Yes, says the entire fashion world. Just look at any magazine geared towards women. They don't wear uncomfortable high heals, make up, all sorts of uncomfortable clothes for themselves. And they typically (well most) don't dress up for other women. Yet surprisingly, their harshest fashion critics are typically other women.


I'm not against tattoos, but they aren't my thing. I take photographs to remember. If tattoos cover a large area, I like those that are well done and one theme, rather then a series of smaller random tattoos squeezed together into wherever they fit until there's no room left. Face, neck, and hand tattoos are distracting and do count against you in most business settings. So that's likely why the professional racers don't have as many visible tattoos. Advertisers want their logos to stand out and tattoos might distract from a potential sponsor's ads. In that case, you have to be really, really good not to be passed over in favor of one of the thousands of others at the same level they cut on a regular basis.


The sad truth is if there are two equal bike riders and I had to pick which one I wanted to sponsor, it would be the clean slate. Then I'd dress him in what amounts to a full corporate logo tattoo.