TATTED BLESSINGZ

“I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE …..”! TO ME, THESE FIRST 3 WORDZ OF THE UNITED STATES, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, ARE THREE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THIS DOCUMENT BECAUSE THEY SET THE FOUNDATION OF THE WHOLE PIECE! WHEN YOU SAY TO SOMEONE, “I PLEDGE MY ALLEGIANCE” YOU ARE SAYING TO THAT PERSON THAT YOU HAVE THEIR BACK AND WILL STAND WITH THEM COME HELL OR HIGH WATER! IN FACT, WEBSTER DICTIONARY SAYZ THAT ALLEGIANCE IZ THE, “LOYALTY OR COMMITMENT OF AN INDIVIDUAL TO A GROUP OR CAUSE”! SO, WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE --- ALLEGIANCE INK --- TATTOO SHOP IN AUGUSTA, GA, YOU INSTANTLY GET A SENSE THAT THERE IZ SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS SHOP! FIRST OFF, WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH THE DOORZ OF THE SHOP, YOU ARE GREETED BY ONE OR MORE TATTOO ARTISTS THAT MAY SEE YOU COME IN! THE SHOP IZ CLEAN AND WELL LIT! AND IF YOU’RE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO MEET THE OWNER, PHILLIP JACOBS, YOU’RE IN FOR A TREAT! HE IZ NOT A MENACING FIGURE ….. HE’S MEDIUM BUILT, TALKZ IN A CALM VOICE, AND ASIDE FROM HIM HAVING COUNTLESS TATTZ ALL OVER INCLUDING HIS HEAD, HE’S JUST LIKE ANY ONE OF US! AND OH YEAH, I FORGOT TO MENTION ….. HE HAS ONE ARM!

   PHILLIP’S JOURNEY TO BEING AND HAVING ONE OF THE TOP RATED TATTOO SHOPZ IN THE CITY IZ ONE FILLED WITH PAIN, DISTRUST, DISHONESTY, DOUBT AND BETRAYAL! AS A VIBRANT YOUTH LIVING IN FLORIDA, PHILLIP ALWAYZ HAD VISIONZ OF BEING A TATTOO ARTIST, EVEN GOING SO FAR AS TO BURNING DESIGNS INTO HIS OWN LEG! AS A TEENAGER, ONCE HIZ FAMILY GAVE THE GREEN LIGHT FOR HIM TO GET HIZ FIRST TATT, HE KNEW HE WAS HOOKED! HE ANNOUNCED TO THOSE AROUND HIM THAT HE WANTED TO NOT ONLY BE A TATTOO ARTIST, BUT --- ONE OF THE BEST! SAYZ JACOBS, “I WAS TOLD THAT I WOULD NEVER MAKE IT! THAT I HAD THE ABILITY AND THE DRIVE, BUT I WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO DO IT WITH ONE ARM”. THOSE NEGATIVE COMMENTZ, ESPECIALLY FROM THOSE CLOSEST TO HIM, WAS THAT EXTRA FUEL THAT SEALED HIZ FATE! THEN TRAGEDY STRUCK!!!

   WHEN PHILLIP WAS 13 YEARZ OLD, A COUPLE OF TREEZ FELL IN HIZ GRANDFATHER’S BACKYARD! BEING FAMILY ORIENTED, HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST, ALONG WITH OTHER MEMBER’S TO MOVE THE TREEZ! HE RECOUNTZ THE ORDEAL, “WE TIED THE FIRST TO THE TRUCK AND TIED THE OTHER TO THE PROPERTY! THINKING THAT I HAD ALL OF THE ROPE OFF THE GROUND, AS WE MOVED, I WAS UNAWARE THAT SOME OF THE ROPE WAS CAUGHT ON A TREE ROOT STICKING OUT OF THE PAVEMENT SNATCHING ME OFF OF THE TRUCK AND RIPPING MY ARM OFF! INITIALLY, MY ARM WAS REATTACHED AT MCG (MEDICAL COLLEGE OF GEORGIA) BUT 6 WEEKZ LATER THEY FELT AZ THOUGH AMPUTATION WAS BEST!” IT TAKEZ A LOT OF FAITH, AND INTESTINAL FORTITUDE FOR AN ADULT TO BOUNCE BACK FROM SUCH AN ORDEAL, LET ALONE A BARELY TEENAGE KID! BUT HE PICKED HIMSELF UP AND KEPT PUSHING FORWARD! IN TRUE PHILLIP FASHION WHEN ASKED, HOW DID HE BOUNCE BACK, AFTER SUCH AN ORDEAL? HE SCOFFS, “AFTER MY ARM WAS TAKEN, THE NEGATIVITY WAS EVEN WORSE. SO I MADE UP MY MIND THAT I WAS GOING TO DO WHAT IT TOOK PROVE ALL OF THEM WRONG!”

     AROUND THIS TIME, HE STARTED WORKING AT A LOCAL SHOP DOING THE MENIAL LABOR STUFF, BUT WAS STILL ALLOWED TO TATTOO PERSONAL FRIENDZ. “THOSE EARLY TATTZ WERE TERRIBLE”, LAUGHS JACOBS! IN THE BEGINNING IT WASN’T EASY! “MOST OF MY DAYZ LITERALLY STARTED AT 6 A.M. AND WENT UNTIL 1 A.M. THE NEXT MORNING AND ALTHOUGH I SUCCESSFULLY GRADUATED WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE, EVERYTHING WITHIN ME, MY HEART AND PASSION, WAS A TATTOO ARTIST.” THEN, OUT OF NOWHERE, PHILLIP CAME DOWN WITH A SERIOUS ILLNESS AND HAD TO BE HOSPITALIZED! ONCE RELEASED, HE QUIT HIS JOB AND STARTED TATTOOING FULL TIME! READY TO TAKE HIS DESTINY IN OWN HANDZ, WE GOT WHAT IZ CALLED IN THE TATTOO WORLD, A “JOB STOPPER” (A TATTOO IN SOME PLACE THAT IZ A DETERRENT FOR POSSIBLE EMPLOYERZ TO HIRE YOU), ON HIZ NECK AND HANDZ, AND HE HASN’T LOOKED BACK SINCE!

   APPROXIMATELY, TWO AND A HALF YEARZ AGO, THE “ALLEGIANCE INK” IMPRINT WAS BORN! BUT BEFORE HE WOULD VENTURE OUT ON HIZ OWN, HE TEAMED UP WITH A “FRIEND” AND STARTED A SHOP BY ANOTHER NAME! SOON, JACOBS’ SKILLZ SURPASSED EVEN HIZ OWN EXPECTATIONZ, DUE TO HIZ DILIGENCE TO BE ONE OF THE BEST! AFTER A SHORT STINT IN A PARTNERSHIP, IT WAS TIME FOR HIM MAKE HIZ MARK ….. ON HIZ OWN! ADMITTEDLY, FORMING “ALLGIANCE INK”, HAZ BEEN ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTZ OF HIZ LIFE (NEXT TO MARRYING THE WOMAN OF HIZ DREAMZ AND THE BIRTH OF HIZ SON)! SAYZ PHILLIP,  “I WANTED TO BUILD A BUSINESS WHERE I CAN WORK WITH, NOT ONLY SOME OF THE MOST TALENTED ARTIST IN THE WORLD, BUT ALSO BE SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE WITH THE BEST INTEREST OF “ALLEGIANCE” IN MIND! WE ARE A FAMILY HERE, PERIOD, AND EVERYDAY WE STRIVE TO TREAT EVERYONE AS A PART OF OUR FAMILY AND GIVE THEM AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE TO GO WITH AN AMAZING TATTOO!”

   THE STORY OF ALLEGIANCE AND PHILLIP JACOB’S (INDIVIDUALLY AND TOGETHER), IZ ONE OF TRIAL AND TRIBULATION, TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH, DOUBT AND SUCCESS! PRESENTLY, ---ALLEGIANCE INK --- IS ONE OF THE LEADING TATTOO SHOPS IN THE CITY OF AUGUSTA, WITH TOP QUALITY WORK AND SOME OF THE MOST AFFORDABLE PRICES! NOT BAD FOR “A KID THAT NO ONE WANTED TO RENT A SPACE TO.” SINCE THEN, HE HAS GROWN TO 7 TOP ARTIST AND A FULL TIME PIERCER THAT CAN DO EVERYTHING FROM FULL BACK PIECES TO SIMPLE NAMEZ, REALISM ART TO TRADITIONAL AMERICAN TATTOOS! PHILLIP HIMSELF IZ BECOMING A NATIONAL NAME, TRAVELING AND WORKING WITH TATTOO ICONZ SUCH KENNETH HERRING, TOMMY MONTOYA AND JEFF COOPER, TO NAME A FEW! I WENT TO SEE PHILLIP RECENTLY. IT WAS A BUZZING SATURDAY AFTERNOON … PACKED! OF COURSE, HE WAS BUSY IN HIZ ROOM WORKING ON A CLIENT! I WENT IN, SPOKE TO HIM, AND SAID, “WHAT’S UP? I JUST CAME BY TO CHECK ON YOU”! WITHOUT LOOKING UP, WE HELD A 2 MINUTE CONVERSATION, LAUGHED A LITTLE AND I WAS GONE! IT DAWNED ON ME LATER THAT HE HELD A FULL CONVERSATION WITH ME, WHILE TATTING A CLIENT AND NEVER MISSED A BEAT! PHILLIP’S STORY IZ A TRUE TESTAMENT OF STRENGTH AND PERSEVERANCE! SO REMEMBER, THINK BEFORE YOU JUDGE, CRITICIZE, PUT DOWN, TALK ABOUT OR DOUBT SOMEONE THAT LOOKZ DIFFERENT THAN YOU DO, YOU JUST MAY LOOK UP ONE DAY AND THAT PERSON WILL BE ON TOP OF HIZ/HER GAME, WITH ONE OF THE TOP BUSINESSES AROUND, WELL AHEAD OF WHERE YOU ARE IN LIFE AND YOU THINK TO YOURSELF “DAMN, I SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE APPRECIATIVE OF THAT PERSON” AND THEN REALIZE WHERE YOUR “ALLEGIANCE” SHOULD HAVE BEEN!
                              
                                                           ALLEGIANCE INK
                                        4074 Washington Rd. Suite 6 Martinez Ga 30907
                                                              (706) 9451810

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PHILLIPJACOBS

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ALLEGIANCEINKTATTOO

                                                                        

THE FIERCE COMPETITOR

                                                                                                      

  IN THIS VERY FIRST BLOG EDITION OF THE O’NOPSIS, I FELT THAT IT WOULD BE BEST TO START IT OFF IN THE VERY PLACE THAT MEANS THE MOST TO ME …. MY OWN HOME! MY HOUSE IS FILLED WITH A VARIETY OF TALENTED INDIVIDUALS WITH HIGH ASPIRATIONS AND AMBITIONS. WE HAVE SPOKEN WORD ARTISTS AND ACTORS, MODELS AND WARDROBE STYLIST, A BUDDING LAWYER AND ONE POSSIBLY TWO FUTURE STAR ATHLETES. MORE NOTABLY, ONE OF THESE ATHLETES IS MY SON, MARQUES SUMNER.

  STANDING 6” 1’ FEET WITH A 6”2’ WINGSPAN, THIS 11^TH GRADER HAS MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF IN THE CSRA (CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA) OF NORTH AUGUSTA, BUT THIS HAS NOT COME WITHOUT HARD WORK AND SACRIFICE. MARQUES, HAS HAD A BASKETBALL IN HIS HANDS WHEN THE BALL WAS STILL BIGGER THAN HE WAS. HIS THIRST FOR THE GAME OF BASKETBALL WAS SPURNED WHEN HE STARTED PLAYING REC BALL FOR THE RICHMOND COUNTY RECREATION & PARKS DEPT. WHEN HE WAS 5 YEARS OF AGE. A FEW YEARS LATER HE WAS “THAT” LIL DUDE ON THE COURT THAT ALL THE OLDER MORE EXPERIENCED PLAYERS WANTED ON THEIR TEAM BECAUSE OF HIS BALL HANDLING SKILLS AND ABILITY TO MAKE THE DIFFICULT SHOTS OVER HIS LARGER OPPONENTS. IN THE SPRING OF 2006 – ’07, WHILE HIS FAMILY WAS ON VACATION IN FLORIDA, THE THEN 10 YEAR OLD MARQUES MADE A GROWN UP DECISION TO FOREGO HIS TRIP TO FLORIDA AND NOT LEAVE HIS TEAM STRANDED. SEE, THAT YEAR HIS TEAM, THE CAVALIERS, HAD BEATEN EVERY TEAM IN THEIR CONFERENCE ONLY TO STEAMROLL THROUGH THE PLAYOFFS AND RIGHT INTO THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. AT THE HELM, MARQUES LED HIS TEAM TO AN IMPRESSIVE WIN TO CAPTURE HIS VERY FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP.

  NOW, AT THE AGE OF 16, HIS WORK ETHIC IS IMPECCABLE! HE TRAINS HARDER AS A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT THAN I’VE SEEN A LOT OF COLLEGE PLAYERS DO. I TELL PEOPLE ON A REGULAR THAT HE IS A STUDENT OF THE GAME. HE’S CONSTANTLY WATCHING/STUDYING GAMES AND PLAYERS OF BOTH COLLEGE AND PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES. WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER, I REMEMBER TELLING HIM ABOUT HOW WHILE IN COLLEGE, MICHAEL JORDAN SAT ON THE PINE, ONLY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HIS GIVEN OPPORTUNITY AND BECAME ONE OF, IF NOT THE GREATEST, PLAYER OF ALL TIME. FROM THAT CONVERSATION, AND SEVERAL OTHERS, HE DEDICATED HIMSELF TO BECOMING THE ABSOLUTE BEST. HE SHOOTS COUNTLESS JUMPERS, 3 POINTERS AND FREE THROWS; HE WORKS ON SPEED DRILLS, PRECISION DRILLS AND CROSSOVER TECHNIQUES OVER AND OVER UNTIL HE FEELS LIKE HE’S REACHED HIS PEAK OF PERFECTION. I’VE ALWAYS TOLD HIM THAT HE IS AMONG THE ELITE OF ATHLETES (HE’S ALSO PLAYED BASEBALL AND FOOTBALL), BUT I CAN RECALL A DAY THAT HE AND I WERE TRAINING AND AFTER A FULL TRAINING SESSION, HE COOLED DOWN BY MAKING 19 OF 20 FREE THROWS …… BLINDFOLDED! THE FUNNY THING IS, HE WAS SO DISSATISFIED AT MISSING ONE, THAT BEFORE HE WOULD GO IN HE SHOT 5 MORE IN A ROW …… BLINDFOLDED!

THAT COMPETITIVE WORK ETHIC WAS EVIDENT THIS PAST SEASON AS HIS NEW SCHOOL AND TEAM, THE FOX CREEK PREDATORS, MADE A VALID RUN FOR THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP. AS ONE OF THE PREMIER GUARDS, MARQUES, SHOT, PASSED, SLASHED AND HELPED LEAD THE TEAM TO A REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, BY SCORCHING SOME OPPONENTS BY 10, 20, SOMETIMES EVEN 30 POINTS. ALONG WITH DJ CURRY AND BRANDON QUILLER, THE PREDATORS, CAPTURED THE SCHOOLS FIRST EVER REGIONAL TITLE. DURING THE SEASON, @AUGBBALL (TWITTER) COMPARED MARQUES TO THE MIAMI HEAT SUPERSTAR, DWAYNE WADE! PLAYING LIKE SEASONED VETS, COACHED BY ANDRE BASKETT, THEY WON A HARD FOUGHT BATTLE AGAINST MCCORMICK AND TRIUMPHED IN A SHOOTOUT WITH MCBEE, WITH MARQUES, WHO GOES BY THE TAG OF, QUES CINCO, HITTING SOME CRUCIAL FOURTH QUARTER CLUTCH 3 POINTERS.

  IN A HEARTBREAKING LOSS IN THE THIRD ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS, FOX CREEK FELL TO LEWISVILLE, WHO EVENTUALLY WON THE STATE TITLE. IT WAS A HARD LOSS TO SWALLOW GIVING THE TALENT THAT THEIR TEAM POSESSED. NOW MONTHS LATER, RANKED #7 IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GUNNING FOR TOP HONORS, MR. SUMNER HAS UNDOUBTEDLY LEARNED FROM THAT “SO CLOSE, YET SO FAR” LOSS. WHEN ASKED WHAT HE LEARNED FROM THAT LOSS, HE SAID, “I LEARNED NOT TO GIVE UP ON MY TEAM, ESPECIALLY IN BIG GAMES. I’M A LEADER AND WHEN WE’RE DOWN, IT’S MY RESPONSIBILITY TO SHOW SPARKS OF HOPE AND NOT GIVE UP”. WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH NEXT? THIS YOUNG MATURE MIND EXCLAIMS, “I DON’T CARE ABOUT THE ACCOLADES BUT I WANT TO WIN STATE, GET ALL REGIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR AND RECEIVE A VALID COLLEGE OFFER BEFORE I’M A SENIOR”. HE SMILES AND SAYS, “THAT’S ALL!” @_QUESCINCO (TWITTER) IS WELL ON HIS WAY TO RECEIVING ALL THAT HE DESERVES AND OBTAINING HIS DREAM OF ONE DAY PLAYING IN THE NBA. WITH TWO YEARS LEFT IN HIGH SCHOOL, A WARRIOR SPIRIT AND MAKING A’S AND B’S, MARQUES IS ONE STUDENT/ATHLETE TO WATCH NOW AND IN THE FUTURE! HE’S A FIERCE COMPETITOR, A CHAMPION, HE’S MY SON AND I LOVE HIM!

*** NOTE:  AS WE WERE GOING TO PRESS, MARQUES WAS 1 OF 4 PLAYERS SELECTED AS ALL-REGION PLAYER OF THE YEAR! ALL 4 AWARDS WERE GIVEN TO PLAYERS FROM THE FOX CREEK TEAM!

*** NOTE: AT PRESS TIME, MARQUES CAPTURED HIS 2^ND CHAMPIONSHIP AS A PART OF THE AAU BAKETBALL TEAM “THE SOUTHERN KINGS”