Tattoos

Mac McClung's vert may be just a smidge less next dunk contest ... 'cause the high-flying hooper just got his whole arm tatted in NYC!

TMZ Sports has learned the 25-year-old guard hit up tattoo artist Michelle Santana out in SoHo after peeping some of her work on social media.

We're told McClung wanted an arm sleeve with sentimental meaning ... so the two got together at Bang Bang Tattoo and created a showpiece.

LaMelo Ball is vying to be the NBA's most tatted hooper ... the Charlotte Hornets star just got his entire back tattooed, and the space-themed ink is awesome!

TMZ Sports has learned the All-Star guard went to his go-to guy, Herchell L. Carrasco -- AKA RockRollG -- at Pachuco Tattoo in Orange, California ... after months and months planning the huge tattoo.

Ball wanted to keep with the space-themed tats ... so RockRollG had friends Niz Carrillo, Jorge Garibay, Juan Nambo, Jonas Aguilar, and Elvis Ramos help him bring the concept together.

Xavier Worthy just made sure he'll never forget NFL Draft night 2024 ... getting a tattoo to immortalize the moment the Chiefs took him with their first-round pick.

The former Texas Longhorns wideout hit up a parlor over the weekend to get the ink done -- just days after Kansas City made him Patrick Mahomes' newest target.

In a video posted to his TikTok page, you can see Worthy had a Chiefs logo put down on his forearm ... as well as the letters and numbers "R:1 P:28" -- a nod to the 28th overall selection K.C. used to get him.

Worthy -- who ran a 4.21 40-yard dash at the NFL's scouting combine last month -- was clearly thrilled with how the artwork turned out ... sharing it with all of Chiefs Kingdom on his social media page.

Worthy, of course, is no stranger to going under the needle -- he's got plenty of tats all over his body ... including one of the NFL's shield just above his newest piece.

4:37 PM PT -- Bam Margera just posted video to Instagram showing a portion of the attempts he says he made to call 911 for police assistance last week ... recorded before he ended up taking matters into his own hands, fighting off a threatening stranger.

Bam's obviously frustrated at the lack of response in the video, and claims when no cops showed up, the whole neighborhood told him to go handle it ... and clapped when he was done.

Bam Margera recently found himself throwing down with a stranger -- a fist fight captured on camera, but Bam says he was simply protecting himself and friends ... TMZ has learned.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard está muy ocupada recuperando el tiempo perdido con su ex-prometido Ken Urker y TMZ tiene todos los detalles de su encuentro en Louisiana.

Gypsy Rose se reunió con su antiguo amor en New Orleans esta semana y nos dicen que los ex hicieron mucho más que hacerse tatuajes de perros siberianos en Cut Off.

Fuentes cercanas a Gypsy le dicen a TMZ que Ken voló el domingo de Texas a Louisiana para visitar y apoyar a su ex en medio de su separación de Ryan Anderson.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard is real busy making up for lost time with her ex-fiancé, Ken Urker ... TMZ got all the deets on their Louisiana rendezvous.

GRB linked up with her former flame in NOLA this week -- and we're told the exes did a whole lot more than just getting matching husky tattoos in Cut Off, LA.

Sources close to Gypsy tell TMZ ... Ken flew Sunday from Texas to Louisiana to visit and support his ex amid her separation from Ryan Anderson.

Dwayne Johnson is a man of his word, and so is one of his biggest fans ... 'cause after a chance meeting at a store, the guy got the WWE Superstar's autograph tattooed on him -- and now he's getting a free ride to WrestleMania!

Johnson was shopping at Target last week when he ran into Ruben Rodriguez, a lifelong fan, and his young daughter.

Rodriguez told Johnson that if he signed his arm, he would make it permanent ... heading almost straight to his tattoo artist. After all, DJ's his "childhood hero."

Rodriguez revealed the new ink on social media earlier this week ... and when Johnson saw it, he lost it!

"Dude holy s*** you did it!!" The Rock replied on X. "That’s the authentic real deal signature & bull right there! Looks amazing!"

DJ was so impressed, he decided to hook up Rodriguez's family with an all expenses paid trip to Philadelphia for WrestleMania ... going down this weekend in the City of Brotherly Love.

"You’re a man of your word, and so is the Final Boss…  Pack your bags - because you and your daughter are coming to @wwe #WrestleMania," Johnson said.

"Your tickets, flight, hotel, transportation, and food - are all on me! My team will be reaching out. See you in Philly brother."

Rodriguez is obviously stoked ... and says he's "forever grateful."

It's not the first time The Rock's presence has had a profound effect on a fan ... an adult fan broke down in tears after Johnson signed his WWE belt during the Black Adam World Tour in 2022.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard isn't hooking up with her ex-fiancé, Ken Urker, despite getting matching tattoos with him -- but he does have her best interest at heart -- much more so than her husband ... so says Ken's mom anyway.

Raina Williams tells TMZ that Ken recently flew from his home in Texas to go hang out with Gypsy in Louisiana amid her ongoing separation from Ryan Anderson -- and the reason, we're told, is because he wanted to be there for support ... and serve as a rock for GRB.

Ken's mother says he told her he'd always be there for her, and even though they're not together anymore ... we're told Ken felt compelled to be with Gypsy during this hard time.

Machine Gun Kelly nos está mostrando como fue llegar a tener su torso entero ennegrecido por un tatuaje... y parece que duele como el infierno.

El cantante publicó imágenes que muestran el proceso detrás de escenas, y como se puede ver, hay un montón de cicatrices, sangrado e hinchazón a través de 7 sesiones intensas en el transcurso de 2 semanas.

Desde las axilas hasta el ombligo e incluso alrededor del pezón, MGK se ha tatuado todo. Sin duda debe ser un dolor insoportable.

Machine Gun Kelly's giving us a peek into what it was like to get his entire torso blacked out in a near-full-body tattoo ... and it looks like it hurt like hell.

The singer posted footage that shows the behind-the-scenes process of him getting blasted from the waist up ... and as you can see, there's a lot of scarring, bleeding, and swelling as he takes us through 7 intense sessions over the course of 2 weeks.

From the armpits to the belly button and even around the nipple -- MGK tatted it all, which looks particularly excruciating -- with the needling journey hitting every nook and cranny.

Automated tattoo machines are just a passing fad and won't ever replace human-to-human interaction in the ink game -- that's how a couple flesh-and-blood masters of the craft see it.

We spoke with "Ink Master" winner Bobby Johnson and fellow contestant Aaron Davis -- who both appeared in Season 15 together -- about the recent robot-human tattoo collab that took the internet by storm, and both guys slammed the entire concept.

Right off the bat, Bobby calls the tech tattoo trend ridiculous ... likening it to a factory production line of food, and calling it out for lacking heart and passion.

UFC flyweight Andre Lima got bitten, and he's got the marks to prove it ... but believe it or not, the undefeated MMA fighter says he feels bad for the guy who went all Iron Mike on his arm during the Fight Night scrap!

"I feel so sorry, to be honest," Lima told TMZ Sports on Monday. "I'm sad for him because he came from the same thing, the struggle like I did. He has a family ... bright future."

"I feel so much for him because I know the same journey I have, he has too. I feel bad for him."

If you didn't catch it, 20-year-old Igor Severino, who was 8-0 and making his UFC debut, squared off against 8-0 Lima in Las Vegas when things took a wild turn. About halfway through round 2, Igor latched onto the inside of Andre's arm, near his bicep, prompting a scream from Lima.

Severino was disqualified for the bite -- his first loss -- and Dana White cut him shortly after the DQ. In the thousands of fights in UFC history, this was a first.

But, it's not all terrible news ... Lima, who actually got a tattoo of the bite after the fight, says he's down to rematch Igor, IF he gets back into the UFC -- but that's probably wishful thinking.

Lima also got a $50k bonus from Dana ... for going through what he did (as well as the awesome tattoo). We asked him what he was going to do with the cash.

"I wanna help my mom, a few people in my family," Lima said, adding ... "I wanna buy a car. That's one thing I've wanted for a long time and now I can buy my car."

Lima also wants UFC fans to take him seriously ... and doesn't want to only be known as the guy who was bitten during a fight.

Robots are taking more jobs traditionally performed by humans ... and artists better watch their backs too ... 'cause machines can ink about as well as flesh-and-blood tattoo artists.

Dillon Forte -- a Texas-based tattoo artist with some serious celebrity clients -- worked on a new tat alongside Blackdot ... a tech startup that created the world's first automated tattoo machine.

You gotta watch this robot at work ... the client gets their arm strapped down to a table while a giant machine goes to work on the limb, using fast-working mechanisms to tattoo.

Los robots están ocupando cada vez más puestos de trabajo tradicionalmente desempeñados por humanos... y más vale que los artistas también se cuiden las espaldas, porque las máquinas pueden tatuar tan bien como los artistas de carne y hueso.

Dillon Forte, un tatuador de Texas con clientes famosos, ha trabajado en un nuevo tatuaje junto a Blackdot, una empresa tecnológica que ha creado la primera máquina de tatuar automática del mundo.

Tienes que ver al robot en acción... el cliente tiene su brazo atado a una mesa mientras la máquina gigante va trabajando en la extremidad, utilizando mecanismos muy rápido.

Forte y Blackdot asumieron cada uno una parte distinta en el proyecto conjunto, cortando la responsabilidad directamente por la mitad, 50-50, y haciendo un diseño inspirado en la NASA y el libro de ciencia ficción "La Guía del Autoestopista Galáctico".

Échale un vistazo a las fotos, hay una serie de símbolos y referencias espaciales, además de muchas imágenes que aparecen en el Voyager de la NASA Golden Record enviado en 1977 para darle cierto realismo al trabajo. Es muy difícil distinguir la parte entintada por Forte de la de Blackdot.

Nos dicen que Blackdot ha tatuado la parte media, mientras que Forte hizo los contornos... añadiendo su propio toque personal en la parte superior e inferior. La diferencia es muy pequeña, y definitivamente te hace pensar en el futuro de los artistas del tatuaje.

Forte es un nombre bastante grande en el mundo del tatuaje, y que ha entintado a grandes celebridades como Usher, Kat Von D, y Chris Hemsworth, aunque nos atreveríamos a decir que esto podría haber sido su experiencia más extraña hasta la fecha.

Machine Gun Kelly has unveiled his most dramatic tattoo yet -- a layer of solid black ink across almost his entire upper torso ... and yes, we've confirmed it's the real deal.

The rapper dropped his new look on IG Tuesday ... and you can see that the black ink saturates virtually half of his upper body ... with some of his OG inkings peeking through strategically placed paneled gaps down his arms and in between a cross symbol across his chest.

Machine Gun Kelly's decision to undergo this transformation was a deeply personal one, according to his tattoo artist ROXX who did this job for the artist -- and who tells TMZ that MGK had a "spiritual consultation". We're told he explained to her all his tatts were too chaotic for him now and he was seeking change and order in his life.

This is also something MGK makes clear in his IG caption ... explaining that the blackout cover-up was for "spiritual purposes only." FWIW, Kelly made sure no one could comment.

Oh, and if you're wondering whether it was painful ... ROXX praises him for being the toughest client she's ever had in 30 years. So, safe to say ... it hurt a lot.

Roxx tells us they started the process in mid-Dec with MGK coming to see her at her private L.A. studio 4 days a week for 13 six-hour sessions -- making it one of the biggest projects she's done in such a short time. She's not done yet either ... ROXX says she's got a bit more tattooing to do on him to finish the job.

Machine Gun Kelly ha revelado su tatuaje más dramático hasta la fecha... una capa de tinta negro sólido a través de casi toda la parte superior de su torso, y sí, hemos confirmado que es real.

El rapero reveló su nuevo look en Insta el martes y se puede ver que la tinta negra satura prácticamente la mitad de su parte superior del cuerpo, con algunos de sus tatuajes anteriores asomándose a través de espacios estratégicamente colocados en paneles por los brazos y en medio de un símbolo de la cruz en el pecho.

La decisión de Machine Gun Kelly de someterse a esta transformación fue profundamente personal, según su tatuadora ROXX -quien hizo el trabajo para el artista- le dice a TMZ que MGK tuvo una "consulta espiritual". Nos dicen que le explicó que todos sus tatuajes eran demasiado caóticos para él ahora y que estaba buscando un cambio y orden en su vida.

Esto también es algo que MGK deja claro en su pie de foto de Insta, explicando que el recubrimiento era para "fines espirituales solamente." Además, Kelly se aseguró de que nadie pudiera comentar el post.

Por si te estás preguntando si fue doloroso, ROXX lo elogia por ser el cliente más duro que ha tenido. Por lo tanto, podemos deducir que dolió mucho.

Roxx nos dice que comenzó el proceso a mediados de diciembre, cuando MGK fue a verla a su estudio privado de Los Ángeles cuatro días a la semana durante 13 sesiones de seis horas, y todavía tiene un poco más por hacer, lo cual lo convierte en uno de los mayores proyectos que ha hecho.