In the not-too-distant past, it was quite rare to see someone whose body was covered in tattoos. These days, however, it has become increasingly common for people to see their own body as a canvas on which they can express themselves with ink. For example, it is no secret that Justin Bieber has gotten a long list of tattoos over the years.

Of course, anyone who has a lot of tattoos has to start that journey by getting inked for the first time. With that in mind, it begs an obvious question, what was Justin Bieber’s first tattoo, and what does it mean to him?

Growing Up In Public

Back when Justin Bieber first rose to fame, he was a youngster who had a sticky sweet image. Of course, now that Bieber has become an adult, it would be ridiculous if his image hadn’t changed at all. Unfortunately, as Bieber was growing up, he made a lot of mistakes, just like most young adults do, but his missteps became international news due to his celebrity status. On the bright side, Bieber seems to have left a lot of his bad behavior in the past.

These days, Justin Bieber appears to have dedicated himself to a few things and that seems to have had a positive effect on his life. First off, based on everything Bieber has to say, he adores his wife and wants to do right by her and their family and friends. On top of that, Bieber has been talking about his faith more and more over the last few years. Finally, Bieber seems to care deeply about his art, both his music and tattoos.

The Tattoo That Started It All

Throughout Justin Bieber’s time in the public, it has seemed very clear that he has a lot of people in his life who care deeply about him. Of course, it should go without saying that Bieber’s family are among the people who care for him the most. With that in mind, it makes sense that Bieber got his first tattoo because of his family.

While speaking to GQ in 2016 for a video about his tattoos, Justin Bieber revealed that his first tattoo was a stylized seagull he has on the side of his stomach. “The first tattoo I got is this little guy right here. It’s, uh, based on this book that my whole family read, everyone’s got it on their wrist and it was right before I really had any tattoos. And so, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t visible so I put it right here.”

Based on the book “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach, Justin Bieber described what his first tattoo means to him during a 2012 Complex interview. “The book is about a seagull who wanted to be more than just a seagull. I’m trying to be more than just a regular person. I’m trying to be extravagant.”

Justin’s Other Tattoos

During an aforementioned GQ video, Justin Bieber explained a lot of his tattoos directly to the camera. For example, Bieber revealed that just like the first time he got inked, he got one of his early tattoos on his calf where it would be covered to keep it a secret from his fans. “There’s Jesus right here. Where once again, I didn’t have any big tattoos so I didn’t want to put it somewhere and have it visible yet cause the world didn’t know I was getting tattoos. I was only, like seventeen.”

From there, Bieber spent the rest of the GQ video talking about the reason for other tattoos including the wings he’d recently got on the back of his neck at the time. “My favorite tattoo is probably my new one, I really like that one.” Bieber then explained that he has his “mom’s eye” on the inside of his arm and the roman numerals on his chest represent his mom’s birthday. Bieber then commented that “it seems like I have a lot of stuff to do with me mom”.

In perhaps the coolest moment from the GQ video in which Justin Bieber explains his tattoos, he points out a G he tattoed on his forearm and then reveals its meaning. “This is a G, uh, it’s for my boy. His daughter’s name is Georgia, she’s got a brain condition and so, I got that for him. Just to support him, let him know I got his back.

Finally, Justin Bieber went on to explain some random tattoos. “This is an owl, it signifies wisdom. X means unknown. You know, they might know my, uh, the shell of me or, might know the artist but not necessarily me. This is my ex-girlfriend so I kind of, tried to, cover her face up with some shading but people still know.” “This one’s really cool, the story behind this one is, uh, it’s LL, stands for if my head’s low, to lift it up. Just to never keep your head low and look for better days.”