Fort St. John local contends for tattoo contest in honour of late father

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A Fort St. John resident is leading in the Inked Originals tattoo contest to honour his late father. 

The Inked Originals ‘Tell Your Story in Ink’ contest allows participants to show off their body art and voters to choose the best one. 

The winner will receive $25,000, get a tattoo session with Inked Originals tattoo artist Bang Bang and be featured in Inked magazine. 

At the time of writing, Kyle Monteith was ranked first in the contest and feels confident in his chance at winning. 

“I have a lot of great friends that are supporting me right now, and I think I have a real shot,” said Monteith. 

The hopeful nominee has the same tattoos as his late father, honouring his memory after he passed away due to substance abuse in 2016, when Monteith was 20 years old.

“For me, it’s just simply trying to connect to him through having something that I remember seeing on him, I can look at my own hands as I grow as an adult and see his same hands,” he explained. 

Monteith bears honorary tattoos of Roman emperor Augustus, Zeus from Greek mythology, roses and wolves. 

“For the emperors, it’s a combination of the love of history and the stylistic cues that my father’s artist took,” Monteith explained. 

Monteith had to rely on his memory to create the design because he had very few pictures of his father, who received his tattoos in prison. 

If he manages to win, Monteith told Energeticcity.ca he is unsure if he would take advantage of the new tattoo prize. However, he said he would use the money to help those struggling with substance abuse.

“I intend to use most of the money to either set myself up in a position where I can share my story a little bit more and help family members or those who battle with addiction work through the emotions of the trauma of it,” said Monteith.

He also hopes to raise awareness of the struggles faced by drug addicts and their loved ones. 

“I know a lot of people, they focus so solely on the addict and what they’re going through, and oftentimes forget about the trauma that the family goes through, especially children,” said Monteith.

“I was a child of a man who struggled with addiction, that shaped my entire childhood and continues to shape my life.”

The Inked Originals ‘Tell Your Story in Ink’ contest can be found here. 

Anyone can either cast a single vote for free or multiple times at a compounding expense. 

Votes will be collected until May 15th at 7 p.m.