The Ink

Deegan: When freestyle started out, all the OG dudes were covered in tattoos. I have a sleeve on my left arm, and both legs and my back are pretty much covered. My right arm is the only body part left. My favorite is the first one I got, which is my name on my lower back. I had it done at Soul Expressions in Temecula, CA. It took fours hours, which was when I realized, "Fuck, tattoos hurt." Faisst: I'm covered. All I have left is to tie my inner left thigh and butt cheek into my back. Then, once I do my ribs, I'll have a full suit. I grew up in a dojo since the age of 5, so pretty much all of my tattoos are Asian-inspired except for the portrait of Jesus and Mary on my hands and a cross on my back. Metzger did my whole right arm when I first got to California. He's also a tattoo artist.

Metzger: Anyone I'd run into at races, I'd tattoo them right in the back of their van. Ronnie Faisst's arm is definitely one my favorite tattoos I've ever done. I did a Buddha, a geisha girl, and some clouds and flowers in the background.

Linkogle: It's not mandatory, but pretty much 90 percent of our guys have Mulisha tattoos. It's like getting your family crest. I've got at least 10 M's on me. I've got two giant ones blasted on my chest and "Metal Mulisha" across my back. I've also got tons of skulls, gargoyles, and Nordic Viking stuff. My first ever tattoo was the demon on my head. I just went for it. That's my alter ego, I guess. It's the side of my personality that makes me sketch out and do stupid things—the side I try to keep under wraps. I try to keep hair on him nowadays because when I shave my head, I kind of lose my marbles.

Deegan: In the early '90s, the style was to have a shaved head, so we all had them. I really think because of that and because of the music we listened to and because of some of the people who associated themselves with us, people picked up the racist thing to try to point fingers at us and make us look bad. We didn't really care. We ignored it, and eventually we squashed it.

Twitch [speaking to DUB]: People tell me, "You have ‘WHITE BOY' on your knuckles, that must mean you're racist." Um, that's what I am—I'm a white boy. I'm tired of hearing that. I've worked so hard to get away from that. It's the complete opposite of who I am.

Faisst: Just because I have tattoos and a shaved head, I'm a racist? You ever seen a white supremacist tattoo himself with Asian art? They don't tattoo other cultures on themselves. Spend one day with me. I'm the furthest thing from a racist.