Thank you Steve Morris/Bodyworks

Finally, after many many hours bent into odd positions by a 6'5" 280 man with a shaved head (go ahead, say it), my City of Champs tribute is complete. Yes, it was a tattoo, not a year in prison!! I love the custom work done by Steve Morris at BodyWorks tattoos in Penn Hills. He did a great job all around, and most especially adding life to and working around the eagle that was stuck in the middle of the canvas since I was 18 years old. If you want just a logo of something or basic flash art tattoo work, Steve is not your man. But there are others at the shop who can step in and do that work. But, if you want top notch custom work from a man who takes great pride in his work, and your satisfaction with it, then you will never go wrong to contact Steve. After more than 40 hours of one on one time with Steve, plus some design time, I have gotten to know him very well, and came away impressed. First, he is the real deal in terms of demand. It took a couple of months from my first phone call and original idea to the intial meeting to discuss details.....it took a couple of additional months for the follow up, in which the final design and layout were done, and it took several 5-8 hour sessions from early January 201o until late August to get the work done. You have to schedule months in advance, as he is booked otherwise. Not only do I love the work Steve did, but I was impressed by what he would NOT do. My original idea was to center around a molten lava drooling Steeler monster with a war ravaged Steeler flag, on which was impaled the helmets of the six teams defeated by the Steelers in the Super Bowls.......I had similar aggressive, in your face ideas to compliment the original Pens logo on my arm, as they are obviously my favorite Pittsburgh team. Steve, taking my age, 45, and white collar profession into account refused to do it.....Yes, even when I acted like it was a deal breaker, his positon was that I would regret that kind of aggression on my arm over time, and that he could give me a piece that would still have an in your face feel, but would be more of a tribute to the city and teams that I have grown up loving. Although it is colorful and it looks like my arm is melting, it is a very civilized looking piece of work! Hey, you cannot take away from the fact that it is a whole sleeve of work, but it comes off a lot better for a man my age than a bunch of black and gold steel drooling monsters would have (We may still go there on the chest though). I wound up seeing his side of it, and he presented me with the options, that with some tweaking together, became this tattoo, and I love the results. His firm stance on doing the right thing by me long term, v. doing whatever I would pay for earned him a great deal of my respect right out of the gate. Trust me, most people would have gladly had me commit to any project of that size regardless of whether it was the "right" thing in the long run. All in all, a great experience, a new friend, and a piece of art on my arm that I love. I will have Steve also fix up some older work on my other arm and chest. Thank you Steve for a great experience and in my opinion, a civilized yet kick ass tattoo!