Katie Samol | The Chronicle
Players sprint down the field, hurling the ball at one another in an effort to score a touchdown. As the crowd tracks the action, tattoos adorning the athletes’ bodies catch attention. One athlete displays a sleeve working its way up his bicep, while another showcases an intricate design filling his calf. Although this scene might evoke images of a professional or college football game, such displays are becoming increasingly popular among high school athletes.
Thirty-two percent of adults have tattoos, and the popularity of tattoos among teenagers and young adults is on the rise. This trend has trickled down to high school, primarily in student-athletes. Two Mason High School (MHS) Varsity athletes took inspiration from professional athletes in their tattoos. For these students, their tattoos don’t just have a personal significance, but also a significance to their sport and their athletic influences.
This was the case for senior varsity basketball shooting guard, Jazmyn Johnson. Johnson has two tattoos, one running up the side of her right leg from calf to thigh in cursive capped by a heart on either end, the other along her right forearm from elbow to wrist, a flower at the beginning and end of the message.
“The one on my leg says, ‘Trust the process, to show the process,’” Johnson said. “Growing up, nobody thought I’d be where I am today. I was always told to trust the process by my coach, [who is] my sister, [and] as I got older, she was like ‘You’ve trusted the process for so long, it’s time to show the process.’ It’s been my whole life so I decided to get a tattoo.”
Videos of Johnson practicing dating back to 2021 are on her Instagram with hashtags reading “#TrustTheProcess” and “#ShowTheProcess,” as well as reposts from the director of her basketball club, reading “@jazmynjohnson.05 is the process.” Her feed is full of inspirational messages, keeping her motivated and driven in her sport. Johnson’s other tattoo, sprawling from wrist to elbow, holds motivational wisdom for her as well.
“When I get nervous in a basketball game, I rub my arms,” Johnson said. “So now I know to look down and see that it says, ‘Inhale confidence and exhale doubt’. It’s just a little reminder.”
Johnson said she first thought to get the tattoos after seeing the several her sister has. Having her sister as a coach, Johnson was inspired to get a tattoo of her own.
“My sister was taken away from playing basketball,” Johnson said. “She had a stroke and she had tattoos that were meaningful. I feel like she inspired me to get the same thing.”
Johnson said she got her tattoos to show those around her that she has faced and overcome adversity. Despite the odds and peoples’ expectations of what she could achieve, Johnson trusted the process and her work is coming to fruition through her basketball performance.
“It’s been my whole life, so I feel like I need to remember it forever,” Johnson said. “When people take pictures of my leg and my arm, you can see [the tattoos] so everyone sees my story.”
Senior Varsity football safety Preston Estoesta has a tattoo that displays the story of his family and culture.
From wrist to elbow, the tribal tattoo displays various swirling designs of shark teeth, waves, stairs and other significant familial symbols. Similarly to Johnson, Estoesta said he was confident in his decision to get the tattoo because he finds the tattoo meaningful and it is a message he is proud to display.
“Our family’s tribal, so it’s a mix, because I’m Filipino and Hawaiian,” Estoesta said. “It’s a mix of a Filipino and Hawaiian tribal tattoo. Everyone in my family has it, so obviously I had to get it at a certain time.”
While Estoesta was in California with his family for his aunt’s wedding, he and his family were performing a Haka, a ceremonial dance often performed on important occasions. While spending time with family during this event, Estoesta decided it was time to get the symbolic family tattoo.
“I was looking at all my uncles and they had the tattoos and were asking me, ‘When are you gonna get yours?’” Estoesta said. “So the next day, I went with them all, and I got it.”
For Estoesta, his tattoo holds significance both on and off the field. Taking pride in his culture in uniform and being a role model was another goal of his upon getting his tattoo.
“Part of it was for my family, but [it was] for football too, embracing my culture and showing that there’s Filipinos and Hawaiians that play the game of football,” Estoesta said. “Any other little Filipino or Polynesian kid looking up and seeing I have that tribal tattoo, [it can show them that] they could do what I can do, too.”
The tattoo took nine hours, each intricate design holding significance to Estoesta and his family. One unique aspect of his body art that no one else in his family has is the plumeria flower sitting front and center.
“I wanted to put the plumeria there because of my mom,” Estoesta said. “She wears a plumeria in her hair every day. That’s what really reminded me of her.”
A fish hook is another significant symbol in Estoesta’s tattoo, symbolizing good luck and prosperity.
“I usually tap it before games,” Estoesta said as he tapped the fish hook on the back of his forearm. “I tap this, then I’ll do this for my mom.” At that, he brings two fingers first to his lips, then to the blooming plumeria flower.
Getting permanent tattoos at the age of 16, 17 or 18 is a big decision. These athletes have faced various responses from questioning to admiration.
“A lot of my friends say I’m not gonna get a job, jokingly,” Estoesta said.
For Johnson, her first tattoo was on her leg and she got it done spring of her junior year, before she turned eighteen.
“My leg one I got when I was younger,” Johnson said. “My mom agreed to it, and I came home and everyone was like, ‘What the heck? You got a tattoo?’”
Although getting a tattoo is a lifelong commitment, these athletes are sure of their choice and have chosen messages that they believe will resonate with them forever. Though they at first faced questioning for getting the permanent ink at a young age, these athletes chose tattoos that are deeply meaningful and show the world what they value and have overcome.
Showing how adversity has been overcome, displaying culture or using it as a tool for faith – whatever the purpose, this ink is more than just what meets the eye.
“[I want to] let everyone see that I’ve gotten to where I am today,” Johnson said. “I believed in myself to get where I am.”
