Dwayne Johnson is putting in some serious work on his latest tattoo, spending more than an entire day revamping some old ink.
The Jumanji actor shared some photos on Instagram over the weekend, tracking the long hours of tattooing he endured on his right arm as he updated his bull tattoo.
“Evolution of the Bull tattoo is almost complete,” he wrote in his caption on Friday, June 11. “Day 2 and inking over 25 hours so far with my brother and hyper-realistic specialist @yomicoart in my basement. Yomico‘s masterful in his skill and we’ve spent many months (almost a year thru Covid) collaborating on details and story that the tattoo will represent.”
“Almost done and almost time to break out the tequila 🥃,” added Johnson, who has his own brand of ultra-premium tequila, Teremana.
He followed that post up with another on Saturday, when the former WWE star said the piece was “almost finished” on day 3.
“Close to 30 hrs of tattooing (pretty challenging as my whole upper arm and shoulder wasn’t a blank canvas but rather enhancing and adding to what was already there so the level of detail, precision and specific color for my skin takes a lot of time) with my brother @yomicoart,” he wrote.
This transformation comes more than three years after his initial announcement in August 2017, when Johnson first showcased how he dramatically changed his right-bicep bull tattoo, which he’d had for over two decades, dating back to his early days of pro wrestling.
“Evolution of the bull begins w/ @nikkohurtado,” he previously said in an Instagram video that documented the major change. “I’ve engrained this bull in my DNA for two decades. My core. Humbly, it’s also become a symbol of strength, resilience, heart, power and defiance to so many people around the world. I got this tattoo when I was just a kid. Now I need it to reflect me as a man.”
At the time, the final product was a 3-D, even larger bull tattoo featuring visible cracks in its bones, with horns that pointed straight ahead along with a large, empty eye socket. When the actor turned to world-renowned tattoo artist Nikko Hurtado to evolve his original bull, they worked together for a total of 22 hours over three sessions at the parlor.
“We talked for hours about the man I am today, compared to who I once was. And who I’ll always be,” he said at the time. “We all desire to grow and evolve. The mana is right.. let the blood and pain begin. #EvolutionOfTheBull.”
