A Big Brother Brasil winner has said he does not regret getting a ‘Blink-182 Lollapalooza’ tattoo even though the rock band pulled out of the festival.
Rafael ‘Rafinha’ Ribeiro Medeiros de Carvalho was so excited about seeing his favourite band at the upcoming music fest that he got a tribute immortalised on his body.
But a month after getting the inking, the American rock band pulled out of the festival in Sao Paulo later this month (March) over drummer Travis Barker’s finger injury.
Tattoo artist and Big Brother Brasil 8 winner Rafinha told local media: “First, they announced that they were getting back together with the original band line-up.
“And then they announced the show. So, I got really excited and thought, ‘Ah, I’m going to get a tattoo.'”
Rafinha’s inking, which took about five hours to complete, shows the band’s logo – the so-called ‘Blink-182 Bunny’ – as well as the name of the band and the festival.
Revealing that the tattoo is “still kind of healing”, Rafinha added that he has no plans to get it changed or removed.
He told local media: “I don’t think about it. I love tattoos so much that I’m not bothered by it, you know?
“I saw some comments on the internet saying, ‘Wow, what a dumb guy, right? Why didn’t he wait?’
“People will never understand that when you’re a fan of someone, or some band, it’s something you’ve been waiting for a long time, that excitement… I ended up doing it anyway.”
Rafinha revealed that his latest inking – his 57th – is far from his first Blink-182-inspired tattoo.
Others he has covering his body include the sleeve of his favourite album – ‘Enema of the State’ – on his chest and the numbers ‘182’ on his fingers.
He said: “I don’t have a tattoo on my body that isn’t because of Blink.”
Rafinha has seen his favourite band perform in places as far-flung as London and California over the years.
The BBB8 winner said: “So, I won’t die without having seen Blink.
“Obviously, we really wanted them to play here in Brazil. There are a lot of people waiting for this show.
“Blink fans have been waiting for them to play in Brazil for over 20 years.”
Rafinha, who has a pet cockatiel named Blink, said: “I got her on 18/2. So, she couldn’t be called anything else, right? Man, it’s such a coincidence.”
“There won’t be a concert, but I have Blink at home.”
