Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Massey: It’s all tattoo much
I’M OFF THE INK ...IT’S AGONY NOW I’M 30!
SUPER LEAGUE hardman Nathan Massey admits he might be losing his nerve now he’s 30.
It’s definitely nothing to do with anyone he might face on the field – the Castleford favourite is renowned for his toughness.
And the one-club man recently showed his legendary resilience with an eight-hour charity bike challenge in his garage.
But the thing that Massey says hurts way too much these days is his amazing tattoos.
Massey’s entire neck, body and arms are covered in ink, with only his legs untouched.
But the father of two said: “I seemed to be able to sit for hours when I was younger, having the tattoos, and it didn’t affect me.
“But now they absolutely kill. With age they have started to hurt a lot more and I have nearly done with it!
“I think I’ve got one more in me and that’s it.”
Massey is saving his last trip to the tattoo parlour in honour of his baby who will be born in August – a brother for Blake, eight, and Daisy, four.
Massey said: “A lot of my tattoos are for my kids and I’ve got my wife Jemma’s initials on my wedding ring finger, so I’ll have something for the third one when he arrives.”
Massey admits that he’s never dared add up how much he’s spent on his elaborate body art but said: “When you have one you want to get more and bigger ones. There’s a couple I’d probably change, like the first one I had when I was 17 which was the typical tribal tattoo that teenagers have.
“But I’m happy with the majority of them and the ones celebrating my kids’ births are the favourites.”
Massey said the full dot-work neck tattoo, plus his shaved head, might give people the wrong impression about him on nights out.
But he said: “It could not be further from the truth. I’m the complete opposite of what people might think.”
The Tigers forward, who made his debut in 2007 and is the club’s longest serving player, showed his caring side recently with a fundraiser in honour of his late aunty.
He cycled 158 miles on a Wattbike in his garage, over eight hours, burning off more than 6,500 calories.
His lung-busting effort was in aid of the Prince of Wales Hospice in Pontefract where his aunt Sandra, a huge Tigers fan, had passed away days earlier.
He raised over £3,000 and said: “She had been poorly for quite a while. I’m sure she’d have been proud of me for doing it.”
Castleford were flying before the lockdown and Massey added: “It wasn’t ideal timing for us but at least we were positive coming into this period. Hopefully we can carry on like that when we start again.”
No return date has yet been approved and there is huge uncertainty over how the season can be completed.
One option is cramming games into a full but shortened season, with two games a week.
Massey said: “We’ve just got rid of the two Easter fixtures because of player welfare.
“So it would be difficult but in a sense it will be good for younger players to get a crack at playing a few games.
“We just try and stay positive – hopefully it will be over sooner rather than later.”