Lukas Paul came to us with an idea in the making for quite some time. He shared a drawing with us that he originally drew when he was in high school.
“The drawing at the time represented by future as a trans person.”
– Lukas Paul
The original drawing centered on a skeleton with a broken eye socket reaching towards a broken lightbulb with the word “proud”. Lukas shared how to him, the skeleton represents the most genderless and raw form of a human being and the lightbulb represents breaking society’s thoughts of how people should conform.
I asked Lukas if this drawing has been a source of inspiration for him. Lukas shared, “The drawing overall has represented perseverance, change, and acceptance of how I was and how I would be once my transition started.” He also shared, “Now that I have transitioned, I see it as a sign of strength and determination.”
I asked Lukas to elaborate more on the meaning of his drawing. He explained, “The skeleton saw its own features of its broken eye socket and how it was just like the broken lightbulb. Despite what other people might see in the brokenness of either, the skeleton is proud of itself and the extremely difficult journey it had to take to get there.”
Lukas decided to simplify his tattoo design. He chose to pull forward the broken lightbulb as that was the focal point of his original drawing. Lukas shared, “The skeleton as a character represented me and it idolizes the lightbulb because it finally sees itself and feels true and proud.” He went onto to share how pride in the queer community and pride in one’s self is so crucial and important to him.
I asked Lukas if he would mind sharing a little more about his journey – specifically coming out. Lukas shared, “When I publicly came out as trans, I made a Facebook post explaining how I was so proud of myself and had survived everything I went through with pure willingness to survive.” In his post he used a picture of his drawing.
Lukas’ strength and perseverance are truly an inspiration. Lukas shared how he continues to take a lot of pride in the strength he has found inside himself. He shared, “This tattoo will always be a reminder of where I came from, how far I’ve come, and how proud of myself I always will be for giving myself the chance to survive and thrive as who I truly am.”
A big thank you to Lukas for sharing his story. Everyone at Main Street Saints Tattoo Parlour is an ally to you and everyone in the LGBTQ+ community.
Main Street Saints Tattoo Parlour 