specialk_007too

Thirteen has followed me for as long as I can remember. I was born on the first day of the year and was the third baby born in the hospital that day. 1 and 3. Thirteen. Then, when I was 13 years old, I learned that the man I knew as my dad wasn’t my biological father. It was a discovery that changed the way I understood my own story and gave the number another meaning entirely. Most people are taught to think of 13 as unlucky. For me, it became my number. That’s why the 13 sits inside a horseshoe, one of the traditional symbols of good fortune. Together they turn the idea of luck and superstition on its head. Life has dealt me things I never expected and certainly wouldn’t have chosen, but those things became part of who I am. Lucky 13 isn’t about believing I’m lucky. It’s about owning the number that’s been woven through my story since the day I was born and deciding for myself what it means. Thirteen didn’t bring me bad luck. It brought me my story.

Everything I’ve lived through comes with me. The memories, mistakes, losses, joy and chaos aren’t something I can leave behind. The eye represents looking honestly at where I’ve been, while the wings represent growth and the freedom to keep moving forward. I am not escaping my past. Some of the turmoil that once weighed me down became part of what taught me how to fly. Not free from the turmoil. Free because I learned how to fly through it.

My best bud died the night before I left for Mexico. I was fkd up over his death. I started drinking the moment I got to the airport and didn’t stop the entire trip. The artist kept hitting me up every day on the boardwalk so I said let’s create tribal wings so I can fly to heaven to visit my friend Mo. I will likely cover this up once my leg sleeve/pant is completed.

The Devils Within represents the voices we all carry inside us: temptation, fear, ego, self-doubt, anger, mischief, ambition, and the relentless drive to create. The devils aren’t evil. They’re the competing parts of ourselves constantly fighting for the microphone. At the center is a vintage microphone, representing my voice and my lifelong connection to music. The devils climb around it, grab at it, and compete to be heard, while the roses represent the beauty, growth, and resilience that can emerge from life’s turmoil. The darkness doesn’t disappear just because we ignore it. Strength comes from recognizing it, confronting it, and deciding what deserves to be heard. The devils will always be there. They just don’t get to choose what gets the microphone.

The Emerald Rogue ☘️ Not all who wander are lost, and not all luck is accidental. The Emerald Rogue joined me in Dublin at the end of a journey across Europe, carrying a four-leaf clover and a little mischief with him. He represents the luck I’ve found in unexpected places, the resilience to keep moving when life changes the route, and the freedom to make my own way. The fourth and final member of my Euro Gang, he didn’t end the journey. He simply came along for whatever happens next.

Tattooed in Paris, Le Coq Français represents pride, heritage, resilience and the instinct to keep fighting. The rooster has been a symbol of France for centuries, but what drew me to it was the personality behind it. A rooster is bold, territorial, stubborn, loud when it needs to be, and never afraid to stand its ground. There is confidence in it, but also survival. That made it feel personal. To me, this tattoo is about carrying yourself with pride, staying true to who you are, and continuing to fight through whatever life puts in front of you. Not because every battle needs to be won, but because quitting has never really been part of my nature. It also permanently ties me to Paris and to that chapter of the journey. Pride. Heritage. A natural-born fighter. Le Coq Français. Paris, France.

Inspired by the Lion of Flanders and my time in Bruges, this tattoo represents strength, resilience, independence and pride in the road behind me. I gave the lion a crown not as a symbol of royalty, but of self-possession. To me, it means owning your story, including the wins, the losses, the mistakes, the reinventions and the unexpected turns that shape who you become. The lion is in motion because that matters too. He is not standing still or guarding a monument. He is moving forward. That is why I call him The Royal Flanders Wanderer. He represents the idea that wandering does not mean being lost. Sometimes the road changes. Sometimes you end up somewhere you never expected. But you can keep moving, keep learning, and still remain completely yourself. Crown on. Claws out. Wandering, never lost.