The Beautiful Reason Guy Fieri Was Brought To Tears Before Getting This Special New Tattoo
Flavortown is getting a taste of The Aloha State as part of the discovery+ series, "Guy: Hawaiian Style." On August 28th, the show's premiere date, the Food Network's Facebook account provided a fleeting peek at what Guy Fieri has been up to in Hawaii, and to call it touching is an understatement. In the clip, Fieri is joined on his island adventure by his son Hunter and his nephew Jules, and getting Polynesian hand-tapped tattoos together is one of their most anticipated activities.
Guy tells viewers, "We don't get to choose the design" (via Facebook). That's because traditional tattoo artists in Polynesian cultures were the ones who would choose the tattoo design and apply the ink with a hammer-like tool(via Grey Journal). It's more than a gorgeous design; it's a story etched into the skin, signifying social status, familial connections, or anything else the artist wants to convey as the storyteller.
Fieri's tattoo artist, Sulu'ape Pili Mo'o, clearly follows this tradition. He describes Mother Nature as his tattoo supply shop and uses a device made of wood, turtle shell, and wild boar tusk. The designs combine different elements to create a family-inspired pattern for Fieri, Hunter, and Jules. That alone might sound powerful enough to make someone cry, but it was a discussion during the lead-up to the tattoos that brought Guy Fieri to tears in a heartfelt moment.
A bittersweet moment made Guy Fieri cry
As Guy Fieri explains in the Facebook clip, "I've had a lot of tattoos."Among them is a Botticieli-inspired design honoring his late sister Morgan, who died in 2011 from metastatic melanoma (via Legacy.com). Her son, Fieri's nephew Jules, was just 11 years old at the time of her death. As Fieri, Jules, and Hunter sit with tattoo artist Sulu'ape Pili Mo'o so he can, in Fieri's words, "look inside our spirits to come up with the most meaningful symbols" for their Polynesian tattoos, Fieri recalls the loss of his dear sibling: "I really loved her so much. The last thing I said to my sister – Morgan, I got Jules. I will take care of him like I take care of my kids. He is my son, I've got this."
Overwhelmed with emotion, Fieri begins to cry. The tattoo artist adds, "Because she's here, we talk about her. She's coming, magic is on." Mo'o went on to say, "We gonna create a tattoo to join 3 person. About family, connection, together, we were talking about magic." Guy gets one on the back of the leg (above), as does Hunter, while Jules receives an arm tattoo. The designs are distinct but interconnected, symbolizing how the father, son, and nephew are related and relating the story of the Hawaiian adventure they share. Adding to the specialness of the experience, it marks the first-ever tattoo for Jules, who touchingly says, "Us three are connected now."