The Origin of “Johnny Hotdog”
The story starts during my tryout with the Hostage Rescue Team (HRT). In a moment of cocky confidence and exhaustion on the obstacle course, I found myself “hotdogging” — and the nickname Johnny Hotdog stuck for life. What began as a joke became a symbol of boldness, grit, and a refusal to take things too seriously.
Years later, on my final deployment with the Air Force as part of a QRT team, a good friend sketched the first draft of what would become the Tactical Hotdog. I loved it so much that I had my tattoo artist at Game Over Tattoo in Edinboro, PA redesign it — and made it a permanent part of me. In 2024, I partnered with Jio Vanni, owner of AG GRFX in Erie, PA, to bring the images in my head to life — and the rest is history.
