1. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TATTOOING? WHAT WAS THE MAIN REASON BEHIND THE CHOICE TO BECOME A TATTOOER?
I’ve been tattooing for 7 years and was getting tattooed a lot before I became a tattooer. At that point I was pretty obsessed with learning about tattooing; I would say my curiosity and love for the craft and art of tattooing was one of the main driving reasons I chose this career.
2. WHAT ARE YOUR INFLUENCES/ WHO INSPIRES YOU THE MOST?
Going to the source is my main influence, turn of the century tattoo flash inspires me a lot and artists from that era. Looking for wherever they got their references is exciting for me too. I go antiquing a lot for references and it’s always cool to find stuff that I feel like would translate well into a tat.
3. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY TO YOUR CURRENT STYLE?
I do traditional tattoos and always knew that was the style I wanted to pursue. I think personal style just happens naturally and gradually develops the longer you do anything. Taking little things you like here and there then over time it starts to become noticeable as your own style to the public . Even tattooers from back in the day each had a distinct look to their tattoos even though it was mostly all the same subject matter you could still tell who did what and I like that.
4. DO YOU THINK THERE ARE CHALLENGES IN BEING A TATTOO ARTIST
I think there are challenges with any career you choose. But tattooing is pretty fucking awesome and I feel like I have it pretty good sitting in air conditioning and making designs on people all day seems a lot easier than a really physically taxing job. Sure my back hurts sometimes and certain areas are way harder to tattoo than others but I think the more challenging aspects are mental especially early on during an apprenticeship. Being your own biggest critic never goes away at least for me. And there’s really no end in sight when it comes to getting better, there’s a lifetime of knowledge out there and I always want to push myself to make better tattoos and some days I feel more inspired than others. I don’t think there’s a switch for it unfortunately.
FAVOURITE THING ABOUT BEING A TATTOO ARTIST?
I love being with people and being able to share what I love with other people who also love it. I love being able to work with people who share the same passion and feel similar to me when it comes to the craft. I get to make art and tattoo it on people I mean that’s fucking sick! I’ve also met so many friends through tattooing and it’s definitely changed my life for the best, I got lucky as fuck to have the opportunity to tattoo and I’m forever grateful. I support my family doing what I love , there’s a never ending list to what I love about tattooing and I’ll hopefully be able to keep making tattoos till I die.
