Yes. Sorry. Ironman is a corporate logo (like Coke or Ford) and is trademarked for their events only. They also own the 70.3 and 140.6, so you can't get round it that way. There's a whole wikipedia page on it.
Get the tatoo, if you want people to know you've done the distance it's the most commonly recognised symbol/brand. I wouldn't worry about corporate branding too much, they get enough money ripping off gullible triathletes without coming after you for compo.
Personally in 3 weeks i will be in the shop getting my M. for completing (I better bloody finish) IMCH - to commemorate my achievement and for other more personal reasons I don't wish to share. Personally I wouldn't get the M. if i hadn't done a branded race, simply because it is claiming to have done the branded race. Why not think of your own one/get some help designing one, tatoos always mean more when they are something personal to you/designed by you. Oh and think carefully before committing to it afterall it is permanent (sorry if teaching to suck eggs and you have 101 tats already but some people do make mistakes they really regret)
I agre with the above - dot M is a branded race. I can see the desire to have pride in the achievement and the difference between an 'Ironman' (R) and similar distance race is the copyright - but for those who know vaguely about triathlon 'Ironman' is something they are probably more aware of but they are probably unaware of the dot M logo so it would largely be lost on them. In fact before I did ny fisrt tri in 2006 I thought all tris were Ironman distances! Dohhhh
Prob is if you get a dot M tat for say the Outlaw or similar it is not the non triathlete you may have prob with but the the triathlete who asks 'so which one did you do?' Personally I see doing the same distance event like the Outlaw and Big Woody as no less an achievement and as suggested perahps a personalised tat might be a good option.
How about this[attachment=0:3qu2ngqj]sbr.jpg[/attachment:3qu2ngqj]
Whatever the point of getting the tat (bragging rights or whatever) just remember it's for life (unless you get it removed, of course!) Most older fellas with tattoos look ridiculous! In fact, so do most younger ones!
Comments
Ironman is a corporate logo (like Coke or Ford) and is trademarked for their events only. They also own the 70.3 and 140.6, so you can't get round it that way.
There's a whole wikipedia page on it.
Why not?
Personally in 3 weeks i will be in the shop getting my M. for completing (I better bloody finish) IMCH - to commemorate my achievement and for other more personal reasons I don't wish to share. Personally I wouldn't get the M. if i hadn't done a branded race, simply because it is claiming to have done the branded race. Why not think of your own one/get some help designing one, tatoos always mean more when they are something personal to you/designed by you. Oh and think carefully before committing to it afterall it is permanent (sorry if teaching to suck eggs and you have 101 tats already but some people do make mistakes they really regret)
Prob is if you get a dot M tat for say the Outlaw or similar it is not the non triathlete you may have prob with but the the triathlete who asks 'so which one did you do?' Personally I see doing the same distance event like the Outlaw and Big Woody as no less an achievement and as suggested perahps a personalised tat might be a good option.
How about this[attachment=0:3qu2ngqj]sbr.jpg[/attachment:3qu2ngqj]
Thats a great design - did you do that yourself?! v impressed... i may nick it only if you have no objections. x
Most older fellas with tattoos look ridiculous! In fact, so do most younger ones!