Adam and Danni got home yesterday and Adam came in to the studio today to fill me in a little about his trip, and to give me some souvenirs from his time visiting you in Iraq. I want to, especially , thank the 1st Infantry Division – The Big Red One – for the shirt and sweat shirt they sent home with Adam for me! Adam told me about the regular mortar and rocket fire that came in to the camps he visited and even in to the shows they played, and about the fire they took while flying in the Black Hawks- not the normal fare for a tattoo artist or a musician. He told me about all the hard work that you all are doing to help re-build the country and to get the Iraqi people back to work, back to school and back into a ‘normal’ way of life. While we hear about your efforts on the news- Thank GOD for FOX News!- it’s a little different when you hear it from one of your own. I could go on and on with all the great stuff Adam had to say about you all, and the sad stories that he had heard, but you already know all of that. I just want to let you all know how proud I am of all of you and how much I appreciate all of your efforts! I'm encouraging Adam to write a story about his trip and to send it in to the tattoo magazines. If you'd like to see the story of his time with you appear in the magazines, take a couple of minutes and write a letter to the various magazines requesting that they do a story. I'll post the various addresses for the magazines, and their editors, below. Sometimes it takes a little nudge from the public to get these guys to get off the typical subjects and to write about something a little different.

Adam was so impressed with all of you, and with what you are doing in Iraq, that he asked me if we could set up something on the website to allow you all to stay in touch with him and to allow us to communicate with you. I think that’s a great idea! So, I set up a special section on our new Body Adorned Tattoo Forum community where you guys can leave messages and your email addresses so that we can all stay in touch- it's called the, "US Armed Forces in Iraq Forum!" The forum community was originally created by myself and two US Army Non-Coms that are friends of mine and who get tattooed by me- as a way for us to stay in touch, especially while they are deployed (1 will be headed to Iraq in Sept.), and to meet other people. How appropriate, now, that we use part of the forums for you all to stay in touch with Adam, and for the rest of us to get to know you! The forums, in general, are for people interested in tattoo and piercing (and Japanese Art) to meet, hang out and talk online- feel free to surf any of the topics you want, but PLEASE leave us your contact info, and leave messages for Adam or the rest of the Body Adorned Staff, in the US Armed Forces in Iraq Forum. It will not be ‘required’ that you register with EzBoard.com in order to post messages in ‘Armed Forces Forum,’ but we do hope that you’ll choose to register for a free account- registration allows you to become an “Official” forum member which will increase our community's membership; and by filling out the profile for your free account, it’ll make it easier for us (and other community members) to find out a little bit about who you are, where you are, and to be able to email you directly! All of your information is kept private, so you don’t have to worry about getting spam email from signing up for the free account. However, the choice is totally yours- only register if you want to.

Some of you received stickers, buttons and business cards from various tattoo studios around the US with gift amounts and discounts on tattoos. I would like to thank the studios that donated those gifts and I hope that you will make an effort to patronize those studios when you get home- those studios jumped at the opportunity to do something for you. All we did was make it known that Adam was going to be visiting and playing for you in Iraq- the studios that donated those gifts did so entirely on their own because they wanted to show their love, pride and support of you; and they did so without any solicitation from us. If you want show them your appreciation, patronize them when you get home; and let all of your friends and family know about the studios, and encourage them to patronize those tattoo studios the next time they get an urge to get tattooed or pierced. If you get in the mood, drop them an email (it should be on their cards) and let them know that you got one of their cards- I'm sure they'd love to hear from you!

Body Adorned has given military discounts since we opened, and we’ll continue to do that. However, we want to offer those of you that attended Adam and Danni’s shows, and those of you that met them and kept them safe, a 'special discount' when you get home. If you live, or are stationed, close enough to Austin, Texas to get to our studio, we want you to come get your tattoos here. Make sure to let us know that you were at one of the shows or that you met Adam and Danni, and we’ll make sure to give you a very ‘special’ price! Because tattoos can vary so much in their cost, it doesn’t make much sense to try and give you some specific amount of discount, you’ll just have to trust us that we’ll make it worth your while! If we were willing to send one of our own over there to Iraq, I think you know how we feel about you and that we’re looking to do something 'special' for you to show our appreciation. We’ll even extend a discount to your friends and family IF they come with you! The best thing to do is to contact us by email, or by phone, before you come to the studio- let us know when you are coming and what you are going to want to get so that we can set aside the time and make plans for your visit.

After hearing some of Adam’s adventures with you over there in Iraq, I’m a little jealous- I wish I was talented enough (and good looking enough) to be in a band and go over there to meet and entertain you all! Unfortunately, I’m not- I’m just a simple tattooer. I hope that you'll all begin visiting the forums so that I can get to know you; and I hope that those of you that are from Texas, or are stationed near here, will drop by the studio (even if you just want to visit and see Adam) when you get back. If there’s ever, anything we can do for you, please send us an email or post in the “Armed Forces Forum” and we’ll do everything we can for you. Even if you just want someone to chat with or someone to email with- we’d love to.

Please keep your heads down and your spirits up- and come home safely! Know that you're always in our hearts and our prayers and that we’re totally behind you. You have every reason to be proud of yourselves and to know that we’re incredibly proud of you.

Nick Anderson
Owner - Body Adorned Tattoo & Piercing
July 17th, 2004

 Here's a list of the top US tattoo magazines and their Editors and addresses. If you want to see an article published about Adam Roach being the first Professional Tattoo Artist to visit Iraq since the war and the first tattoo artist to make a trip to entertain you all, write these editors and let them know! Make sure to include Adam's name and Body Adorned's address and phone number! You can find them on our home page.

International Tattoo Art Magazine
Editor - Chris Pfouts
Mavety Media Group Ltd.
462 Broadway, Suite 4000
New York, NY  10013

Skin & Ink Magazine
Editor - Bob Baxter
skinandink@hotmail.com
P.O. Box 1069
Pasadena, CA  91102