The inscription can partially be seen through the top of his maroon and gold wrestling suit.
To senior Cain Velasquez, the "Brown Pride" tattoo on his chest stands for his Mexican heritage. Sharing the same ink with his best friend from high school, Velazquez's ties to his family and friends are immediately evident.
The 6-foot-2 heavyweight was born in Salinas, Calif., but calls Yuma home. The All-American with a 30-5 record this season said he was inspired to wrestle by his older brother, Efrain.
"My brother wrestled in junior high and I thought it would be something cool to do," Velasquez said.
He quickly grew a thick skin in junior high, as he often wrestled at Efrain's high-school practices.
"We don't show our emotions to each other, but my mom always tells me that he says he's proud of me," Velasquez said.
Not able to lavish their son with expensive gifts as a child, Velasquez's parents instead showered him with love.
"They made sure I stayed out of trouble so I could have a better life," he said.
Velasquez is the first in his family to attend college.
Still supportive through the college years, his mother can be heard at home games, always yelling, "Come on, mijo!"
However, Velasquez never gets the chance to hear it.
"While I'm wrestling I don't hear much at all," he said. "It's always been that way."
This season, Velasquez has trademarked his wrestling with quick pins, often taking down opponents within the first period.
Teammate John Espinoza is familiar with Velasquez's style of wrestling and knows that when he's on the mat, he's in a zone.
"Cain is ruthless," Espinoza said. "He's going to try and break the other opponent mentally and physically."
Several times throughout the season, ASU's fate has depended on Velasquez's results in the day's last match. He hesitantly admits that this has put added pressure on him, but it hasn't shown.
Against Cal Poly on Jan. 27, Velasquez pinned Arturo Basulto in 1:08 to give ASU a 25-22 victory. It was the fifth time this season ASU won on account of Velasquez.
"I'm always confident out there," Velasquez said. "I know I can beat anybody I wrestle."
"He hates to lose. He can't stand losing," Espinoza said.
When Velasquez experiences those rare losses, he will not answer the phone for days. Instead, he watches lots of film to see what went wrong and how he makes sure it doesn't happen again.
During the offseason, Velasquez can still be found in the facility, conditioning and wrestling freestyle.
"Cain doesn't say much, but his leadership comes from his actions -- he leads by example," ASU coach Thom Ortiz said. "His strongest asset is that he never gets tired. For a heavyweight, he's got what they call in wrestling a 'gas tank.'"
Ortiz also thinks his senior heavyweight has one of the true traits of a champion.
"He loves competing. Period," Ortiz said.
Although he's already won Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year and achieved All-American honors, Velasquez is still focused on the ultimate prize.
"I want to be the national champion," he said.
Espinoza has no doubt that his friend and teammate will bring home the big prize from Oklahoma City on March 16-18.
"He's going to walk through the Pac-10 [Championships on Feb. 26 and 27], but I'm just looking forward to nationals," Espinoza said. "I expect him to be at the top. I'm pretty confident he's going to be a national champion this year."
Reach the reporter at kalea.yoshida@asu.edu.
