Gabriel's Story

(24x36) Black and Grey Tattoo, Mixed Media on Metal 

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I was a wrestling coach several years ago at the High School level. At the time, the sport was still coed; they had not developed a women’s wrestling program for the state of Florida. I had a young woman on my team who was wrestling in a very tough weight class. She had wrestled for and won the varsity spot against her male teammates, but many of her opponents still treated her with an air of disrespect because they felt as if she didn’t belong on the mat. She was wrestling in a match at a tournament and caught a stray elbow to her face, and the blood started flowing out of her nose. It was nothing intentional, just something that can happen in the sport. I ran out onto the mat to start helping her clean up and get the bleeding stopped. There’s only a limited amount of time that they stop the match before the athlete is disqualified, so we were racing against the clock to get her cleaned up. She had taken a really hard hit, was bleeding a lot, and had already wrestled several really tough matches against disrespectful opponents that day, and as I knelt there helping her clean up her blood, she looked me in the face and said “I don’t have to stop wrestling, do I, coach?” I said, “Not if we get this blood stopped, you don’t.” She just smiled and nodded, gave a thumbs up to the referee when he asked her if she was going to continue. I managed to get her cleaned up; she walked back out onto the mat with the entire gym cheering her on. She went on to ultimately lose the match, but at the end, both her opponent and the opposing coaches showed her immense respect at the finish for pushing through, and even though it was a loss, she came running back to our side of the mat, just beaming. It was one of my favorite moments of my entire coaching career. (Written by Gabriel) 

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Bird: European Eagle Owl 

When choosing a bird for Gabriel, I aimed to represent not only strength but also endurance. Gabriel is a formidable man, extremely fit, and at his core, he possesses tremendous compassion. Over the years, he has selflessly given so much to his students and athletes. This tattoo is designed to embody the exceptional endurance he shows by consistently going the extra mile for others. It's important to recognize that She Warriors transcend traditional gender boundaries. (Written by Naomi) 

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