Mallorie Garvey

English 4
Mrs. DeBock
26 April 2016

For my service hours, I had went to Hero Tattoo in Myrtle Beach, which is owned by Jeff
Cribb, who also owns the Hero Tattoo in Conway, South Carolina. My service project is on the
history of tattoos and piercings and how they affect modern society today. While I was at the
shop, I mostly observed people get some new ink and talked to the young boys who had worked
there. I had talked to Jeff and Chris from Hero Tattoo in Myrtle Beach, and Jeff did agree with
me on the fact that tattoos and piercings should be allowed at work and that people should not
discriminate. They also agreed with statements that I had openly voiced and the fact that its
more about the work ethic than appearance when individuals are searching for work, however
Jeff feels that there should be a certain limit on how many tattoos and piercings are displayed.
Jeff feels that there should be a certain amount of professionalism too. He says that if he were at
a fancy restaurant, he would not want someone with extreme piercings or long nails to help him.
Being aware with the fact that tattoos are permanent, Jeff believes that you must take some time
and think about what you want to get as a tattoo before you get it. How that affects modern
society today is the fact that if you have an inappropriate tattoo, it may decrease your chances of
obtaining a job and it may decrease the perception of individuals around you.
There were two girls in the shop getting a tattoo together (an anchor) on the inside of
their arms, resembling their friendship which has apparently lasted a very long time. They were
having a conversation before I had spoken to them and made small talk on whether one of the

girls would be able to have her tattoo at work and the girl had continued on and said that the
place should be okay with her having the tattoo, especially because the location in which she
wanted it was discreet.
Throughout the hours that I had spent at Hero Tattoo, multiple clients (mostly female)
came into the place to get certain pieces of body art done. One young blonde girl got a flower on
her back, one lady needed to finish her tattoo on her right upper arm, and two ladies wanted to
get a matching anchor tattoo. When it comes to tattoos, everyone seems to have a different pain
tolerance, depending on location and the mentality of an individual. Pertaining to the history of
tattoos and piercings, I was given a couple of history books from the shop on tattoos, and one of
my favorite passages from it was Tattooing is a microcosmic medium of peoples fears, desires,
humors, and beliefs, made indelible. I read over influences from the Sea Dayak tribes of
Sarawak, western tattooing in Japan and tattoos done in various countries and time periods.
There were pictures where tattoos were done in New Zealand, Japan and San Francisco. I found
the pictures and books to be fascinating.