Achi news desk-
Friday night was a celebration of mistakes for a small group of body art enthusiasts.
The Ben Alway Memorial Bad Tattoo Contest was held at the Edmonton Expo Center as part of the Edmonton Tattoo and Arts Festival.
Legacy Tattoo Removal organized the competition to honor veteran tattoo removal specialist Ben Alway who died in 2023.
“People bring in some of their mistakes or some of the tattoos that didn’t live up to their expectations, and we judge them and we laugh,” says Legacy Tattoo Removal co-owner Madi Rawson.
The competition was free for festival goers, with prizes given to the three worst tattoo owners.
The winner was an X-rated Dungeons and Dragons leg tattoo, which owner Blaine had done eight years ago.
Blaine said he came up with the concept while “three sheets to the wind.”
When he finally followed through, the execution was less than expected.
“It was seven years of grief,” Blaine said. “The first year I was like, ‘Yeah, this is fine. It’s not terrible, right? Right?’
“And then I talked to enough people and, oh yes, it’s terrible.”A raunchy Dungeons and Dragons tattoo took the top prize in the Ben Alway Memorial Bad Tattoo Contest at the Edmonton Expo Center on April 20, 2024. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton)
Blaine’s adult-themed artwork won Legacy’s top prize of a $500 gift certificate to go toward erasing the inky mistake.
“Our mentor Ben would have been delighted that that tattoo had won the competition,” said Rawson.
Blaine is happy to get a head start on getting rid of his unruly tribute, but it’s not the design or the subject matter that he regrets.
“I want it to look like it should have looked in the beginning. So I get rid of it to put it back on again, but not terrible,” he added.
With files from Sean McClune of CTV News Edmonton
