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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Kyle O'Sullivan

Travis Barker's tattoos' meanings - from Kourtney Kardashian tribute to awkward cover up

Travis Barker has more than 100 tattoos on his body - and they all have a very special meaning. Staggeringly, an approximate 70% of the Blink-182 drummer's body is covered, having got his first tat when he was just 15-years-old.

The exact number of tattoos is constantly growing - and Travis has got a number of new ones in tribute to his wife, Kourtney Kardashian, who he married this summer. Explaining what his philosophy is when getting tats, he said: "For me it's documenting part of my life or people, things, times in my life. When I'm dead and gone I want people to be able to look at my body and basically relive my life in some ways."

Travis Barker has tattoos on 70% of his body (Instagram)
It's hard to find anywhere that hasn't been inked (travisbarker/Instagram)

In a 2016 interview with GQ, Travis said that his father told him he better not get covered in tattoos because he'd never be able to get a job.

It was actually his sister who grassed him up after he annoyed her one day, and his livid dad shouted: "You'll have no Plan B. You have tattoos like that, and you're f****d. You won't be able to get a job."

But it actually did the opposite for Travis, who said a light bulb went off in his head, adding: "It really narrowed things down for me in the best way possible. Play music or die."

His dad did eventually come round and actually got a Famous Stars and Straps tattoo when he was in his 60s.

The first ones he got were a Bones tattoo and a Dag Nasty flame, from the rock band, on top of it, which he has now sadly lost.

Travis has the 'ghetoo blaster' on his chest (kourtneykardash/Instagram)
There is a family tree on his back (kourtneykardash/Instagram)

The only area not covered is a portion of his legs, which sustained third degree burns and required painful skin grafts after a plane crash that claimed the lives of two close friends.

Travis, who suffered from PTSD and did not fly on a plane again until August last year, had burns on 65% of his body and had skin taken from his back fro grafts on his legs.

After a month or two, he decided to tattoo over the skin donor site on his back because it was discoloured and put a 'family tree' on there - with the faces of his kids.

One of his most prominent tats is the words 'Can I Say' across his chest, which is the title of his 2015 autobiography and a personal motto of sorts.

Another very recognisable one is the race flag pattern on his beck, which reportedly stands for the year of his favorite Cadillac.

The drummer has a racing flag on his neck (WireImage for Brent Bolthouse Productions)

He's clearly quite a fan of the car brand, of which he owns a real life collection, as he has a giant vehicle on his side.

His signature tattoo is definitely the 'ghetto blaster' on his abs, which travis says he has seen recreated on the bodies of many of his fans.

The massive tat features a boom box in the middle with what appears to be a winged woman emerging from on top.

Travis has "SELF MADE" tattooed across his knuckles, which he says is because he never relied on anyone to get to where he is.

He also has the names of kids Alabama and London on his arms, but was forced to cover up some inkings that were for his ex-wife.

Travis Barker had inkings for his ex-wife Shanna Moakler (WireImage)

Travis, who married Shanna Moakler in 2004 before splitting in 2006 and finalising their divorce two years later, got rid of her initials on his hand and replaced it with a skull.

Shanna, a former Miss USA, furiously hit out at her ex-partner and claimed his new ink was a dig at her in revenge.

She wrote on Instagram: "To my newfound haters, to clarify since everyone seems to know my personal life, my ex put a skull tattoo over our initials on his hand while his new girl lovingly looked on.

"That was done with purpose and intent along with posts to try to insult me and my happiness with my new man. Once again weird!"

The drummer has a number of tats dedicated to Kourtney - and got her name above his heart in April last year when they had only been together for four months.

Kourtney has tattooed her husband (kourtneykardash/Instagram)

Posting a photo, Travis simply captioned the Instagram post: "Leave me alone," to which his Poosh founder girlfriend responded: "Never".

His followers are also convinced that the 'You're So Cool!' words, the title of the lead track from the 1993 film True Romance, is written in Kourtney's handwriting.

In October last year, Travis sealed his love with a kiss and had a print of Kourtney's lips inked on his arm to cover up another one of his ex's name along with a scorpion.

According to Us Weekly, Kourtney pressed her lips to a piece of paper and Travis then transferred the lipstick mark on to this body.

The Blink-182 star has a number of go-to artists who are close friends, but he lets his kids have a go on him with the tattoo gun.

Travis covered up ex's name with tattoo of Kourtney Kardashian's lips and a scorpion (scottcampbell/Instagram)

"I have this portion on my thigh where basically anytime I get tattooed, if they're around and they want to, they can grab the gun and doodle on me. It's like a sketchbook," he told GQ in 2016.

"Those are the memories that are really priceless. It all started because Landon wanted a tattoo. He didn't understand why he couldn't. He was worked up and in tears. I had to explain that I'd go to jail if you get a tattoo. So I said 'Let's make a deal, you tattoo me.'."

Back in 2016, Travis stated that he had plans to get started on his legs, feet and then his armpits, which he admitted is incredibly painful.

He added: "At one point before the tour I was going to do my eyelids, but I just couldn't narrow down a concept. I usually don't think long and hard about stuff. I just do it. At this point I don't have much room left. I want to think them out."

Travis' most recent tatoo was in honour of his beloved pet French Bulldog Blue, who sadly past away earlier this month.

Sharing the news of the adorable pooch's death on Instagram, he wrote: "I'll miss you Blue. You were the best dog. I was always waiting for you to say something. Love you 4ever boy."

Travis and his youngest daughter, Alabama Luella Barker, were left devastated by the news and shared a series of sweet videos and photos of their companion.

As an ever-lasting tribute to Blue, Travis decided to get the dog's cute face inked onto the side of his thigh.

"Grateful for this tattoo @_dr_woo_ honoring my boy Blue," he wrote on Instagram along with snaps of the design.

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