Jordan Burroughs has said his tattoos mark different stages of his life and wrestling career, rather than following one plan. In a Team USA interview, he recalled getting his first tattoo in July 2005 and tied later designs to goals and Olympic milestones. He shared several examples, but not a complete count of every mark on his body.

His first tattoo was the JB wings on his back

Burroughs said his first tattoo was his initials, JB, with wings on his back. He got it in the summer between his junior and senior years of high school, after his parents agreed. He remembered paying 150 dollars and going home to show the design to his friends.

He got it years before the Olympics, while he was preparing for college wrestling. The initials and wings are visible in photos, but Burroughs has not given the design a separate meaning.

“Dream and do it” on his chest

Burroughs has described the Dream and do it lettering on his chest as a mantra. To him, it means difficult goals are possible when he is willing to put in the work. He tied the phrase to his own training and ambitions.

The first tattoo marked a personal transition, and he showed it to friends right away. The chest phrase keeps those ambitions in view. Burroughs gave the wording as “Dream and do it,” rather than the more familiar alternative, an important distinction when describing the tattoo.

His Olympic rings tattoo is on his left arm

Burroughs said he got the Olympic rings on his left arm after making the team. He went on to win gold at the 2012 Olympics.

The Team USA interview ties the rings to making the team; competition photos show how they sit on his left arm.

His tattoos mark different chapters in his wrestling career

Burroughs described his tattoos as reminders of where he was at a particular point in life. He also spoke about the freedom of tattooing, a chance to step outside the tightly disciplined routine of an elite athlete.

The designs chart those stages: the JB wings came in high school, “Dream and do it” reflects his approach to ambitious goals, and the Olympic rings mark making the team. Burroughs has spoken appreciatively about his tattoo artists, comparing their approaches to painters and the way they shape a finished piece. He has not described a single symbolic system for the collection, and the interview does not name every artist.

What Jordan Burroughs has said about his tattoos

Burroughs’s first tattoo, the JB initials and wings on his back, dates to July 2005. He later got the chest phrase and, after making the team, the Olympic rings on his left arm.

A photograph can show a mark without telling us when it was added, who tattooed it or what it means. Burroughs discussed several designs in a Team USA interview, but did not give a complete list. A Jordan Burroughs tattoo guide can stick to what he has confirmed and leave the gaps open.

His tattoos are hard to count from photographs alone: training shots catch different angles, and competition clothing can hide a design. His first back tattoo, chest lettering and Olympic rings are the clearest reference points.

“Dream and do it” is the phrase whose meaning Burroughs has explained most clearly. He tied it to believing hard goals were possible with effort. That does not make every nearby tattoo a reference to a medal or tournament; he linked the rings specifically to making the team.

The photographs are clearest about placement: initials and wings on the back, lettering on the chest, rings on the left arm. Light, pose and distance can all change how a tattoo appears.

Read in order, the tattoos move from a high-school decision to an Olympic milestone, with the chest mantra in between. They trace different chapters of Burroughs’s life without forcing every design into one theme.