Scott R

wow hawk thats a very nice gesture.

SNATCH ftw!

welcome ben, oh and Boomer sooner :)

never EVER feel dumb for calling, these tattoo artists will usually be paying the wages of the kid that answers the phone. this is to minimize having to sit at home in the evening using up their wind down time answering emails.

that's certainly me, and anyway, some of my receptionists know more about my schedule than me and are way more eloquent than me at answering questions. personally I'm done with emails and do everything through frith street, it's amazing how much time replying to emails sucks out of your day off/evenings.

if you phone and then they explain that said artist prefers email conversations, then there's your answer!

Thats good to know, I have emailed first and waited till told to call, this is mainly because of time difference and not knowing preference.

I have forgot about a client or session before(not tattooing), maybe he was away from appt book or working on it elsewhere and it slipped his mind. I would suspect that he would feel compelled to put his best foot forward after a slip up, but as others said if you see the drawing and its apparant he blew it off then address it.

deb, that really blows. it's amazing. even way up there in alaska, this is happening. waaaaaay too many tattoo shops.

in oklahoma city area we have about 38 shops according to the yellow pages. In the college town of norman I live in ~90k There are 4 tattoo shops in whats considered west norman. If the customer doesnt take time to educate him or herself the potential for getting bad work is really high.

edit: after reading rest of thread I see this is common. In alot of cases people will blindly follow what someone with similar knowledge to themselves has to say on the subject.

I am learning of artists work everyday it seems so My list is far from complete but so far I really like the work from these artists in no particular order

james spencer briggs

tim hendricks

Kore flatmo

grime

enrique castillo

oliver peck

mario desa

Scott sylvia

Valerie vargas

stewart robson

horisha III

you can't tell everyone your secrets, i hate facebook. I would never get tattooed by someone because they are known,that's the same as star fucking.

secrets are for keeping, I dont have facebook do you? i would liken star fucking to bragging rights or puttin it to the man so to speak

is it a secret what kind of work you want to do now or who you would like to work with?

"If you come at the king you best not miss" - Omar

I am seriously thinking of making this trip,just curious how hard would it be to get work done by some of these big names? I have never been to a convention of any kind, how well attended are these?

I like black and grey but have been seeing some color stuff that has me wondering if I will change my mind

hmm well you guys could say what style or artist if your worried about someone ganking your ideas

whats on your list of tattoos you want or artists you want to do them?

tattooers what are some pieces ,subject matter or guestspots you would like to do.

I Have just seen the one show never saw miami or la ink. Sounds like I Should I try to find tattoo wars

I am way late to the game but I watched my first episode of ink "gloves off" I was suprised montoya said he was sick of portraits while he was doing a portrait on a guy

big joe,

I was in vietnam for a few weeks and there was a banh bi(pronounced bee/ south and north dialects are far different) shop right next to where my inlaws lived near saigon. They were 10 cents a piece for about 8 inch baguette with grilled pork and the fixings. good stuff.

gouge,

If you want just whey I would try dymatize elite whey. I would suggest getting a blend with casinate which is elite gourmet. You might have more luck getting the brand optimum nutrition in a store.

sounds like you should wait, if your set on removal and you like your artist and plan on returning I would go back to him and be honest.

Cu_Bu, question about whey protein. Overheard a trainer the other talking about it for someone post-workout -- is that something worth looking into? I'm not trying to get huge, just a little more in shape, maintain myself. Should I even bother with anything like that? Or should I just cut back on all the shitty food and booze like a regular person trying to get in shape..

well gouge I would say protein is the single most important macronutrient you can give yourself after a workout. It is so hard to get huge unless your on a heapfull of drugs. Your body will try like hell to stay homeostatic(the same) there are two exrteme states your body will become and its based on nitrogen balance. If your body has a positive nitrogen balance your body is antibolic(rebuilding or repairing muscle) IF its negative its catabolic(using muscle to achieve homeostasis) Simply Protein keeps your body antibolic. I would suggest anyone training use protein to help achieve their goals. I use a blend of casein(anticatobolic by nature) which is a slow absorbing protein and whey which is faster absorbing.

ohh wow i got through 1.17 of this

Ive been taking jacked or "jack3d" sometimes it makes me nervous because of how much i itch and sweat. Is that normal?

Im psyched we have a legit person with experience to ask questions!

costello,

If it is jacked pre workout without any other labeling then your itch is the beta alanine.

If its one of their products that included other ATP performance increasors it could be niacin(flushed feeling).

from looking at the label your paying for cafeine and beta alanine. I love beta, its linked to all sorts of benefits anaerobically. Increase Muscular Strength & Power Output, Increase Anaerobic Endurance

, Increases Aerobic EnduranceDelay Muscular Fatigue- Train Harder & Longer.

Arginine is a supplement that I think has its place but not in pre workout. Arginine is a vaso dialator, which simply means more blood will pump. This gives you that full or pumped feel for example when doing a bicep curl. What it does physiologically is tells the body that your in repair rebuild mode when in actuality your just started to overload the muscle.

In short cafeine and beta alanine are great pre workout supplements while arginine IMO should be taken after workout.

hey guys Just wanted to pop in and let you know I train for a living. I have helped a wide variety of people from overweight couch potatoes to Pro MMA fighters. I would be more than happy to answer any questions. I am NSCA certified and have a decent knowledge of diet/nutrition and supplements aswell.

That's right, Oklahoma only lifted the ban a couple years ago right?

yes, 2006 i believe

man i am a noob my first time was this march at think ink in norman oklahoma.. I first got tattooed at 15. I wore the bad tattoos for 12 years. After getting a fight signed in brazil I decided to get something put over them on the fly but tattoo was illegal in oklahoma and i was short on time so I got some big black ink to cover them on my arm and back. Only now am I taking actions to get some great art.

nice topic,

hopefully i can put my before and after here in the months to come