X

Readers' uber-geeky tattoos (photos)

We asked Crave readers to flash us their tattoos, and they shared an impressively geeky array of markings.

Leslie Katz
Leslie Katz led a team that explored the intersection of tech and culture, plus all manner of awe-inspiring science, from space to AI and archaeology. When she's not smithing words, she's probably playing online word games, tending to her garden or referring to herself in the third person.
Leslie Katz
NathanPflanz_superman_1.jpg
1 of 20 Nathan Pflanz

Superman

We recently asked Crave readers to flash us their tattoos, and they shared an impressively geeky array of markings. Click through the following gallery to see how some of our inked readers wear their passion for video games, cartoons, code, math, and more.

Superman fan Nathan Pflanz of Kansas City, Mo., based his tattoo on "Superman: The Animated Series." This picture was taken about two years ago right after the tattoo was finished (look closely and you might see blood in a few spots, Pflanz notes). "My body actually rejected the dark red ink in Superman's cape he says. "I have no plans to get it fixed."

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

croppedhammonds.jpg
2 of 20 John Hammonds

ASCII text

John Hammonds, a U.S. Navy cryptologic technician based in Hawaii, sports a tattoo showing ASCII text of his initials, "JTH." Hammonds' brother-in-law Todd Wilson, a tattoo artist in Anderson, S.C., inked the tattoo in 2005.

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

serioussam_1.JPG
3 of 20 Joel Hampton

Serious Sam

"I know it's an old-school game, but Serious Sam is still one of my favorite PC games," says Joel Hampton of St. Louis, who thought the Serious Sam logo would be fitting for his first, and only (so far) tattoo. "It's located in an area that only my wife regularly sees, so it's not intrusive in my professional life," he says. We didn't ask for specifics.

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

tat.jpg
4 of 20 Cynthia Taylor

Scheme

The tattoo on the inside of Cynthia Taylor's right arm celebrates her love of computer programming. The UC San Diego computer science grad student proudly wears markings from Scheme, one of the first programming languages she learned.

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

croppedshadowman_tattoo.jpg
5 of 20 Thomas Cameron

Red Hat Shadowman

Thomas Cameron of Austin, Texas, wears his Linux and open-source advocacy ("yeah, I'm a fanboy to be sure, no apologies," he says) on his sleeve. The Red Hat employee boasts the Red Hat Shadowman, to honor the community, atop an armband comprised of a printed circuit board, to honor his general geekiness and his relationship with Red Hat. But that's not Cameron's only geeky ink...

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

croppedfedora_tattoo.jpg
6 of 20 Thomas Cameron

Fedora logo

Cameron also sports a Fedora logo on his back.

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

croppedgeekytattoo.jpg
7 of 20 Alan Ottley

Fibonacci series and phi

Alan Ottley, a physicist from Salt Lake City, wears a tattoo-in-progress showing the Fibonacci series of numbers and the Greek letter phi, which represents the sequence.

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

croppedbinary.jpg
8 of 20 Claiton Lovato

DNA helix

U.K. resident Claiton Lovato's tattoo shows a passion for biology, but also "that I definitely have binary code on my DNA."

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

newrebelalliance.jpg
9 of 20 Chris Cooksey

Rebel Alliance

Chris Cooksey of Irvine, Calif., got his Star Wars Rebel Alliance insignia tattoo when he was 18 and in his first semester of college. "Symbolic to say the least," he says.

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

warcraft1.jpg
10 of 20 Scott Sackett

Lich King helmet

Can you tell Scott Sackett's a World of Warcraft fan? That's a helmet of the Lich King on his leg. But that's not his only WoW tattoo...

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

warcraftback.jpg
11 of 20 Scott Sackett

Image from WoW stein

Sackett, who lives in Spring, Texas, also wears an image of a lion from a Warcraft stein he bought in the real world.

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

croppednintendo.jpg
12 of 20 Samuel Gibson

Nintendo light guns

Samuel Gibson of Tallahassee, Fla., went with Nintendo light guns, adding an OG for "original gamer."

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

croppedmario.jpg
13 of 20 Joel Van Goor

Super Mario symbols

More love for Nintendo. Joel Van Goor, who works at The Body Gallery tattoo shop in Sterling, Va., drew this 1-Up Mushroom from Nintendo's Super Mario series on his friend Rachel's arm. It's nestled into the Fire Flower power-up from the same games.

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

croppedstar.jpg
14 of 20 David Agee

Invincibility star

And still more Mario. David Agee of Atlanta has played video games since he was a kid, and the Nintendo NES was his first console. Thus, this 8-bit invincibility star from Super Mario.

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

croppedharrypotter.jpg
15 of 20 Isaac Miller

Dark Mark

Isaac Miller of Battlefield, Mo., grew up with Harry Potter. His tattoo of the Dark Mark symbol is a testament to his Harry Potter-loving childhood, he says.

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

croppedSwordTattoo.jpg
16 of 20 Casey Tamblyn

He-Man sword

Casey Tamblyn of Portland, Ore., wears He-Man's sword from the 1980s cartoon "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" on his right thigh. "It was a show I grew up watching and always loved, plus I'm into swords quite a bit, so it just fit," he says.

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

IPUtattoo.jpg
17 of 20 Dave Miller

Invisible unicorn

While a college student in Bowling Green, Ohio, a few years back, Dave Miller got an ultraviolet-ink tattoo that glows under a blacklight, but can't be seen otherwise. The tattoo depicts the "Invisible Pink Unicorn," the goddess of a parody religion used to satirize theistic beliefs.

"It's an invisible tattoo of an invisible unicorn," Miller notes. The tattoo looks red in the bottom left photo because it hasn't yet fully healed.

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

croppedsinister.jpg
18 of 20 Brigham Stevens

Sinistar

Brigham Stevens of Seattle calls his left forearm his "Sinistarm" due to the tattoo of the main character from the 1982 coin-op arcade game Sinistar. The goal of the game is to prevent drone/mining ships from assembling Sinistar out of crystals found in asteroids.

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

101_1340.JPG
19 of 20 Greg Ramsdell

Galactic Empire

Greg Ramsdell of Buffalo, N.Y., shows his allegiance to the Gallactic Empire with this tattoo on his upper left arm. As you may be able to tell, it's still fresh in this picture.

Related article: "Crave readers' tattoos: Yep, they're geeky"

transformers.jpg
20 of 20 Paul Curwin

Autobot, Decepticon

Paul Curwin's wrist tattoos of a Transformers Autobot and Decepticon represent his own interpretation of yin and yang. Curwin, who lives in Moncton, Canada, also has the Spider-Man spider etched on his chest, but he's not ready to show that one to the Internet just yet.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos