Brewsday Tuesday: Kona Brewing Edition

Welcome to the third installment of Brewsday Tuesday on Tattoosday!

Today we are looking at a company near and dear to my heart, Kona Brewing Company (@konabrewingco).

Meet Keala Aiwohi, Senior Division Sales Manager for Kona Brewing in Hawai’i:

For those of you first seeing this feature, we like to introduce the brewery employee, talk about their tattoos, and then quench our thirst for more information about the brewery and its products.

Keala recently had this work done on his chest:

Keala explained a little about this work:

"I just kinda like the way everything flows on my chest ... I have my kids' names ... family is something that's a really big priority for me ... I have my kids' names ... over my heart, if you look at the piece, it's got ... like a tribal tiki that's making a funny face ... I wanted the tiki right over my heart, with tribal kinda swirling around, along with my daughter's name on my chest..."

Take another look at Keala and see if anything else jumps out:

There, on the inside of Keala's left arm, is a huge bottle cap from one of Kona's most popular brands, Big Wave Golden Ale:

How's that for dedication?

"Previously I worked for Anheuser-Busch, then I got offered the job with Kona Brewing Company ... I just love the way Big Wave tastes. I love it. I wanted to do something different ... I love beer and tattoos ... I didn't know exactly what I was going to do ...one day I was drinking with some friends and there was bottle caps all over the top of the counter ... and I was thinking to myself ...that would be a pretty cool tattoo ... at the moment it just felt like something that would be cool ... I love Big Wave so let's slap a Big Wave bottlecap on my arm ... I love it, I show it to people all the time."

All of Keala's work pictured was tattooed by Bronson "Bronz" Pasco (@bronzink), who works out of South Side Ink Tattoo. Pasco started tattooing in 1998 and splits his time between South Side Ink and West Coast Tattoo Parlor (@inkwestcoast) in Las Vegas.

So, how good is a beer that compels one to get the bottlecap tattooed on the body?

Let me tell you, Big Wave is a delicious ale, and one of my favorite beers from Kona.

Keala added "just the way that Big Wave tastes, I love it. I'll be drinking Big Wave for the rest of my life. Kona as a brand has an image ... it's cool, it's hip, it's for everybody ... Big Wave is inspired by the big wave riders out in Makaha ... it's the perfect beach beer ... I love the fact that it's light, it's sessionable ... it's a get-together beer, it's any-occasion type of beer."

Duly noted, my family in Brooklyn throws a Hawaiian Christmas party in December and we always have bottles of Kona's Longboard Lager, Castaway IPA, and Big Wave on hand. Big Wave has a great citrus flavor that really transports me back and tastes like advertised: "Liquid Aloha."

Speaking of advertising, Keala told me that Kona did some ads for the mainland, and I wanted to share one of them here:

Like with previous installments of Brewsday Tuesday, our participating brewery is generously offering up some giveaway items for people randomly selected among those who like, share, and retweet on social media.

A big mahalo to Keala for sharing his tattoos with us, and to Kona Brewing Company for their participation in Brewsday Tuesday! Be sure to leave comments about your favorite Kona brand for a chance to win prizes!

Mike's Incredible Aquatic Sleeve (and More!)

I had the good fortune of meeting Mike outside of Penn Station last week and, despite first noticing him because of his leg tattoos, he was extremely generous and unveiled an incredible sleeve that covered his right arm:


Mike is a fisherman and a loves the brightness, color and variety of oceanic life. Such things translate well to the body's canvas and make for some amazing tattoo work...


The giant octopus actually curls up over his shoulder and onto his chest, with one tentacle moving down his arm....


The deep sea diver punctuates the middle of his arm...


At the bottom of the arm are tropical motifs including a huge tiki god and a hibiscus....


On the inside of his inner bicep is this fish which is a cross between an anglerfish and a razorfish:


And we ended with this piece that was so fresh at the time, that Mike had to peel back the protective plastic covering this amazing blowfish:


The artist behind this amazing work is Steve Woison formerly of Electric Tiki Tattoo in Patchogue, and now at Studio 520 in Oakdale, on Long Island.

Thanks again to Mike for taking the time to share his amazing aquatic sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Dani Helps Tattoosday Celebrate 50 Years of Statehood

Today is the 50th anniversary of Hawaiian statehood.

As a former resident of the Aloha State, I thought we could honor the occasion with a Hawaii-themed tattoo:


This cool tiki is on the right forearm of Dani, who estimates she is 60% covered in ink.

Dani and I met near Penn Plaza and had a lovely chat about tattoos. This tiki is one of her favorites.

Don Lussier at Artfreek Tattoo basically free-handed the design on her. Don is the ex-husband of Doris, who is a friend of Dani's. A piece from Artfreek appeared last month on Tattoosday here.

She has the tiki as an acknowledgment of her heritage, being part Hawaiian, with ancestors two or three generations back.

She loves the detail Don put into the piece, especially the heart inked on the tiki's left arm.


Mahalo nui loa to Dani for sharing this great tattoo with us here, and helping Tattoosday celebrate Hawaii's Golden Anniversary!

Two for Tattoosday: A Break-Up Tattoo and Some European Tribals

Sure I'm posting Wednesday but both of these volunteers were MSG plaza-dwellers on Tuesday and, rather than save then for separate days, I thought I'd put them together.

First up is Erik:

Sorry I cut this off, but I couldn't see the screen in the sun's glare. Erik has a 3/4 sleeve (left arm), his mother and grandmother's names inked on, a small back piece, a leg piece, and a diamond on his chest, but we went with this design, on his left forearm, because it is more recent.

Tattooed by Eric Newman at Silk City Tattoo in Hawthorne, New Jersey (the shop was credited previously only two days ago here), this piece, a dagger through a flaming skull, was purchased for Erik by an ex-girlfriend, after she broke up with him. It is meant to represent a new beginning.

At the end of the day I met Cesar, also in front of the Garden. This is the tattoo that caught my eye:


I'm not a huge fan of tribal pieces, but this one on his right calf is one of the nicer pieces I have seen in a while. I especially like how it is not a solid black design, but resembles a textured wood. Cesar, who is from Italy, is in New York for only two days, and we had some difficulty communicating. This tattoo was inked in Brescia, in Northern Italy, and cost $40. (He offered, I have decided asking is not polite.)

He then showed me a tiki piece on his inner right bicep:


There are two faces, one representing good, one representing bad, juxtaposed on the tattoo, which was inked on the island of Ibiza, which is part of Spain.

Cesar told me the name of the shop was Sara, but I couldn't find a listing. However, considering the type of tattoo he received, I am going to go out on a limb and guess he got this piece at Tahiti Tiki Tattoo.

Thanks to Erik and Cesar for making Tattoosday a true Tat-twos-day!