Under the Gun: Shaun White

Alli caught up with Shaun White to hear the story behind the only tattoo he’s got, and it’s on the inside of his left arm. He’d always had a vision in mind for the design, and his friend called him out and told him to go for it. Once Pops showed up to the tattoo parlor, White said there was no turning back.

Tell us about your new tattoo?
I got this last summer. It was funny, I purchased a ring that was in Colorado at this Native American store.  I really liked the symbol, it was for a storm so it’s clouds and thunder and stuff.  That’s the short version of what it means.

How did it all come about?
It was rugged. I was sitting there and I was actually making this (tattoo design). I bought a Marshall Stack and I was going to paint it on the amp. And my buddy came over and he’s just covered in tattoos. And we started talking tattoo talk and basically he asked me if I had an idea. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I thought of something.’ But he said you can’t think about it, you just gotta go do it!

So we get down there to the tattoo place, and you know how they put it on there, they use like deodorant to trace it. So I’m down there and I’m looking at the print in the mirror, just the outline, and my dad showed up on his motorcycle, because I had texted him, like, I might be getting a tattoo. So he shows up and I couldn’t back down at that point. Pops was there.