Source: Stefanie Keenan / Getty
Vanessa Bryant decided to get a few tattoos on Tuesday, courtesy of popular artist Nikko Hurtado. Big name celebs like Diddy, The Rock, and Kat Von D usually make their way to one of Hurtado’s two Black Anchor Worldwide galleries, both located in California, in order to have some work done. But when it came to the wife of fallen Lakers great Kobe Bryant, Hurtado opted to make a house call for his repeat VIP customer and her 18-year-old daughter Natalia.
Last year, Vanessa got a message from Kobe tattooed on her by Hurtado and another piece in honor of her late daughter Gianna. This time around, Mrs. Bryant got “Mambacita” drawn on her forearm, which is the nickname her husband gave Gianna for following in his legendary basketball footsteps. According to Vanessa’s IG, it took eight hours to select the right font but all of five minutes to complete the first tat of the night.
She was also accompanied by daughter Natalia, who got some artwork of her own and shared the special “mother-daughter bonding” moment. For her part, Natalia received the word “muse” on the side of her right index finger, which was the name of Deepak Chopra’s 2015 documentary on Kobe. She got a second piece on her left arm, too, and enjoyed the feeling it gave her.
Vanessa posted the video of her daughter getting the additional art and wrote the following: “Natalia- “did you just say euphoric?”……. 😃 If you’re going to get a tattoo, get it with me and with one of the best. 🪡”
As a “thank you” for a job well done, Vanessa joked she would hire Hurtado again, but next time it would be to get the phrase “Mamba Mentality” tattooed on her face, one word under each eye. “Post Vanessa, Post Malone,” he laughed. She blessed Hurtado with some special Kobe 6 Protro kicks afterward, though, which he showed off on his own Instagram story. “Thank you for trusting me with your tattoos. @vanessabryant @nataliabryant,” he wrote on his page. “Always honored to tattoo you guys. Thank you for the amazing shoes.”
