Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has got several tattoos all over his body
Dwayne Johnson is arguably one of the greatest entertainers of all time. Be it in the WWE or in Hollywood. The charismatic American is a breath of fresh air, and is very well known for his super-jacked and humungous physique.
His extra-large arms and chiselled torso are further adorned by a variety of tattoos all over his body. Although, he has only a few tattoos as a whole, each tattoo is massive covering a large part of his body, with ‘minute attention to detail’ at its very best.
Johnson can very often be seen flaunting them in his workout videos on social media. So, what exactly do these tattoos mean and what are the stories behind those masterpieces of body art?
Dwayne Johnson’s tribal tattoo
One of the very visible tattoos of Johnson is his tribal tattoo which goes across his left pec, covering his left shoulder and ending near his elbow. The tattoo is pretty similar to his cousin and WWE superstar Roman Reigns’ tattoo, primarily because of their Samoan roots.
The tattoo is believed to have taken over 60 hours to complete, across three sessions. Staggering!
The tribal tattoo is a tribute to his Samoan roots and overcoming struggle initially. There is an eye on the chest, called the ‘Great Eye’. It depicts the ‘fighting through struggles’ and is used as a distraction during a skirmish.
The tattoo on the chest, as a whole, represents the warrior spirit of the Samoan culture, believed to help him in times of testing and tribulation.
Across his collarbone and right at the end of it, there are coconut leaves that lead to the Sun. The coconut leaves are believed to represent the ‘Samoan Chief-Warrior’. Ths Sun is a symbol of good fortune.
And exactly on the massive deltoids of Johnson are two eyes that represent his ancestors believed to be watching over him.
Coming down the shoulder there is a broken face etched by shark teeth. This piece represents his soul protector and his struggles.
And coming further down, exactly in his brachialis is a tortoise shell which is an armor used by Samoan warriors to protect themselves from evil spirits.
Dwayne Johnson’s right arm Bull tattoo
Johnson’s bull tattoo on his right bicep has been a part of him for more than 25 years. However, the tattoo underwent a massive overhaul twice, once in 2017, and another time in 2021, this year.
The tattoo known as ‘The Brahma Bull’ is a symbol of his zodiac sign – Taurus.
The tattoo’s first overhaul came in August 2017. Johnson sat down with popular tattoo artist Nikko Hurtado for 22 hours across three sessions to get it done.
The first overhaul in 2017 is said to represent his transition from a kid to a man. There is an eye featured in this tattoo as well, which stands for the disruptive positive energy. The horns represent forward momentum and progress.
In one of his social media posts, back then, The Rock also explains that it stood for the pain and struggles.
“And more recently, only a few days ago, The Bull tattoo underwent further evolution. This time the piece was done by popular tattoo artist Yomico. The Rock mentioned in his Instagram post that it took over 25 hours to get it done. The word was created in his own basement.
Yomico then shared a post of himself inking the masterpiece on the Rock’s arms. He took to Instagram to thank Johnson for having trusted him, giving him the opportunity to ink on one of the most famous celebrities in the world.
The tattoos represent the struggles of a Samoan and his warrior spirit in overcoming them.
The cost is estimated to be around $5000.
After getting it done almost 25 years ago, The Rock decided to overhaul his bull tattoo twice, once in 2017 and another time in 2021.
The Rock’s tattoo on his right bicep is called the Brahma Bull tattoo.
The Rock only updated his existing bull tattoo, he didn’t get them removed.
The Rock covered his bull tattoo to symbolize his transformation from a kid to a man.
The tattoo on Dwayne Johnson’s left arm is the Polynesian tribal tattoo.
