Flea Shares a Brand New Bear Tattoo

I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but the Red Hot Chili Peppers have a bit of a soft spot for the state of California. Thus, it’s pretty fitting that Flea just went out and got a tattoo featuring the ursine logo found on the state’s flag.

OK, according to Flea’s Instagram post the bear is actually a black bear and not the California grizzly bear, but I’ll be damned if the two don’t look the same to me, and I consider myself to be a bear aficionado. But I digress, all bears are good bears, so let’s check out the sweet new tattoo Flea got from Dr. Woo!

“Thank you to the inimitable tattoo master @_dr_woo_ for putting this black bear on my chest yesterday,” Flea wrote. “These animals have been in my life constantly, and I love and treasure them. A bear represents bravery, strength, protection, and defending energetic boundaries. Being a creature of the forest, bears have dominant earth energy. Bears enjoy the sweet pleasures of life, bringing up important lessons of enjoying life to its fullest, being curious, and having fun.

“This animal’s power will make a hero out of you, as it symbolizes strength and great courage,” he continues. “This animal spirit determines you to not only lead others but to be a guide for them as well, as its meaning is of inspiring those around and staying true to one’s self. And they rest well. And also don’t forget about my friend @dat_nikka_bear and of course the miracle that is Everly Bear.”

As usual, Dr. Woo knocked it out of the park with the tattoo. It’s cool to see Flea getting some new tattoos. It may be hard to believe these days, but there once was a time when every musician wasn’t fully covered in tattoos, and when the Red Hot Chili Peppers hit the mainstream they were something completely different. The liner notes of “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” were filled with photos of the band members’ tattoos, not just shots of the guys unclothed, but actual close-ups of the tattoos. When I was a kid and I saw this my head spun. They just looked so fucking cool. Not to mention the album cover that may have single-handedly launched the ’90s obsession with Tribal.

Here at Inked we are always overjoyed to see a celebrity getting a good tattoo, so has off to you, Flea.