Shark Tattoo Ideas

If you have a shark tattoo and would like to share it on this web page we encourage you to send us a clear close-up image of the tattoo along with a head shot of yourself and a short bio. You can add whatever you wish to the bio. Tell us where you had your ink applied, the reason you decided to get the tattoo and what it means to you.

Rachel:

“I am Rachel from Kansas, I have always loved the ocean and became
obsessed with sharks when I saw my very first reef shark in the Bahamas.
Ever since then the obsession has grown. My favorite dive site is Tiger
Beach in the Bahamas and Guadalupe Island. I got my tattoo in Las Vegas
by Derek Calkins at Inner Visions Tattoo. The tattoo represents my love
for sharks and just how majestic and beautiful they are”.

Steve Moores:

Hey all, I am Scubasteve1981(on Instagram) follow my travels there. I have always been ScubaSteve to my friends, even before I started diving. Randomly I guess they all knew I was going to be in the water and, that my love of all things Sharks would draw me to these amazing predators.

I first dove with the Great whites of Guadalupe in 2005 through the Nautilus Explorer liveaboards company as a Chef aboard the Nautilus Explorer. That was the first time I met “Doc†with his awesome team of San Diego shark diving and from then on, I was HOOKED(not in the literal sense) to the biggest predator in the ocean, the Great White.

Right after my return to Toronto, Canada I sought out a tattoo parlor and the first sketches of my shark tattoo came about. Finally after a few sketches and some detail changes I decided it was time for a full calf tat.

Now after this time with Doc again aboard the Nautilus Explorer it is time to seek out another shark tattoo, hopefully of my new girl(sorry Michelle) Lucy, the most beautiful of all the old lady sharks. I will be scouting my Gopro and taking the best images of Lucy and putting them to life on my right Calf.

The Great Whites of Guadalupe rule, the trips are awesome, the food is smashing, and I would highly recommend any and all people take the time and invest in your own travels. Take the plunge with San Diego Shark Diving and, the Nautilus Liveaboards.

Bob Brown:

“I am 65 years old and am retired, I  have a full body suit tattoo, I created Virginia the vagina shark to represent my two favourite things.â€

Jess:

Jess is from Winnipeg, Canada. He got his tattoo in 2012 “I have been fascinated with great whites since as long as I could read, and made a pact with myself to learn to scuba dive as soon as I could so that I could go dive with them. Great whites exemplify evolutionary perfection, power and cunning; breaching is an exceptional example of their adaptation and it is an awe-inspiring spectacle. Six years later, I finally fulfilled my dreams and got to dive with these incredible animals.â€

Jerri Lea-Stoley:

Jerri is a delightful Canadian.  “I’ve loved sharks from a very young age. My dad used to put jaws on so I’d stop crying when I was little, he would chase me in swimming pools while doing the DA NA theme from jaws, my curiosity and my love grew as I got older. And after 30 years finally seeing the great whites at Guadalupe my love grew more seeing them up close. I feel honored to have seen them. Beautiful and majestic. My tattoo is just simply because I love sharks.â€

Ryan Wilson:

Ryan was working as a dive-master aboard the Belle Amie for the White Shark season.  My Shark Tattoo: After a few years of diving and almost being 18 years old I had many ideas of what i wanted my shark tattoo to be. I got the idea for my tattoo from my 1st ocean dive trip when I was 12 years old. We went to the Turks & Caicos Islands, I was so excited and ready to get in the water, around 7am our DM jumps in the water 1st to set the lines. After about a minute he comes up yelling for us to get in the water was a shark by the line. With just my mask and fins I jump in! I was so excited to see a shark on my 1st dive in the ocean after my certification I was hooked! After the dive my dad hits me in the head saying he waited to see a shark after years of diving, I  got one on my 1st ever! My Brother and I are the artist and was re coloured in 2014.

Deb Dwyer:

Deb was on the Aug 16-20, 2016 Great White Shark expedition aboard the Belle Amie. She was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona.

“Ever since I can remember I have been in awe of the ocean and all it beautiful creatures. I learned to scuba dive when I was 25, getting my certification in San Carlos, Mexico. I have several tattoos-all ocean and fish related. My love for sharks, the Great White, in particular was a thought that came to me when I was about 40. I got the tattoo in Tucson at Old Towne tattoo by owner and artist Tony Edwards. I’m grateful I got the tattoo because I get compliments all the time about the realism of it. Now with my recent dives at Guadalupe Island it means even more to me.â€

Shannon “Chum Girl†Walker: 

Shannon worked as a Shark Wrangler for two seasons with us during that time she earned the moniker of “Chum Girlâ€.. She was an endless source of entertainment on the boat and actually did a pretty good job of handling the passengers and wrangling the sharks. She is a killer poker player so don’t challenge her unless you want to lose your shirt! She’s now off outfitting her own sailing vessel preparing for an around the world adventure filming episodes of the expedition with her boyfriend. She placed the shark tatoo ion her forearm in 2008 so she could easily see it to remind her of the fun she had as a shark diving diva. We wish her well on her globe- trotting adventures.

Chris Dillman: 

A Wisconsin native got the tribal shark tat as a conversation starter so he could educate non-divers about the importance of sharks in the marine environment. Kudos to Chris for making the commitment to shark conservation.

Blair Ranford:

An engaging Aussie from the Western Australia city of Perth. He often does volunteer work with white shark researchers in South Africa. Blair got his tat 15 yrs. ago. The tattoo has faded some over time so he wants to get it touched up with more detail on the next application.

Dave Embry:

Dave Embry is a  Greenville, IL resident who owns 5 McDonald’s restaurants in Southern Illinois.He started diving in 2002 and is married and has 4 daughters. Dave was on the Nov 4-9 2012 trip.

“I’ve always loved sharks and decided to get a tattoo of one after I started diving. I got this tattoo from a friend of mine in Edwardsville, IL.  I told him I wanted a shark that looked like it was coming around a coral head when I had on a tank top shirt. His name is Travis and he’s known in our area as one of the best tattoo artist.  He came up with this tattoo design so a few years later I had him add some divers to the tattoo.  My wife and I enjoy traveling the world, diving, and meeting new friends and seeing sharks. â€

Neil Clayton:

Neil was the manager of the Waidroka Resort on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji, he is now in South Africa.. He got the tat as a sign of his commitment to conservation of sharks in Fiji and throughout the Pacific. It is a representation of the Fijian shark-god Dakuwaqa ( spoken as Dakuanga). Dakuwaqa was greatly respected by fishermen because he protected them from any danger at sea. He gave the people everything they needed from the sea, but he also punished those who did not respect his gifts and wasted his resources.

Patrick Masse:

Patrick is a french diver who was aboard a charter to Guadalupe in 2011. He got his tattoo on the island of Huahini in French Polynesia. He told me that the tattoo artist required him to sit for two 3-hour interviews before he came up with the design. The artist had one side of his body completely covered in tribal tattoos and the other half without any ink. To the artist it signified that he had one foot in the tribal culture and the other in modern Polynesia. Patrick’s tattoo was laid down using the “old style†without use of a mechanical needle. If you click on the right image to enlarge it the large star represents water and the stylized bird above the shark represents air. The three smaller stars are Patrick’s three daughters. The shark has a diety’s spirit inside.

Shane Taylor:

Shane’s family owns the oldest dive shop in Denver, Colorado. He is the shop’s general manager. Shane got the large Hammerhead Shark tattoo on his torso because hammers are his favorite species of shark. He actually had the tattoo applied at a Denver ink parlour before he had seen his first Hammerhead. He later then got a mechanical shark tattoo applied to his left forearm. I met Shane aboard the Sea Escape during a White Shark trip to Guadalupe Island in August of 2009.

Fernando Aguilar Jr:

Fernando’s father owns the Club Cantamar and the Sea Escape dive liveaboard.
Hammerheads have been his favorite shark since he first saw them at El Bajo, a seamount off La Paz in Baja, Mexico. The tattoo was done at shop in La Paz.

Isao Karino:

Isao Is a deaf diver from Japan who flew into Mexico to join one of the White Shark trips. He and another Japanese deaf diver had a great time.

Jim Partington:

Jim is an engaging Brit who has traveled extensively around the world seeking shark diving adventures and has written a manuscript of “Shark Dives of the Worldâ€. He just recently worked as a divemaster aboard the San Diego based Islander coordinating shark diving operations while the Islander was at Guadalupe Island during the 2010-2012 seasons. He is originally from the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel. His tatoo was done on Jersey but was a design used by a Fijian shark diving company.

Mike Carroll:

Mike’s custom design was made as a tribute to his amazing sons, Payton and Kemper. The idea was to have their names woven into the body of a shark with a South Pacific Islander feel to it. ” My obsession with sharks began at a very young age and when I decided to get a tattoo at the age of 45, my wife Laurie and I decided this would be a cool way for us to honor our boys and my passion for sharks and the ocean.  If you look closely, you can see both of their names in the design but unless you know it, it simply looks like a Hawaiian shark. I had it done in Pacific Beach in 2017 by a great artist named Arty. “

Angela Terry:

Elk Grove, CA

I got my great white shark tattoo at Campoy’s Honeymoon Tattoo in Fair Oaks, CA in March 2019. The artist is Eric Ross, who has done most of my tattoo work for the last 15 years. I have always had a love of sharks and was looking forward to one day diving with them. This tattoo was my reminder to reach my dream of diving of sharks, which I did September 2019.

Laurentina Cantu:

Is from Ensenada, Mexico and has worked as a hostess aboard the Nautilus Liveaboards for seven years. She
got her tattoo in Jan 2019. It represents the two seasons she works on the boats-Guadalupe White Sharks and
Socorro. She proudly displays her love for the ocean

Marianne Garron Fournier:

is a divemaster working on the Belle Amie dive liveaboard at the Guadalupe and Socorro destinations. She is from Costa Rica- “I got my shark tattoo in Macau China by a great Japanese artist that didn’t know hammerhead sharks exist, The design is from a picture a good friend who took a photo of the Hammerhead in Cocos island CR, where I saw my first hammerhead and they are my passion.â€

Kristina Blum:

“I’m a diver with over 300 dives (stopped counting after that). I got my hammerhead tattoo in a parking lot during our dive shop’s anniversary. It covers up an old sorority tattoo. I love sharks, especially hammerheads. My tattoo of hammerhead reminds me of diving Cocos Island, but also my maiden name is “Hammer.â€

Annie Cardoso – Mexico:

Born and raised near the pacific ocean. Since I was little I’ve been surrounded by dolphins and whales. No surprises that hearing about Socorro Islands got my attention, I had to work like never before to get a divemaster position on a liveaboard that goes every season to that area. The rewards come in different ways, mantas, whale sharks, dolphins, humpback whales, turtles… and so many fishes!

I have had amazing interactions with all of those creatures, so after outstanding days I decided to get tattoos from each one of the creatures I’ve seen… Sharks being some of the biggest highlights. But in order for me to remember my roots, all of my tattoos have been done by a very close friend, Brian, from my same home town.

My first season out there created such an impact on me. I will never forget about the pregnant tiger shark that use to come and say hi every afternoon at “El Boiler” followed by dozens of hammerhead sharks… that’s why those are on my arm, for ever J

Mari- Mexico

My name is Mari I’m from Veracruz, Mexico. I’m 28 years old. I have been a dive guide in Socorro Islands for 4 years (from 2019. Where is an amazing spot to see many types of sharks. As you can see my favorite sharks are hammerheads ! This tattoo means a lot for me. My career as a diver and my passion for marine life. I love hammerhead sharks because to find them its challenging , you need to read the currents and fishes behavior such as jack fishes and cardinals. And when I found myself is this water conditions is when I know the party is about to start! .. School of hammerheads.