Latest news with #tattoos
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Health
- News.com.au
Former bikie reveals what it was really like to be in the Rebels
Shannon Althouse, by his own admission, looks like a pretty scary guy. With tattoos covering much of his neck and face, he told Gary Jubelin's I Catch Killers podcast that his fascination with ink began when he started using drugs. 'I started getting 'em when I got addicted to methamphetamine,' he explained. 'I never had any face tattoos, head tattoos or anything till I started using heavy drugs. And then once I started using heavy drugs, I was just like, I want this face tattoo. I want that head tattoo, you know.' 'This is a true story, I'm not even lying about this,' he continued, when asked if he ever woke up with a new tattoo he didn't remember getting. 'I woke up in prison once, and as soon as I actually sobered up in prison, I did look in the mirror and I was thinking - wow. What happened? What have I done?,' he continued. 'I was shocked. I shocked myself.' Growing up in Darwin amid a culture of domestic violence and alcohol, Shannon says his introduction into the criminal world began slowly, with he and his group of young friends and family heading out to cause trouble as a way to escape what was going on at home when their parents would throw parties. 'We used to just jump on our push bikes and take off, especially when all the parents and all the adults were drinking,' he recalled. 'You know, that was our safe haven - we'd kill time, kill our boredom, roll around and throw rocks at taxis or police cars and try to get into a police chase.' It wasn't just the drinking and violence they were trying to escape, either. Althouse discloses he was sexually abused by a friend of the family from a young age, with the abuse often taking place at these parties. 'When the families are all drinking and having a laugh and partying and stuff like that, you know, by the end of the night there are predators.' Fast-forward a few years and Althouse found himself having served time in prison, and not only addicted to methamphetamine, but also holding the position of sergeant-at-arms in the Darwin chapter of the Rebels bikie club. 'It's just pretty much like you're the enforcer,' Althouse explained. 'You make sure that you enforce all the club policies, and protect the president. You're the president's right hand man, anything happens to him, you are the one that's getting done for it.' 'It's always seemed like a poisoned chalice, the sergeant-at-arms position,' observed Jubelin, 'you're gonna be at the forefront of anything that goes down.' 'Yeah, you're in the front of the line,' Althouse agreed. 'If anything goes down, any dramas, any wars - anything. 'It puts you in a bit of a position, like I said, the anxiety and paranoia that comes with all that too. 'When you're pulling up at the petrol station and a car pulls up and the windows are tinted, you know, like you're wondering - you don't know if you should grab a weapon or not, in case there's somebody … your enemy or an enemy of your mate. You know what I mean?' In fact, it was a lesson Althouse would learn all too well when he was attacked in the street and run over in 2016, leaving him fighting for his life. Althouse, giving context to the attack that left him in a coma, explained there had been an issue involving a member of another club. 'I knew him for years and we were mates at one stage, and he ended up owing me a bit of money, so I went there to go get the money,' he said. Althouse explained that after a few failed debt collection attempts, he 'punched him around, you know, I gave him a hiding.' After escalating conflict between the pair, Althouse says he had gone with his housemate to find the other member. 'As I've walked in to walk down to his work shed, 'cause he lived in an industrial area, he wasn't in there,' he recalled. 'I thought, oh, that's weird. But then I saw his headlights coming. I couldn't hear the car moving, but I could see headlights coming up, it was a big, big road, you know? 'And I looked, I walked down and looked down and I saw his Hilux just sitting there in the middle of the road facing me' 'I started walking towards him and did a twirl, showed him that I had no weapons, you know, and told him to get outta the car,' the former bikie continued. 'And then: first gear, second gear, third gear, and he just hit me and just ran me over, clean over.' Althouse described hitting the ground and immediately going into shock. 'I couldn't move, couldn't hear - everything was ringing, but I could see what was going on,' he continued. 'My vision slowly started coming back again, and he was looking at me through the window, you know, and I thought, no, he's gonna double back and come and run me over to finish me off.' Althouse managed to push himself up off the ground but knew immediately something was wrong. 'I just felt jelly,' he said. 'Like my whole left side of my body was just smashed. I coughed up a heap of blood on the road and I thought, wow, that's my lung, something's happened to my lung, I've punctured my lung. 'My housemate came over to me and as I started talking to him, I was spitting blood into his face. I said 'I'm dying. I gotta get to the hospital. I'm dying.'' Althouse was right. He had broken both shoulder blades and seven ribs, three of which had punctured his lung. He ended up losing over four litres of blood, and nearly dying on the operating table. Shortly after, he went back to prison for 10 years, for his involvement in a retaliatory attack (Althouse purchased the weapons used but was not present at the time of the assault). But while inside, Althouse made a decision. He began reading up on Buddhism and mindfulness, and realised he was meant for bigger things than spending his life locked up. While incarcerated in Darwin, and then Alice Springs, he began helping some of the younger inmates. There was a Royal Commission into [the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory], and all the young fellas, they started turning 18 and started coming into the maximum security prison,' he explained. 'Some of 'em couldn't read or write or anything like that. So I was grabbing their briefs and reading them for them and helping them out. 'And some of the stuff I read, it was pretty disgusting. So I thought, no, I've gotta help these young lads, and I started sitting there and helping 'em with their court proceedings helping 'em get through their compensation payouts and just guiding 'em as best as I can through the system, through the adult system. 'I knew it was different to the juvie as well. And then I just got a real passion for it.' These days, Althouse is not only clean and sober (he'll have 10 years this October), but he has stayed true to the commitment he made in prison, and hasn't returned to a life of crime. He's no longer a member of the Rebels motorcycle club, and has dedicated his life to mentoring First Nations kids in the Northern Territory through boxing and other community initiatives.
The Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
How Harry Styles uses his tattoos to map secret ‘sadness' and as artist reveals what his designs really mean
When the globally recognisable Harry Styles braved a crowd of 150,000 people to witness the new Pope's first address in person, it highlighted how important the star's spiritual journey is to him - as evident in his body art. However, one artist behind some of his body art believes there is a 'sadness' tinged with some of Harry's curious designs. 7 7 7 The singer, who was spotted in St. Peter's Square watching Pope Leo XIV being debuted at the Vatican, has a series of religious-inspired tattoos, including an inking of a Holy Bible on his left arm, and a cross on his left hand. A source said: 'Harry's body is like a scrapbook of his life. He would always get tattoos as little representations of specific moments in time - they're all like little mementos now, and you can trace his journey through his spiritual discoveries through his body art. 'Scrapbook of his life' 'One Direction used to be stuck in their hotel rooms on tour, because anywhere they went was swarmed with fans. Getting tattoos in their hotel rooms was their escape from the madness and a way to express themselves and feel free. 'Sometimes they would just muck around with little cartoons, that really aren't that deep, but others seem symbolic of what was going on inside their heads at the time. 'You could say getting body art was their first outlet to cope with fame - now Harry's chronicles all the different paths he has explored to help be at peace with fame, and life in general.' The former One Direction star, 31, has previously stated he is 'more spiritual than religious' - though with typical dry humour, he admitted that it 'sounds a little w***y' to describe himself as spiritual. 'Outlet to cope with fame' 'I'm not super tied-in to certain rules,' he stated in 2018. 'But I think it's naïve to say nothing exists and there's nothing above us or more powerful than us. I think that's a little narrow-minded. 'I definitely believe in karma…. I definitely think there's something, that it's not just us.' Yet despite his tattoos having clear religious inspiration, tattoo artist Kevin Paul says Harry's body art is often spur-of-the-moment, as epitomised when he played "tattoo roulette" and got an inking live on the Late, Late Show. 'Harry is very random,' he says. 'I was halfway through stencilling another design that he wanted when he decided that he didn't want that now, he wanted to have '17 Black'. Watch as Harry Styles goes unnoticed by fans in London 7 'It was all very erratic how he had his tattoos. I think he's calmed down a lot though now.' But Kevin recalls how Harry's tattoo sessions, which would take place in a hotel room while the group were touring, seemed to be a method of escape from the constant glare of the spotlight. 'When I met him, you could see the sadness oozing through him,' says Kevin. 'Because they were locked in - they could never go anywhere. 'He just wanted to be normal' 'We used to call it 'the billion pound pension' because everyone was going to get rich off the back of it, but they just had to do as they were told and be where they were told to be. 'I got really sad for him, because he was really sweet. There was a moment when I told him I didn't have any kitchen roll and said I needed some, and he said: 'There's a Sainsbury's over the road, I'll go and get some.' And then he went: 'Oh s***. I can't.'' Naturally, at the time, wherever the band were holed up was besieged by armies of devoted fans, desperate for a glimpse, which left them locked in hotel rooms across the globe. 'More spiritual than religious' 'He just wanted to be normal,' says Kevin. 'He wanted to walk across the road.' While there is an 'erraticism' to some of Harry's tattoos, it is possible that another of Harry's tattoos - a bird cage inked in 2012 - is representative of this feeling. Equally, his growing collection of religious art seems to reflect his interest in discovering about different faiths. In 2014, he covered up a tattoo on his arm which read 'things I can't' - thought to be taken from a serenity prayer - with a picture of a Holy Bible. Harry, who says he 'is christened but not really that religious', was brought up in a family of church goers. His late paternal grandfather Brian Selley laughed that the young parishioners in Harry's hometown of Holmes Chapel knew more about his grandson's goings on than he did. 'They always want to know the latest when they see me on a Sunday,' Brian laughed in 2013. 'It's the first thing they ask me – I think they're hoping he'll come with me one Sunday.' 7 7 And despite wearing a St Christopher - the patron saint of safe travels - on stage, as well as regularly making the sign of the cross during performances, Harry has also shown a keen interest in the teachings of numerous religions besides Christianity. In 2014, he wore a Kabbalah bracelet - a red string with a charm - on stage at Wembley, prompting speculation he had started following the religion popularised by Madonna at the time. The bracelet is believed to protect the wearer from bad energy, or feeling negative emotions such as jealousy, that those possessed by the 'evil eye' otherwise encounter. Kabbalah bracelet In March 2015, during One Direction's tumultuous tour stop in Thailand, which saw Zayn Malik sensationally quit the group, Harry embarked on a spiritual journey, visiting temples in Bangkok and practising yoga and meditation. Meditation, he says, makes him feel like he is 'living', and helps 'with worrying about the future less, and the past less'. He later told how Hermann Hesse's novel Siddhartha, which tells the story of a young man's journey of self-discovery during the time of Gautama Buddha, 'makes a lot of sense' to him, and was an 'important' book. Among his travels, he has exchanged theological ideas with some of the world's most profound thinkers - he once met with the philosopher Alain de Botton to discuss 'Plato, Aristotle, love and beauty'. 7 During his time in 1D, he had such affection for the Jewish religion, he Tweeted friends with Yiddish words and had his sister Gemma's name tattooed in Hebrew, and though his dad Des clarified 'categorically, he is 0% Jewish'. Harry also has several inkings to remember late relatives including his step-father Robin, and his grandparents, including the letters R and B. Kevin - who has also drawn many of Ed Sheeran and Rihanna's tattoos, and has been tipped to appear on ITV2's Big Brother - says this is all part of Harry feeling comfortable to show the world who he is, and adds: 'It's nice he's able to express himself. 'When people ask who the nicest person I've worked with is, I would still say Harry.'
Forbes
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Sumok Kim On The Rise Of Asian History Tattoos
Sumok Kim, tattoo artist Luxury fashion has turned to the East for inspiration, be it Louis Vuitton's Resort show in Japan's Shigaraki Mountains, to Boris Bidjan Saberi's samurai-inspired collection. There has also been a nod to the Eastern past, from the samurai warrior to ancient motifs, in Dsquared2's samurai armor-inspired collection at Milan Fashion Week, as well as Terumasa Nakajima's garments, who uses historic Japanese textile techniques. The demand for Asian history-themed tattoos is going strong in New York, according to one tattoo artist, Sumok Kim, who hails from South Korea and currently works at Chronic Ink in Brooklyn. Kim has been working as a tattoo artist since 2015, and left Seoul in 2022, bringing his Eastern flair for tattoo aesthetics to the west. Tattoo by Sumok Kim 'In Korea, clients want unique and stylish tattoos, but I've found that in the west, my clients care more about the meaning behind their tattoos and this aspect of storytelling, which ties well into Eastern-inspired tattoos.' Kim, who recently won awards at the Empire State Tattoo Expo, is influenced by the Golden Age art of Rembrandt, but gives it an Eastern twist. His tattoos range from ancient samurai warriors standing before temples, to dragons, as dragon tattoos, modeled after Japanese cultures, are symbols of strength, power and good luck. He also inks compositions that include buddhas and ancient dragon masks. 'The masks are used during the New Year, representing good luck, health, strength, and grace,' said Kim. Meanwhile, the Demon Masks have an important place in Asian history. 'They're handed down through generations and are known to keep evil spirits away from your home,' said Kim. Tattoo by Sumok Kim Kim also incorporates cherry blossom trees and traditional Japanese fans into his Eastern tattoo designs, as well as samurais with swords and armor. Just as Samurai history dates back to the 12th century in Japan, the Samurai tattoos that Kim has inked are inspired by real historical samurai warriors. His tattoos represent strength, justice and power. 'These brave warriors weren't afraid of death,' said Kim, mentioning famous samurai warriors in history like Musashi Miyamoto, a swordsman who represents the 'gold standard' of samurai in Japan, as well as Taira no Masakado. Much of his tattoos includes samurai armor inspired by Japanese warriors from the 12th century onward, including a helmet, chest, arm and leg armor made from metal plates, decorated with motifs. 'In Asia, we grow up familiar with samurais as a cultural system, and Eastern culture as a whole,' said Kim, 'but in North America, it's exotic and this kind of imagery is rare. Eastern symbolism is filled with superstitions and some symbols are said to protect. It's intriguing to clients in the Western world.' Tattoo by Sumok Kim 'This makes it more appealing to my clientele in North America, as Eastern cultures have many stories about spirits and old superstitions, which are intriguing to Western audiences. The tattoos are dark and shadowy in nature, giving them a film noir look, and Kim is accustomed to inking compositions around Eastern-themed imagery, including Chinese zodiac sign animals, from rabbits to tigers and snakes. Art history tattoos have been on the rise in recent years, from inking architecture, like podiums to architecture and pillars, as well as botanical illustrations and not-so-famous artworks. 'The usual traditional tattoos no longer cut it,' said Kim. 'Clients in New York have seen it all and they want something different, never seen before. Eastern tattoos are an answer to that.' Follow @sumok_tattoo on Instagram.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tom Hanks' son Chet reveals all 70 of his tattoos while shirt-free... after 'ex' Kim Zolciak flashes her bikini body
Tom Hanks ' wild son Chet Hanks was seen without a shirt on in the Venice Beach neighborhood of Los Angeles on Wednesday. The 34-year-old reality TV star displayed his array of 70 large tattoos on his chest, back, arms and legs that take a while to dissect. There was a lot of new ink on his back: the inside of the cross was filled with shading that was not there last year. Other tattoos include the writing 'I Am Who I Am,' several crosses, the name Michalah, an image of baby Jesus with a halo, a genie lamp, sunbursts and clouds, among others. His head was shaved and he had a beard with diamonds in his ears and a black bracelet on his wrist as he wore black shorts over long underwear. The son of Rita Wilson was going for a run to stay in shape for his acting career. This comes just after he was romantically linked to Real Housewives Of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak, 47, as they got steamy on their show Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets. . Last year Chet said that meeting Kim was 'one of the best moments of my life.' Chet and Kim flirted outrageously with each other on an episode of The Surreal Life on MTV that aired in late July 2024. Kim is still in the midst of a contentious divorce from Kroy Biermann and is reportedly dating someone new. Chet has been doing well with his acting career. The Running Point star plays point guard and aspiring rapper, Travis Bugg on the basketball series with Kate Hudson. The hit series debuted in March. Last year he said: 'I have a great character in it, a great role. It's a comedy, so it's funny and I get to be comedic. I also signed a record deal, and I'm getting ready to put out some new music, and it's different than anything that I've ever released.' Chet said last year that his life has become 'extremely easy' since he achieved sobriety. The actor has previously been through rehab for addiction and as he prepares to show the world that he is 'just a regular guy' on the new reality show Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets, he admitted that he only found life 'difficult' before he made the decision to live alcohol-free almost three years ago. He told People: 'I'm ready for people to see that I'm just a regular guy. That's why I signed up for Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets. It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life, and I'm not just saying that. I had a blast, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. 'There was a little drama, but not much! One hundred percent. None of this would be possible without sobriety. It's not difficult at all. What's difficult is when you're trying to manage your life and you're not sober, that's what's difficult. When you just commit and decide and you stick to it, it's not even something that you negotiate with. It's just a non-negotiable. And life becomes extremely easy.' Last year Chet said that meeting Kim was 'one of the best moments of my life.' Chet and Kim flirted outrageously with each other on an episode of The Surreal Life on MTV that aired in late July 2024. Kim is still in the midst of a contentious divorce from Kroy Biermann and is reportedly dating someone new This comes after Tom said he 'made every mistake' while raising his four kids. The Big star, 68, is dad to Colin, 45, and Elizabeth, 42, with his first wife, Samantha Lewes, as well as Chet and Truman, 28, with Rita Wilson and Tom has confessed he wasn't the perfect father and it led to some difficult conversations with his kids over the years. During an appearance on the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast, Tom explained: 'I made every mistake. You know, you scar the kids somehow in the same exact way. And as they get older, you come back around and [say], 'Hey, can I talk about what a knothead I was with you for all those years?' 'And[(they say], 'Yeah, sure, dad. Yeah, I've been kind of waiting for this. Why don't you unload'. 'But I would say at the same time ... does it come up to be 50-50? Maybe the attitude and the life that we led. The laughs, that stuff's worth its weight in gem-encrusted gold.' He added of his kids: '[They taught me] how different they all are. They are not the same type of human being ever.' Tom went on to recall a story about his youngest son Truman revealing he felt like he'd let the youngster down when he promised him a game of baseball and failed to deliver. He said: 'He was younger. He was like seven or eight. I said, 'Oh, at one point, let's go down - we were in New York - let's go down to the park and we'll take our gloves, we'll throw it around. We'll bat the balls. We'll just find a place [on the] grass. And [Truman] said, 'OK, let's do that'. 'And it got away from me' and their outing 'didn't happen. Something happened and I realized, 'Oh, the sun's going down now'. And I said, 'Oh my God. Oh my God. Hey, I'm sorry. I said, we were going to go down and throw the ball around. It got away from me. Forgive me.' 'And he said, 'No, that's OK, dude'. And he sounded disappointed.' However, Truman helped his dad feel better. Tom explained: '[I told him] I don't want you to be bored. 'And he looked at me with a look on his face and said, 'Dad, I'm never bored. 'And that ... speaks to curiosity and drive and also the comfort of where one is in order to feel free in order to explore whatever world that is ... '[I realized the children] had the ability to pursue their own interests without being prodded, without being forced to. I've learned from that. 'They have never said that they're bored. They've always had some action thing that was going on, whether I understood their passion for it or not.' Last month Chet's half sister published a tell-all memoir about growing up the daughter of movie star Tom. E.A. Hanks uses her memoir to open up about her difficult upbringing, relationship with her parents and the painful memories that shaped her new book. The writer, 42 – full name Elizabeth Anne Hanks – was born to actor Tom and his first wife Samantha Lewes in Sacramento, California. In 1994, when her mother lost primary custody of her and her brother, Colin Hanks, 46, the siblings moved to Los Angeles to live with their father and his second wife, Rita Wilson, 68. Samantha, born Susan Dillingham, died in 2002 at the age of 49 following a battle with bone cancer. Tom legally separated from Samantha in 1985, and their seven-year marriage officially ended in divorce in 1987. E.A. has shared her story in her literary debut, 'The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road', which was released on Tuesday. (08.04.25) Describing he views on her parenthood, she said in the book: 'Rita's not really a stepmother, she's my other mother. 'When I say my parents, I really mean my dad and Rita, because they've been together since before I can really remember.' In excerpts published by People, it's clear E.A. uses her 352-page memoir to detail what she described as a chaotic childhood shaped by her mother's mental illness, which she suspects was undiagnosed bipolar disorder. The author said in her memoir: 'She pushed me, shook me, pulled at my hair and locked me in a closet once or twice. 'She told me there were men hiding in her closet who were waiting for us to go to sleep to come out and do horrible things.' E.A. added her childhood was defined by instability and hunger. She said: 'It was either feast or famine at home,' before detailing how she and Colin were sometimes left without food. Despite the trauma, E.A. maintains a strong bond with her father and Rita, who married in 1988 and will celebrate their 37th wedding anniversary on 30 April. The couple also
Washington Post
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Miss Manners: No congratulations for young adults' new tattoos
Dear Miss Manners: It seems more and more of my friends' young adult children are getting tattoos. Often my friends share the news like the tattoo is some sort of accomplishment and, if the young adult is present, will summon them over to show off the new ink to (presumably) collect compliments.
