'Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo': The true story behind Machete's famous chest tattoo
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last forty years, you would recognize Danny Trejo from the hundreds of movies he has done. And if you know Danny Trejo, you know his famous chest tattoo.
The iconic ink depicts a woman wearing a sombrero and it's been in over a hundred movies. The tattoo has also been named the most recognizable tattoo in the world and been featured in a number of magazines. So how did the legendary actor, also known by his popular nickname Machete, actually get that tattoo? Well, Trejo has spoken about that in a number of interviews including one with CraveOnline from all the way back in 2007 where he explained the whole story.
"I got it in the early '60s, like 1964. I was in prison and a guy named Harry 'Super Jew' Ross [did the tattoo]. I was never getting out, if I would have thought I was getting out I would have put a little cute thing, an elf or something," Trejo explained. "So we started it in San Quentin and I got kicked out of San Quentin. I went to Folsom and when I was in Folsom, Harry showed up and did the rest of it. He was almost done, there was a big race riot in Folsom and I got shipped to solitary. He said, 'Don't let anybody touch it. I'll finish it.' Because it was the first one he ever did so he finished it in solitary over a two year period. I first started in movies in 1985 and then I was blessed because from 1985 to 1993, they made a whole bunch of low budget prison movies. So they'd say, 'Hey, get that Mexican guy to be in it.' So I was really blessed."
Trejo's time in prison played a huge part in shaping him into the man he is today. It was while he was in prison that he met Eddie Bunker, who helped Trejo get his first movie job training Eric Roberts for 'Runaway Train'.
The whole rollercoaster story of Trejo's life is told in a brand new documentary film 'Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo'. Catch it when it drops on Digital HD on July 7.