In the middle of a session this week, tattoo artist JC Stroebel stopped for a second to reflect on how he unknowingly started a movement among Timberwolves fans.
“All I did was tweet, and then over 500 people made it a big deal,” Stroebel said. “There were so many people that showed up, and I feel like that’s the story, right?”
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That’s certainly where the story started roughly a year ago, when Stroebel fired off a tweet saying he would tattoo the words Naz Reid on anybody that wanted it. It almost immediately took on a life of its own among Timberwolves fans, and essentially overnight Stroebel and fellow local tattoo artist Jesse George found themselves booked solid.
Not that the lifelong Timberwolves fans were complaining. They were thrilled to play a small part in helping memorialize a deep playoff run that ended with the Timberwolves falling to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals.
Now, with the Timberwolves hosting the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, Stroebel and George are back at it again. They recently hosted an event at Beloved Studios in Roseville where they are both finishing up an apprenticeship.
Together, Stroebel and George came up with a variety of options for the occasion, from a legitimate portrait of Jaden McDaniels to a small illustration of an ant in honor of Anthony Edwards.
“We sat down and had a meeting like, ‘What would we want as fans ourselves?’ ” Stroebel said. “We’re going to have a new flash sheet every year with new tattoos, so it’ll be cool for people to be able to collect them.”
Though neither Stroebel nor George were sure how many people were going to show up at Beloved Studios, they were blown away by the response as Timberwolves fans packed the parking lot and lined up outside before the doors even opened.
“It was such a whirlwind for us last year, and we were kind of just going with it,” George said. “We actually had expectations this year, so we were a little bit nervous to see how it was all going to turn out.”
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The first customer for Stroebel was Neesha Moore. She’s been a Timberwolves fan pretty much since she was born and takes a lot of pride in the collage on her upper thigh that includes the “Naz Reid” tattoo from last year.
“Just to be able to look down and know it’s a part of me is really cool,” Moore said. “Even if I’ve always known it’s a part of me, now everybody can see it.”
The first customer for George was Nolan Peterson. He has been a Timberwolves fan for as long as he can remember and has slowly been working on a leg sleeve ever since getting his “Naz Reid” tattoo last year.
“It’s a piece of art that brings me back to a memory,” Peterson said. “I’ll still be able to look back in like 10 years or 15 years and be like, ‘That was a fun time in my life.’ ”
That might be the coolest part about these tattoos. They basically freeze this moment in time for Timberwolves fans who have been waiting so long for their favorite team to rise to this level.
That helps explain why so many people have gravitated to Stroebel and George and their shared mission.
As the waiting room continued to fill up during the event at Beloved Studios, it was all hands on deck with a number of other artists helping Stroebel and George get the job done. They ended up doing 58 tattoos on Friday, and were on pace to do similar numbers on Saturday.
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“I’m so freaking thankful that people showed up,” Stroebel said. “We had no clue what to expect. The most predominant feeling for me is gratitude. It’s an honor to be a part of.”
The Trust Project
