Most elderly clients view personal trainers with tattoos negatively. For clarification, when I refer to elderly, I mean people aged 65 and older. This belief is inspired by the fact that the current generation of elderly people didn’t have as many tattooed individuals as is the case in this day and age. As one of my professors put it, “If you had a tattoo back then, you were cool. [And] It symbolized that you were part of a gang.” In that example, the word gang refers to any group of individuals, having a close bond with one another, representing something—bikers, wrestlers, etc. Also, the word cool refers to someone who didn’t follow the rules; a rebel. The focus of this paper will be on the negative effect tattoos …show more content…
Owner of Painted Lady Fitness, Ashley Silversides, talks about her company name and clients, in an interview by Tattoo Hero team member, Jamie. According to Ashley Silversides (2014, December 4):
Also, when I work with clients unfamiliar with the tattoo community the name gives them a sense of who I am before we work together, and shows another side of me and what I’m passionate about. Branding my business this way has opened more doors then I could have ever imagined. (Painted lady fitness)
I’m amazed at how genius a name Ashley chose to give her company, this way it can help eliminate any first impression uneasiness for those elderly people who don’t agree much with the younger generations and their body art.
The focus of this paper relates to the area of physical appearance in Nonverbal Communication. It aligns itself with the textbook for the class in that it makes clear how the times have changed and tattoos have become more common.
Given the nature of my thesis statement, there is hardly any research in the fitness field to really comment on how tattoos influence nonverbal behavior, through gestures and body language, in elderly people toward personal