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Tattoos have been around for thousands years, much to dismay and horror of many grandmothers with blue hair. A carbon-dated dating of an iceman found near Italy-Austria’s border in 1991 indicated that he was around 5,200 years old. On his spine, knee and ankle joints, he had dots-like tattoos. It is possible that these tattoos were therapeutic.
Actor, former professional wrestler Dave Bautista Believes in tattoo therapy and has a passion to ink. This tall, muscular man is covered with tattoos. Bautista opened up about his love for tattoos in a recent interview. GQ interview. “I am a storyteller in every aspect of my life, from my career to what I’ve done in wrestling with films, being a film producer, being an actor, and through my tattoos, I tell the story of my life,” he mused. Before we divulge how many tattoos he has, let’s take a look at his life from his early years in Washington D.C. to his best-known acting role Drax the Destroyer in the Guardians of the Galaxy films.
A brief history
Bautista was conceived in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 1969. Bautista was not a happy child. Bautista was raised in poverty and got into trouble with law enforcement. He was estranged with his parents, and he was eventually taken into custody for assaulting another person at a nightclub. Bautista was sentenced for one year probation. As a way of rebuilding his life, he turned to bodybuilding. He would go on to pursue a career as a professional wrestler.
Bautista studied under Afa Anoa’i at the Wild Samoan Training Center. Khan was his first professional wrestler, and he made his debut with him on October 30, 1999. His career highlights include four wins in the World Heavyweight Championship as well as two victories at The WWE Championship.
Bautista was hooked on acting from the moment he began in 2006. Bautista announced that he would be retiring from professional wrestling in 2019. “I left a career in professional wrestling to take a chance on myself because I fell in love with acting,” he stated. Bautista has been a regular on many TV programs and movies such as Spectre, Blade Runner 2049?, and Dune. Drax and Guardians These are his calling cards.
Bautista has two children with Glenda his ex-wife. From 1998 to 2006, he was married to Angie. He has a son called Oliver.
The number of Bautista’s tattoos is all about perspective
Bautista’s unique answer when asked about his tattoo count is “3”. “If people ask me how many tattoos I have, I typically say like three because most of them are just all connected. [You] can consider it like one big tattoo,” he stated.
How long did it take to tattoo his back?
Bautista’s tattoos evolved during his wrestling career. Due to the nature of the sport, Bautista couldn’t lower his entire back in one move. He had to use smaller parts of his body to finish the task after he hurt himself.
“My back I did in big chunks throughout my wrestling career. But I had to because I was wrestling so much that I couldn’t take the time needed, to let ’em heal,” he explained.
Because of this, he often had to start all over again. “I let it set for so long without finishing that, I had to go back and retrace and do my whole back over again,” he stated. “I’ve gotta have close to 50 hours on my back.” On his back is a giant dragon which signifies strength and wisdom.
Bautista’s first tattoo
Not all of Bautista’s tattoos have remained a permanent fixture on his body as he has chosen to cover some up. His first tattoo was at 18 years old. “It’s not my proudest moment. It was this heart that looked like it was cement and around it said the heart of stone,” Bautista recalls. To make sure his dad didn’t see it and get in trouble, it was placed on his bottom.
There are many examples of covered tattoos: names of ex-girlfriends and ex-wives. These were covered after he split with his ex-girlfriends, and homophobic comments by his former teammate.
Winnie the Pooh
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This broke Bautista’s heart. “And I said, I don’t have one, but because I love you so much, I’m going to get one,” Bautista recounted. He kept his word. He added Pooh tattoos.
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This was such an interesting read! I had no idea Dave Bautista had so many tattoos, each with its own story. It’s amazing how his body art reflects his personality and journey. Thanks for sharing these details—I definitely learned something new!