Inked: Tattoos convey Tyler Rupp's values, personality

“You can feel the eyes upon you … you can’t hear ‘em talk, other times you can, same old clichés." ~ Bob Seger, “Here I am, on the Road Again"

MONROE — Despite the awkward glances, rolls-of-the-eyes, and quick judgments when he’s first encountered in public, Tyler Rupp is comfortable in his own skin.

Emblazoned with body and face tattoos and sporting ear plugs, Rupp, 30, who got his first tattoo at age 15, considers his body a canvas inked with art that proclaims “this is my body and who I am, my values, and my personality.

“Every tattoo and etching has something to do with my life,” Tyler Rupp said. “People put all these stereotypes on me; that I’ve been in prison, a gang or cult member: That is so far from the truth.”

The images that Rupp, a Monroe native and graduate of Monroe High School, puts on his body mean more than meets the eye.

The one of a skull with roses relates to his cheating death following a harrowing escape from a motorcycle crash at age 25.

Speeding impatiently through heavy traffic on Monroe Street, he weaved around a car striking a van that was turning left, the impact causing the cycle to slide underneath the van and erupt into flames.

“It was totally my fault,” he admits.

A fellow rider and a bystander pulled Rupp from the wreckage but not before he suffered third-degree burns over 39 percent of his body, a traumatic brain injury, a shattered right leg, and a broken shoulder.

There followed six months at Beaumont Hospital in Trenton; six surgeries, and a year-and-a-half of inpatient physical therapy at the Sisters, Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) complex, Monroe.

Subscribe Now: For all the latest local developments, breaking news and high school sports content.

Rupp, who still experiences difficulty with balance, credits the IHM sisters and staff with “teaching me how to walk again.”

He said impromptu, open-ended conversations with the Sisters around personal beliefs and various religious practices “helped me discover my inner strength and spirituality.”

“A big part of my recovery is being who I am," she said.

Time spent in therapy also deepened his relationship with his parents who took turns assisting the Sisters in the painful process of changing burn bandages.

At 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighing 300 pounds, he said, “It took help to lift my legs. I became known as the screaming tattooed man.”

He continues his therapy through daily workouts at the Monroe Family YMCA.

Individuals get tattoos for various reasons and motivations including to showcase and express their identity, symbolism, experiences, and artistic expression.

A large majority of United States adults say that society has become more accepting of individuals with tattoos in recent decades:  more than 32% have at least one tattoo, including 22% who have more than one, according to the Pew Research Center, 2023.

While 29% say seeing a tattoo on someone gives them a more negative than positive impression of that person, 66% say the sighting leaves them with neither a positive nor negative impression.

Despite the fact that women, in general, are judged harsher by their appearance, more are now sporting tattoos over men, according to Reuters.

As tattoos increase in status, visible ink is unlikely to raise eyebrows across a variety of professions. Majorities of Americans would be comfortable seeing a person with visible tattoos including athletes (86%) IT technicians (78%), chefs (78%), primary school teachers, judges, and pediatrician (59%), and even presidential candidates (58%), according to the Colorado State College of Business Research.

Employers have been slow to accept tattoos in the workplace. While research finds no empirical evidence of employment, wage, or earnings discrimination against individuals with various types of tattoos, about 40% of employers believe tattoos aren’t appropriate.

While tattoos have moved beyond the cultural stigma, the majority of Americans (85%) say they are not likely to get one in the future. Twenty-three percent say they regret getting one.

The seismic shift in reactions to body tattoos doesn’t apply when it comes to face tattoos and ear plugs “you get 10 times more the weird looks,” according to Rupp.

Whether one approves or disapproves of facial inking is age-related: 92% of Americans 60 years of age and older disapprove of facial inking while 71% of 30 to 59 year olds hold similar feelings. Over 53% of 18 to 29-year-olds like face tattoos with 25% of that age group liking them on both men and women, according to Statista Research Service.

Rupp is committed to his nonconformist lifestyle — he sometimes wears a moo-moo after finding hospital gowns comfortable during his stay at IHM and has performed as an elderly drag queen — he’s gotten 70 new tattoos since his accident and plans to continue etching his identity on his skin with even more extreme forms of body art.

“It gives me confidence and makes me happy,” he said.

Taking entrepreneurial advantage of what the 6-foot-four, 300-plus pound Rupp calls his “scary appearance,” he helped start and continues to work at Haunting in the Hills, a Halloween-themed attraction in the Irish Hills in Jackson County.

His roguish image overshadows a softer side. A devoted family man, a typical evening for Rupp, wife Jessica, and two stepchildren, Kim, 15, and Kaden, 13, might be eating popcorn and watching a TV movie.

He recently couldn’t remember Jessica’s favorite popcorn seasoning, so he bought eight of them.

As far as naming his favorite tattoo, he said, “My favorite one is always the next one."

— Mike Kiefer can be reached at mikekiefer12@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Inked: Tattoos convey Tyler Rupp's values, personality