Pinoy tattoo artist Nes Andrion draws a winner with rising NFL star

As San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick popularity grows with every win in the National Football League, so does interest in who does his tattoos.

Kaepernick's tattoo artist is Filipino Nes Andrion, who immigrated from the Philippines.

Andrion met Kaepernick in 2008, when the future playcaller was attending the University of Nevada in Reno.

“We met when he has attending college here. He got to know of my work through word-of-mouth. Now, I have done 90% of his tattoos.”

According to USA Today, the wait list for an appointment with Andrion is three months.

His clientele include Denver Broncos tight end Virgil Green and Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee, both of whom also played for the University of Nevada.

Andrion came to the US when he was 10. He became a tattoo artist at a young age and has been practicing his trade for 18 years.

He started out in Las Vegas and now owns his tattoo shop “Endless Ink” in Reno, Nevada. He serves a lot of Filipino clients, too.

Montage

Andrion’s work on Kaepernick, featured in the Huffington Post, is montage of inspirational phrases and images.

According to the tattoo artist, his Kaepernick likes the juxtaposition of opposing forces, good and bad, and heaven versus hell.

It took four hours for Andrion to inscribe the scripture from Psalms 18:39 on the quarterback's right shoulder: "You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries before me."

The images of angels and demons on Kaepernick’s back took a total of 18 hours over two
sessions.

Kaepernick

Kaepernick came under the limelight when he filled in the shoes of San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith, who had a concussion in a collision with St. Louis Rams linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar last Nov. 11, 2012.

The second year 49er has led the team to outstanding wins versus the Green Bay Packers in the divisional series and against the Atlanta Falcons in the conference finals.

Kaepernick and San Francisco 49ers are now playing for their sixth Super Bowl in the National Football League.

With all the attention Kaepernick gets, it translates to good business for Andrion.

“I get lots of calls from the 49er fans, and it feels good,” Andrion says. - VVP, GMA News