Jordan Clarkson Breaks Down His Tattoos

GQMagazine

Remember when Jordan Clarkson didn't have a single tattoo? From the peace sign on his knee to his Nipsey Hussle and Allen Iverson portraits, the now fully tattooed Utah Jazz point guard breaks down all of his tattoos and the meanings behind them.  Director: Arielle Neblett Director of Photography: Francis Bernal Editor: Marcus Niehaus Producer: Camille Ramos Line Producer: Jen Santos Production Manager: James Pipitone Production Coordinator: Tania Jones Talent Booker: Paige Keffer, Meredith Judkins Camera Operator: Mar Sound Mixer: Sean Paulsen Production Assistant: Rowmel Findley Post Production Supervisor: Rachael Knight Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant Supervising Editor: Rob Lombardi Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds

Transcript

00:00 [upbeat music]

00:02 Yeah, I had zero tattoos in the beginning

00:14 and then I got this small one.

00:16 My initials, two, three months period,

00:18 me and Steve was tattooing literally every day.

00:21 The two, three months, it was like the sleeve happened

00:23 and then this one and then, yeah,

00:25 when I came back that summer,

00:26 everybody was like, "Oh my God, what happened?"

00:29 I think it's definitely addicting.

00:31 The M is for my dad, A is for my mom, Annette,

00:35 and then Janie, Callie, Julian, this is my brother,

00:38 but he changed his name to Bear,

00:41 so I'm gonna have to add another letter on there.

00:43 I feel like my most meaningful tattoos

00:45 are my family portraits, my best friend that passed.

00:49 All of them are just family

00:51 and kinda hold my hat on that forever.

00:54 You know, a face holds so much value.

00:56 When you see me, you're gonna see them.

00:57 You know, they're always with me,

00:58 so I think those are my most meaningful ones for sure.

01:02 Big Filipino, I just got back from World Cup.

01:05 I had a chance to play for the country.

01:07 My grandmother was from there.

01:09 My mom was born there and raised there.

01:11 That's another tattoo I got on my chest too.

01:13 It's my grandmother.

01:14 The Filipino flag is like flying over it.

01:16 That's a big thing I carry with me,

01:18 always my Filipino culture and my love for the country.

01:21 Steve, definitely one of my favorite artists.

01:24 The way we met, I was at a gym

01:25 and he's always down to work,

01:27 so wherever it is, I think, you know,

01:29 there's pictures of him tatting people on planes,

01:31 boats, and whatever.

01:33 It's just his vibe, the way he gets the work done fast.

01:36 He's just one of the best out there.

01:38 I think you see that through a lot of his work

01:39 throughout the NBA and, you know, around the world.

01:42 Tattoo artists is, you know,

01:43 a special talent in their own way too.

01:45 Tattoo Mill in Cleveland.

01:46 He did my chest piece right here with the Hollywood sign.

01:49 A lot of artists that I work with

01:51 are realistic tattoo artists.

01:53 Third one is Raphael.

01:54 He did my Bob Marley, I wanna say.

01:57 Same thing, realistic form.

01:59 My last name on my back.

02:00 I think that was a 10, 11 hour session.

02:03 It was a good process and I loved it.

02:05 Majority of the time I'm getting tattooed,

02:07 I'm playing a game sometimes, watching movies.

02:10 Few times I've fallen asleep, but yeah,

02:12 on my phone, watching TikToks, making the time pass.

02:15 Usually I'm at the house.

02:17 I'm in my Lululemon slides and Lululemon shorts,

02:20 especially when I'm getting my legs done.

02:21 Majority of the time, I'm in like a tank top like this

02:23 or jersey, just something comfortable,

02:25 super comfortable and light.

02:27 The tattoo that took the longest to heal

02:29 was my peace sign on my knee.

02:30 Just 'cause I had got it during the season.

02:33 You know, my knee bending.

02:34 Very often on the court, court burns and stuff like that.

02:37 It took a while for my knee to heal,

02:39 so I had to play with like sleeves and stuff like that,

02:42 just try to get it to heal quick enough.

02:44 During the off season is when I usually spend

02:46 a lot of time getting tattooed,

02:47 just 'cause, you know, I got a lot of time on my hands.

02:50 I usually just work out, come back to the house,

02:51 spend time with my family.

02:53 As part of the off season routine,

02:54 I had two tattoos that I've covered up

02:58 with roses on my shoulders.

03:00 I think it was like Bruce Lee and Muhammad Ali,

03:02 but just for flow purposes,

03:04 I thought the roses would look better,

03:06 but those are the only two coverups I got.

03:08 My Allen Iverson one, kinda covers majority of my shin.

03:12 That one took a while too.

03:13 I think in terms of sports, I got Randy Moss

03:17 and then I got Allen Iverson.

03:20 Two people that I grew up watching

03:22 and, you know, respecting their game.

03:23 And yeah, that's the reason why I got them tatted on me.

03:26 The memories that they gave me as a kid

03:28 and how they were as athletes and people,

03:31 I mean, what they did for the culture.

03:32 I think it was both creative and inspiring in so many ways.

03:37 I think my Heath Ledger tattoo is the one

03:39 that's like seen the most in a lot of pictures,

03:41 just 'cause, I don't know, I think it's just

03:43 a prime real estate piece on my arm,

03:44 so super cool and hard.

03:46 If you look at all the Joker movies,

03:48 I think his character is very unique, different.

03:51 His style is different.

03:53 The way he talks is just a iconic villain

03:57 in some sort that I really like.

03:59 The Nipsey tattoo means a lot just 'cause

04:02 I've met him before on multiple occasions

04:04 and was super fan of him during high school and college days

04:08 and then getting a chance to listen to him.

04:10 The way he just culturally shifted stuff

04:13 and how smart he was as a businessman

04:16 and just having that opportunity to meet him

04:19 and he's just an iconic person that will always be around

04:22 and through his music and what he done

04:25 for LA as a community as well.

04:27 My back piece is probably gonna be the,

04:30 I think, the best piece that I ever get

04:33 and that's why it's kinda taking a little minute

04:34 to put it all together, but me and Steve

04:36 cooking up something real nice for that.

04:38 (gentle music)

04:41 [MUSIC PLAYING]

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