For Eric Mezzalira, tattoos are all in the family.

“I got my first one on my 16th birthday with my dad,” explains the second year linebacker. “We both got ‘Mezz’ on the back of our triceps.”

“I got into the tattoo culture with my parents. They’re pretty tatted up.”

Same goes for Mezzalira.

There isn’t much left of his upper body that’s not covered in ink.

“My whole left side I went with the Japanese theme but traditional though,” he said. “I have a tiger and a dragon and the bottom half is a King cobra because when I was a kid I used to have a bunch of snakes.”

After winning the Grey Cup in 2018, Mezzalira took the plunge on a long-planned full back piece, artwork that has taken over 23 hours in the chair.

“I just like the look of a full back piece and if I’m going to get a tattoo on my back, why am I going to get a little piece? Why not use the whole canvas if you’re going to get a tattoo.”

“I have Medusa on my left sleeve so to go with the whole Greek theme, I got my whole back with Hades sitting on a throne with Cerberus chilling at his feet. Technically Cerberus is a wolf but I switched it to Dobermans because I’ve got Dobermans at home and they’re my favourite dog.”

Running out of canvas might be Mezzalira’s biggest problem as he plans to have more ink done in the near future.

“I’m going to finish my right arm so then I’ll have double sleeves and I’ve got about five hours left on my back. Then we’ll see, maybe my legs, too!”