22 Feb “I look at myself as a canvas”, interview with Beckie Bold

25-year-old digital creator Beckie Bold (@beckiebold) lives in North Wales where she creates inspiring content for her followers. We chatted to Beckie (she/her) to find out more about her tattoo collection and body confidence journey…

What made you want to get tattooed?

I’ve always loved tattoos and thought they were super cool when I was younger. Growing up I realised that I look at tattoos as someone painting their own canvas (their body). I think it’s really unique and brings lots of confidence and is definitely a way to express yourself as a person.

I knew when I was younger that I would definitely be a tatted person.

What was your first tattoo? Can you tell us about the experience?

The last time I got tatted, I got three in one sitting. I got a small love heart with the number 13 in behind my ear, because it’s my favourite number and it seems to follow me around. I got a coffin with flowers around it on my upper arm because I thought it went with the spooky vibe of my sleeve and then I also got some crystals and flowers, again to fit the theme of my sleeve.

The experience was great! I was tatted by Emma-louise Bolton (@emm.dots) in Salford, she’s fabulous. She’s so lovely and chatty and always makes you feel super comfortable! She always gives me the prettiest ink.

Talk us through your tattoo collection – any favourites or meaningful ones?

I have lots of tattoos, probably too many to go into detail about each one. Some of my favourites are my mandala in my ditch, that one hurt super bad I wont lie but it’s absolutely stunning. I love my flowers on my chest too as they make me feel super pretty and confident. Another favourite of mine is my little skeletons with the black rose between them, little skeletons in love!

I have one on my back which is quite meaningful to me as it reminds me of my nana and taid (Welsh for grandad) as they were travellers back in the day, so I got a Gypsy wagon wheel for them.

Do you have any themes?

Yes! My right arm is spooky/space themed and I am totally obsessed. I love it and I can’t wait until its completely finished!

You share body confidence and your mental health, do tattoos help you love your body?

Definitely. They let me express myself in a way that is unique to me. They’re beautiful and I want to show them off, which helps me be confident in myself. When I have low days with my body image, I look at all the ink which helps me push through the body battles a little bit more.

Have they made you see your body differently?

I look at myself as a canvas. I get to fill in my own canvas with everyone I love or makes me happy. It’s such a brilliant way to be create in my opinion.

My tattoos make me want to be proud of the skin I am in.

What’s it like getting tattooed when you have lipoedema?

I think it’s different for everyone with lipoedema. For me personally, my upper arms (where the lipoedema is) have bruised whilst healing, while my lower arms (where I don’t have lipoedema) didn’t bruise at all. My lower leg tattoo didn’t hurt at all which surprised me as I have lipoedema there too.

Do you have any advice for anyone who has lipoedema and wants to get tattooed?

It depends on the person and pain tolerance but be prepared for it to potentially be a little more sore in areas where your lipoedema is! I can’t comment too much on this as everyone’s body will react differently.

Can you tell us about what you share on socials, how it all started?

In 2017/2018 when I started university, I began to use Instagram as a mental health diary to help me through my battles. I never set out to do any of this “influencer” stuff and never thought I would reach 40,000 people, but I somehow did.

Seeing all the different content creators on Instagram has saved me in a way, they’ve inspired me to love me for me and I can now hopefully inspire others to love them for them. It’s an amazing platform when you follow people and connect with people that help you feel happy and good about yourself.

I actively speak about body acceptance, mental health and sometimes chronic health such as lipoedema. I want to help people as much as I can. Even if its just one person that feels better because of something they have seen or read on my page, then I’m doing it right.

How do you want people to feel when they see your corner of the internet?

Safe. Included. Inspired. Beautiful. Good enough. Worthy. All the good things! I want them to start treating themselves how they would treat their loved ones. It’s great to love others, but lets love ourselves too shall we?

Follow Beckie for more beautiful photos and tattoos.

Read more tattoo stories including tattoos to mark transformative moments and our interview with Cicely Rae Jackson.

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