Amid playoff wins, these 2 men are tattooing ‘Naz Reid’ on dozens of Timberwolves fans
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Brett Anderson lays back on a chair at Beloved Studios in Roseville as a tattoo gun buzzes on his lower right leg.
As many have done before him, he’s getting the name of someone he loves tattooed permanently onto his body.
Mom? Spouse? No: It’s Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid.
“I am extremely excited,” Anderson says before the inked needle goes in. “I think the vibes are as high as they could possibly get. This is probably the most excited I have ever been for a tattoo. The guy represents everything for the Minnesota Timberwolves.”
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Reid made his college debut in 2018 with Louisiana State University. Throughout his freshmen year he averaged 13.6 points. In spring 2019, he decided to take a risk, declare for the NBA Draft and hire an agent — he was done with college basketball.
His talent went overlooked and he was not picked in the 2019 NBA Draft. In July of 2019, he signed a two-way contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Iowa Wolves, splitting his time evenly with both teams.
@mprnews To celebrate the Minnesota Timberwolves winning their first playoff series in 20 years, tattoo apprentice JC Stroebel shared an idea: Offer $20 tattoos of beloved player Naz Reid’s name. Hundreds of requests began pouring in so he enlisted the help of another tattoo apprentice, Jesse George. They tattooed their first fans on Wednesday, May 8 at Beloved Studios in Roseville, Minn. We visited the shop on Thursday, May 9 to capture the seventh “Naz Reid” tattoo, but more than 100 were scheduled for the coming days. The Timberwolves have home-court advantage and a 2-0 lead for the semifinal game against the Denver Nuggets on Friday May 10. #nazreid #nbaplayoffs #minnesotatimberwolves #timberwolves #basketball #reverbmpr ♬ original sound - MPR News
But when he showed up to summer camp it was clear: He was meant for the pack. The Timberwolves offered him a four-year contract.
Reid is a breakout start. He’s someone that fans find easy to root for simply because they are in awe of his game. Some so much so that they want a permanent reminder of this historic moment as the team has won its first playoff series in 20 years.
Enter: the Naz Reid tattoo.
JC Stroebel did not expect to be tattooing “Naz Reid” onto hundreds of Minnesotans’ bodies but two days after making a viral social media post, his life has now been dedicated to the task.
On Monday, Stroebel, a tattoo apprentice in Roseville, wrote a simple post on X: “Will tattoo ‘Naz Reid’ on anyone for $20. I’m dead serious.”
Replies started pouring in. He created the email nazreidtattoos@gmail.com and quickly got hundreds of messages. Everyone wanted the tattoo. Stroebel got to work out of Beloved Studios planning appointments with another tattoo apprentice, Jesse George.
“I think tattooing is so cool,” Stroebel said. “And I really think it’s neat when people put a lot of meaning into it but I also think it’s awesome when you’re just cementing a moment in time, like that in and of itself has so much meaning.”
Jackson Hurst was the first to get the plain tattoo — Times New Roman font, two words: Naz Reid.
He saw the post and emailed immediately. Hurst has two other tattoos, one for his mom and one for his dad. And now, one for Naz Reid.
He wasn’t expecting to get so much attention, but the photo of his tattoo is going viral. The Bleacher Report picked it up, Timberwolves social media accounts are posting it and even Naz Reid posted it on his Instagram story, adding two crying emojis.
“It’s kind of like the cherry on top of the season,” he said. “It’s been a historical season for the Wolves, it’s such a fun and exciting run. This just fits in perfectly with everything else that’s happened this season.”
While Hurst was the first, he definitely is not the last. On Friday, over 60 people are booked for tattoos and walk-ins are welcomed from noon to 7 p.m. Over the weekend, dozens more are set to come.
Stroebel and George plan on getting the tattoo as well once they’re finished with everyone else first.
“Yeah, me and JC are definitely going to tattoo each other for sure,” said George.
“When we are army crawling to the finish line, it will be our last one after like 500 of them,” Stroebel added.
In Minnesota sports fandom, sometimes it’s hard to be a fan. This year feels different.
“I think that’s kind of like what we’re trying to do — just give an opportunity for wolves fans to really enjoy this moment,” said George.
Stroebel and George will offer tattoos through the playoffs. Inquiries can be made to nazreidtattoos@gmail.com.
