Editor’s Desk: Truths and Tattoos

I’ve been thinking a lot about my origins as of late, in no small part because I got a tattoo last month. A quick count confirms it’s my eighth.

Getting a tattoo is always a process for me, one that begins with weeks of deliberation, sometimes more. That’s because my stepdad was a professional tattoo artist for most of his life, so it’s not an exaggeration to say I was raised in a tattoo shop.

It made for some interesting stories growing up. It also provided some critical life lessons, often by way of the cover-ups he did for folks over the years.

Stop getting people’s names tattooed on your body. Please.

With so many of my formative years set to the backdrop of a tattoo gun’s buzz, I didn’t think I’d ever want one. If nothing else, I certainly knew what I didn’t want.

I came around to the idea in college. I got my first and second pretty quickly and before I knew it I was thinking about my third. I moved to Florida before too long, though, which gave me more time to think about what might come next.

I started getting more on visits back to Ohio to see family, often two at a time. It’s a luxury when the only thing you spend on them is time with the man who raised you.

I didn’t actually pay for one until my seventh, my first in Florida. The decision was made somewhat in haste, I’ll admit, but it was a design I’d contemplated for years.

My mom was horrified but my stepdad, ever the realist, said he didn’t expect me to travel almost 1,000 miles every time I wanted some new ink. It was probably around a decade ago.

We lost him two years ago this month but he lives on in both our hearts and his art, found not just on my body but on decades’ worth of clients. I think he’d like my newest piece, maybe my most intentional yet.

It was inspired by the Cincinnati Pride logo, my first Pride celebration. I’ve thought about getting a tattoo of the Cincinnati skyline for years and this has some of the city’s most recognizable buildings in the Progressive Pride colors.

It felt like the perfect way to honor two immutable facts: that Cincinnati will always be my hometown and I’ll always be gay. I’m proud of both things and the tattoo serves as a letter to each of them.

I knew for sure that I wanted an LGBTQ+ artist to do it, and after some research and an in-person consultation, I found Dark Mark Ink in Tampa Bay. I didn’t want it to be a carbon copy of the logo, just a starting point, and its owner GG helped make that a reality. I love it:

The tattoo gave me built-in Pridewear during St Pete Pride, always a bonus, and made for a great conversation starter when I traveled to Palm Springs this month. My seatmate asked me what skyline was on my leg, leading to a lovely conversation about her native Philadelphia, my native Cincinnati and the cities we now called home.

I was in California for the 2026 AAN Conference. Watermark Out News is a member and this year’s journalism conference was hosted by fellow affiliate the Coachella Valley Independent.

Publisher Rick Todd, Central Florida Bureau Chief Bellanee Plaza and I all attended, my fourth time doing so. It was lovely to connect with fellow journalists and interact with industry veterans doing important work nationwide:

The student journalist in me was still pinching myself to be among them. It was all a wonderful reminder of how critical local journalism remains.

We detail St. Petersburg’s upcoming mayoral primary in our latest issue, an example of why. Elections have very real consequences and this one could help shape the fight for LGBTQ+ rights statewide.

We spoke with Mayor Ken Welch and two of his challengers: Councilmember Brandi Gabbard and former U.S. Congressman Charlie Crist. Whoever wins will be among the first to lead any Florida city’s response to SB 1134 — a new law set to restrict municipal support for diversity, equity and inclusion in 2027 — and the entire state is watching.

In Tampa Bay news, St Pete Pride solicits financial support as it prepares for that reality. LGBTQ+ organizations also endorse state Rep. Michele Rayner for state Senate. In Central Florida, Republicans target a transgender dancer and Winter Park Playhouse unveils its renovations.

Watermark Out News is proud to be your LGBTQ+ news source. Please stay safe, stay informed and enjoy this latest issue.

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