Like it or not, we live in a world that is increasingly controlled by the mega-corporations and the smaller corporations alike. Their influence is everywhere, from mainstream politics to the food we eat, to the medicine we take. Logos of the more well known corporations have also popped up time and time again in the form of tattoos on fans of products such as Nike, Mac computers, and even Red Bull energy drinks. I guess it’s all fine if that’s the sort of stuff that you want on your body for the rest of your life, but hey man, count me out.
Which brings me to my most recent discovery in which tattoos of corporations are taken to the next level. More than 200 employees of the American health club chain Anytime Fitness have been tattooed with their employers logo: a purple running man.
“We bleed purple here at corporate,” said CEO Chuck Runyon.
A tattoo artist is often on hand at annual conferences to oblige employees who are feeling particularly dedicated.”
Call me paranoid or hyper-sensitive to this sort of allegiance to your employer, but stuff like this creeps the hell out of me. Fine, you like your job, you like the people you work with, but no kid ever says: “When I grow up, I’m going to work at Anytime Fitness.” To me a tattoo of such a place says one thing and one thing only: you belong to them.
No disrespect intended to the people out there who work at Anytime Fitness, but getting a tattoo of the corporation’s logo just ain’t right. I could stomach a doctor getting a tattoo of the hospital where they work, or a lawyer of the firm they work for (though it still is a little weird), because those careers take a long time to work your way toward. I’m not sure what exactly it takes to get a job at Anytime Fitness, but I’m 100% positive that it doesn’t take years of study and extremely hard work. So what does that matter? Well, I guess it’s the difference between a job and a career. One becomes a doctor or a lawyer. Those aren’t just job titles, they’re actual callings. I can wrap my head around being dedicated to them. But a faceless corporation?
Come on man, that’s just dumb.