2 DAYS/ 11 HOURS TO START OFF THIS FULL SLEEVE. All the way from Seattle! Thank you. 🙏
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#Tattoo #tattooartist #Tattooartists #tattooideas #tattoos #tattoosleeve #tattoodesign #tattooflash #tattooart #dizzydoan #blvcklotvs #blvcklotvstattoo #japanesetattoo #dragon #koifish #fullsleeve #tattooedgirls #girlswithtattoos
ONLY 100/400 SEATS REMAIN
Please secure your tickets soon. We cannot hold!
We look forward to seeing everyone there for another historic night.
July 25, 2026
The Doan Gala IV: Golden Hour
Tickets available at doangalaiv.eventbrite.com
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#charity #nonprofit #support #opportunity
I remember waking up and hearing the news on the TV as my dad got ready for work in the morning in the background. Vietnamese coffee being stirred with the metal spoon through it all. That sound still lives somewhere inside of me. Through the noise and chaos of life, I would come home from school and FOX 5 would still be there. It was one of the only constants in a life that shifted every day.
I remember being in the 3rd grade and having to watch inspiring news stories every week and write reports about them for school. Stories about neighborhood heroes. People doing good things for their communities. People whose lives and impact were considered worthy enough to be documented and remembered.
But they weren’t doing anything for us.
Not for my neighborhood. And I never saw anyone on that screen who looked like me.
I spent my life re-navigating and shifting the stereotype and taboo surrounding tattoo art within both my own Vietnamese community and American society at large. Trying to prove that people like me could exist beyond the boxes we were placed in. Too gritty for some spaces. Too unconventional for others.
Truthfully, I never thought I could be that face of representation on the screen. Maybe I looked too gritty. Maybe my past was too controversial or unconventional. But Maria, an Emmy Award winning anchor and reporter who fought her own way through the media world being one of the only AAPI faces on American news in the country, saw herself in me.
Thank you Maria Arcega-Dunn of FOX 5 San Diego and KUSI for letting me leave a tiny stamp of legacy. For allowing me to be more than a thirty second clip no one remembers. And for choosing your focuses intentionally.
Sometimes life comes full circle quietly. One day you are the kid staring at the television wondering if the world will ever make room for someone like you. And one day, somehow, you become part of the signal reaching someone else.
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#aapi #aapiheritagemonth #asianexcellence #sandiego #fox5
Golden Hour is approaching.
The Fourth Annual Doan Gala is almost here, and as always, space is extremely limited. Every year this event sells out, and this year is moving even faster than expected. If you plan on attending, we highly encourage securing your tickets soon before we reach capacity.
To our sponsors, performers, media partners, and everyone working behind the scenes to help bring this night to life, thank you. Your support continues to help us create opportunities for students, artists, and communities throughout Southern California while sustaining the work that so many people now rely on.
If you are still interested in sponsoring this year’s gala, please reach out to us as soon as possible. Final placements and acknowledgements are currently being organized.
July 25, 2026
The Doan Gala IV: Golden Hour
Tickets available at doangalaiv.eventbrite.com
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#goldenhour #doangala #doanfoundation #fundraiser #art
Happy birthday to my best friend, my wife.
There was a version of me that existed before you. But it was unfinished, still searching for its own reflection. You revealed me to myself. In your presence, I became accountable to the man I knew I could be. You saw something in me before it had a name, and I’ve been building toward it ever since.
You are the strength behind a man chasing ambitions meant for several lifetimes. You move through this world in a way that makes the impossible feel within reach. Not loud, not forced, but undeniable. You make me, and everyone around you, feel invincible.
You give your all to everything and everyone. In a world that takes more than it gives, you remain whole in a way I still try to understand. To witness a soul like yours exist in this lifetime feels rare. A miracle I get to walk beside.
Ten years has felt like many lifetimes folded into one. We’ve watched everything change, and still, we stand. What we’ve built isn’t chance. It’s intention. It’s choice, every single day.
I wake to you, and the world makes sense. I rest beside you, and the noise fades into silence. When the weight of it all presses in, you are where I return. Not to escape, but to remember who I am.
Even the highest peaks would feel empty without you beside me. What is achievement if it isn’t witnessed by the one who gave it meaning. Everything I build, everything I become, finds its weight through you. Without you, even the greatest moments would feel incomplete.
You’ve known me in ways I hadn’t yet learned to understand myself, and somehow, you’ve never turned away.
Happy birthday. Thank you for being you.
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#bestfriend #birthday #wife #couplegoals #maythe4thbewithyou
Filmed on location at BLVCK LOTVS TATTOO and The Doan Foundation offices with Emmy Award–winning anchor and journalist Maria Arcega-Dunn and FOX 5 San Diego, highlighting Dennis “Dizzy” Doan’s work in advancing arts, culture, and community across San Diego and beyond.
Tune in next week to learn more about my story and other AAPI leaders in San Diego.
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#aapi #aapiheritagemonth #asianexcellence #sandiego
THE DOAN GALA IV on July 25, 2026
For 2026, The Doan Gala steps into Golden Hour. Guests are invited to dress in gold or gold accents as we celebrate creativity, legacy, and community at its brightest.
Featuring a live performance by Amanda Perez.
Proceeds support scholarships, artist grants, and expanded creative access across Southern California.
This is our largest fundraiser of the year and funds 80% of all of our programs.
Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing everyone!
Purchase tickets now (typically sells out by end of May): (Link in bio)
DOANGALAIV.EVENTBRITE.COM
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#DoanGala #GoldenHourGala #TheDoanFoundation #gala #fundraiser
