Bruce Brown

Connect What inspired your most recent tattoo?

Named after the WWE wrestler “Elias,” my dog carried the motto “Walk With Elias”—fitting for the best walking partner I ever had. My artist and I used the font from one of the wrestler’s shirts and a photo that captured him perfectly. Elias died of cancer at six. He was the best fucking boy, and this tattoo’s how I make sure he still walks with me.

If your ink could speak, what would it say?

If my ink could speak? It wouldn’t. I don’t have artistic talent—so I let the artists speak for me. I’m just the platform. Their work reflects my ideas: a favorite movie, my dog, my career, something that hit hard. I bring the vision, they bring the execution. They tell me how to shape it, how it should look, how it lasts. I trust them to translate what matters into something that stays. I let the work be interpreted, asked about, and a chance to connect with people who w

What would you do with the $25,000?

Probably get the tattoo I’ve been thinking about—an opossum, to mark three years sober. On the night of my last drunk—3 a.m., sitting on the porch before heading to rehab—this opossum wandered up. I looked at him and said, “What’s up, buddy?” Of all the blackout nights, I remember that. That weird little moment stuck. But first? I’ll fix the fence. And buy my wife something. That comes first—honestly.