More and more festival-goers are coming to get tattooed for the first time… at Hellfest

Like Benjamin and his partner, from Tours, more and more of them are taking action. That of getting a tattoo for the first timehere at Hellfest, temple of metalheads.

“We’ve been seeing this phenomenon for at least four years. I must have had about twenty deflowerings since Wednesday. That’s the equivalent of a good long day for me,” confided on the last day of the festival, Jerome Pfeffersays Pif, the manager of what is probably the most popular stand in Hell City Square.

A quarter of customers are getting a tattoo for the first time

That is about “a quarter” of over 1000 tattoos made during this Hellfest 2024.

It’s huge. I explain it by the gradual change in the profile of the festival-goer. Before, we were dealing with die-hard metalheads, already covered in tattoos. Now, the public is much more diverse, not necessarily metalheads at heart. They come to keep their little souvenir of Hellfest, to mark the occasion. They are also often festival-goers who are coming to Hellfest for the first time. There are as many men as women who are getting involved and of all ages.

The most requested “H” logo

The “H” of Hellfest obviously wins all the votes. It is the most requested tattoo to the team of 22 tattoo artists who work non-stop from 9 a.m. to midnight during the four days of the festival.

“Usually it needs to be fairly discreet, on the forearm, shoulder or calf,” Pif adds.

“It allows us to leave with a souvenir of the festival”

Benjamin from Tours, 39, opted for this one, in its fiery version. His partner chose the same.

” We wanted a common tattoo for a long time, but we never found the opportunity due to lack of time, he explained Friday afternoon, his forearm covered with plastic film for protection. It is not not a whim. Hellfest has so many tattoo artists on hand that it was the right time! And it allows us to leave with a souvenir of the festival.”

Maybe he’ll get more tattoos of the festival when he comes back. Pif notes:

“We have festival-goers who tattoo themselves with the “H” at each Hellfest, like those who collect t-shirts of each edition.

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