Daniela Basso: Tattooist's delight at Wolfhead-name tattoo for Raul Jimenez's partner
A Black Country tattooist has explained how a chance discussion with a hairdresser led to Raul Jimenez becoming a customer.
Lee Blackhurst, who owns Black Circle Tattoo Studio in Cheslyn Hay, was approached by the Wolves striker to tattoo the name of his daughter Arya onto the arm of his actress partner Daniela Basso.
Mr Blackhurst said: "How it came about was that Raul gets his hair cut by Jamie Cope, a hairdresser in Wolverhampton, who follows my tattoo work on Instagram.
"Raul was in getting his hair done and asked for recommendations from Jamie for tattooists and he recommended our studio.
"They then got in touch over Instagram to make the booking and then sent me the design they wanted, which was pretty simple and something she really wanted."
The tattoo design for Daniela was of the name Arya with a wolf's head at the beginning of the tattoo to mark their life in Wolverhampton.
The couple, who welcomed their first child Arya into the world in July last year, are both from Mexico but have lived in the region since Jimenez started playing for Wolves in 2018.
Mr Blackhurt, who is a life-long Wolves fan, said he had been a bit nervous before doing the tattoo, but relaxed quickly as he began talking to the couple.
He said: "He speaks very good English, although you can still hear his accent when he talks, but I was mostly talking to Daniela, who speaks really good English.
"They were both just really nice and down to earth people and he was actually filming the whole thing, so it was only nerve-wracking while he was doing that."
Mr Blackhurst has been the owner of Black Circle for four years and a tattooist for nine years and said this meeting with the Wolves striker showed his studio had a good reputation.
He said: "I didn't realise how popular it was until now, and the recommendation by Jamie was brilliant as it's seeing me working with celebrity clients that he has.
"It shows that trust in me to have them come out happy afterwards and she was over the moon about the tattoo and was really great for me.
"We run a normal and friendly studio, playing calming music and having a lot of talented artists who let their work speak for themselves."
Jimenez has missed much of the 2020/21 season after suffering a serious head injury against Arsenal in November.
