The Source: The secret meaning behind Brad Battin’s ‘raging arm tatt’
The Victorian Opposition Leader turned heads when he stripped off for a Big Freeze fundraiser and revealed his sizeable tattoos. Now The Source can reveal the story behind them.
The Source
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Tattoos may be commonplace these days.
But the tribal-looking prints that wrap Opposition Leader Brad Battin’s shoulders still turned plenty of heads as he disrobed to reveal his treasured Geelong jumper — and bare arms — at the Victorian parliament’s Big Freeze event on Monday.
His ink even got the interstaters talking.
“Woah, would not have guessed Battin had a raging arm tatt,” a Canberra insider told The Source after seeing footage of the Liberal leader being dunked in an ice tank in front of a cheering crowd.
And there’s not just one tattoo. The former cop has three — and all have a deep meaning.
On his left arm is a Japanese-style tribute to his wife Jo and their two daughters, which serves almost as a half-sleeve covering his entire shoulder, part of his back and extending half way down his tricep.
Why the Japanese print? The man just loves the look of it.
On Battin’s right arm is another tribute, a shield dedicated to his brother-in-law who died at the age of 18 of asthma.
His third tattoo is a dotted line under his right arm which connects Carrie’s Beanie and a Collingwood logo to acknowledge those who have suffered from brain cancer.
Getting a magpie inked wasn’t Battin’s first choice as a diehard Cats fan, but it was the design picked by the winning donor during fundraising efforts last year.
Battin, of course, is still a long way off the Victorian parliament’s tattoo queen, Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell.
With the state election on the horizon, The Source hears Battin has no plans for any more ink. But let’s wait and see.
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