Let’s set the scene: It’s July 7 in Los Angeles. The sun is already flirting with 85 degrees, Erewhon is rationing their matcha like it’s liquid gold, and Shawn Mendes—our certified heartthrob of the softboy era—answers the door shirtless to pick up his organic groceries. Somewhere, a gay sigh echoed across the hills of Silver Lake.
But this wasn’t just your standard shirtless celeb moment. Mendes, 26, served torso real estate with something new to show: a soaring eagle tattoo, freshly inked and prominently placed on his upper stomach. Sharp, dramatic, and strikingly symbolic, the tattoo appears ready to take flight straight off his skin. All in a day’s work when you’re the poster boy of dreamy Canadian masculinity.
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The artist behind the ink? Kane Navasard, a tattooist well-known among the LA glitterati, who shared the work on Instagram back in April. “Soaring to new heights, for my bro @shawnmendes,” he captioned the image.
“Bro,” indeed—but a bro with layers. The eagle joins a growing flock of tattoos Mendes has collected over the years, each one with a personal story tucked behind the ink like a secret love letter.
Remember 2019? Shawn and Camila Cabello were making headlines with their handsy, slow-motion PDA, and in the midst of it all, they took a date night detour to get tattoos. Mendes walked away with a subtle “A” inked behind his right ear—an homage to his sister, Aaliyah Mendes, who was 16 at the time. Say what you want about celebrity siblings, but that tattoo quietly whispers “family man.”
That same year, Mendes proved he really does read fan tweets (take notes, everyone else with a blue checkmark). A fan posted an intricate butterfly drawing, photoshopped onto his arm, and Mendes responded like your favorite Tumblr boyfriend come to life:
“Wait this is awesome, can u DM the drawing ??”
The butterfly, now inked on his left bicep by Toronto artist Livia Tsang, features one regular wing and one made entirely of blooming flowers—delicate, unexpected, and perfectly poetic. Kind of like him.
And lately, Mendes seems more comfortable than ever in his own skin—tattooed or not. During an October 2024 concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, he addressed the long-standing speculation around his sexuality, telling the crowd, “I’m just figuring it out like everyone.” It was brief but genuine, a moment that resonated with queer fans who know that uncertainty doesn’t cancel authenticity. If anything, it makes him feel even more real.
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So why does any of this matter to us, the queer masses who’ve stanned Shawn through every acoustic guitar strum and fuzzy magazine cover? Because there’s something undeniably queer-coded about the way he carries himself: emotionally available, soft-spoken, fashion-forward, and inked in symbols of vulnerability. He’s not just a pop star; he’s a canvas, both literally and emotionally, for growth, sensitivity, and expression.
Sure, we could talk about how the eagle is a universal symbol of freedom and transformation. But more importantly, Shawn Mendes is showing us that being a man—famous or not—can mean loving your sister out loud, trusting your fans, and stepping out for overpriced groceries with your soul tattooed across your chest.
No, there’s truly nothing holding him back.