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ENTERTAINMENT

Geek tats: May the Force be with them

Jennifer Sangalang
FLORIDA TODAY
  • Got a geek tat%3F Reach out to Nerdgirl.
  • Longenecker has 22%2C000 followers on Instagram.
  • Rogers is a manager at Publix in Viera.

Some geeks take their fandomness to the ultimate level — tattoos.

I've seen someone's portrait on someone else's shoulder. Cartoon characters on buttcheeks. Quotes from movies that span one shoulder blade to the other.

Tattoos often tell a story. These kind say you're a megafan.

Years ago, a friend of mine was obsessed with turtles, so much so that she got one inked on her ankle.

A college classmate cemented her Potterite status by getting "Lumos" tattooed on her forearm. (That's a spell Harry Potter and pals used when they needed light.)

And then there's Mark Longenecker, owner of Endless Summer Tattoo in Cocoa Beach. As an artist, he uses his talents to keep the fandom alive. Longenecker, currently among the last men standing on "Ink Master: Rivals" on Spike TV, has thousands of tattoos under his belt. A client has a vision; he makes it a reality.

But I asked him if he, too, has a geek tat. Facepalm. Of course he does.

"I have a Pac-Man ghost," he said, because "I played (the game) when all 7-Elevens had arcades in them."

"I was the master, for sure," he added. "Once I was jacked up on Slurpees, I was unstoppable."

That bit of nostalgia drives people to keep that memory around, even if, in Longenecker's case, it's not the best tattoo. His ex-girlfriend inked him, and "she had never tattooed before," he said.

In Jimmy Rogers' case, however, his left leg always makes him smile. The young Padawan of Port St. John absolutely loves "Star Wars." He has about 10 tattoos of the good guys and the bad guys as well as some fight scenes: Obi Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Darth Vader, a stormtrooper, the Emperor, Boba Fett, Salacious Crumb, Hoth battle, and Han Solo in carbonite.

"I've been a fan since I was about 7 or 8," he said. "I started playing with my uncle's action figures and was hooked. Getting the ink was about taking that fandom to the next level and expressing your love for it in a taboo kind of way for everyone to enjoy."

Rob Figueroa of Hallowed Point Tattoo in Palm Bay helped him achieve "the look." It started with Vader, then that spawned another, then another. There are plans in the works for more "Star Wars" ink on his left arm.

Rogers admits his leg has invited stares, gawking and picture-taking. He welcomes the attention. One time, someone asked him why he doesn't wear pants, er, why he prefers shorts — even in cold weather.

"You've got your people that go out and they spend hundreds of dollars on artwork, and they hang it on their wall for people to look at and say, 'oh, wow. You got that.' Well, mine's public," he said. "I take it out, I bring it out to the public every day, and I get people who compliment it. Ultimately, that's what you want. You want people to say, 'wow, that thing's awesome,' and you're like, 'yeah, I know!'

If you have a geek tat, send me a message or a pic via Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

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Contact Sangalang at 321-242-3630

or jsangalang@floridatoday.com.

Follow Jennifer on Twitter: @byjensangalang

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