JC Stroebel couldn’t help himself earlier this week. He was basking in the glory of the Timberwolves’ dominant victory over the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Monday night when he decided to take to social media. He fired off the tweet out around 11:30 p.m.

“Will tattoo ‘Naz Reid’ on anyone for $20,” Stroebel’s tweet read. “I’m dead serious.”

He went to bed not thinking much of it. He woke up to dozens of replies and watched his iPhone continue to blow up in the aftermath. He unknowingly had started a movement among Timberwolves fans.

“It was definitely sent in the heat of the moment,” Stroebel said. “I probably wasn’t thinking the clearest at the time. I thought maybe a few diehards would want it. I guess I underestimated the fan base.”

Indeed. The concept of Naz Reid tattoos has taken on a life of their own over the past few days with Stroebel and his colleague Jesse George suddenly booked solid as they apprentice out of Beloved Studios in Roseville. There’s clearly a hunger for anything and everything Timberwolves as the fan base attaches itself to the team’s NBA playoff run.

“It’s been crazy,” George said. “He walked in the other day like, ‘Dude, I think we have enough tattoo appointments for both of us, for like the next month or so.’”

Not that the lifelong Timberwolves fans are complaining. They met last summer after starting their apprenticeship at Beloved Studios in Roseville around the same time. They instantly connected over their shared love for the Timberwolves and have spent countless hours chopping it up this season about a group that looks capable of winning the NBA championship.

“We’ve always talked about wanting to use tattooing as a genuine way to interact with the fan base,” Stroebel said. “We definitely thought it would be more calculated than some random tweet that went viral.”

The demand has gotten so high that they had to create a separate email account — nazreidtattoos@gmaill.com — to help manage the influx of tattoo appointments suddenly on their plate. They are only charging $20. Just like Stroebel promised in his tweet.

Why Naz Reid? Though the namesake need no explanation for most of the fan base, Stroebel explained that the big man has developed into a cult hero largely because of how much he had to grind to get to this point in his short NBA career. Much like the Timberwolves as a whole.

“It’s the vibe,” George said. “Those two words mean a lot to Timberwolves fans right now.”

The first official Naz Reid tattoo came on Wednesday when Rosemount native Jackson Hurst sat in the chair for about 15 minutes. Together, Stroebel and George had a few more tattoo appointments lined up on Thursday, and they have already blocked out their schedule for this weekend.

Tattoo artist JC Stroebel inked this Naz Reid tattoo onto a customer on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Stroeble and Jesse George, apprentices at Beloved Studios in Roseville, are busy doing $20 Naz Reid tattoos, in honor of the Minnesota Timberwolves player and the team’s NBA playoff run, after a recent tweet by Stroebel went viral. (Dane Mizutani / Pioneer Press)

“We’re going to do as many as we can,” Stroebel said. “I think the goal is to do like 30 tattoos per day or something like that.”

The only thing is Stroebel and George will make sure they are done in time to watch Game 3 and Game 4 between the Timberwolves and Nuggets. The plan is to keep up the movement going as long as the Timberwolves are in the playoffs. They already decided they won’t stop until after the parade.

“We were talking about how surreal it is to be a small part of this moment,” Stroebel said. “To permanently memorialize this moment has been amazing for us.”

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