For most of us, who have witnessed Justin Bieber‘s rise to stardom, we know he loves his tattoos. Like many artists out there, the pop star treats his body like a canvas, covering most of it in ink, dedicated to his music, and sometimes to his loved ones. Bieber even had a tattoo for his ex, Selena Gomez, although it is not quite visible anymore.
According to experts, some of his tattoos also refer to his inner struggles. For instance, he has got two Gothic figures inked on his torso, which seem to be fighting the evil, a metaphor for his own mental health journey.
Justin Bieber had a very difficult life, to say the least. Previously, he has opened up about the struggles he faced as a kid growing up with a single mother in poverty. During some of his unfiltered interviews, the Baby singer also revealed resorting to drug abuse and self-sabotage in his relationships.
As a boy who had a difficult life all along, it was quite complicated for him to handle the stardom he suddenly received as a teen sensation. He repeatedly admitted that sometimes handling that fame was too much for him, and it ultimately scarred his mental health. “Want to make people smile and happy but not at my expense, and I always leave feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted to the point of depression,” he confessed to his Instagram followers back in 2016.
In 2017, his inner struggles were reflected in the two angels he got inked on each side of his ribcage. Interestingly, he also got tattooed a serpent and a skeleton right behind the angels, seemingly referring to their battle.
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Bang Bang, the tattoo artist who got them done, told E!News, “It’s symbolic of Gothic art and the struggle between the light and dark, the good and the evil, Yin and Yang.”
“The thing that made the most sense to me was a tattoo describing his spirituality. The animals he has, his spirit animals as well as the angels, his guardians,” he further explained. The tattoo artist revealed that he strategically placed the angles below the large grizzly bear and lion Justin has on his pecs.
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“As tough and resilient as a bear is, it always hibernates, which is so important. We as humans go, go, and go without resting, and it can leave us exhausted and drained,” the hitmaker himself revealed to Vogue in 2021. He explained that the lion represents something “bold, courageous, strong,” just like Justin himself, who continues to manifest the two very conflicting energies.
