Justin Bieber got his first tattoo just after his 16th birthday in March 2010 with a small bird inked on his stomach near his hip. It’s a family tradition — His dad Jeremy Bieber and his uncle have the same tattoo. “It’s the outline of the seagull from ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull’. Tattoo shop owner Brian Byrne told MTV: “He laid there and sucked it up. He was nervous but then got into it.”
Justin Bieber and his dad Jeremy Bieber got matching tattoo in the same location during a trip to Israel in 2011. Jeremy even held Justin’s hand as the tattoo artist spelled out “Yeshua,” a Hebrew word for “Jesus,” down his ribcage. “I have a great relationship with my dad,” Justin told Seventeen in 2010. “He’s cool.” Obviously.
Justin’s next tattoo is an image of Jesus on his left leg. This holy scene has a classic pic of Jesus with a crown of thorns and halo above his head. Justin got this tattoo while on vacation with Selena Gomez in Cabo, San Lucas Mexico.
Justin debuted an illustration of hands in prayer on his left leg in March 2012, right next to his portrait of Jesus. He also has a song titled “Pray.” According to some, people who get praying hands tattoos like this firmly believe in the power of God and prayer.
Justin Bieber began building his left-arm sleeve with one simple and inspiring word: BELIEVE. Justin got his BELIEVE tattoo in honor of his new album “BELIEVE” released on June 15, 2012. The ink came courtesy of Keith “Bang Bang” McCurdy, a celeb-favorite tattoo artist who’s also worked on Rihanna, Adele and Vanessa Hudgens.
Justin debuted the Japanese kanji symbol for “music” on the inside of his right forearm in July 2012. It was already his sixth tattoo that year — and he was only getting started!
This latest of his small tattoos is a little crown inked on his chest in black and white, like all of his other ink. Not much has been said about this new tattoo, but we have our theories about its meaning. The crown resembles a crown of nobility, like a king’s crown or the crown of a prince. Could Justin be saying that he is the new “king of pop”?
8. an Owl – meaning “Wisdom” (October 2012)Justin’s collection of animal tatt started in October 2012 with this giant owl on his left arm. Justin told a reporter at a Victoria’s Secret event “It means a lot of different things. It’s not really for other people to really know about.”
Justin apparently decided that his praying hands tattoo was incomplete, so he added some new ink to it. He added three gigantic roses and some deep shading to his existing hands-in-prayer tattoo in December 2012.
Justin’s 10th tattoo is the logo of a Canadian junior ice hockey team Stratford Culliton — also has a link to his roots. He dedicated this tattoo for his grandpa. Justin said: “My grandfather always took me to the Stratford Culliton games every Friday night. This is for u Grampa.”
On January 14, 2013, Justin dedicated a very visible shoulder tattoo to a special lady in his life. No, not Selena Gomez… his mom! Justin Bieber got a Roman numeral tattoo just below his right collarbone on the front part of his shoulder, and the ink represents his mother, Pattie Mallette’s, birth year – (1)(9)(7)(5). (I)(IX)(VII)(V).
Justin has devoted yet another part of his body to his religious beliefs, getting a large Greek symbol for Christ inked on his left forearm. Located right next to his owl tattoo, Justin Bieber’s Greek tattoo features a simple “X” and was believed to have been inked in London.
Justin Bieber revealed his Koi Fish tattoo during the meet-and-greet for his Copenhagen tour on April 20, 2013. In tattoo culture, a koi fish can symbolize everything from “LUCK” to courage to perseverance in adversity.
Less than a week after debuting his Koi fish tattoo, Justin showed off another large piece — a tiger head on his left bicep — in Stockholm, UK, on April 23,2013.
Justin debuted a dark-haired angel on his wrist that looks suspiciously like his on-off girlfriend Selena Gomez. Fans pointed out that the winged woman resembles a photo of Selena that appeared in the July 2012 issue of Elle magazine. Selly told Elle mag: “He really is a hopeless romantic.”
Justin’s next tatt collection is a big knight figure on the inside of his left arm. He started to get some shading on his lower arm too, indicating that he was building a sleeve of tattoos.
Justin Bieber has finally reached his goal and completed his half sleeve tattoo with some new ink featuring what looks like a castle surrounded by crashing waves. The tatt fits in alongside the tattoo of a knight holding a sword that he got inked just amonth earlier.
Justin Bieber’s new arm tattoo features a crucified Earth wrapped in a crown of thorns and dripping blood. Justin hasn’t revealed the meaning behind this one yet.
19. Eye ball tattoo dedicated to his mom Pattie Mallette (July 2013)
Justin’s tattoo artist, Keith “Bang Bang” McCurdy tells MTV News: “People often get an eye to symbolize many things. For Justin, it was just like his mother watching over, kind of like a protective thing. It’s totally from mama. We were talking about how we both have tattoos for our mothers and how it’s something you’ll never regret.” The new tatt sits below the open mouth of a tiger on his bicep and above the word “Believe”.
20. Rose on left arm (August 2013)
Shortly after his performance at the Prudential Centre in New Jersey on August 1, 2013, Justin paid a visit to Bang Bang tatoo parlor in NYC to get some new ink. He left with a new rose tattoo on his left arm, bringing together his knight, tiger, and owl tattoos to make a little more of a complete sleeve. Coincidentally Justin had brought a single stem of the same flower to Selena Gomez’s 21st birthday party a few days earlier.
21. Virgin Mary of Guadalupe on left arm (August 2013)