Meet the Man Behind the Most Montana Tattoo of All Time
Meet Jared Jennings Berry: he’s 26 years old, born and raised in Billings, and went to Billing Skyview. Looking at him a normal day, you would see a pretty typical Montana kid. You’d never know that lurking beneath the surface of his t-shirt is one of the most badass Montana tattoo in the history of our great state. The Montana Mint sat down with Jared and got the full scoop on his MT tat.
Montana Mint: Jared, how the heck did you come up with this idea for your tattoo?
Jared Jennings Berry: The idea for the tattoo came from my aunt who found one similar to this for Minnesota so I started coming up with words to describe Montana, from places I’ve been, to things I love, to people from Montana.
MM: So you came up with all of the ideas for the words in the tat?
JJB: Yep. There are actually tons of stories behind the tattoo. One word in there is a special family camping spot with many many memories. Sawtooth Mountain is a mountain a friend and I have climbed. Deep Lake was one of the best backpacking trips I’ve been on – we hiked all day long and into the night on a round trip. Literally by moonlight, we did about 26 miles in two days at over 10000 ft elevation for a lot of the trip.
MM: And it looks like words are intentionally placed, is that right?
JJB: That’s right. All of the places are generally located in the tattoo where they would be on a map to a certain degree. For instance the Yellowstone River follows the actual river and the dot on the second “i” in Billings is where Billings is actually located. Most of the mountains are fairly close to where they are in Montana.
MM: Where did you get it done?
JJB: I got it done at a shop in Billings called Cin City Tattoo. I’d very highly recommend them to anyone.
MM: Did they design it too?
JJB: Cindy Hahn did the design and she did a great job (she actually owns Cin City). It came out perfect. Many of the words are in her handwriting. She made “Sawtooth” jagged like a saw blade which is what the actual mountain looks like in real life.
MM: You must have been in the chair for a long time.
JJB: Actually, the Montana tattoo only took her a little over an hour.
MM: That’s incredible. How do people react when they first see it?
JJB: Most people when they see this tattoo tell me that it is badass, ask me if I’m from Montana, and/or ask if there are any typos. A lot of times people want me to sit down for a couple minutes so they can read all the words.
MM: So…are there any typos?
JJB: No. Cindy is very thorough with her tattoos and made sure all the words were spelled and placed correctly. The best part is she left some space so I can continue to add words to this tattoo as I visit new places and climb new mountains.
MM: That’s great. What’s next for you?
JJB: I’m planning to open a backpack guiding service. A lot of the places on my tattoo are places I’d be willing to take folks.
Thanks Jared! Remember, if you know someone with a cool Montana story to tell, send us a note at montanamintfb@gmail.com! They could be featured in our next Minterview!
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