1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,540 Welcome back everyone. Before we get started on this episode, I do want to let you know 2 00:00:09,540 --> 00:00:13,860 that this is part one of a two part episode. We had a great interview with Chelsea. She 3 00:00:13,860 --> 00:00:18,140 shared a lot of great stories and a lot of great energy. There was so much good stuff 4 00:00:18,140 --> 00:00:23,740 that we had to break it into two pieces. So sit back and enjoy part one of life's bookmarks. 5 00:00:23,740 --> 00:00:31,740 Ready? Ready. I'm ready. Yes. Three, two, one. All right. Welcome back to Tales from 6 00:00:31,740 --> 00:00:37,280 the Service Industry. I'm your host. I'm Bill. I'm here tonight with Ms. B. Hey guys. Our 7 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:43,120 resident deviant Liz. Hi team. And joining us tonight near and dear to my heart for professions 8 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:48,920 that I've wanted to have on the podcast since day one is Chelsea. Hi. Howdy. Chelsea joins 9 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:55,040 us from the tattoo industry. That I do. So that I do. Personally, I'm excited. I'm also 10 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:59,400 excited. I'm pretty excited about this. Just a couple of weeks ago, we recorded the origin 11 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:04,840 story and tattoo artists was on my list of professions to have on. So I'm and I just 12 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:09,380 recently got one done and I was like, I think I know the gal. And here she is. Funny how 13 00:01:09,380 --> 00:01:15,080 fates cross sometimes. Yeah. So welcome. Hi, thanks for having me. Normally when we have 14 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:19,200 someone new on the show, we just ask them to do a real quick intro. I kind of tell us 15 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,760 a little bit about who you are, where you've been, what you do. And then we get into the 16 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:28,120 fun stuff. Cool being so my name is Chelsea. I am a tattoo artist. I specialize mostly 17 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:32,200 in neo traditional and I've pretty much worked in Orange County for the past two and a half 18 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:37,520 years started my tattoo journey as an apprentice, which most do apprenticeships are gnarly in 19 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:42,000 the best way possible. But mine was a little bit different because I did it over the pandemic 20 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:48,120 since tattooers were being outlaws and still working under the radar. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Prior 21 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:52,660 to that, I was a barber for like eight years. So it's been a nice kind of easy transition 22 00:01:52,660 --> 00:01:58,320 since the industries are pretty similar, just different crafts, if you will. I like it. Yeah. 23 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:02,040 You can find me on Tik Tok and Instagram. They're both the same handles. It's Chelsea 24 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:07,560 dagger underscore tattoos and a booking appointments or just increase anything like that is all 25 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:11,980 done through Instagram. Nice. Yeah. Welcome. Thanks for having me. I think I just recently 26 00:02:11,980 --> 00:02:18,280 saw one of your videos that kind of made its way around all the Tik Tok viral. Yeah. So 27 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:22,560 I actually have a question about that. Ask away. I've never really even heard of this 28 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:28,780 apprenticeship thing. Like what is that? So to get into the tattoo industry for years, 29 00:02:28,780 --> 00:02:33,340 it's been set up where you basically build up a portfolio of all your best work. Normally 30 00:02:33,340 --> 00:02:38,200 you want to go in as a client and start building a relationship with a tattoo or in a shop 31 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:42,640 that way and then kind of shoot the idea with them. If they ask you to bring in your work, 32 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:49,760 you take it into basically get criticized. Oh, that's fun. It's always fun. I felt super 33 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:54,760 like nervous doing that because at the time the guy that I actually wound up apprenticing 34 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:59,920 under, he was looking for an apprentice on Instagram and I heard through him or about 35 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:03,960 him through my friend who I'd known for a while that was getting tattooed by him, the 36 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:08,120 sending him like emailing my portfolio. So it was done mostly digital versus like bringing 37 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:12,520 in a hard copy. Gotcha. Yeah. So everything was done through email until he actually called 38 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:17,960 me in. My interview actually was strange also because he just kind of handed me a printer 39 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,520 and he's all, I just bought this. There's no directions. I needed to figure out how 40 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:27,000 to hook it up to my iPad. What the heck? Yeah. So I sat there for two hours because obviously 41 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:31,800 I didn't think to like Google the manual for this. I was like, no, I was like, it can't 42 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:35,760 be that hard. There's buttons. I just got to push it. Whatever sat there for two hours, 43 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:38,560 finally got it set up and then he's like, all right, cool. You'll start tomorrow. And 44 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:44,040 I was like, okay, that was your interview. So that's what I thought. But tattooing is 45 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:48,760 like a really disciplined skillset, obviously, because we're doing stuff on people that's 46 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:53,080 permanent for life. So I think for him, he was just trying to see like what my discipline 47 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:57,360 was like and if I was going to give up and get discouraged and walk out or if I was going 48 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:01,120 to sit there and tough it out, you know, no matter how long it took and it took two hours, 49 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:05,360 I did it. It's a very interesting way to do that. Yeah. I've never heard of that before, 50 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:09,200 but I've also heard of different interview processes for apprenticeships. It's just very 51 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:14,000 individual to the artist or to the shop and apprenticeship times. Like, mind you, this 52 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:19,480 is all unpaid. Like you're just working. I was about to ask you don't get paid. No. So 53 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:24,760 which is fine because you know, you're basically getting paid with the knowledge to tattoo. 54 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:30,120 But yeah, like my apprenticeship, I was doing it five days a week. At the same time I was 55 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:34,960 running my barber studio. So also running my business. I was at the tattoo shop for anywhere 56 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:40,960 between eight to 10 hours a day. Whoa. Yeah. Just watching, drawing, cleaning the shop, 57 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:45,600 running errands, doing odd errands also. Like you're basically their personal assistant 58 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:49,020 as well. I mean, there's another way I would like to put that. I was essentially like the 59 00:04:49,020 --> 00:04:55,280 shop bitch, but just to be straightforward. But yeah, like I was doing stuff like running 60 00:04:55,280 --> 00:05:02,120 to get his car registered at the DMV, like a bunch of stuff that he wanted to not spend 61 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:06,680 as much time on and focus more on tattooing. So I kind of alleviated that stress for him 62 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:12,460 in exchange for tattoo knowledge. Okay. Yeah. So I did that for a year. Um, I got graduated 63 00:05:12,460 --> 00:05:17,520 into being like an artist. I was able to work on my own, start charging my own prices. And 64 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:23,320 shortly after that we kind of had a falling out. So I moved shops and I was at that shop 65 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:28,600 for probably about a year and a half. And it was very much like a foot in the door shop. 66 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:34,760 For sure. I saw a lot of crazy things happen in that shop. We got robbed twice. Like, yeah, 67 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:38,800 it was not in the best area, but you know, it was cool for what it was. I learned a lot 68 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:43,920 by being there. Um, I was able to set my own schedule, but yeah, it was definitely. What 69 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:50,000 does one steal from a tattoo shop? Just all the equipment? So they stole, I think one 70 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:55,320 of the artist machines, and then I believe a ring light from the booth and he didn't 71 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:59,320 have his, like, so we had these weird, like just to paint the picture for you guys, the 72 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,560 building that we worked in was originally a massage parlor, like one of the sketchy 73 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:08,640 ones. So there's like my tour of this shop, I was mind blown cause I was like, okay, I'm 74 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:12,520 going to just run and use the restroom really quick. And when I went in there, there was 75 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:17,560 a shower and like a red light. So like they had an interesting, they hadn't finished remodeling. 76 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:22,400 I was like, okay, what, what could be worse than this? And it did get worse over the year 77 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:28,960 and a half. So when we got robbed, the guy that had this booth specifically just left 78 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:33,200 his machines out. So whoever like broke in, stole the machine. And we also did piercings 79 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:38,480 at this shop and we had all of the jewelry in a glass case along with like our merch. 80 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:43,840 So he stole like all of the t-shirts, all of the jewelry and just left. Okay. Wow. Still 81 00:06:43,840 --> 00:06:47,400 never caught him. He left a crowbar behind, which I'm pretty sure was worth more than 82 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:53,400 everything he stole. Yeah. Cause I was like, this jewelry is not the best quality, but 83 00:06:53,400 --> 00:07:00,320 you know, what do I know? I'm not a piercer. Yeah. It was wild. My gosh. So does your apprentice, 84 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:05,880 does she do all the things that. So we're actually trying to do the apprenticeship a 85 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:10,120 little bit different, which is why that video on TikTok went viral because all of us in 86 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,780 the shop that have been artists for a few years now, we all pretty much have similar 87 00:07:13,780 --> 00:07:18,080 backgrounds with our apprenticeship where it was toxic. Like the best way to explain 88 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:23,420 it, a lot of us kind of went through bootcamp in the sense that like they tear you down 89 00:07:23,420 --> 00:07:28,120 to build you back up, but like in traumatic ways, not like super traumatic, but just kind 90 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:32,120 of sounds like hazing. Exactly. It's like pretty much getting hazed for like a fraternity 91 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:36,300 or whatever. Yeah. So with her, we're doing it a little bit differently and we really 92 00:07:36,300 --> 00:07:41,480 want her to focus more on like the art and like learning that. Then getting your car 93 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:47,440 registered. Yeah. Like it was crazy. Like I would tell her crazy stories. Like my mentor 94 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:52,040 had me like wash his car one day and he's like, go wash my car. I was like, okay, why? 95 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:55,560 And he's all, cause it's dirty and I need it washed. I was like, right. But I have a 96 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:59,940 tattoo coming in and like an hour he's like, figure it out. So for her, like, you know, 97 00:07:59,940 --> 00:08:03,400 she has apprenticeship duties, like making sure that the shop set up with supplies that 98 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:08,100 we need, or she's like watching, you know, either her specific mentor tattooing, watching 99 00:08:08,100 --> 00:08:12,920 us doing our setup, breakdown, cleaning, stuff like that. But we're not verbally abusing 100 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:16,960 her or anything like that. That's awesome. Yeah. And the thing that I think caught a 101 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:21,480 lot of people's eyes was that she doesn't look like the stereotypical person you would 102 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:25,420 have in a tattoo shop. So for anybody who hasn't seen this viral video, what does she look 103 00:08:25,420 --> 00:08:30,760 like? She is just the cutest little like gem of a person. She's adorable. She's very bright 104 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:37,600 and bubbly. She herself does not have any tattoos. Wow. That's controversial in its 105 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:41,760 own. Like I personally, I've been tattooed by an artist who had not a single one and 106 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:45,520 he did incredible work. Like he was an award winning artist. And then I've been tattooed 107 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:49,840 by people who are very heavily tattooed because for whatever reason people associate with 108 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:54,360 how covered you are as an artist with your skillset. Huh? And that's not really the 109 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:59,440 case. Like I've been tattooed by heavily tattooed people who have like scarred me or, you know, 110 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:03,800 it's how you're taught. So I think that's like our main focus with her is just making 111 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,360 sure she's getting the skillset she needs so she can go out into the world and flourish. 112 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:13,160 I love it. Yeah. It's kind of like that mentality of never trust a skinny chef. Yeah. It's like, 113 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:17,640 it's so crazy seeing the feedback from all of that, like from the video, just because 114 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:22,440 a lot of it has been positive. A lot of it's been supportive. That's awesome. We can't 115 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,680 complain, but you get that one person that's just like, I would never. And I'm like, that's 116 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:31,040 fine too. You know, that's your own personal choice. It's your choice. I'm not saying you 117 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:35,320 have to get tattooed by any of us. You know, there's a tattoo artist out there for everybody. 118 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:39,280 Yeah. You know, and that's something that I think needs to kind of be brought up a little 119 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:43,360 bit more. I love how your shop though is trying to make, I mean, I hate to say this, but like 120 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:48,960 make a difference, but make things different in that aspect of apprenticeships and not 121 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:54,200 toxic. Your current shop is the current shop I'm at has been the healthiest work environment 122 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:59,480 out of any career that I've had, which is, I, it really caught me off guard just because 123 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:04,120 I was expecting similar traits from prior experiences, just because that's what I had 124 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:09,240 become used to. Everyone's super supportive of each other, whether it be like, Hey, what 125 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:13,360 do you think I should do with this design or you know, anything really, we're always 126 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:17,040 ready to just kind of jump in and help each other out because you're only as strong as 127 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:20,840 your weakest link as they say. And I'm not going to lie and may have watched a few of 128 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:25,040 your videos and you guys do seem like the happiest, coolest bunch of friends who just 129 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,680 happen to work together. Yeah. It's such a trip because I've had a few people come in 130 00:10:28,680 --> 00:10:33,640 from Tik TOK and they're just like starstruck, which makes me feel really like, it's so cool. 131 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:38,120 It's so weird to me though, because I'm just like a weirdo like goober that in my free 132 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:44,040 time I build Lego sets. I love it. Oh, yeah. I was admiring them from afar. I was like, 133 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:48,960 Oh wow. Those are super rad, but like nerds of a feather. Yeah. I love that. But yeah, 134 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:52,360 they're just like so starstruck and then they kind of, you know, comment. They're like, 135 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:56,080 you guys are really like this in real life. And I'm like, I think that's why we've become 136 00:10:56,080 --> 00:11:00,760 so relatable as a team and why people want to come hang out with us because even client 137 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:05,640 experiences a majority of my clientele is actually women. Cause obviously being a female 138 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:11,960 tattoo or women just tend to feel more comfortable with me. I had one client in particular, God, 139 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:15,040 it still pisses me off to this day. And I heard the story probably two years ago. So 140 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:20,160 super early on in my career, she basically came to me and when I'm tattooing her, she 141 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:24,640 told me that the last guy that she had gone to was tattooing the back of her leg. She 142 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:28,720 was wearing a skirt and the artist took it upon himself to run his hand up her skirt 143 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:34,360 while he was tattooing her. So that was insane to me because I could never, you know, like 144 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:39,260 you're, you're very up close and personal with somebody. Like there's no need to make 145 00:11:39,260 --> 00:11:43,900 them feel uncomfortable for your own personal agenda, but I've heard plenty of those stories 146 00:11:43,900 --> 00:11:49,720 and that blows my mind. You know, how are these people still out in the world? If that's 147 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:55,680 his priority, he should just be a piercer then, right? I mean, if your priority as somebody 148 00:11:55,680 --> 00:12:04,080 in the body modification industry is to pretty much tickle your own pickle, if you will, 149 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:07,980 you should probably reconsider the industry you're in because you know, it's more than 150 00:12:07,980 --> 00:12:12,720 just tattooing people. Like you're really responsible for other people's autonomy. And 151 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:16,680 I always tell people being a good tattooer is only half of being a good tattooer. Like 152 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:20,720 you need to be a good person as well because you're creating the experience on top of the 153 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:24,820 artwork for the person. It goes hand in hand. If you have a shitty experience, anytime you 154 00:12:24,820 --> 00:12:28,160 look at that tattoo, at least in my personal experience, you're going to remember that. 155 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:32,960 And you know what's interesting? You say that is when you tattooed me, you made me feel 156 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:38,760 so comfortable. And like I am one of those people that I want to make other people happy, 157 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:41,960 even if it's to my detriment sometimes. Yeah. Well, that's why we're in the industry. 158 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:46,200 And like when we first put the tattoo on the location, I'm like, yeah, it's fine. And she's 159 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:50,560 like, no, no, are you really sure? She's like, this is going to be on your body the rest 160 00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:55,400 of your life. You need to love it. And she made me feel comfortable to say, well, actually, 161 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:59,440 can we move it a little higher? And like, when I think that's when you like called me 162 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,920 over and you were like, Liz, what do you think? And I was like, nope, it needs to be here. 163 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:07,680 Here. Like this is how it needs to be changed. And you're like, okay, great. Let's take this 164 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:11,880 stencil off another one on. And we went about the day and you didn't make it inconvenient. 165 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:16,120 You didn't make it like it literally was about me and me liking it. It is about you and you 166 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:20,840 liking it. You know, like I had an experience recently where I was doing a consultation 167 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:25,400 with a potential client. She reached out, wanted a very specific design. We were talking 168 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:30,320 about it, but she kept going back and forth on it. And to me, that made me feel not confident 169 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:35,180 as the artist, because you might like that for a little bit in the moment. But I've always 170 00:13:35,180 --> 00:13:39,760 noticed if you're compromising a lot during the consultation process, there's going to 171 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:43,760 come a time where you're not going to love that tattoo anymore. Yeah. And I don't want 172 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:47,360 somebody to feel like that, you know, because it's your body. You don't want to look at 173 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,980 a part of it and absolutely hate it. You should look at a part of it and be like, oh yeah, 174 00:13:50,980 --> 00:13:56,840 this is great. Like I feel awesome. Hot girl summer, whatever. You know, the goal is to 175 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:01,080 build confidence and like build that trust between the clientele. Yeah. Because at the 176 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:06,040 end of the day, like if I'm happy about it and you're miserable, like that's not me doing 177 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:10,800 my job. You know, that's me only being in this for my own personal satisfaction and 178 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:15,080 nothing good really comes from that. You know, my God, I just love you. That is so amazing. 179 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:20,800 That's just, ah, well, so I'm so glad that your career is just such in like a positive, 180 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:25,360 amazing place. I love it. You know, I worked really hard to get here. It took me a long 181 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:29,760 time, but I had been wanting to be a tattoo artist since I was a kid. And my uncle had 182 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:35,600 me watching like Miami ink and all those cool shows when I was a kid. And the first time, 183 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:40,280 yeah. So the first time I was actually in a tattoo shop, I was with my mom. Really? 184 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:45,000 Yeah. So I was probably like nine years old at the time. We were just in Venice beach 185 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:49,400 for whatever reason. And my mom was newly single. So she's out there living her best 186 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:54,800 single lady life and she had no tattoos. She like absolutely did not like tattoos up to 187 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:59,320 that point, but for whatever reason, she felt compelled to walk into a shop, pick something 188 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:04,280 off the wall and I sat with her and I watched her do it. Wow. Yeah. So anytime she would 189 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:07,760 go get tattooed, she would always take me into the shop because I was always doodling, 190 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:11,600 you know, whatever. And she's like, yeah, you know, you could possibly be doing this. 191 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:16,800 I'm like, we'll see. What a cool mom. Yeah. She's pretty cool. She's pretty rad. My parents 192 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:21,240 told me I couldn't be buried in a Jewish cemetery if I got one. You know, my aunt, it's so funny. 193 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:25,860 My aunt's Jewish and like that's why she was so anti tattoos. And now she's got tattoos. 194 00:15:25,860 --> 00:15:29,840 She's like, well, she's all, well, if they don't see them, you know, under my clothes, 195 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:34,400 I'm sure they'll still throw me in the pine box. And like, oh, I was like, okay, that's 196 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:38,040 your own prerogative. Like do you? So Ms. B, how does your family feel now? Oh, they're 197 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:41,800 totally used to it now. Like I think they're just happy if especially, you know, everything 198 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,760 that goes on in the world and all this we're alive, we're happy, we're healthy, we have 199 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:48,760 a job. And once I made them a grand kid, they're like, you could do whatever the hell you want. 200 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:52,720 We get to see our grandbaby. I was going to say, you know, at that point in life, if 201 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:57,000 a tattoo is the worst thing you've got going, you're so far ahead of people. Yeah. Yeah. 202 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,240 You know, it's interesting just because I think it's, I don't want to say it's weird, 203 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:04,680 but it's definitely more uncommon now to meet somebody who doesn't have a tattoo. Like, 204 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:10,600 yeah, very true. Bill's one of them. You're a unicorn. Yeah. You should have brought your 205 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:16,460 stuff here. Yeah. You know, it's not that I'm necessarily opposed. It's that I've never 206 00:16:16,460 --> 00:16:21,760 seen anything that has been so powerful that I want on me for the rest of my life. Yeah. 207 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:26,800 I know that a lot too. You know, that's totally fair. I support that. Yeah. Don't put it on 208 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:30,480 your body if you're not absolutely sure. Well, yeah. I mean, that's why you don't put people's 209 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:36,120 names on your body, right? Oh my God. Do you have a lot of that? Unless it is your child 210 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:41,280 or your parent, you won't do it. Maybe even a sibling. I will not put your significant 211 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:46,600 others. Wow. Good for you. Absolutely want to hear these stories, but I've got questions 212 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:52,240 and that's actually one of them. I've got answers. What tattoos do you refuse to do? 213 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:57,400 You know, you just mentioned not tattooing names or well, significant other names. Just 214 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:02,600 because you know, for as long as I've been around on this planet, anytime I've seen somebody 215 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:08,040 get someone's name, like a significant other, it's cursed. I don't know what it is. I do 216 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:11,880 not know what it is. Like I know somebody personally, I won't name who it is, but she 217 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:16,160 had gotten her husband's name tattooed on her after how long they were together for 218 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:22,200 a long time, but they wound up splitting after the tattoo like a few months later. Yeah. 219 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:26,160 Curse. Yeah. And then she wound up getting it covered back up and then like now they're 220 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:32,000 back together. So there is some validity. I've had people who have only been dating 221 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:36,480 for two weeks and will come in and be like, Hey, I'm in love with this person. I need 222 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:41,680 their name tattooed on me right now. Like sit down. Like, no, you don't. This is just 223 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:45,440 the serotonin going through your noodle right now. Let's let it simmer down. This is a love 224 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:50,920 bomb happening. Like, are you being gaslit into this? Like blink twice if you need help, 225 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:57,720 you know? But yeah, it's crazy. So I don't do those just for personal reasons. Also, 226 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:04,000 I don't really do any tribal tattoos that are specific to a certain culture on somebody 227 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:10,120 that's not personally tied to that culture. Okay. I'm so fair though. Yeah. I'm personally 228 00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:16,640 indigenous. So my tribe is Cora. We have symbols and stuff that are, you know, sacred and whatnot. 229 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:20,280 And it's not necessarily something like, Oh, this is artwork I want on my body because 230 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:25,160 it looks cool. Like it all has meaning to it. And so when I see a certain type of person 231 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:29,280 come in and be like, I want this full like Polynesian tribal tattoo because I want to 232 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:35,760 look like Maui from Moana. No, no, no, no. Cause like I have friends who are also Polynesian. 233 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:40,440 So I like, I don't know enough to like know everything about the tattoos and the styles 234 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:44,800 and like the symbols, but everything has a rhyme and reason to it. So you could be putting 235 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:48,720 something on your body that doesn't even mean what you think it does. Same thing with Chinese 236 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:53,400 lettering. Oh yeah. So true. I will tell you guys a funny story about that. Oh, I want 237 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:57,160 to hear. How many memes have gone around of, you know, Oh, I just got this tattoo. Orange 238 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:04,280 chicken. Like, yeah. Or like toilet or barbecue. I think Ariana Grande was one of them. She 239 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:08,960 saw it said seven rings, right? And it was like orange chicken. Yeah. Something off the 240 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:12,880 wall. My sister and I, she'll probably come up in these stories a lot because we're very 241 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:17,960 close in age. So any of the debauchery we got into together always. So I somehow, when 242 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:22,360 I was 16, got my hands on a tattoo machine and thought it would be fun to tattoo my friends 243 00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:27,320 in my kitchen. I do not recommend that. There are so many things that can go wrong, but 244 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:31,000 my sister's like, yeah, I want our brother's name and Chinese lettering down the side of 245 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:37,160 my leg. Oh no. And she Googled it. I don't cause it's my sister. She's very impulsive 246 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:41,360 sometimes when it comes to her tattoos. But I was like, are you sure? Like we don't really 247 00:19:41,360 --> 00:19:46,440 know if this is what this means. Cause none of us read Chinese. Yeah. We don't know anybody 248 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:51,000 that reads Chinese. She's like, well, I Googled it. That's your first mistake. She was adamant. 249 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:55,940 So I threw it on her leg and like a year or two later, we're at a Chinese restaurant. 250 00:19:55,940 --> 00:20:00,520 Our waitress read Chinese. Thank God it said happiness, but it for sure wasn't my brother's 251 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:06,080 name. So she's just got happiness going down to side of it. Yeah. I was like, it could 252 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:09,620 have been worse. It could have been like, what if she was just saying that to make you 253 00:20:09,620 --> 00:20:13,360 feel better? Cause it's on your body. I had to ask the lady. I was like, does it really 254 00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:17,320 mean that? Because if not, I need to know so I could hold this over her head for the 255 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:21,840 rest of her life. Cause I told her so like I looked at her dead in the eye. She's like, 256 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:26,440 I don't want to hear it. And I was like, it's funny. You're just doing what good siblings 257 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:32,440 should do. And to be fair, like my first tattoo I got when I was 15, it was her name and the 258 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:37,340 name was spelt right when the stencil went on and then the artist lost the stencil halfway 259 00:20:37,340 --> 00:20:41,400 through the tattoo. So her name is spelt wrong. I refuse to get it fixed cause it's a great 260 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:46,760 story, but this is why if anybody's listening that is underage, like under the age of 18, 261 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:51,680 do not get tattooed in a garage. This is your sign. Do not do it. Oh my God. Cause I also 262 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:57,520 have a six legged spider on me. Like they have eight legs. Why does he only have six? 263 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:03,480 Why? That's so funny. So funny. Yeah. So I don't do those. Obviously I don't do any like 264 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:08,360 hate tattoos. I was going to ask if anybody's asked. Yeah. One of my old coworkers from 265 00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:13,320 the shop that I was telling you about that was gnarly. So he had asked me for a tattoo 266 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:19,040 that was very specific to a white supremacist group. And obviously someone who stands against 267 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:23,520 that he was adamant to and he's a, why won't you do it? I'm like, are you serious? Cause 268 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:30,560 I know I don't want to put that on you. Boy. So I've had that happen. Um, occasionally 269 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:35,120 I'll get like the random person that wants like a symbol tattoo thinking that I'm not 270 00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:39,840 going to know what that symbol pertains to. So I'll start to ask the questions. Like sometimes 271 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:44,280 maybe they don't know what that symbol relates to. So I have to educate them on why maybe 272 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:49,040 they shouldn't get that. Like one of them specifically pineapple tattoos. You've always 273 00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:53,440 got to be careful with the pineapple tattoos. Swingers. And upside down pineapple. Miss 274 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:58,120 B. Oh, a pineapple is also the symbol of hospitality. Yeah. But if it's upside down, that means 275 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:02,320 that you're doing some fun stuff on your weekends. That's the irony of the industry that we're 276 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:09,280 in. I had no idea. Pineapple was a symbol of the service industry. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, hospitality. 277 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:14,120 Oh, okay. Interesting. I didn't know that either. Good to know. But yeah, that's pretty 278 00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:18,080 much it for as far as like tattoos that I won't do. Oh, and lip tattoos. I don't know 279 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:23,240 if you guys have seen those. We came in and I told you my lips are going on her butt. 280 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:29,340 No, not like actual lip shape, but I'm talking like the inside of the lip. Oh, two very different 281 00:22:29,340 --> 00:22:34,640 types of lips. Yeah. I mean, I support the first one. Like go for it. Love that. If we 282 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:40,360 were talking about piercings, we could throw in a third. Yeah. I don't do the inside of 283 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:44,560 the lip because I don't hold. They fade after like six months. Like parts of it might still 284 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:50,400 hold a little bit, but so dumb too. Yeah. We had a, we had a group of chicks come in 285 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,000 one time that wanted something very specific written on their lip. And I was like, you 286 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:59,160 know, no, maybe like there's another tattoo shop up the way. Maybe we asked them because 287 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:03,320 it's going to be a no for me dog. So that takes me to my next question. That is, is 288 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:07,920 there a part of the body that you refuse to tattoo? Here's the thing. I am not shy. Um, 289 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:12,860 I have seen plenty of body parts in my time doing this. I think it's about how you approach 290 00:23:12,860 --> 00:23:17,760 the question. Cause in my experience, even I'll tell a story about when I was on a dating 291 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:21,440 app, a lot of guys find out that I'm a tattoo artist and they asked me to tattoo their private 292 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:26,800 parts as a way of shooting their shots. So if you're disrespectful about it, I will respectfully 293 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:32,720 decline, but I don't really have anything other than the lip, like inside of the lip 294 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:37,960 that I won't tattoo. It also has to be tasteful. I think because I was also asked to tattoo 295 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:44,960 like an octopus coming out of the butt crack. And like, I don't want that on my portfolio. 296 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:49,880 You know, to me, I want to do something artistic and an octopus crawling out of your butt. 297 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:56,320 She just doesn't sit right with me. Has anyone ever, cause I'm seriously curious about this 298 00:23:56,320 --> 00:24:02,160 ever actually tattooed their bits and bobs? I personally haven't done those tattoos. The 299 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:06,040 closest I've gotten is I've tattooed a woman's breasts before. Like that's pretty common. 300 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:11,400 I've tattooed butt cheeks. I do know people personally who have them done. Why? Yeah. 301 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:15,960 Cause you know, you just like run out of room or if you want like a full frontal, you know, 302 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:19,240 it kind of all ties together and maybe people just want to look extra good when they're 303 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:25,520 naked. Teach them. I don't discriminate. Okay. Okay. I do not shame, you know, like whatever's 304 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:30,040 going to help. We don't kink shame here. There's a foot out there for everybody. Yeah. There 305 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:35,280 you go. I missed my opportunity last time. I know you did. You were asleep at the wheel. 306 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:43,360 I was so focused. I'm so into this. Okay. So I am dying to know, how did you get started 307 00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:49,920 in the tattoo industry during a pandemic? Very, very interesting. Um, so to start, you 308 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:54,040 know, how everybody was getting the pandemic unemployment and whatnot, it was mostly linked 309 00:24:54,040 --> 00:25:00,920 to people who were W2. So tattooers were considered independent contractors. Um, so I'm not going 310 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:04,800 to say everybody in the industry does this, but you know, some people like to fib a little 311 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,720 bit when it comes to what they're actually pulling it income wise. So when push came 312 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:13,680 to shove the pandemic, unemployment wasn't enough to sustain a living. Yeah. So a lot 313 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:19,760 of tattooers were working underground, like doors papered out just so they could get by. 314 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:25,160 Yeah. And as someone who was a client during this as well, that was the busiest I'd ever 315 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:30,040 seen tattoo shops. Like people just needed that outlet. So tattooers were just booming 316 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:36,280 tattoos out like five, six days a week and like really just boom. And you know, so my 317 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:40,080 friend that I had worked with prior, he and I were still Facebook mutuals. I had seen 318 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:44,760 the tattoos that he was getting done. So prior to the pandemic, I had followed his artist, 319 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:48,800 eventually saw that he was looking for an apprentice. He had posted it. So I asked him, 320 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:52,280 like, how do I get involved with this? And he's like, well, I need to see your portfolio. 321 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:56,280 I would need to know your availability X, Y, and Z. And I said, well, this is perfect 322 00:25:56,280 --> 00:26:00,840 because since the world has shut down me as a barber, I can't work. So my availability 323 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:07,600 is wide open. So I wound up, you know, accumulating a bunch of art that I had either had done 324 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:11,100 during the pandemic because I was doing a lot of painting or I was coming up with new 325 00:26:11,100 --> 00:26:15,760 pieces and just threw a portfolio together of what I thought was my best work. And I 326 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:20,840 was emailing it over to him and then he kind of got sick with something. So he had to take 327 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:24,880 some time away. So that kind of stopped the interview process. But I was still, you know, 328 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,400 asking other tattoo artists. And that's the thing about becoming an apprentice is you're 329 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:32,160 going to hear a lot of no's. You're going to hear so many no's. It's going to get super 330 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:36,600 discouraging, but it only takes the one yes. So anytime someone asks, like, what's your 331 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:39,680 advice? I'm like, just keep going. If this is something you really want, someone will 332 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:45,320 say yes, eventually. Oh my God, I love it. Yeah. So eventually he emailed me back and 333 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:51,640 I went in for my interview and he handed me that printer. Figure it out. Hey, figure this 334 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:55,920 out. And like I said before, that was just so he could see my discipline because tattooing 335 00:26:55,920 --> 00:27:01,100 is rough. Like you could be a phenomenal artist on paper. Tattooing is a completely different 336 00:27:01,100 --> 00:27:04,440 medium because you're working with skin, you're working with the different layers, you're 337 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:09,120 working with, you know, how to stretch the skin, how to pull a clean line and people 338 00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:14,420 and people. Yes. And like, you know, when I have a canvas up on an easel, that's not 339 00:27:14,420 --> 00:27:18,760 really moving a whole lot. Some people just cannot sit still and I get it. Tattoos hurt. 340 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:22,520 Like I personally think it sucks. I don't like actually getting tattooed. I like the 341 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:29,880 outcome of it. But yeah, finally got in the first few months of my apprenticeship. I just 342 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:35,040 sat and I drew and like the only thing I was drawing at that point was script lettering. 343 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:40,520 So that really flowy cursive style, which I hate, you know, when you approach it, you're 344 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:44,720 like, it's just like spelling. It's just like writing out a letter. No, you're actually drawing 345 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:48,920 the letter. So that was something I was not even used to or even remotely thought of. 346 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:53,560 So it was a struggle trying to get through that. So I could get to my next round of homework, 347 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:57,360 which was American traditional. And then from there we went into black and gray. So you're 348 00:27:57,360 --> 00:28:01,680 learning all the different elements of tattooing, especially now there's so many different styles 349 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:06,580 that are so popular. It's good to kind of have some knowledge in them. A lot of tattooers 350 00:28:06,580 --> 00:28:10,720 actually specialize in one style and that's personally what I do as well. It's just so 351 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:14,680 you can kind of master your craft in that. But it was daunting. Like I said, I would 352 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:19,920 go in at 11 a.m., clean the entire shop, mop the floors, do the bathroom, set my mentor 353 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:24,800 up all before all the artists were in there. Wow. And then I would be there from like 12 354 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,840 to maybe like six or seven o'clock at night, sometimes eight to nine. It was just really 355 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:32,960 dependent on whatever my mentor was finished. And then I would have to break him down, clean, 356 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:37,040 knowing my homework for the day, go do my normal job because then, you know, the pandemic 357 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:40,360 stuff started opening back up again. Wow. I would do it all again the next day. And 358 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:45,280 I did that for about a year. I think it wasn't until actually like five or six months in, 359 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:49,720 I didn't pick up a machine. That was going to be one of my questions. When in a typical 360 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:53,760 apprenticeship do you actually get to start tattooing people? It's really dependent. Like 361 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:58,080 I know people whose apprenticeships went on for five years. Like I personally went through 362 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:03,720 one that was no income, with no income. Yeah. So the hustle is real. It's the most broke 363 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:09,120 you will ever be during your career as a tattooer. But it makes it worth it once you get through 364 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:13,380 like the final hump of it. But yeah, at six months I picked up a machine. I still wasn't 365 00:29:13,380 --> 00:29:19,040 tattooing people. I was tattooing oranges. I was tattooing bananas. Yeah. Just to practice. 366 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:24,160 Wow. Yeah. And then before I was able to tattoo other people, I actually had to tattoo myself 367 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:28,560 first. Really? What did you tattoo on yourself? It was this flower right here with the storm 368 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:33,640 trooper helmet. Oh my God. How cool is that? Yeah. It was spicy. That took like five hours 369 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:37,280 because I still had to do my apprenticeship duties in between it. So I would take breaks. 370 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:41,580 So I'd have to like wrap it up. Oh my gosh. I think the first errand I had to go run was 371 00:29:41,580 --> 00:29:45,140 to like go get lunch for everybody in the shop. I came back, sat down, started going 372 00:29:45,140 --> 00:29:48,400 at it again. And he's like, Hey, I need you to go run and get this again. And I was like, 373 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:53,720 Oh crap. So then I would wrap it up, go, come back, do it for like a headache. Yeah. A flower 374 00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:57,320 with the storm trooper in it. And by the way, I know you guys can't see this and it's beautiful. 375 00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:00,900 Yeah, it is. It's a red flower, the storm trooper in the middle with like green leaves 376 00:30:00,900 --> 00:30:04,520 out of it. Oh my God. This is probably my favorite tattoo. Not because I did it, but 377 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:10,200 this was actually, so I had lost somebody really close to me the two weeks prior to 378 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:14,240 me starting the apprenticeship. This was the only tattoo that he had and he absolutely 379 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:19,080 hated it. So I thought like as my first tattoo, I thought that would be cool. Oh, I love that. 380 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:23,720 So really went for it full color on my first tattoo, which is an absolute no, no, but I 381 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:27,400 was like, I'm going to figure this out anyway. He's like, my mentor looked at, he's all, 382 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:30,920 yeah, figure it out. And then just walked away and kind of just let me, didn't watch you 383 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:35,040 do any of it. He watched me do some of it. And then he would like just kind of peek over 384 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:39,480 and be like, Oh, okay. Well, maybe try this. And then I did that. And he's like, okay. 385 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:44,160 Then he'd go back to what he was doing. Okay. Interesting. That was how the rest of my tattoos 386 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:49,240 went though. My mentor would just like, watch me lay the stencil down. All right. You're 387 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:52,680 good. And then he would leave. No, he would just completely leave and tell me to take 388 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:57,080 a picture of it and send it to him. Yeah. So I was like going in blind. Thank God for, 389 00:30:57,080 --> 00:31:01,480 you know, other resources and other artists in the shop. Cause I was scared shitless. 390 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:08,000 I can't imagine why. I know. He was doing his own thing. I don't really know, but that 391 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:11,600 was pretty much the main reason why we had the falling out. Cause originally I was supposed 392 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:16,640 to do another year at that shop, but as an artist, just to kind of pay my dues back. 393 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:20,200 And it was getting to a point where I was like, I'm not really learning. Like I'm doing 394 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:25,180 X, Y, and Z and it just wasn't matching up. So I was trying to have a conversation with 395 00:31:25,180 --> 00:31:30,480 him about it. And you know, I was looking at another shop to move into at the same time, 396 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:34,520 just in case the conversation didn't go well, lo and behold, it didn't. And he wound up 397 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:38,260 telling me like, you're never going to make it in this industry. Like you just gave up 398 00:31:38,260 --> 00:31:43,760 on yourself, all this like negative shit. The printer didn't teach you anything. Apparently 399 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:49,360 not. But yeah, so I got really discouraged, but I think that was kind of, you know, like 400 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:53,320 my sign, like I need to leave if I'm going to continue to grow. Cause being here, I don't 401 00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:57,560 think it's going to happen. And it's been interesting to say the least, like moving 402 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:01,920 from that shop into the shop where I kind of really started getting on my feet as an 403 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:07,320 individual artist. And then to now, like being in this amazing shop that I'm in, I love it. 404 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:12,600 Yeah. It's been wild. I love it. That's so cool. Well, I have a question for you. I have 405 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:17,800 an answer. Go Liz. What would be the wildest backstory you have heard about someone's tattoo 406 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:23,400 they're wanting to get? That's a fun one. Um, I'm sure you get a lot of stories. Yeah. 407 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:27,120 I'm trying to think of them like people's therapists, right? I'm like the therapist. 408 00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:31,920 You order off of wish. Like, have you guys seen me? I should not be giving anyone advice. 409 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:39,240 I'm going to be on fiber. I wouldn't say like the craziest backstory. I will say I've had 410 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:44,760 interesting requests. There was a time where tattooing with someone's ashes and the ink 411 00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:50,080 was really popular. I have never heard that. Miss B, have you heard that? No. Yeah. So 412 00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:53,960 the person that I did this on is somebody that I'm really close with. Outside of this, 413 00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:58,300 I wouldn't normally do it, but because we have like that personal relationship, I really 414 00:32:58,300 --> 00:33:02,800 sat down with her and I told her, you know, this is the risk. This is what I need to do. 415 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:08,000 And like, I mean, tattooing is very like clean and sterile and you are introducing ashes 416 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,320 into that situation. Actually, I don't know the name of the company off the top of my 417 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:14,280 head, but there is actually a company where you can send them the ashes and they'll mix 418 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:19,040 it and pre-mix it with the ink. Yeah. But me, that's not how that went. She brought 419 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:24,560 me a Ziploc baggie with a little bit because you only need like a small pinch, right? But 420 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:30,240 I was so terrified that I was going to spill because I'm clumsy and I was like, this person's 421 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:35,160 going to haunt me for the rest of my life if I spill. But I did it and like, I'm a little 422 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:39,360 superstitious, but there was definitely some interesting things going on during that session. 423 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:44,000 Like, did you have just the feelings that no, like actual physical shit was happening? 424 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:48,600 Yeah. So my green light that I use has two knobs on the back ones to adjust the warmth 425 00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:52,360 ones to turn it on and off. It's the only way you can turn it on. It was turning on 426 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:56,680 and off by itself. No. Yeah. Which was crazy because prior to her, I had tattooed somebody 427 00:33:56,680 --> 00:34:02,560 else and that wasn't happening. So I'm thinking maybe there's a short in the cord, whatever. 428 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:09,480 And then we had YouTube as music on a TV and YouTube just started skipping songs by itself. 429 00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:12,600 You know, I looked at her, I was like, Hey, I'm glad I could do this for you, but maybe 430 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:17,440 let's not do this again. Like, I a hundred percent believe in that stuff though. Yeah. 431 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:23,200 I'm not superstitious, but I'm a little stitious. I was going to say that. No, when my grandmother 432 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:29,040 died, I swear microwave would just turn on the 30 seconds. It would just turn on. We 433 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:32,920 weren't even in the kitchen. We were in the living room, lights flicker, fans go on and 434 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:37,840 off and we would just be like, Hey grandma, how you doing? And I go about our day. Okay. 435 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:42,240 I a hundred percent believe that. I was telling the story to my coworkers too, cause the way 436 00:34:42,240 --> 00:34:46,520 that the shop was set up, I was basically in my own room. So the only people seeing 437 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:51,120 this happen are you and the client, me, my client, and then the one person that I shared 438 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:56,760 the room with. And I like looked over at him. I was like, am I like a little stony baloney? 439 00:34:56,760 --> 00:35:01,800 Did I really see that happen? And he was like, yeah, dude, that was weird. I was like, I 440 00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:05,720 don't want to do that anymore. But yeah, that was probably the weirdest request. I haven't 441 00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:10,840 really heard any crazy backstories though. Mostly just people go, who's my mom? I mean, 442 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:14,020 I've heard, yeah, I mean, I've heard plenty of people that are like, yeah, I got this 443 00:35:14,020 --> 00:35:19,280 tattoo and I was super hammered at 3 a.m. in someone's garage. Oh, that actually, I 444 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:25,400 just figured one out. Okay. So my buddy comes to me, he moved out of state, he was visiting 445 00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:28,880 and he had been wanting to get tattooed by me for a while. Just didn't work out with 446 00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:34,040 my scheduling, his scheduling. So he got a tattoo by his neighbor where he moved to and 447 00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:37,360 it was in a garage and he looks at me and he's like, yeah, look at it. I'm looking at 448 00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:41,160 it. It's not the best tattoo. The lines are super blown out. I'm like, Hey, he gave it 449 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:44,560 the good old college try and that's all that matters. And he's like, yeah, you know what 450 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:50,840 he cleaned it with? Oh my God. I already immediately knew it was like, this is going to be so bad. 451 00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:56,180 He cleaned it with window cleaner. No, no. Yes. So don't do that. Like don't wash your 452 00:35:56,180 --> 00:36:02,040 tattoos with window cleaner, please. If anyone is getting that idea, don't do it. Wow. Insane. 453 00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:06,520 I was like, how are you not in a hospital like septic right now? Yeah, because that's 454 00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:11,080 going in your bloodstream. Yeah. People really don't understand what can go wrong with tattoo 455 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:15,920 and I've seen a lot of crazy stuff. It's an open wound. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. People 456 00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:19,560 are like, no, it's cool. I could totally go into a jacuzzi the day after. Like that was 457 00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:23,720 disgusting. Point to me on the map where you thought that was a good idea. Please. It's 458 00:36:23,720 --> 00:36:28,080 wild. Yeah. That was probably the craziest thing I've heard recently. I'm sure there's 459 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:32,840 plenty more. I've seen crazy stuff happen in shops. Oh yeah. Let's get into that. Like 460 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:39,080 what? I'm dying. Again, this is all from my year and a half in this one shop. So I pulled 461 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:43,160 up to work one day, the shop was upstairs. So I'm like getting ready to walk up and I 462 00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:47,600 can hear commotion happening. I'm like, Oh, this can't be good. As soon as I walk into 463 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:52,960 the shop, there is a guy beating up one of the artists, like just going toe to toe in 464 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:56,800 his booth. Like he's getting knocked around. All of his equipment is getting broken. Is 465 00:36:56,800 --> 00:37:02,720 the artist hitting him back? He was trying to, but I found out that essentially for reasons 466 00:37:02,720 --> 00:37:07,160 that I do know, but I'm trying not to like put him on blast too much. He owed this person 467 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:12,480 a few bucks, we'll say. Okay. And this person came collecting a few dollars. Yeah. And what 468 00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:16,680 was so crazy to me though was that this was at like 3pm and I'm just like standing there 469 00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:20,840 trying to print my stencil and like, Hey, maybe let's not do this right here. Maybe 470 00:37:20,840 --> 00:37:26,040 let's go outside. Let's go outside. You know, the movies and the TV shows, we can take this 471 00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:29,680 outside. No, literally you can go outside and they didn't. They just like hashed it 472 00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:34,160 out right there and then just went on about his day. The rest of the day, like nothing 473 00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:39,040 happened. I'm all today. Did I see this correctly? Like it was like UFC up in there. I was like, 474 00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:43,000 good Lord, you guys. And you just walked on and you just walked in and you just kept going. 475 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:46,720 You're like, no, I learned early on in that shop that the best thing I could do was just 476 00:37:46,720 --> 00:37:50,600 mind my business. You can put your head down, focus on your own work. Cause I was trying 477 00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:55,120 to protect my piece. Cause like as an artist, your environment really does affect like the 478 00:37:55,120 --> 00:37:59,560 type of art and work that you're putting out. Cause I think a lot of it is emotion driven 479 00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:03,600 and like in that regard, but yeah. So I was just like, all right, I'm just going to print 480 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:08,120 my stencil and go prep for my client and just pretend like none of this happened. Wow. There 481 00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:13,000 was a lot of interesting characters that went into there though. Like, yeah, it was intense. 482 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:18,000 That was probably the craziest. And then during my apprenticeship, actually, there was a client 483 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:23,800 that had driven a few hours to come get tattooed by my mentor, like drove quite a distance 484 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:27,680 and he pulls up, we get him prepped, get him stenciled and he's like, all right, well, 485 00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:31,600 I'm going to go outside to go partake in some activities. I'm like, fair dude, go get ready 486 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:37,640 for the tattoo, whatever. He didn't come back in and we were just really confused. So I 487 00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:43,360 went outside and there's five cop cars in our parking lot and they have him and his 488 00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:48,600 buddy in the back of one. Oh my God. Yeah. Like I was like, what just happened in the 489 00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:53,440 past 20 minutes that he was outside? Like what the hell? The cops were essentially trying 490 00:38:53,440 --> 00:38:57,800 to say that he had stolen the vehicle that was very much in his name and they didn't 491 00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:02,600 believe him. So they held him back there. It was definitely racial driven. Oh, that's 492 00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:07,360 disappointing. Yeah. Because he was an African American guy. My mentor being someone who 493 00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:12,600 is Hispanic, Spanish was his first language. So he spoke with an accent. Even the cops 494 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:17,040 were giving him shit. Anytime he would try and say something like, no, you're just not 495 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:22,080 understanding what I'm saying. Like being very, what's the word I'm looking for? Condescending. 496 00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:25,600 Condescending. Yeah. So I was just like, that is quite the experience. And the poor guy 497 00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:30,520 didn't even wind up getting his tattoo because that whole fiasco took probably like four 498 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:39,520 or five hours. Wow. Figuring out who the car was registered to. Yeah. It was, yeah. Interesting. 499 00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:43,280 And there was no need to have like five full on, like we're not talking those like small 500 00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:47,360 coupe police cars. We're talking like the SUVs, like the explorers. I was like, there's 501 00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:52,680 no need. And we're going to use that story as the end point for this episode and say 502 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:58,760 thank you for listening to part one. We will be back shortly with part two of life's bookmarks. 503 00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:16,400 Thank you for listening. 504 00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:27,360 Have a new podcast.net.