BroadWing hosts tattoo and piercing marathon to raise money for veterans’ care – BG Independent News

By DAVID DUPONT

BG Independent News

For the ninth year, BroadWing Tattoos and Body Piercing is dedicating Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, to raising money for veterans’ care.

The Tattoo Marathon is a way for owner Tyler Brott to honor his father.

Jax Foster, office manager and assistant piercer, said Brott started the tattoo and piercing marathon shortly after his father, David D. Brott, a Vietnam War veteran, died in 2014. He died of lung cancer related to exposure to Agent Orange.

The marathon runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the store at 125 N. Main in downtown Bowling Green. The shop can be reached at (419) 352-4343.

Brott’s sister Prudy Brott, owner of Sunset Bistro, will provide free food at the marathon.

For a $150 donation, all of which goes to the VA Ann Arbor Health Center, participants receive a one-hour appointment to receive a small custom tattoo, follow-up care and a t-shirt.

The store requires designs to be made available about two weeks in advance so artists can plan.

“You can get whatever you want,” Foster said.

The three artists will be working all day and there are some spaces available. Piercings are also possible on site throughout the day.

The marathon attracts a variety of customers, including veterans and their families, as well as some of the store’s regular customers. Some people come every year, they said.

“We sit down as a whole business and decide where the money goes,” Foster said. The marathon raised $7,000 last year, totaling more than $50,000 since it began. This money has helped fund mental health care, transportation and medical care for the area’s veterans.