Tyler Witt's business is blocking and tattoos. And business is good
Eric Miller has some big arms, a perfect canvas for tattoos on the 6-7, 305-pound Purdue offensive tackle.
“Might stay that way for a while,” the junior said after a recent practice. “We'll see.”
That’s bad news for fellow Boilermaker offensive lineman Tyler Witt, who has a burgeoning business as a tattoo artist. The Western Kentucky transfer is taking advantage of the new legislation that allows college athletes to cash in via Name, Image and Likeness.
“Since the NIL rule passed, a lot of the guys on the team found out about (my business),” said Witt. “Right before camp, I had a couple of weeks where I was booked completely. So, I was tattooing a lot of guys. It's just a passion right now. Now that it is football time, it's football time.”
The 6-2, 305-pound Witt’s focus has been sharp of late on the field with the Boilermakers in the midst of training camp. The super senior is working as the No. 1 right guard after arriving on campus in time for spring ball. He recently tweaked an ankle, but he is back in action and ready to be an anchor on an offensive line with something to prove.
“Definitely feel a lot more comfortable with (my linemates),” said Witt. “Getting that time to spend with them, bond and just go through hardships together in the weight room through conditioning, through jerk drills Coach (Neil) Callaway put us through during the summer.
“That bond just grows stronger and I think you could tell in our communication, especially with the front five, the starting five. We always spend a lot of time together and pride ourselves on that.”
Witt also has pride in his tattoo work. The Joliet (Ill.) Catholic product finds it therapeutic, sketching designs that sometimes end up as tattoos on clients. And he counts Purdue teammates among those who now adorn his ink art work.
“I've given a lot to (receiver) Milton Wright, probably his whole leg is my work,” said Witt. “(Defensive tackle) Damarjhe Lewis, I've done some on him. (Offensive tackle) Dave Monnot I tattooed. (Offensive tackle) Greg Long I tattooed. So, long list. A lot of guys have come through.
“Whatever they want, I'll draw it up for them. In my free time, that's what I like to do, I like to decompress after a day. I'll draw for a couple hours and then go to bed. That's just my routine.”
Witt’s business has been built largely on word-of-mouth, along with social media posts on Instagram and Snapchat.
“Milton Wright has helped me a lot with it as far as telling his friends, and his friends tell their friends,” said Witt. “So, I'm starting to get clients now that I have no idea who they are, but they want me to do work on them.”
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What is Witt’s specialty?
“I think I do my best work on Milton Wright,” said Witt. “And I think Milton Wright agrees. I did one on the back of his calf. It's a ghost. And I did a lightning bolt with a woman's face in it on the side of his calf. I mean both of them, I don't know if I could get much better than that. I thought they were perfect. I mostly just do black-and-gray stuff. I like heavy black, so that's what I like to do.”
Would offensive line coach Dale Williams ever be a client?
“Never,” Williams said. “I was out the door when I was their age getting a tattoo; I definitely was. It was going to be two guns with roses right there on the back of my calf. I was out the door to get it but then my Sicilian mother looked at me: ‘What do you think that’s going to look like when you’re 40 years old?’
“I said, ‘What the hell; I’m not doing this.’ And my father would’ve been pissed at me, too.”
What about Jeff Brohm?
“No, Coach Brohm has no interest,” said Witt. “I think he has more pressing issues to worry about.”
Witt can keep trying to convince Miller to add some ink to those big arms. Maybe a skull and crossbones, or an American flag ... anything?
“I'm not a huge tattoo guy myself,” said Miller. “But Tyler has got some great designs. He works hard on that stuff, man. Maybe sometime down the road we'll get a group o-line tattoo or something. You never know. But not at the moment. Nothing planned.”
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