In 2002, Paul Taylor had just moved to college and was figuring things out. Aged 18, he was surrounded by friends who were into tattoos—and soon decided he would get one of his own.
Now, more than 20 years later, it is still the only tattoo he has, and he was inspired to share it on Reddit, where it has gained over 16,000 upvotes in three days. "My first and only tattoo," he said. "It seemed like a good idea when I was 18."
Despite it being an unusual design, Taylor is still pleased with his one and only tattoo. It is located on his left foot and is fashioned to look like the lace-up front of a pair of Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers.
"I've loved it since the moment I got it and I still love it. I don't have any regrets about it," he told Newsweek. "I don't show often show it off, but I love the reaction when I do. One of the good things about a foot tattoo is you don't have to show it unless you want to."
After sharing the picture of the tattoo online, Taylor was stunned by the huge response he received. "I never expected the reaction the post got. The insults made me laugh, and the compliments were heartwarming," he said. "In a weird way, the reactions to the post made me love my tattoo even more."
It isn't just the joy that the tattoo brings him and people who see it that make Taylor happy—there is another reason it is so special.
"The best thing that has happened to me as a result of my dumb tattoo? It was the reason I met my wife," Taylor said. "Back in 2002, MySpace was the social media, and my friends were encouraging me to make an account. I wasn't comfortable putting a photo of my face on the internet, so I made my profile photo my tattoo."
Around the same time, Taylor's now-wife had just moved to the city he was living in and a friend of hers had just gone on a date with someone they met online.
"This was considered insane at the time. My wife joked with her friend and said, 'If it lasts more than one date, you can pick someone online for me to send a message to,'" Taylor said. "Lucky for me, they ended up going on a few dates, so my wife, being a woman of her word, signed onto MySpace."
Doing a search for "male" and "in my zip code," Taylor was at the top of the list—and his tattoo profile picture caught her eye.
"She thought my tattoo was ridiculous, so her friend selected me as the one to message. The rest is history," Taylor said. "We have been happily married for over 14 years and have an amazing 3-year-old son. All thanks to my dumb tattoo."
In more than 1,100 comments, people shared their reactions to the unorthodox ink.
"I have so many questions," wrote Dry_Tomatillo6996.
Reddit user Ecstatic_Cold3068 commented: "This is so f****** funny. It's not even bad quality, just a dumb idea. I love it."
"OP [original poster] thank you so much for sharing this—I truly needed a good laugh," added StonedOtter0_0. "I hope whenever your foot pokes out from under the covers, you chuckle even a fraction of the amount that this has made me laugh."
The sneaker tattoo is far from the first one to gain viral attention. Last year, a teen's first tattoo was branded "too awful to be real."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Alice Gibbs is a Newsweek Senior Internet Trends & Culture Reporter based in the U.K. For the last two years ... Read more
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