By Shawn Hogendorf, Staff Writer 

On his quest to become world-famous, Todd Swank will make his television debut on the popular TLC reality show, “Miami Ink.”

Swank, of Prior Lake, was featured in the June 23, 2007 edition of the Prior Lake American about his Web site, Shortarmguy.com, and local YouTube videos he shoots.

Swank’s story will now be featured on “Miami Ink” at 9 p.m. Thursday, May 8.

“This experience was surreal,” Swank said. “The guys were all so cool. It was honestly one of the greatest personal experiences I have ever had in my life, other than my wedding and the birth of my children, of course.”Todd Swank of Prior Lake gets
inked by Chris Garver of “Miami
Ink.” Swank will be featured on the
popular TLC reality show at 9 p.m.
Thursday, May 8. (Submitted photo)

Swank began the application process last August. After applying online, Swank went through a series of interviews before he was chosen to be inked by world-renowned tattoo artist Chris Garver.

After his application was accepted, Swank bought two airline tickets for himself and his wife, Sheri, to south Florida. Although Swank was chosen to get a tattoo by one of the best in the business, he still had to pay for the tattoo, without any guarantee his segment would make it on the air.

But last week, Swank received notification that his spot would air.

“It’s been six months since I taped the episode, so I don’t really remember much about what I said,” Swank said. “All I know is that I had cameras on me for about five hours and I was being pretty chatty.  Please keep in mind that if I come off as a schmuck; it’s all in the editing. If I come off as cool, then that’s exactly the way I am in real life.”

Swank said it was an honor just to be chosen, as the show receives thousands of applications a week and the only way a person can get a tattoo from one of the artists is to be selected through the application process.

After being selected, Swank asked a friend to design the tattoo.

He brought the design, his story and his inkless body into the tattoo parlor. Garver then modified the design to his own style.

 The tattoo ended up being quite a bit bigger than Swank expected, but he said he is very fond of it.

“The stormy seas represent the challenges my family and I have been through in the past,” Swank said. “My hand obviously represents us, and the sunny sky represents hope for the future. I like to think that it shows that no matter how tough the situation has been for us, we’ve always kept a positive outlook and stayed focused on reaching for the sky.”Swank shows off his new ink.
(Submitted photo)

Swank said after three hours of being under the needle, it started to get painful and long.

“At first I joked by squealing like it hurt,” Swank said. “Then Garver said to me, ‘You wait, the pain will come.’”

Swank said he was star-struck being in the midst of South Beach fame.

“It was really intimidating seeing all the people you become familiar with watching on television and then try to act normal when you’re in their presence,” Swank said. “Garver was such a good guy. I always wanted to know what it was like to be on a reality show, and now I know. It was really funny to see how reality TV is produced.”

Go to Shortarmguy.com to see more personal photos and Swank’s recap of the weekend. Tune in to TLC at 9 p.m. Thursday, May 8 to watch the episode.

 Shawn Hogendorf can be reached at (952) 345-6374 or shogendorf@swpub.com.