Name:  Karen Nealer

Location:  North East Scotland

One word Mars means to me: Acceptance

It goes without saying that I love the music 30 Seconds to Mars make but to get a band related design inked into my skin there has to be something more.  I had this tattoo done to remind me that there are times I get to be part of something bigger than myself.  I’m a single mother and my teenage son has Asperger’s Syndrome.  As he is more interested in music, politics and reading books than soccer, we are pretty much outcasts in our village and suffer some sort of harassment on a daily basis.  This is not the case at a Mars show.  The show this tattoo relates to was on 3 December 2010 in Aberdeen, Scotland.  My son was determined to be at the front on the barrier and, as there was no way in hell I could afford golden tickets, we had to queue from early in the morning to get in first.  We got to AECC about 8.00am.  I think the temperature made it above freezing for part of the day but there was ice all over the ground so we had to stand the whole time.  The hot drinks that were sent out for the fans mid morning were really appreciated (thanks Thor!!!)  It was great meeting new and interesting people during the day and as we got ready to go inside there was a real energy and sense of camaraderie in the crowd as we had survived the freezing cold together.

It was an amazing concert and when Jared came down off the stage and along the barrier he stopped in front of my son, Kieran.  As Kieran is 6’ tall and had unnaturally bright red hair he stood out in the crowd, so I wasn’t surprised he got noticed.  What really made the concert extra special was, when calling people up on stage for Kings and Queens, Jared turned round from the other side of the stage and asked for the boy with the red hair and blue sweatshirt to get up on stage.  The things that usually make him a target for abuse on that day meant that he got to be included with the chosen few for the final song.  I didn’t have a camera with me but the look of sheer joy on my son’s face will stay with me forever.  I will be eternally grateful to Jared for giving me that moment.  If only for a little while we were made to feel accepted.  Thank you.

I’m Ann Jillian, 22, from Quezon City, Philippines. I’ve been a MARS fan since 2005, about the time ABL came out. One MARS word that means a lot to me is DREAMS. I’ve been a big dreamer since I could remember, but not only till I’ve known of 30STM that I’ve decided to make my dreams come true. I’ve been living in such a beautiful lie, dreaming (more of fantasizing) about what I want to be, what I want to happen in my future. My life isn’t great, problems here and there get worst as years go by and my only escape is to dream. Whether asleep or awake. It keeps me from feeling the pain that this not-so-perfect life of mine bestows me. 30 Seconds To Mars made me realize that dreaming alone won’t take me nowhere unless I do something about it. I was a semi-alcoholic for 2 years, I hated my life, I always skipped class and go home intoxicated, if not, drunk. My mom despised me, dad tried not to enroll me the following school year. I was a waste. I thought drowning my pain away would solve our problems, I thought selfishly of sparing myself the daily arguments my parents always throw in to us. They would fight almost about everything, more about financial stuffs. I knew if I couldn’t contain what I’m feeling I might do something bad. I once tried to cut myself and drank prescription drugs to OD myself, I did all that to escape, of course I failed for I am still here telling you this. After that suicide attempt I’ve been so serious with my life and studies, with the goal of working in the marketing industry abroad after graduation. I want to be able to pursue the path that will provide for my family and at the same time make me happy. I want to make a change and prove myself to my parents that I’m not like my older brothers who never got to finish college. I want to show them that I can do a lot of things on my own, and that I have a lot more in me that they never got to see. I will live my dreams. Another thing the band gave me is a new kind of family, the ECHELON. I’ve met a few from around the globe, and the feeling is amazing when you get to share the same likes and interest no matter the race or ethnicity we belong to. There’s so much chemistry and you just feel like they will be there when others are not. I learned a lot from them, their own MARS stories and experiences. All, so inspiring. 30 Seconds To Mars is far most the best thing that ever happened to my life. In a few weeks time, I’ll be able to meet them, I’ll thank them in person, hug each member tightly and tell them how they’ve changed my life. How they made me turn my dreams to reality.

Full Name: Ben Rutter

Location: Charvil, Reading, England

When/how I got into them: I got into them in 2009 when I heard “This is War” on a Dragon Age trailer.

Age: 18

One word mars means to me: Confidence. As in they give me confidence.

Photos:

Story:

30 Seconds to Mars are my life. I have made so many friends thanks to the band, and all of them as interesting and unique as the members themselves.

First off there’s Jared. I want to be a singer in a band eventually, but I wouldn’t have that dream if it wasn’t for Jared. The speech about how your dreams can become reality has become a massive part of my life, and he is my hero, my idol and my inspiration. It would be a dream come true to meet him at Reading Festival this year, and if Jared so much as said “Hi” to me I would cry. Thank you for giving me hope and the will to get what I want. I want to go crazy on stage and sing my heart out.

Then there’s Shannon, who is the craziest mofo I know of. His drumming is so powerful, and I love the tattoos he has. It’s abstract and I love it. I also love how he’s always there for his little Bro, always keeping an eye on Jared whilst he’s off doing crazy stuff. That’s a true connection right there.

Finally there’s Tomo. I will have hair like Tomo one day, long and silky smooth. Tomo is adorable and I’m glad fate’s lead him to find the band because it wouldn’t be complete without him. You can tell Tomo has had an influence on the band, and he’s help them find their perfect sound in the third album.

So basically 30 Seconds To Mars will always be my favourite band, and every song and video is a work of art. My favourite song is Kings and Queens, and I’m getting “We were the kings and queens of promise, We were the victims of ourselves” tattooed on my arm because those lyrics mean a lot to me.

Oh and by the way! You were the reason I fell in love with my girlfriend. She’s an Echelon too, and that’s why we got talking. I have so much to thank 30 Seconds to Mars for, I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Hi. My name is Katarina Bušić and I come from a little country called Croatia. I don’t really remember when I got into 30 Seconds to Mars, but I remember that I got into it when I heard Capricorn. Today 30STM really has a big meaning to me. When I was a kid I always liked writing little stories. And today one of my biggest dreams is to publish my own book. Not only did 30STM give me ideas for my orginal story, it also gave me courage to share my work. I always had this problem of being afraid of what others might think. I was afraid of getting a negative review. It was 30STM that made me face my fear. I decided to post my story on the internet and So far every review I got for my story is positive and people are really trying to help me out. It’s because of 30STM that I decided to finish my book. I might not publish this one, but if 30STM taught me one thing it is to never give up. I will publish my own book one day!

I’m Amy Nutty, i’m 15 years old girl and I never really knew anything about Thirty Seconds to Mars. I knew they were a band which sung ‘heavy metal’ music, but I didn’t know who they were, or what they did as a band. I never used to like that kind of music, I never even tried it. I listened to what everyone else listened to.. the rappers.. the boy bands.. I was scared I would seem weird if I listened to anything else. Then one day after I had a really bad day at school, I came home and started searching up new music. On Youtube, I came across a video that I had never seen before, ‘The Kill’. It looked really interesting, so I opened it up and began to listen. That one song right there changed my whole perspective on music, and on life. I replayed it over 100 times that day. The ironic thing is, I didn’t actually realise that it was Thirty Seconds to Mars who sang the song, I didn’t even think to check. I just knew that I loved it. My best friend told me that a really good band Thirty Seconds to Mars were playing in Abu Dhabi on the 11th of March and she really wanted to go see them. We lived in Qatar, a small Middle Eastern country, not too far away from Abu Dhabi. I agreed to go with her, but solely because I wanted to go shopping in the amazing malls over there. 

The next week, we were in Abu Dhabi. I was excited for the concert, but I was still completely unaware of who they were. We had bought the cheapest tickets we could get, so we were right at the very back of the arena. The lights dimmed and the most beautiful man ran onto the stage full of love and energy. It was Jared Leto. I actually screamed, he was so beautiful. Everyone around me just scared at me like I was insane. It was clear that the people at the back of the arena were not massive fans of the band. A man ran up to me with a ticket, and he told me to go to the VIP section. He gave me the golden ticket and told me to run. The songs they sung were… indescribable. I had never heard anything like it before. As I sprinted into the VIP area, Jared started singing again… and this time I actually knew the song. It was The Kill. I started crying. I felt stupid for not realizing that it was Thirty Seconds to Mars who sung this beautiful song. By the end of the night, I had managed to get from the very back of the arena to the front of the stage, and I even managed to get on stage for Kings and Queens. Thirty Seconds to Mars have gotten me through all the tough times in my life; their songs helped me cope during my Chronic Depression and helped me live another day. I will always be thankful to them for helping me enjoy life and not care about what others think of me. Jared, Shannon, Tomo… I love you guys so much.

  Name: Jeniffer Perdonelli
  Rio De janeiro, Brazil

  Age:17
   One word mars mean to me: Dream
   I was a huge fan of Michael Jackson on the time that I listened to the band for the first time. so I had tons of friends that used to like of him(michale Jackson), but in that time I have meet a girl that she was a huge fan of thirty seconds to mars, and she showed me some photos of them and I fell in love with the band at the first sight, I remember that on that day I was celebrating my birthday. So ”meet” the band on that day was something special for me,because they were my birthday gift, actually they were the best birthday gift I have ever received. After that day I started to listen to the band and so on. The first song that I listened from the band was ”The kill”, that was the song that have started my love for the band. After ”the kill” I started to listen to their second album (A beautiful Lie)and after the second album I started to listen the first one (that is my favorite one)and then I meet the echelon and these things happened on March 13th of 2007 and always when I’m celebrating My birthday, I am celebrating the fact that I am an echelon neither.