Michael J. Fox Gets His First Tattoo At 57-Years-Old – See The Meaningful Design


Most people get inked when they are young but Michael J. Fox is showing everyone that it is never too late.

Although the Back to the Future star is 57, he decided to get his first tattoo this week.

“First tattoo, sea turtle, long story” is what he posted along with the picture on Instagram.

The design became a permanent part of Fox’s body thanks to Bang Bang, a celebrity-approved tattoo shop. The black and white sea turtle is missing part of its right fin. The turtle is swimming through 5 rings so perhaps it is traveling through time?

As a special way of saying thank you, Fox gave the owner of the parlor, Keith ‘Bang Bang’ McCurdy a signed pair of Nike Mags and a hoverboard. He also gave a pair to the tattoo artist. Those rare items were inspired by Back to the Future II.

Although Fox didn’t reveal the meaning behind the tattoo, McCurdy did. He gave an interview in Inked magazine, saying that the sea turtle was something special to Fox.

“He was telling me that there was a transformation for him with his career decisions when he was swimming in Saint John,” McCurdy said. “He spotted this turtle with a chunk missing from its fin and a scar on his face. And that turtle let him swim with him for about a half an hour.”

“He made a transcending decision right after that,” he added. “So that turtle was pretty significant to him.”

Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 but he didn’t go public with the diagnosis until 1998. It has had an obvious impact on his life and career but he has overcome many challenges along the way.

“It was pretty scary,” he told David Letterman a few years ago. “I was 29 years old and so it was the last thing I expected to hear. I thought I’d hurt my shoulder doing some stunt because I had a twitch in my pinkie. And the doctor said ‘You have Parkinson’s disease.’ He said, ‘The good news is that you have 10 years of work left’. That was 22 years ago and I’m still working.”

He continued, “I just knew I was going to have to make adjustments and I didn’t know what I was gonna have to adjust to. But to be corny about it, once you accept it and you learn about it and you realize you’re part of a community and you realize you’re in a position to do something and to make a difference and to help, well then it’s just like, quit your b***hin’ and get on with it.”

Fox gave an interview with AARP in 2017. He said that some days are good and some are bad but he deals with all of them. He was having a good day when he got his tattoo and the tremors didn’t stop it from happening.

“I think that he did really well,” McCurdy said. “This is something that can affect him really heavily or not as much, but he had a great day.”


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