is because you “COULDNT” do it.. To say his game is wore becasse he has a large tattoo, maybe you should pull youu kkk hat back over your head and go chase someone else to hate for NO REASON…. its small closed minds like yours that ruin this great sport and world…
BDC
February 25th, 2010
5:51 pm
Apparently, this guy has far more money than sense! This foolishness should compel team owners to require, in addition to a physical exam before signing, full disclosure! Is this kinda of stupidity the norm or is this an aborration?
Joe
February 25th, 2010
5:52 pm
DUMB DUMB DUMB