Minnesota United defender Joe Greenspan had no problem shedding his sleeveless shirt to provide better views of the detail on the family-focused tattoo on his left shoulder.

Loons vet Sam Cronin — who is tat-less — scoffed as he walked by Greenspan posing in a photo shoot Thursday at the club’s training grounds in Blaine. “Give me a break,” he said.

Greenspan didn’t mind the ribbing. He’s among the 40 percent of Loons players with ink covering their fit frames.

Some players’ tats pay homage to departed loved ones (Francisco Calvo) or a meaningful cause (Miguel Ibarra). Others have lighter messages like a colorful bouquet of flowers (also Greenspan) or a Loon based on the club’s crest (equipment manager Ryan Natusch). Some have works in progress (Jerome Thiesson).

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Loons set new record low in 1-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City Their locations vary. Calvo’s sleeve down his left arm, others dotting his right arm and the star on the back of his neck will be visible when the Loons play the defending MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders at 7 p.m. Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium, while the cheeky message on Sam Nicholson’s “bum” will be covered.

Like Cronin, United coach Adrian Heath wants nothing to do with tattoos. He doesn’t understand why someone would want one. If he wants answers, he doesn’t have to go far from his office: goalkeeper coach Marius Rovde has a huge No. 1 on his back, and United Sporting Director Manny Lagos has also gone under an artist’s ink gun.

Tattoos are increasing in prominence, on the pitch and off. The number of tattooed people in the U.S. has jumped from 21 percent to 29 percent in the past four years, according to The Harris Poll. Forty percent of millennials had ink in 2010, according to the Pew Research Center — matching the Loons’ current mark.

The Philadelphia Union, a fellow Major League Soccer club Minnesota has yet to play, are in the final stages of hiring a CTO — Chief Tattoo Officer. The staff addition will provide new players from outside Philly an in-house artist to turn their inspirations into indelible marks.

Here are stories behind some of the Loons’ ink:

FOREVER: FRANCISCO CALVO

Calvo, 25, has 17 tattoos, including the Chinese letters for “peace” and “courage” on his left foot, which he got when he was age 18. “I was really young,” the Costa Rican defender said, with a hint of regret.

But none of his tattoos is more important and cherished than the rose on his left hand. Inside the petals are the initials for he and his wife Mariana’s twin daughters, Galilea and Miranda, both of whom passed away in a miscarriage last year. Also tucked inside are Calvo’s No. 5 and the date of their deaths, Feb. 15, 2016.

“They are always in my body,” he said. And forever on his mind.

The Calvos are anticipating the birth of a son in September. “When he comes, I’m going to get a tattoo of him, for sure,” Calvo said.

REGRETS: SAM NICHOLSON

“So many stupid tattoos,” Nicholson admitted with a laugh.

That jolly view starts with his first tat of a naked woman on his right shoulder, which the Scotsman got on the sly with a fake ID at age 17. The winger didn’t like the artist’s work and had someone else touch it up. Count Nicholson among the 23 percent of people who expressed tattoo regret in The Harris Poll study.

Nicholson, now 22, shrugged. “She’s nice looking, I suppose,” he said. “She means nothing to me.”

That experience with the nameless woman didn’t deter him from adding more and more tattoos on that arm. The only ink he finds significant is a clock on his wrist, which is set to the corresponding month and day of his brother Ross’s birthday.

Then … there’s the “The Lion King” theme of “Hakuna Matata” inscribed on his “right bum cheek.”

While there’s regret — sometimes within a week — Nicholson has no worries. That’s, well, Hakuna Matata.

“I think I’m going to be one of those guys who is just covered in tattoos that they don’t like,” he said. “I’m going to keep getting them because I think they look nice — and then I regret them.”

ZERO TO FIVE: MIGUEL IBARRA

When Ibarra left United during the club’s run in the second-tier North American Soccer League in 2015, he had no tattoos. After a year and a half stint with Club Leon in Mexico’s Liga MX, he returned in January with five.

The 27-year-old midfielder has several meaningful Bible verses, including Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me.” On the same left forearm, he has a pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness after it affected many friends.

“When I was in Mexico, I was part of a breast-cancer organization there,” Ibarra said. “I’ve always been a big part of that, so I decided to get the ribbon because of that.”

Ibarra fits the tattooing axiom that once you get one, you’re especially likely to get the itch for a second. Among those with tattoos, nearly 70 percent have more than one, the Harris Poll said.

“I was only going to get one and that was a verse and (the tattoo artist) said, ‘No, you’re not,’ ” Ibarra said. “ ‘Trust me, once you get one, you are going to get more.’ I had one, and then (over) the next couple of months, I had another one, and more kept coming.”

FAMILY, DUTY, HOMAGE: JOE GREENSPAN

Greenspan didn’t mind the Navy’s no-tattoo policy when he entered the Naval Academy in 2011. By the time he graduated in 2015, the rules relaxed and the fleet permitted him to have tats when he was stationed on the USS Sampson destroyer in San Diego.

The family-related tattoo on his shoulder has his initials and those of his brothers Alex and Nicholas, sister Caroline and parents Andrea and Brian. There’s a compass to represent how kids have fanned out from their home in Westfield, N.J., an anchor for the Navy and a rope braid because he thought it looked good.

The flowers on the 24-year-old defender’s right shoulder are for his mother’s gardening hobby at the family’s home in the Garden State.

Growing up the shadow of New York City, 9/11 had a tremendous impact on Greenspan’s hometown. Brian often commuted to the city, and their town lost residents in the terrorist attack, which occurred the day before Joe’s ninth birthday. In homage, his left calf has a black-ink depiction of the World Trade Center, the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.

“It remains such a big part of American history,” Greenspan said. “And us living through it, it definitely had an impact on my decision to go to the Naval Academy.”

As more and more tattoos have spread over Greenspan’s 6-foot-6 body, his parents became less and less enthused. At one point, “my mom said, ‘What are you doing to your body? You need to stop,’ ” Greenspan said.

As Greenspan’s tats were being photographed Thursday, Loons rookie forward Abu Danladi shared that he can’t have any tattoos because his mom would come down with an iron fist.

GOING BIG: PAT McLAIN

For starters, McLain didn’t get a small tattoo that could be easily tucked under clothing. Instead, he wrapped his left arm in an ink sleeve, all the way down to the wrist. He calls it the battle of good and evil, and it took 12 hours over four sessions to complete and cost him a discounted rate of roughly $2,000.

The meaning commemorates the adversity McLain’s overcame growing up in Eau Claire, Wis. “I had a head injury as a kid that kept me out and other stuff,” he said.

The goalie kept the rest of its significance to himself, showing that a tattoo doesn’t have to include an open window into someone’s soul.

‘FEROCIOUS’ LOON: RYAN NATUSCH

With a five-year tenure, Natusch is one of the most senior club employees. Two years ago, he took a picture of the club’s crest to a Minneapolis artist for a tat of the Minnesota state bird in the Japanese traditional style of tattooing.

Just like the logo, Natusch’s tattoo has 11 feathers on the wing, matching the 11 players on the pitch. He requested some gray clouds above the bird in a shoutout to the Dark Clouds, United’s largest supporters group.

While designing the tattoo with the artist, the Loons beak was extended and its head tilted down in the nook of Natusch’s right elbow. “I needed to make it more ferocious-looking.”