By: Mike Joy, Couchsurfing Community Manager
Top Photo by Creative Travel Projects/shutterstock
On July 28, 2040, dozens (or hundreds? or thousands?) of travelers will all meet on a remote Icelandic beach. Why? Because of a tattoo.
Having coordinates tattooed on you is not necessarily revolutionary. However, these specific coordinates don’t refer to somewhere you’ve been, but instead to somewhere you will go. Not anytime soon, but on a distant date more than 20 years from now. And who will you meet there? A group of like-minded travelers with the same tattoo.
The origin of the tattoo is unclear, as it is passed by word of mouth and sight. You meet someone with the tattoo, inquire about it, and they explain. If the story excites and intrigues you, maybe you’ll get the same tattoo and continue the chain.
Jason, a Couchsurfing Ambassador from Connecticut, first learned of the tattoo while traveling in Astana, Kazakhstan. After noticing a fellow Couchsurfer’s tattoo, he asked what the coordinates and date referred to. This was the first time Jason had heard of the Icelandic beach.
The goal is to form bonds with travelers and others and have them get the tattoo and all meet at that beach on that date! I thought it was such a dope concept to REALLY commit yourself to a goal so far in the future and give you something to keep you motivated through life. Well I wasn’t sure if I wanted to commit that to my skin forever so I told him if I was still thinking about it in 3 months I would get it. Needless to say I just couldn’t get it out of my head and 3 months later for my birthday I got the tattoo!
There is no way to know how many people now have the tattoo, but Jason has continued to spread the story to Couchsurfers, and really anyone he meets. He has even had a few travelers get the tattoo and make the permanent mark in their calendar. The beach may be the first time he sees some of these people again.
Something tells me this beach is going to have the coolest collection of people in the world on that July 28th. And I know exactly where I’ll be on that day…
Can’t get the tattoo out of your head? Contact Jason to find out more! (and maybe get a PDF of the tattoo design….)