In our country, getting a tattoo made is considered to be a taboo subject for many people. Slowly but surely, our culture is starting to accept this form of art and expression. So much so, that it has led to tattoo artists, who previously used to sit on roadsides or inside religious shrines, to operate in creatively designed air-conditioned tattoo parlors. It has been around a decade that getting ‘inked’ by a professional artist first started becoming popular in Pakistan. It is also not easily affordable for most of the people, and for some it is considered to be a luxury. The subject of tattoos is also the cause of many disagreements and debates in our society.
Kluchit.com had been searching for some quality content related to the tattoo world for a long time. Basically, we wanted to show people the level the industry is operating on. So we met the man behind Pitch Black Ink, tattoo artist Mr. Zohaib Amjad, who was also looking for a way to promote his art and to showcase the talent in the industry. It did not take us very long to conceptualize the idea of combining tattoo artists with people from the fraternity of mixed martial arts. For this reason, the Kluchit team and the team from Pitch Black Ink went to meet Mr. Abdul Mateen, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter with a passion for both, tattoos and mixed martial arts. Each of the tattoos on his body is a pictorial representation of his experiences and the different elements in his life.
Synergy Fitness and Mixed Martial Arts (SFMMA), in DHA Lahore, is owned by Mr. Bashir Ahmed. He is a well-known figure not only within the MMA circle in Pakistan, but also internationally as well. SFMMA houses the most comprehensive fitness and training facilities for fighters to learn Mixed Martial Arts. The video posted above was shot entirely at the Synergy Fitness and Mixed Martial Arts gym. Before we went in, we had expected to find a place reeking of sweat where big and burly men would be busy punching the heck out of each other. We were pleasantly surprised to not only find a nice and well-maintained facility, but also to see several female fighters busy with their training regimes. Mr. Ahmed was kind enough to let us have the entire place to ourselves for the shoot.
Abdul-Mateen was very honest and frank regarding the meanings of all his tattoos. He said “the real reason I got all my tattoos was that I wanted to express myself”. All the flowers on his chest represent the initials of the names of his sisters, who are very dear to him. He further said that, for him, he is firstly a Muslim and then a Pushtun, an ideology tattooed on his left shoulder in circular shape. Abdul-Mateen got his first ever tattoo made by Zohaib Amjad. It was like a match made in heaven and since then he has never considered any other tattoo artist. All his tattoos are designed and created by Zohaib Amjad. We extend our heartiest thanks to Mr. Bashir Ahmed (Synergy Fitness & Mixed Martial Arts), Mr. Zohaib Amjad (Pitch Black Ink) and Mr. Abdul-Mateen (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Fighter) for their kind cooperation.
Team Kluchit.
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