Morgan Geekie’s tattoos make more sense once you know the stories behind them. There is script across his chest, a detailed sleeve on his left arm built around a Buddhist saying, and a small sparrow that marks the miles behind him. Even the simpler pieces have a reason for being there.
The Boston Bruins forward started getting tattooed as a teenager, when his dad still had to come along and sign the consent form. Since then, the collection has followed his hockey career from Manitoba to Charlotte, Carolina and Seattle. Geekie has said he likes tattoos that keep him grounded, remind him to do the small things and help him notice the road he is on.
The clearest public record comes from the Seattle Kraken’s Deep Ink feature, with close-up photos and Geekie’s own explanations. Some of the imagery invites guesses, so his account is the best place to start when he has explained a design.
Think with your head, act with your heart
Geekie’s first tattoo sits high on the left side of his chest. It is a script design with the words “Think with your head, act with your heart.” A compass-style image accompanies the line, giving the quote a little more shape than lettering alone.
He was about 16 or 17 when he got it. The session took around 45 minutes, and he remembered being surprised that it hurt less than he expected. Because he was still a teenager, his dad had to come along and sign the consent form.
The phrase was Geekie’s idea, not a famous quote he borrowed. He has said he does not know whether anyone else put the message together in quite the same way. Its meaning is straightforward: some choices need careful thought, but instinct matters too. His gut may tell him something before his brain has finished weighing it all.
That is why the compass fits beside the script. The words are about head and heart; the image suggests finding a direction. It feels like a quiet, practical reminder rather than a dramatic declaration.
The chest piece also set the tone for the rest of Geekie’s collection. He does not seem to get tattoos just to fill space. The designs tend to connect with a thought, a place or a period of his life.
Chop wood, carry water becomes a full sleeve
The biggest project in Geekie’s collection is the full left-arm sleeve, inspired by the Buddhist saying, “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” The point is that reaching a goal does not end the everyday work that got you there. You still have to show up.
Geekie liked the idea because it felt useful, not abstract. He described the saying as a reminder to handle the small things, pay attention to details and remember where he came from. That fits professional hockey, where success depends on plenty of repetitive work that never makes a highlight reel.
The artist turned the saying into an Asian-inspired black-and-grey design. At its centre is a Buddha figure and an enso, the open circle used in Zen Buddhism that Geekie described as a symbol of enlightenment. Natural shapes and working tools build out the rest of the arm.
The first appointment lasted about eight hours. Geekie had the early part done before the season began in Charlotte, so he had to handle the practical side of fresh ink while playing hockey: plenty of plastic wrap and Vaseline. A second session took another five hours halfway through the year, and later visits added branches, the axe and water.
The long build gives the sleeve its movement. The Buddha anchors the arm, while the branches and water lead the eye around it. The larger spiritual idea sits beside images of ordinary work and nature, much like the saying itself.
Geekie first pictured an axe with more of a Celtic look, but his artist helped steer the design toward an Asian theme. He found the artist’s work online and went with his partner to a home studio, where another artist happened to be available. The chance meeting grew into a friendship and an ongoing project.
Buddha, enso, tree, axe and water fill the arm
An inside view reveals how many ideas sit in the sleeve. The tree represents the “chop wood” part of the saying, an axe gives that idea a direct, physical form, and flowing water stands for “carry water.” The tattoo is more than a Buddha or a landscape; each part belongs to the larger thought.
From a distance, it reads as one flowing arm piece. Up close, the Buddha, enso, tree branches, tool and water come into focus. Geekie’s explanation keeps the imagery from feeling like decoration piled on at random. The sleeve is busy, but one idea holds it together.
Geekie has also said the work was still in progress. Early sessions covered the tree, Buddha and enso; later appointments added the axe and water. He wanted to fill more space toward his hand, so the sleeve may not have been finished when the Kraken feature came out.
The process fits around hockey. He once booked an appointment on a whim, hoping it would work with a day off, then planned later sessions around the season and his artist’s schedule. The tattoo grew in the gaps between games, travel and training rather than as one tidy makeover.
Geekie has said his taste may change as he gets older. He still likes the sleeve’s central idea, but is more interested in patchwork tattoos and a traditional American look for future pieces. He does not expect to get another full sleeve; the left arm can remain one connected project while smaller designs find room elsewhere.
The sparrow marks a life spent moving
The sparrow is the most obviously traditional design in the group. Geekie got it after arriving in Seattle, at Electric Cobra Tattoo Parlor. He liked its simple shape and its connection to old sailor tattoos.
Geekie explained that sailors traditionally get one sparrow for every 5,000 miles travelled, often as a pair. He chose one. There was already ink on the left side of his chest, so the bird went on the other side. That small placement choice keeps the collection from feeling too symmetrical or planned.
The travel is the main point. Geekie thought about the places hockey had taken him, from the Charlotte AHL team to the Carolina Hurricanes and Seattle, and about the miles between coasts. He did not calculate every trip. The sparrow is more a feeling than a spreadsheet: he has been moving, and this is a small mark for the road.
It brings a lighter mood to the collection. The chest quote is reflective, and the sleeve is a carefully built philosophy piece; the sparrow is simpler on its feet. Its clean traditional shape works without a long explanation.
Getting the bird in a new city also fits Geekie’s habit of looking up local artists when he arrives somewhere. He did that in Charlotte, where the sleeve began, and again in Seattle. The places matter as much as the final image.
What Morgan Geekie’s tattoo plans say about the collection
Geekie has said he wants to add more. At the time of the Kraken feature, he had ideas for the sleeve and wanted to fill some space toward his hand. He was also considering smaller patchwork pieces instead of starting another full-arm project. The traditional sparrow seemed to hint at that next stage.
He also talked about getting a tattoo for his daughter, Gabby, after she was born in 2023. The plan came up in a later interview, but the available photos do not confirm a settled design, so it should not be treated as part of the documented collection here.
That distinction is useful in any tattoo roundup. A clear photo can show that someone has ink, but it cannot always tell you what a small mark means. Geekie’s strongest details come from the official feature: the chest phrase, the Buddha and enso, the tree, axe and water, and the Seattle sparrow, all supported by his own comments and close-up photos.
Put together, the tattoos form a timeline. The chest piece is about balancing thought with instinct; the sleeve is about doing the everyday work before and after success; the sparrow marks travel and the places hockey has taken him. It is personal ink without trying too hard to look profound.
Geekie takes the designs seriously without treating them all like sacred objects. He can talk about enlightenment and still like a sparrow because it looks cool. He can spend long sessions on a sleeve and still leave room for his style to change.
For now, the left arm is the centrepiece, the chest saying is where it began, and the sparrow marks the miles. If he adds more, it will likely follow the same pattern: a clear image, a reason behind it and room for the next chapter.
Watch Morgan Geekie talk hockey and life in this verified Seattle Kraken interview: