This is Jud Winters, a tattoo artist from Nampa, Idaho. This is a fairly recent photo, but now Jud is laying in the University of Utah’s Burn Center with over 90% of his skin burned from a bonfire accident. Doctors have given him a 30% chance of survival, and he has to undergo 2 surgeries a day for at least a week just to removed the charred skin from his body.

Update: Sadly, Jud Winters passed away on Friday, December 28, 2008. His injuries were just too extensive. But unfortunately, without the benefit of medical insurance, his family is still burdened with bills in the millions on top of funeral costs. A fund has been set up to support the family through local Wells Fargo bank branches. Just ask for the Jud Winters fund to make a donation, or contact Garrity Tattoo and they will make sure the funds reach the family.

Garrity Tattoo
3116 Garrity Blvd #18
Nampa, Idaho 83687

If you have questions, call Nina at Garrity Tattoo: 208-461-3181

NIU Shooters’ Tattoos in Spotlight

TSA policies/woman forced to remove nipple piercings

Teacher Took Underage Student to Get Tattoo in Friend’s Home

Apartment Complex Says No Tattooed or Pierced Tenants

Japanese Water Parks Ban Tattooed Visitors

They may ask you to remove the gem that screw into the titanium anchor on the surface of the skin, but if the anchor is healed it’s not going to go anywhere and there’s no risk of the hole “closing up” while the gem is removed. So, that’s a major advantage to anchors over standard piercings.”

Answer: This problem is called “embedding” and while it does happen, it’s not a good situation. You can go back to your piercer, but go quickly before all traces of the jewelry are gone. Or, if you can, remove it now and then go see your piercer to see if you can get a new labret stud put in there if it hasn’t already closed up. Having to remove the jewelry and allowing it to close is a much smaller problem than having to have the jewelry surgically removed, which probably would require stitches.

The most common cause of this problem is the labret bar being too short. Since it’s a relatively new piercing, your lip is probably still swollen and you’re supposed to be pierced with an extra long bar to accommodate the swelling. (This same rule applies to most bar piercings) Once you’re healed, then you can switch to a shorter bar. Whether your piercer gave you too short of a bar to begin with or you (unwisely) changed it too early, it needs to be fixed immediately or you’re going to have a very serious problem on your hands.

Mario Barth Does First In-Flight Tattoo

March – 577 tattoos in 24 hours by Robbie Koch Earns $20K for Make-A-Wish Foundation

I’m not sure what happened with the above record since Oliver Peck made the record books for 415 tattoos in June. But the effort and the money raised by Robbie Koch is certainly notable whether Guinness recognized it or not.

June – 415 tattoos in 24 hours by Oliver Peck

October - Longest tattooing session done in five-hour or more increments by Jeff “Flea” Watts

October – 726 tattoos in 24 hours by Derek Kastning

November – 775 in 24 hours and 331 tattoos in 8 hours by John “Joker” McManus

November – 801 tattoos in 24 hours by Hollis Cantrell

Hollis Cantrell still holds the current record–for now!

The safety risks and effects on everyday life that come along with a piercing are not to be taken lightly and need to be thought about before the decision is made to get a piercing.

The first step in the decision to get something pierced is where to go. It is helpful to ask friends who have piercings where they got theirs done, and about their experience there. Call around and make sure that the shop is licensed and ask questions about your specific piercing; making sure the shop has an autoclave (a sterilizing machine).

Another important thing to do before a piercing is to make sure that you’re up to date with your immunizations (especially hepatitis and tetanus), and if you plan to get a tongue or mouth piercing, that your teeth and gums are healthy.

The risks that come along with piercings are great. Chronic infections, bleeding, scarring, hepatitis B and C, tetanus, skin allergies, abscesses and nerve damage are just some of the side effects that can occur.

Consider how a piercing will affect your life. If you get an eyebrow piercing, how will that affect your job? Some workplaces have strict rules when it comes to body piercings, so you have to ask, is it worth losing your job for a lip ring? One would hope that people can look past appearance and pre-judgments, but there will always be people who associate piercings with trouble makers. So it’s important to weigh out the pros and cons and consult your boss beforehand.

Arianna London, a sophomore at Capital High School, pierced herself for the first time at the age of 12. Now 15, she has six piercings and her ears gauged.

She has pierced her bellybutton, nose and lip (in three places), snake bites (two piercings under the bottom lip) and a Monroe (a piercing meant to look like a beauty mark) — all piercings she did herself. Her tongue is also pierced, which was done by a friend.

“It started out as me hiding my piercings from my mom,” London said. “I figured if I didn’t do them professionally, it’s not like she can really stop me from getting the piercing. And now I just do it because I like piercing.”

She has not experienced any bad infections, but has had problems with swelling.

“At times I get tired of having so many piercings and I take them out for a while, but overall I don’t think I could say I have regretted doing any of my piercings except for when I decided to pierce my lips and didn’t like them too much.

“People do look at you differently when you have piercings like I do and they are quicker to judge you,” she said.

Kayla Lujan, a senior at Santa Fe High School, started piercing when she was 13. She has eight piercings, including gauged ears, bellybutton, nose, tongue, another hole in her ear, and both cheeks, all done professionally. When she was 16, she got her lip pierced but took it out.

“I regretted piercing my lip because I hate the scars that they left but at the time it seemed like a good idea.”

At 17, Kayla got her most recent piercings, her cheeks, or dimples.

“My dimples and my nose have both been infected. I had my dimples pierced by someone who wasn’t too experienced in doing that type of piercing since it’s not very common,” Kayla explained. “He pierced them curved and it’s supposed to be a straight piercing. So I had to have them redone the right way, and my face was secreting pus and blood for about three weeks or so, and it was really swollen.”

When she got her cheeks pierced, her workplace refused to let her work during the healing period and said she could come back when she could take out the metal jewelry and put in clear retainers, forcing her to take two months off of work.

Even though all the pain, Kayla has no regrets when it comes to her piercings.

“I love piercings and I don’t really care what people think of me,” she said. “It’s what makes me who I am.”

Answer: It’s difficult for me to say since I can’t actually see it, but it’s always possible for a piercing to suddenly become irritated or start to migrate months or even years after getting it.

It could have been pulled during sex or wiping too vigorously, which will definitely cause soreness. It might have been exposed to some kind of bacteria or an irritant like spermicidal lubricant. It might be sensitive to latex if you use condoms during sex.

There’s a lot of reasons you might be sore down there, so my suggestion would be to keep it very clean and avoid any kind of sexual contact for 3 days. During that time, do 2-3 warm sea salt soaks a day and wipe very carefully when you use the toilet. If you don’t notice an improvement in 3 days, go to your piercer or your doctor and let them take a look. If it’s a bacterial infection, you don’t want to let it go too long or it could become a serious problem. If it’s starting to migrate, you’ll probably have to remove it before it tears its way through the skin.

Thieves Break Into Idaho Tattoo Shop

Deleware Tattoo Studio Burglarized

Inking for a Cure

Former D.C. Council Member Arrested in Tattoo Shop Brawl