Client Stories
Military veteran, Tim Sova completed two tours of Iraq and worked as a private contractor in Afghanistan. But he’s been fighting a more personal battle since returning home.
Now, Tim works as a Massachusetts State Trooper; but like many Marine Corps veterans, Tim deals with PTSD from being in combat. With this career change and the desire to leave painful memories behind, he turned to Removery to remove his tattoo.
Learn more about Tim’s life story, what led him to tattoo removal, and how the results have impacted his life.
Tim has a lengthy family history of military service: his grandfather fought in WWII, his great uncle was in Pearl Harbor, and his uncles are Vietnam veterans.
In high school, it just made sense for him to enlist at the age of 17. “It’s always kind of been something I felt like I was destined to do,” he says.
Tattooing is a central element of both Tim’s family and the military, making body art another natural choice for him. Between his tours of duty, he got a tattoo on his right shoulder at 18. The ink depicted a Maltese cross, decorated with skulls and flames. “I was young, and I thought I was a cool guy,” he laughs.
Most people in the Marine Corps have tattoos, but all military personnel must follow certain guidelines for body art.
After the Marine Corps, adjusting to “normal” life again was extremely hard.
“When I first got out of the Marine Corps, I’d just finished deployment. 60 days later, I’m a civilian,” he tells Removery. “It was really hard to adjust [after] being overseas and having that combat mindset, and then just being back home. Everything is just normal, or it’s supposed to be. Being around friends, driving down the road not looking out for bombs.”
Many of his peers struggled with PTSD as well, with many of them committing suicide. “They felt like they had nowhere to turn,” he says. “It’s still a daily struggle [for me], but I do the best I can.”
One day, Tim was looking at himself in the mirror, and he came to a new realization: his military tattoo was exacerbating his pain. His ink didn’t feel like a part of himself. Instead, it was a reminder of an incredibly difficult time in his life.
So, Tim decided to undergo tattoo fading and cover up the existing tattoo with something more meaningful. His new tattoo depicts the Puerto Rican jungle, honoring his wife and two daughters’ heritage. “It’s a more peaceful tattoo, so it’s definitely helped me wash away some bad memories I have from that time,” he says.
Now, he doesn’t think about the painful memories from his military tours. When he looks at himself in the mirror, all he feels is joy. He reminisces on all the family trips to a beloved place, along with his life post-military.
Following his initial tattoo fading journey, Tim needed another tattoo partially removed; but this time, it was for his new career. He loved the tattoo, a pineapple grenade. However, no visible tattoos were allowed in his police uniform. Instead of removing the entire piece, Tim opted to get the bottom removed where it stuck out below the sleeve.
“Time was kind of a constraint because I had to get [the tattoo] removed before entering the Academy,” he notes. “But it worked out. Removery did it perfectly; it worked out perfectly.”
Because the tattoo was composed of heavy ink, it was not fading quickly at all. He had to get a surgical excision done by a plastic surgeon, but he’s thrilled about the results from both tattoo removal methods.
In recent years, Tim has continued fading other tattoos to get them covered with newer, higher quality ink by Mark Wade in Austin, Texas. “His art is so realistic and so lifelike; the colors are amazing. I’m over-the-moon happy with the work he’s done,” Tim says. So far, he’s had 3 sessions with Mark and enjoys hanging out with him every time.
The tattoo was a six-month process because Mark was so booked up, but it was worth it. Mark Wade is the brother-in-law of a Removery staff member in Boston, where Tim had his removal sessions done. They connected early on in the process, and now Mark is making all his tattoo dreams come true.
Removery honors military personnel and their commitment to serving their country. Active-duty, retired, and future military members can receive 20% off tattoo removal packages at all Removery locations in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
For those pursuing a military career, Removery also helps clients meet tattoo compliance requirements. Current and future service members can receive 50% off Complete Removal Packages for non-compliant tattoos.
Book a complimentary consultation to get started.
We’re on a mission to give you the most straightforward, easy and efficient laser tattoo removal experience. Your estimate will be entirely bespoke to your tattoo; the size, the colors, the ink. It won’t take long and afterwards you’ll have a plan to finally get rid of your unwanted tattoo and get back to being you.
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