words ANGELA COWAN
photography DON DENTON
With Hollywood-style long blonde hair and a killer smile, Lindsay Holt isn’t exactly the stereotypical picture of a lifelong accountant, but the mom of two got into the numbers business straight out of high school, and has been regional controller for Black Press Media for the last five years.
She recently made headlines when she decided to enter the Inked Cover Girl 2021 contest, and showed off her substantial tattoos in the hopes of winning $25,000.
Her two full sleeves, large thigh tattoo and several more pieces nabbed her a spot in the quarter finals, and while she was disappointed not to get the top prize, the whole experience was an interesting stretch outside the box.
“It was fun—and it was a little stressful,” she says, laughing. “It was just about getting out of my comfort zone. I had all these new tattoos, and I had gotten in pretty good shape over the COVID-19 period.”
Lindsay got her first tattoo at 18—“It’s a typical lower-back tattoo,” she says with a laugh—and slowly added more pieces to her feet, then her shoulder. But her passion for getting inked really kicked in when she finally got a piece done by well-known tattoo artist Disa Raven.
Lindsay had seen Disa’s work on Instagram and instantly fell in love.
“A year before I had messaged her with what I wanted, and had no response,” she says, explaining that the radio silence isn’t unusual with highly sought-after artists. “She’s very popular, and she’s very, very good at what she does.”
Never one to give up, Lindsay took a chance and sent one more Hail Mary message, and managed to get in, setting up a realistic botanically themed half sleeve.
“Once I got Disa’s work, seeing how realistic it looked and how much I loved it, then it was kind of an addiction,” she says.
And while some of her pieces have sentimental threads—a chickadee for her grandpa and a dragonfly for her mom—many of them have come straight from the artist’s imagination.
So what is it about tattoos she loves so much?
“It makes you stand out, makes you a little different,” she says after a moment. “It’s a little something different in how you’re set apart, and the way you’re set apart. Even everyone with tattoos, they all have something different.”
The 7 Sins
Envy:
Whose shoes would you like to walk in?
I thought long and hard about this one and realized I don’t particularly wish to walk in anyone’s shoes. At first I thought of some celebrities whose lives might be fun to experience, but nobody’s life is as glamorous as it seems. I would love to experience the carefree life, a slower-paced lifestyle without the busy day-to-day hustle, but only for a moment.
Gluttony:
What is the food you could eat over and over again?
Cheesecake! Any and all types. I have a major sweet tooth and cheesecake hits the spot every single time!
Greed:
You’re given $1 million that you have to spend selfishly. What would you spend it on?
I would definitely go on an extended vacation, to a place with the little huts on the water. Maybe Bali. Somewhere warm and relaxing.
Wrath:
Pet peeves?
Where do I even start? Two major ones that come to mind are people that leave their shopping carts in the middle of the aisle of grocery stores (why?) and slow drivers in the left lane. Please just move over! I could go on… and on and on.
Sloth:
Where would you spend a long time doing nothing?
I could spend hours and hours lying on a white sandy beach in the sun, listening to the ocean. A Hawaiian beach sounds perfect!
Pride:
What is the one thing you’re secretly
proud of?
Myself. I don’t openly admit it, but I am proud of myself. Proud of my consistent hard work, my perseverance, my drive, my effort and my self-motivation. But don’t tell anyone.
Lust:
What makes your heart beat faster?
Nothing gets my heart going like getting tattooed. Something about the finality of it, the excitement of a new piece, the anticipation of the pain. I have spent a lot of hours being tattooed, but the thrill is always the same. The best feeling!
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