Serving in 2 NC chambers means 2 tattoos for this legislator. Check out his ink
Comments flooded a Sunday tweet showing two hard-to-miss tattoos of the North Carolina House and Senate seals on someone’s calves.
But whose legs were they?
Some people expressed tongue-in-cheek theories on the identity of the mysterious politician — including Gov. Roy Cooper.
Others raised concerns over whether the tattoos were on someone’s calves or their kneecaps. Another Twitter user pondered whether the two tattoos would preclude the lawmaker from running for Congress since he had clearly run out of room on his calves.
But it wouldn’t take much of a sleuth to figure out the #ncpol mystery of the tattooed legs, which was posted by lobbyist Brian Lewis.
On the enigmatic legislator’s left calf, a simple zoom-in would clue internet detectives to his identity. Instead of the state motto, “Esse Quam Videri” — “to be rather than to seem” — appearing on the N.C. House seal, it was replaced by a name.
Curving up the bottom of the seal reads “Bobby Hanig.”
Republican state Sen. Bobby Hanig joined the N.C. legislature in 2019 as a House member. Following redistricting and former Sen. Bob Steinburg’s resignation, Hanig joined the N.C. Senate through an appointment nearly a year ago. He ran for reelection and won last November.
He was vice chair of the conservative North Carolina House Freedom Caucus during his time as a representative. He has sponsored 36 bills in the 2023 Senate session, including a firearms safe storage initiative and adjustments to North Carolina human trafficking laws.
Serving as a representative and senator in North Carolina was something Hanig never imagined for himself, so he felt he needed to express that pride through something special. That commemoration wound up taking up most of the room on his calves.
“It’s an acknowledgment of how proud I am that I get to serve in those chambers,” Hanig said.
How he decided on the tattoos
The tattoos have been on his mind for a while, Hanig said, since his time in the N.C. House. When he got to the Senate, he decided he “might as well and go get them.”
Hanig wasn’t always set on his calves being the canvas for his ode to his time in the N.C. legislature. He toyed around with the idea of putting the seals on his shoulders, but he said they wouldn’t be as visible.
In the end, he opted for functionality to match his lifestyle outside of the Senate.
“I live at the beach, I wear shorts to work and when I’m not dressed up, I’m wearing shorts and flip flops,” the Currituck County senator said. “It’s a pride thing for me.”
Getting his fresh ink was a four-hour affair at an Elizabeth City shop Friday. He left feeling a “little bit tender on the calves,” but it wasn’t anything overwhelming, Hanig said. His chamber seal tattoos were a new addition to his growing collection — he’s got an American flag on one shoulder and a beach scene on another.
Hanig wasn’t alone for the ride, either. His wife, Dana Hanig, was there to support him and snap a few pictures of his tattoo journey.
Joining his wife in support for the new ink were some messages from fellow lawmakers Hanig didn’t name. There were a couple of “colorful comments,” and a few requests for him to show up to the next session in shorts, he said.
But several people told him the same thing: “I would have expected nothing less.”
Bobby Hanig’s fashion sense
Sequined red suits and floral blazers come to mind for many familiar with Hanig’s fashion sense, which he says is all about approachability. At the end of the day, lawmakers are just regular people that constituents shouldn’t have to feel intimidated by, Hanig said.
“We deal with a lot of really, really sensitive things and important issues, and every now and then, you got to have some levity,” he said.
Although his flashy style has yet to catch on in the Senate, Hanig jumped on the possibility of starting a new tattoo trend in the legislature. He already reached out to a few other lawmakers who served in both chambers with two words.
“You’re next,” Hanig joked.
There might even be lawmakers who have secret celebratory tattoos but haven’t shown anyone, Hanig said. But that would be no fun.
“Why would you get one if you don’t want to tell somebody?” he said.
As for what his next legislative-themed tattoo might be, Hanig left the issue in a similar fashion to how it started: shrouded in mystery.
“We’re holding steady where we are,” Hanig said. “But you never know what’s around the corner.”
This story was originally published July 18, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
CORRECTION: The previous version of this article misspelled Sen. Bob Steinburg’s name incorrectly.
