Miguel Layún: Tatto Tour

GQ Mexico

El exfutbolista mexicano Miguel Layún nos cuenta la historia detrás de sus tatuajes, cada uno con un significado muy poderoso. En el camino, Layún habla sobre uno de sus primeros emprendimientos y su participación en la Kings League Américas. Descubre todo lo que reveló.   #Miguel Layún #TattooTour

Transcript

00:00 Hi GQ, I'm Miguel Ayun and this is a tour through my tattoos.

00:03 The idea for my first tattoo came up in 2009

00:16 when I was about to leave to play Italian football.

00:19 I had a feeling that I was going to be far away from my people

00:22 and I wanted to do something related to my family,

00:24 which were my parents and my sisters.

00:26 I asked them what they liked the most at that moment

00:29 and each one of them told me something in particular.

00:31 My dad told me that he liked the sun a lot,

00:33 my mom liked the eagle,

00:34 my older sister wanted to get some ants tattooed,

00:37 my younger sister wanted to get a star tattooed,

00:39 so I made the decision to mix everything

00:42 and I got a tribal-style tattoo on my right shoulder blade.

00:46 With my family, which is my wife and my children,

00:55 I also have some things that have to do with them,

00:58 starting with Ana's kiss, which is here.

01:01 She literally kissed a leaf and got me the tattoo.

01:05 Then I have the names of my three children,

01:08 José María, Marcelo and Mateo,

01:10 each with their birth date

01:12 and the last electrocardiogram before they were born,

01:15 when they were still in Ana's belly.

01:17 The electrocardiogram is basically before birth,

01:23 they do a final check to make sure the baby is okay

01:26 and they connect an electrocardiogram to the belly of the mother,

01:30 in this case, Ana's,

01:31 and the baby's heart rate comes out.

01:33 That's why each one is different,

01:35 according to how it came out at that moment.

01:36 Well, on this side I have a word

01:43 that has been extremely important to me,

01:45 which is resilience.

01:47 I think it's something that any human being should have today.

01:51 The situations we've lived, the pandemic, etc.,

01:54 I think we all need a little resilience in our lives,

01:58 especially to be able to live much more calmly

02:01 with the things that are happening,

02:02 to make peace much faster,

02:04 which makes us feel happy on the road.

02:06 But well, if you want, we can do the full tour.

02:09 This was the second one I did after the one on the back,

02:18 which was when we became champions in 2013 with Club América.

02:21 It's the star and it's decorated with a kind of mandala

02:25 of decorations that my wife does.

02:26 My wife is a fashion designer and she loves to draw.

02:28 She does it in her free time.

02:30 So I asked her to do some decoration.

02:33 It has the letter A for Ana.

02:35 And at the same time I did the watch with Mateo's name on it.

02:40 The watch doesn't have hands

02:41 because for me it means that God's times are perfect.

02:44 And it's a way of reminding me that I don't have to be in a hurry

02:47 because things happen.

02:48 Sometimes I think we go too fast

02:50 because we want to achieve our goals.

02:54 Then I also did the second championship

02:56 that I won with América

02:58 before leaving for European football for a second time.

03:01 Then I went to Europe

03:06 and I wanted to get the full sleeve.

03:10 So the first thing I did was I did the two roses,

03:14 which is the only tattoo that has no meaning for me,

03:17 honestly.

03:18 And then I made this map,

03:20 which is actually back here.

03:22 It's a map that we found from around 1700.

03:25 In fact, that's why Los Angeles comes up here.

03:28 It has nothing to do with the current map of Mexico.

03:32 But this Veracruz, it's the state of Veracruz.

03:35 It has a magnifying glass that is right above Cordoba, Veracruz,

03:39 emphasizing the city where I was born.

03:41 No, actually, there hasn't been anyone who has inspired me.

03:47 I've always been inspired by the things I've been living in life.

03:49 And I think you have to feel proud of what you wear.

03:52 So, for me, the story that I've managed to have

03:56 throughout my career and throughout my life is very significant.

03:59 And that's why the map of Europe,

04:02 which is actually written in Portuguese

04:04 and has a line as if they were airplane lines,

04:09 where I went is from Cordoba to Italy,

04:11 which was the first country in Europe where I played.

04:14 Then it comes back, which was Mexican football.

04:17 From there it goes to England, which is up here.

04:20 From there it goes down to Portugal.

04:21 And I just need the line to Spain and back to Mexico.

04:25 And I put a ball to finish decorating it

04:27 because it's precisely my story in football.

04:30 And here I have a tattoo that says "Head up, stay strong,"

04:35 which was very important to me

04:37 because I did it at a time when I was going through

04:41 many issues of anxiety,

04:44 I wasn't achieving the goals I wanted in my career.

04:46 I felt, to a certain extent, frustrated

04:49 by some situations that we were experiencing.

04:51 We had Marcelo in a very delicate hospital

04:53 at 10 days of birth, he was dying.

04:56 And it was like a way of reminding me

04:58 every time I looked in the mirror

04:59 that I had to be head up and always strong,

05:01 no matter what we were experiencing at that moment.

05:04 Then I got the tattoo of resilience.

05:09 I got the tattoo of resilience when I came back to Mexico

05:11 because I wanted to get a tattoo with Soy Chapa,

05:13 which for me is, on a personal level,

05:16 the tattoo artist with the best line in the country.

05:18 I have three coffee beans here that are being erased.

05:23 Chapa will have to touch them up.

05:25 They mean, first, it's my first venture outside of football.

05:29 It was precisely a coffee brand that I have.

05:32 And three beans for the three children I have.

05:34 So it's like a way of mixing two parts of my life.

05:39 It may be that the Kings League ends up

05:45 represented in one of the next tattoos

05:48 that I would like to do.

05:49 It's a project that came at a very special moment in my life,

05:52 I announce the retirement,

05:53 and a very fun way to reach the young, the children.

05:57 So, yes, we will probably soon see a Tattoo of the Kings.

06:01 Well, it's half an eagle and half a wolf.

06:04 Hunting, you know?

06:06 Because I wanted them to convey that I'm always after my goals,

06:09 that I'm a person who is always with a very clear focus.

06:12 The tattoo that I have already thought that I would like to do

06:18 and that is the last one that would have to do with football,

06:21 I probably want to get it done here on my leg.

06:25 Each of the cups I won,

06:27 remembering my achievements, you know?

06:28 I think it's not just loading a single cup, you know?

06:31 It's everything that's behind it,

06:32 all that story that people don't know,

06:34 losing important moments with your family,

06:37 crying alone,

06:38 overcoming the things

06:41 that normally end up throwing you at any human being.

06:45 That's my tour of tattoos.

06:47 It's something that I love because in the end,

06:49 it wasn't just about scratching my skin and having something decorative,

06:53 you know? Or one more accessory.

06:54 It's a way of having a part of me too, for all the people.

07:00 [Music]

07:03 GQ, thank you very much for joining me on this tour for my tattoos.

07:17 I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

07:19 Big hug.

07:20 [Music]

07:23 (upbeat music)

Category

Transcript

Recommended