Chris Sanchez

The last tattoo I got was super fun and easy but it only took something like 45 minutes so that doesn't count. The tattoo session before that was finishing up my sleeve and it was a long and brutal session and there were totally parts where I was laying there smelling the blood drying on my shoulder thinking that no rational, sane person should be getting tattooed. Thomas had also made some joke earlier that day about tattooers being like witch doctors being paid to literally bleed out the demons, and it was one of those revelatory moments about how despite everything that tattooing is these days that there's still a good bit of that primal sort of magic in it.

Jeff Gogue:

Pretty damned spectacular.

Welcome to LST! So my apprenticeship experience was not too different from what it sounds like you're about to get yourself into. Solid advice: jump ship now, get like 10-20 more tattoos, paint your ass off, and try a better shop. Ideally, a street shop with walk-ins, tons of flash, and artists versed in several styles who do large and small work on a regular basis. I understand that this is rough advice to hear, but I can guarantee that you will have a much easier and much more fun time in your tattoo journey if you take that advice. I fully get what it's like to be young and hungry for it(still am), but you will benefit tenfold throughout the rest of your life if you start out the right way with the right information at your foundations.
Or you can do what I did, which is apprentice at the first shop that will take you, start tattooing right away, fuck a lot of people up, not learn shit about your craft, leave half way through your apprenticeship, and then get another job at whatever shop will take you as you figure out how you're going to get good information and further yourself on your own.
In the end, whatever you choose to do, it is all going to be difficult. What it mostly comes down to is are you willing to spend the time right now to learn the right way, or do you want to spend the next 5-10 years unlearning what you've been taught and figuring out what's what. Having someone tell you that they will teach you how to tattoo is the most exciting thing in the world! The fact remains that the time spent in a shop for 2 tattoos is not enough time to let you know if it's really something you're ready to be a part of for the rest of your life.
Anyway.. sorry for being so preachy. You will decide what's best for you and your life. I wish you the best of luck on this incredible journey that is tattooing and getting tattooed.

Hello LST, I'm Chris and I'm from Sacto, CA. I got my first tattoo in 92 or 93 at American Graffiti by Eric Hogan (RIP). From that point on I was hooked! Scott Sylvia gave me my 2nd one at the same location. I first met Scott and Eric when I was a little punk kid in S.F. at an A.A. convention. I had no tattoos at the time and was so impressed with these older guys that were covered. I tried to get them to work on me at the time, but to no avail. Thanks for that, given my age who knows what I'd have ended up with. Luckily a couple years later they were working in my home town and I was finally able to get some ink. I didn't really know what to say in the intro, I'm not too good at talking or writing about myself. I'm grateful to be a part of this community and look forward to being a member for a long, long time! Thanks, -C

Hello LST, I'm Chris and I'm from Sacto, CA. I got my first tattoo in 92 or 93 at American Graffiti by Eric Hogan (RIP). From that point on I was hooked! Scott Sylvia gave me my 2nd one at the same location. I first met Scott and Eric when I was a little punk kid in S.F. at an A.A. convention. I had no tattoos at the time and was so impressed with these older guys that were covered. I tried to get them to work on me at the time, but to no avail. Thanks for that, given my age who knows what I'd have ended up with. Luckily a couple years later they were working in my home town and I was finally able to get some ink. I didn't really know what to say in the intro, I'm not too good at talking or writing about myself. I'm grateful to be a part of this community and look forward to being a member for a long, long time! Thanks, -C

Hello LST, I'm Chris and I'm from Sacto, CA. I got my first tattoo in 92 or 93 at American Graffiti by Eric Hogan (RIP). From that point on I was hooked! Scott Sylvia gave me my 2nd one at the same location. I first met Scott and Eric when I was a little punk kid in S.F. at an A.A. convention. I had no tattoos at the time and was so impressed with these older guys that were covered. I tried to get them to work on me at the time, but to no avail. Thanks for that, given my age who knows what I'd have ended up with. Luckily a couple years later they were working in my home town and I was finally able to get some ink. I didn't really know what to say in the intro, I'm not too good at talking or writing about myself. I'm grateful to be a part of this community and look forward to being a member for a long, long time! Thanks, -C

Hello LST, I'm Chris and I'm from Sacto, CA. I got my first tattoo in 92 or 93 at American Graffiti by Eric Hogan (RIP). From that point on I was hooked! Scott Sylvia gave me my 2nd one at the same location. I first met Scott and Eric when I was a little punk kid in S.F. at an A.A. convention. I had no tattoos at the time and was so impressed with these older guys that were covered. I tried to get them to work on me at the time, but to no avail. Thanks for that, given my age who knows what I'd have ended up with. Luckily a couple years later they were working in my home town and I was finally able to get some ink. I didn't really know what to say in the intro, I'm not too good at talking or writing about myself. I'm grateful to be a part of this community and look forward to being a member for a long, long time! Thanks, -C

Nice intro! Welcome, Chris. Now, please show us your tattoos!

Hello LST, I'm Chris and I'm from Sacto, CA. I got my first tattoo in 92 or 93 at American Graffiti by Eric Hogan (RIP). From that point on I was hooked! Scott Sylvia gave me my 2nd one at the same location. I first met Scott and Eric when I was a little punk kid in S.F. at an A.A. convention. I had no tattoos at the time and was so impressed with these older guys that were covered. I tried to get them to work on me at the time, but to no avail. Thanks for that, given my age who knows what I'd have ended up with. Luckily a couple years later they were working in my home town and I was finally able to get some ink. I didn't really know what to say in the intro, I'm not too good at talking or writing about myself. I'm grateful to be a part of this community and look forward to being a member for a long, long time! Thanks, -C

Hello LST, I'm Chris and I'm from Sacto, CA. I got my first tattoo in 92 or 93 at American Graffiti by Eric Hogan (RIP). From that point on I was hooked! Scott Sylvia gave me my 2nd one at the same location. I first met Scott and Eric when I was a little punk kid in S.F. at an A.A. convention. I had no tattoos at the time and was so impressed with these older guys that were covered. I tried to get them to work on me at the time, but to no avail. Thanks for that, given my age who knows what I'd have ended up with. Luckily a couple years later they were working in my home town and I was finally able to get some ink. I didn't really know what to say in the intro, I'm not too good at talking or writing about myself. I'm grateful to be a part of this community and look forward to being a member for a long, long time! Thanks, -C