"Hello, I'm Toni Kroos and I want you to tattoo my dog." It took Alejandro del Mazo (@delmazotattoo) a while to realize that the WhatsApp message he had just received was not the work of some funny friend. Once he processed the request, shortly after, he was finalizing details with the German footballer, receiving photos of his arm, "analyzing every pore of his skin," the canvas where he was going to showcase his work. Life was turning upside down for the young man from Madrid, who remembers drawing "stick figures, monsters, Star Wars characters" since he was a child. Tattooing a footballer is like exhibiting at the Louvre. Nine days later, Real Madrid played the first leg of the quarter-finals against Manchester City, and when Kroos was about to take a corner kick, there it was, for the whole world to see, the realistic tattoo of Julius.
"Then, with every hug from Kroos after winning the Champions League, the whole planet was seeing my work," Delma, as his friends in Villaviciosa de Odón know him, continues to be amazed. At 32 years old, he admits that his life has changed. From that WhatsApp message after a series of coincidences and twists of fate, just over a year has passed, and this week Fede Valverde has revealed his entire right arm, adorned with lions. Alejandro has become the tattoo artist of the stars, a reward for years of training to refine a precocious artistic gift, that of realistic drawing, in which he is a reference, as he works with the precision and detail of a goldsmith. It is impressive how he captures even the drops of sweat, using white ink with great subtlety.
Sitting in his booth at Drama Tattoo in Alcorcón, Alejandro reviews his dizzying success story. Not long ago, he "delivered pizzas and sold suitcases on Gran Vía." His passion, portraiture, did not allow him to do much more than exhibit his works in ballpoint pen at the Auditorium in his town. Two elements were going to change everything for the better of his art. Social media - "I could reach the people I admired, tried to make that famous person see their portrait. We managed to reach Connor McGregor. I felt fulfilled and happy" - and tattoos. "I never wanted to be a tattoo artist. Some friends encouraged me to do it. But once I started, the results came. It gave me easy money and it was simple for me. I was 20 years old and worked in crappy jobs," he recalls.
Translating the face of a loved one, an ancestor, or a pet onto someone else's skin carries a burden of responsibility. "In addition to experience, I have my own technique. I visualize everything in layers and use a lot of technology. You can mess it up. The skin does not always have the characteristics one thinks and it can be frustrating. It is a human canvas, and there are plenty of things that can go wrong if you don't have everything under control," he admits.
Kroos came to him through his hairdresser's arm, the tattoo that caught the German's attention. "He told him that he was looking for a trusted tattoo artist in Spain and liked my work. He gave him my contact. But it took a year for him to call me. He (Toni) was waiting for the right moment, being a good German, very methodical. They had a week off in March 2024, just before the quarter-final match against City," Alejandro recounts, who, at the time, remembers being "terrified." "I was really worried about it not healing properly. It was a brutal uncertainty. I had never tattooed an elite athlete before. Normally, you have to avoid physical activity for a few days due to sweating, but he had to train the next day. I told him to keep me updated, but nothing, not a message. Just on the day of the match, he came out with a short-sleeved shirt, and I saw my tattoo intact. It was a relief, and I started to be amazed," he recounts.
It took six hours at the German's house, where he even invited him to dinner with some sirloin steaks and green beans. Alejandro dared to change Kroos's initial idea, who wanted the paw print of his recently deceased dog. "My strength is making portraits. In the end, it was my choice, even the placement. I knew he was the one taking the corners, and the forearm was the place that would be seen the most. Not only on TV, but even in FIFA," he proclaims.
Although it was a breakthrough for him, Valverde also came to him by chance, from a portrait of the Uruguayan that he had tattooed on a client: "In a way, I summoned him." Mina Bonino, Fede's wife, contacted him via Instagram, and shortly after, they got to work. This time in short sessions, from late December until this past week, from the elbow to the shoulder. "It's a larger project, and we took it step by step. This way, he spent more time with me. And I earned his trust. We are considering doing other things in the future."
There were also moments of tension with Valverde. "He asked me not to show the tattoo because he wanted it to be a surprise, only revealing it when finished. That's why he always plays wearing a thermal shirt. But in a press conference, he came out with a short-sleeved shirt, and the unfinished lion could be seen. It was like seeing the foundations of a work or the car on the chassis."
Del Mazo's schedule is on fire. "I have also tattooed Álvaro Rodríguez, who is Uruguayan. Fede is his idol, and they are friends. I have done almost his entire arm. Also, for Getafe's Uche. And Javi Sánchez, captain of Valladolid," he recounts, confessing how he gains their trust - "it's like a therapist's couch, and you end up telling nonsense, showing them memes...," he laughs - and their respect: "They put their skin in my hands, and I leave it marked for life with my art."
Delma, who dreams of working with Ilia Topuria, is not concerned about traditional tattoo artists criticizing him. "Success depends on what each person considers an achievement. I know what makes me happy." That's why he never asks for money from them; he prefers the experience of living with his idols and the impact: "Sharing content with them is more than enough. There was a Reel that reached 30 million views."