Imagine if you were drunk at a college party on a random Saturday night, and the party was packed to the brim, so you went to try and find refuge. You fight your way up a flight of stairs filled with drunk college students who seem to only know how to be in the way.  

You finally make it up and turn left down the hallway so you can sneak into a random room hoping for a little peace while you try to recover. But no, instead you find a room that is just as packed as downstairs, and in the center of it all, is a woman giving people tattoos while being hyped up by a group of drunks.  

Well, for some students at VTSU Castleton, this is a reality. VTSU student and women’s ice hockey player Rainey Skye turned Exit 5, a place once known for parties, into a place where you can get incredibly drunk and tattooed.  

Skye was once the canvas as she has an astonishing 17 tattoos. Some of her favorites being the red smoke screen with two crosses on her right forearm, a red butterfly on her back, and “Love Yours” which is the name of one of J. Cole’s albums.  

But she wasn’t the one getting them for much longer, as she turned her love for tattoos into a fun hobby of giving tattoos to anyone who would let her use them as the canvas. 

 “One day the hockey boys just told me to come over and bring my gun,” Skye said. “You know how the parties go, just random people show up and I will just be in one of the guy’s rooms and random people would just come in and out getting tattoos.” 

VTSU student and men’s ice hockey player Josh Ward is a resident at Exit 5 and is not the biggest fan of tattoos but liked the idea.  

“I thought it was a good opportunity for a young tattoo artist to get some experience and for the guys to get some tattoos,” Ward said.  

One of Ward’s favorite memories of Skye giving tattoos was when she had given another VTSU student and member of the men’s hockey team, Jackson Edwards, a tattoo of the name of their house “Exit 5.”  

“He got the tattoo as a memory of Rainey doing tattoos at our house and all the fun stories we have,” Ward explained. 

 “We were all supposed to get the tattoo but none of the guys did,” said Edwards.  

One of Skye’s craziest stories was how one time in the spring semester of 2024, Rob Guerin a VTSU Castleton alum and former football player, had her come over to his house on Mechanic St. to put a “Jits” tattoo on him and 4 other guys.  

“After I finished one of the guy’s tattoos, I told him to go get up and look at it and he just kept sitting there for a little bit,” Skye said.  

Skye proceeded to warn him to not get up if he was feeling lightheaded, but he said “Nah, I’m good, I’m good.”  

Skye explained he got up and walked to the kitchen to see his tattoo. “All of the sudden we heard a loud thump in the kitchen and the guys found him passed out on the floor.” Skye said.  

Skye started tattooing for fun and does not charge anybody even though some people feel compelled to do so this is due to licensing issues. 

She does not want to pursue that path and rather keep it as a fun hobby that can enjoy with her friends and continue to perfect her craft. Please check this week’s weather forecast because it seems like we will have some Rainey Skye’s this week.