Anchor Ink
KIAH (Houston) Anchor Greg Onofrio - he prefers just "Grego" - isn't your typical tie-and-jacket, clean-shaven, straight-arrow news Anchor.
Grego doesn't wear a tie or jacket, he's bald with a devilish goatee, and about half of his body is covered with 27 tattoos …
And counting.
We doubt that Brian Williams will be following Onofrio's lead.
"It's a hobby, and I still have some open canvas," Onofrio said. "When I find the right artist, I'd like a Japanese back piece, and the ribs on my right side done. And my legs and stomach, but not the head. I don't want to push it."
His arms are done, thank you, and smack in viewers' faces on KIAH Channel 39's quirky newscast, the 9 p.m. NewsFix.
Grego has been the one and only anchor on NewsFix since 2011. It's a different kind of news show, covering top stories of the day, but also oddball features the other stations overlook. Grego does the voiceovers, and is seen only at the opening and end of the show, when he does a closing commentary.
It is jarring - at first - to watch a newscast anchored by someone who looks more like the guy taking ride tickets at a parking lot carnival than a crisp, starched anchorman. But after four years of sticking with Grego as anchor, NewFix is finding an audience.
"One reason that management liked me for the anchor position is that I didn't come with previous traditional news training, vocal affectation or habits that would go against the different vibe of Newsfix," Grego said.
"When I interviewed for the job I wore a shirt with the sleeves rolled up. When we got on the air, management insisted that I wear a short sleeve shirt for almost four years."
He got his first tattoo in 1989, by "the late Houston tattoo legend John Stuckey in Montrose."
"My favorite tattoo? It's a tie between the Japanese leg piece that Larry Shaw at Shaw's Tattoo in Montrose inked on me, and the finger painting my then 4-year-old did that I had tattooed on my right forearm. That one is very special."
He has no tattoo regrets, isn't looking to have anything removed or done over.
"Every tattoo has a story behind it. They tell about an experience, where I was at that time in my life, the people I met, the fun I was having. Amazingly, I survived it all!"