Chris Birdman Andersen, CHRIS “Birdman” Andersen is known for three main things in the NBA — getting kicked out of the league for drug use, winning an NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2013 and perhaps most of all his multitude of tattoos.
Since entering the league in 2001, Andersen has progressively covered his body with ink to the point he’s beginning to run out of skin for new additions.
But one benefit of his current mohawk hairstyle is it freed up some space on the back of his head for his latest number — two seriously twisted looking skulls and the words “Give me war” in blood red.Andersen’s tattoo addiction started in 2000 at Route 66 Tattoo in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He’d grown up in tiny Iola, Texas, the son of Linda Holubec. She rode a Harley-Davidson and had a number of tattoos.
When Andersen was in high school in the late 1990s, Holubec had gotten flowers, vines and butterflies inked on her ankles, legs and back. Her son liked what he saw.
“He thought they were cool and he wanted to get a tattoo, so I said I would pay for it,’’ Holubec said. “But he wanted to take his time before he got one.’’
The time arrived at age 21, when the 6-foot-10 Andersen joined the minor-league New Mexico Slam after playing hoops in China. Holubec had ridden her Harley 800 miles from Iola, population 430, to Albuquerque to see her son play. The two then went to Route 66 Tattoo on Central Avenue, which really is part of the historic highway.
Andersen had Chinese symbols inked on the insides of his forearms. The one on the left stands for “good’’ and the one on the right for “evil.’’
Since then, Andersen’s tattoos have increased at a brisk pace. Back in 2013 Denver-based John Slaughter, his regular tattoo artist, estimated he had them on 75 per cent of his body.
To say the Miami Heat backup centre is now the most famous heavily tattooed person in the world might not be a stretch.
“Is Tommy Lee more famous than the Birdman?’’ former Heat forward Shane Battier pondered. “Birdman might be more famous because the dude’s 6-foot-(10) and has got a mohawk, so he really can’t hide in a crowd. So he’s pretty famous. And he’s current. So Birdman might get the nod over Tommy Lee.’’Asked if he ever envisioned having so many tattoos after he began getting them, Andersen simply said he’s gotten “what I wanted.’’
“I like all of them, man,’’ Andersen said. “It ain’t something I regretted. It wasn’t like I got drunk and went and got a tattoo.’’
Andersen said all his tattoos have meanings, although he often won’t got into specifics when talking about them. He got a number of them, including wings on the inside of each arm, while serving his drug suspension.
“Some points in my life, I came across a barrier where I’d been,’’ Andersen said. “So every tattoo has a meaning. I didn’t just go get a koi fish or something like that.’’
In the summer of 2009, Andersen had “Free Bird’’ tattooed across his neck in bright yellow lettering. He’s a fan of that song by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and it had meaning to him when listening to it regularly during his suspension. He also said in 2009 that the tattoo had something to do with having just broken off an engagement.
“The one on his neck,’’ Heat forward Udonis Haslem, who has a number of tattoos, said of what jumps out on the Birdman. “I’m a tattoo guy; that one right there is impressive even to me. … He’s a fan favourite. The media loves him, the fans love him, the ladies love him.’’
But one benefit of his current mohawk hairstyle is it freed up some space on the back of his head for his latest number — two seriously twisted looking skulls and the words “Give me war” in blood red.Andersen’s tattoo addiction started in 2000 at Route 66 Tattoo in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He’d grown up in tiny Iola, Texas, the son of Linda Holubec. She rode a Harley-Davidson and had a number of tattoos.
When Andersen was in high school in the late 1990s, Holubec had gotten flowers, vines and butterflies inked on her ankles, legs and back. Her son liked what he saw.
“He thought they were cool and he wanted to get a tattoo, so I said I would pay for it,’’ Holubec said. “But he wanted to take his time before he got one.’’
The time arrived at age 21, when the 6-foot-10 Andersen joined the minor-league New Mexico Slam after playing hoops in China. Holubec had ridden her Harley 800 miles from Iola, population 430, to Albuquerque to see her son play. The two then went to Route 66 Tattoo on Central Avenue, which really is part of the historic highway.
Andersen had Chinese symbols inked on the insides of his forearms. The one on the left stands for “good’’ and the one on the right for “evil.’’
Since then, Andersen’s tattoos have increased at a brisk pace. Back in 2013 Denver-based John Slaughter, his regular tattoo artist, estimated he had them on 75 per cent of his body.
To say the Miami Heat backup centre is now the most famous heavily tattooed person in the world might not be a stretch.
“Is Tommy Lee more famous than the Birdman?’’ former Heat forward Shane Battier pondered. “Birdman might be more famous because the dude’s 6-foot-(10) and has got a mohawk, so he really can’t hide in a crowd. So he’s pretty famous. And he’s current. So Birdman might get the nod over Tommy Lee.’’Asked if he ever envisioned having so many tattoos after he began getting them, Andersen simply said he’s gotten “what I wanted.’’
“I like all of them, man,’’ Andersen said. “It ain’t something I regretted. It wasn’t like I got drunk and went and got a tattoo.’’
Andersen said all his tattoos have meanings, although he often won’t got into specifics when talking about them. He got a number of them, including wings on the inside of each arm, while serving his drug suspension.
“Some points in my life, I came across a barrier where I’d been,’’ Andersen said. “So every tattoo has a meaning. I didn’t just go get a koi fish or something like that.’’
In the summer of 2009, Andersen had “Free Bird’’ tattooed across his neck in bright yellow lettering. He’s a fan of that song by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and it had meaning to him when listening to it regularly during his suspension. He also said in 2009 that the tattoo had something to do with having just broken off an engagement.
“The one on his neck,’’ Heat forward Udonis Haslem, who has a number of tattoos, said of what jumps out on the Birdman. “I’m a tattoo guy; that one right there is impressive even to me. … He’s a fan favourite. The media loves him, the fans love him, the ladies love him.’’
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