Michael Holston, known popularly as “The Real Tarzann” is an American social media influencer and YouTuber who is famous for his posts with exotic animals. A zookeeper, Mike’s channel has over 500k subscribers and he has over 6 million followers on Instagram. Mike describes himself as an animal educator, teaching people about animals and wants to become the next Steve Irvin. Michael has many interesting tattoos on his body. Let us take a look at his tattoos and the meanings behind them.
1. ‘Croc’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The left side of his neck has a tattoo of a crocodile’s head, with its mouth wide open.
Meaning: The tattoo of the croc on his neck shows his love for animals. He uploaded the tattoo on his Instagram with the caption, “Crocodylus porosus” which is the Saltwater Crocodile. The tattoo is also a tribute to his idol, Steve Irvin who was famous as The Crocodile Hunter.
2. ‘Spider’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The front of his neck contains a tattoo of a large spider on it.
Meaning: The tattoo of the spider on his neck is a tattoo of the Gooty Sapphire Ornamental Tarantula which is one of his favorite species according to his posts. Also known as the old world tarantula, the spider is a Critically endangered arboreal species from southeast India. Mike got this tattoo because he used to be afraid of spiders even though he loves all animals and got this tattoo once he overcame his fear of the creatures.
3. ‘Rafiki’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The right side of his neck contains a tattoo of a species of monkey.
Meaning: The tattoo of his neck was explained by his Instagram post. Tarzan wrote, “Mandrillus sphinx = Rafiki” revealing the scientific name of the species and also showing how he is a fan of The Lion King movies as Rafiki is the name of the monkey from that film.
4. ‘Banner and Birds’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Mike’s chest contains a banner tattooed across it with the words, “What doesn’t kill me. Makes me stronger” written on it. The sun can also be seen rising on his left pec from behind the banner and he has birds tattooed all around the sun that also cover his collar bones.
Meaning: The saying on his chest is a motivational one that he lives by and what helps him overcome everything in life. The quote is also important for his as it is one that his father used to say a lot.
5. ‘Symbol’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is a symbol tattooed on Mike’s right shoulder in red ink.
6. ‘Date’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The left shoulder of the zookeeper contains the date, “7-14-75″ and”1.20.08” tattooed on it along with the initials, “M.A.H”. There is also a tattoo of a woman with her hands joined in prayer just above the tattoo.
Meaning: The tattoo on his arm is a tribute to his father who has passed away. Mike has not revealed many details about his family, other than mentioning his love for them in some of his posts.
7. ‘M’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Mike’s left upper arm has an “M” tattooed on it.
Meaning: The “M” on his arm represents his own name, Michael and he got the idea of the design from the Monster drinks logo.
8. ‘Stripes’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The left bicep and upper arm of the zookeeper has stripes tattooed on it.
Meaning: The stripes on his left arm are an African tribal tattoo that African warriors get as the battle stripes. Mike got the tattoo by traditional tribal inking methods.
9. ‘Pattern’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Mike’s upper right arm and shoulder are covered in a pattern of a leopard’s spots. There are also patches in his tattoo that represent tearing and show different patterns of lines inside.
10. ‘WyldLife’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The words, “WYLD LIFE” are tattooed on his stomach and the “I” is replaced by an upside-down dagger.
Meaning: The tattoo represents his love for animals and how he likes to live in the wild, close to nature.
11. ‘Panther’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The side of his right forearm contains the upper half of a panther’s face tattooed on it. His left hand contains the lower part of the panther’s face tattooed on it.
Meaning: His hand and forearm coming together form the full face of a black panther. Mike got the tattoo of the black panther as he believes that it is his spirit animal.
12. Back Tattoo
Tattoo: The back of the zookeeper is entirely tattooed in a really unique tattoo. His back is covered in a tattoo of the backside of a snake’s head. It is covered in scales in the shape of a serpent’s head with two large black dots to represent the fake eyed pattern that the snake exhibits.
Meaning: Mike got this tattoo as it is one of his favorite species of snakes. He uploaded the tattoo on his Instagram with the caption, “naja naja” which is the scientific name of the Indian Cobra species that inspired this tattoo.
13. ‘Swordfish and Turtle’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The front of his right lower leg contains a tattoo of two swordfish tattooed on it in a circular design along with waves of water tattooed behind them. There is also a turtle tattooed above the swordfish.
