WESLEY Owens is a Tattoo Artist and father of one. He has been a single dad to his daughter Adeline, 8, since she was 1 years old. As a parent, Wesley describes himself as not strict and he says he gives his daughter a lot of freedom. He recently faced a lot of judgement as a parent when a video he posted of his young daughter tattooing him went viral. Adeline first tattooed Wesley when she was just 6 years old and has done it 3 times since. The idea of Adeline tattooing him came about when he suggested it to her in the tattoo shop one day. Wesley said “It was a bonding experience, something we could share together”. People have called him irresponsible and said it's unsafe but Wesley says it's completely safe as he controls the foot pedal and is in control of everything. Wesley said “I hope she takes the confidence that she acquires from tattooing me and applies it to life”.
Follow Wesley on Instagram and TikTok: @tat2highway
Follow Wesley on Instagram and TikTok: @tat2highway
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FunTranscript
00:00 I've been called a terrible parent because I let my eight-year-old daughter tattoo me.
00:04 Today I'm going to...
00:06 Um...
00:08 Oh, it's all dog. Sorry.
00:10 Today my eight-year-old daughter is tattooing me for the fourth time.
00:13 All right, Adelaide, you're going to have to open up the door for me.
00:26 Adelaide, what's your dad like as a parent?
00:30 My dad is very...
00:33 ...cool.
00:36 And funny.
00:38 I like that he lets me do stuff that other kids' parents probably won't let them do.
00:49 He lets me watch scary movies.
00:53 I think we get along really good as father and daughter.
00:56 We give each other space when it's needed.
00:59 Yeah, our relationship's really awesome.
01:02 My favorite stuffed animal is probably my giant bear.
01:14 And my favorite piece of artwork...
01:22 ...my flowers for every performance I did.
01:25 Okay, my climbing...
01:28 Oops.
01:30 My climbing gear is right here.
01:33 Me and Adelaide like to rock climb a lot.
01:36 And if we're not outdoors climbing, we're usually in the gym climbing three to four times a week.
01:41 These are my shoes to climb in.
01:44 This is my harness and chalk bag.
01:47 Me and Adelaide's relationship is pretty hilarious in the sense that she's my best friend.
01:53 We fight and argue about stupid stuff and then we get along just as much.
01:57 It's just been me and her our whole life since she was a year old.
02:01 And she's eight now, so seven years together.
02:04 Yeah, she's my best friend essentially.
02:08 I got my snake named Popcorn in here.
02:13 Oh, that's his head.
02:15 As a parent, I would describe myself pretty not strict.
02:20 As long as she does her homework and makes good grades and cleans her room, I give her a lot of freedom.
02:26 So this is what I'm wearing for today.
02:34 What's happening today?
02:36 Today, I'm going to tattoo my dad.
02:41 Sometimes I'll get nervous before I do a tattoo.
02:46 Adelaide was six the very first time she tattooed me.
02:50 Her tattooing me came about with me suggesting it to her.
02:54 We were sitting around the shop one day and I just asked her, I said, "Hey, you feel like tattooing me?"
02:58 And she said, "Yeah." So we ended up setting everything up and she tattooed a heart on me that she drew.
03:03 Here are the tattoos Adelaide did on me.
03:08 I tattooed this one and this one.
03:11 I am going to color in the heart, this one.
03:14 Adelaide, are you going to color in the tattoo red today?
03:17 Yeah.
03:18 How do you feel about it?
03:20 Excited.
03:21 Are you? Are you real excited?
03:23 Yes.
03:24 Are you nervous?
03:25 No.
03:26 You're not nervous at all this time?
03:27 I'm a pro at it now.
03:28 You're a pro at tattooing me now because you've done it three times?
03:31 Mm-hmm.
03:32 I don't think that qualifies you as a pro.
03:34 I think mostly with Adelaide tattooing me, it was just a bonding experience, something that we could share together
03:40 and that it wasn't really something that a lot of parents get to share with their kids.
03:44 I would like to think that she appreciates the fact that she's putting art on me
03:48 and it's something that I do every day to people.
03:50 Would you like to be a tattoo artist when you're older?
03:54 I would not like to be a tattoo artist.
03:57 Well, I think it's really cool, but it's not really my thing that I want to do when I'm older.
04:03 I want to be a doctor or like a surgeon.
04:08 I like that they pay you a lot of money.
04:12 Me deciding to film her tattooing me was completely random.
04:20 A co-worker from the shop suggested, "Hey, why don't you film this and post it? You're going to go viral."
04:24 And I was like, "Yeah, whatever." I was like, "I'll go ahead and post it."
04:27 Let's get this next one knocked out.
04:30 I posted it to TikTok first and then it started blowing up.
04:33 It went viral within three hours of me posting it.
04:37 Adeline, go look in that wheel and see if you can find a road in there you like.
04:41 The next day at school, she told everybody.
04:44 Did you get it picked out?
04:45 Mm-hmm.
04:46 Are you going to go with the hot pink?
04:47 Mm-hmm.
04:48 Very nice.
04:49 After I tattooed my dad, I showed all my friends his TikTok.
04:53 She probably talked about it for six months at school that she tattooed her dad and she was TikTok famous.
04:59 35 million people viewed it.
05:02 I'm setting the needle depth right now to make sure you're not digging in front of me.
05:07 I've received different types of judgment from letting her tattoo me.
05:12 Some people thought it was irresponsible.
05:14 Some people thought it was unsafe.
05:16 I wonder how unresponsible dads are letting their six-year-old tattoo them.
05:20 Isn't it illegal for her to do that?
05:22 We can't get tattooed until we're 18.
05:24 No child should be holding a tattoo gun and the tattoo looks stupid.
05:27 You live with that forever, dude.
05:29 Kids and tattoos don't mix for a reason.
05:31 Now give her your car keys, LOL.
05:36 Looks like the rest of his tattoos were also done by a kid.
05:39 I disagree with all of them for sure.
05:43 Overall, the negative feedback is people being more concerned about her safety.
05:49 I think it was completely safe.
05:51 I control the pedal while she's tattooing me.
05:54 Pretty much everything, I'm in control of it.
05:57 So I don't see it being unsafe at all.
05:59 Yeah, I mean there's a lot of comments.
06:01 Some people loved it. A lot of people loved it.
06:03 A father sharing his passion with the daughter he loves and the people are still mad.
06:07 You're so courageous.
06:08 Also making your girl feel confident.
06:10 I appreciate that.
06:11 Was it your idea to color in the heart?
06:16 It was my idea to color in the heart.
06:18 How are you feeling? Excited? Nervous?
06:23 I'm feeling very excited.
06:26 Just dip it in, all the way.
06:28 You're going to the skin to fill it.
06:30 Alright, small circle. Press against the skin.
06:37 Small circle is what I do.
06:42 That looks like good.
06:43 Alright, we got it.
06:54 You love it?
06:57 Yeah.
06:58 Sweet.
06:59 Well, duh.
07:00 I feel like tattooing my dad was like the best one yet.
07:04 Oh, that's super rad. I like it a lot.
07:07 I think that it looks gorgeous.
07:11 Do you think you hurt me a little bit?
07:13 Maybe.
07:14 Maybe a little.
07:15 Solid?
07:16 Solid.
07:17 You deserve an ice cream.
07:18 Yeah.
07:20 Okay, fine.
07:21 I would say to people that criticize me letting her tattoo me and all that,
07:29 that at least I'm there for my kid.
07:32 I'm giving her a good life and she's able to enjoy some real cool life experiences from it.
07:37 I hope that she takes the confidence that she acquires from me and applies it to life.
07:43 Hey, Adeline.
07:44 Adeline still has a smiley face left to do on me.
07:48 When she finishes that off, we'll figure out if she's going to do any more tattoos on me or not.
07:52 You're not going to give your dad a dinosaur or something like that?
07:55 What about Barbie?
08:00 You want to tattoo a Barbie on me, Adeline?
08:06 Yeah? Is that going to happen?
08:08 Yeah.
08:09 No. No Barbie.
08:11 Nope.
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