ZachZanone

My girl just started this over the weekend. Mike Moses, Thicker Than Water Tattoo, NYC. This guy is consistent blowing my mind with his illustration skills. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Moses' iPhone.)

Without a doubt I would go sit with Jess Yen Horiyen:

Sounds like you're off to a good start. So many people "back into" tattooing, learning the mechanics of it without having the art skills to use those mechanics, that it's good to hear of someone getting the art psrt donw first!
Patience, patience, and lotsa grapefruits!

So...where do I begin?
First off, I will say this: I am 16, working my ass off in as many art classes as I can get my pudgy little hands on in order to better my skills.
While researching the long (may I repeat that...LONG) list of 'dos and don'ts' in the tattoo industry, I came across this website.
While reading, I came to the understanding that the tattoo industry is highly competitive; I also understand that it takes a long time to become an actual tattooer, and I accept the challenge!
Currently, I am working on learning to draw anatomically correct hands, as well as lineart without erasing the page.
Anyhow...wrapping it up.
Wish me luck. (:

Damn, nice intro! Welcome, Dan.

Signed up here after hearing that Nick Colella had posted a few pix of old tats of mine. Looked around, saw lotsa good stuff, and thought I'd stick around and maybe throw in my two cents now n then, so feel free to flame!
I put my first tat on myself when I was 12, I'm 57 now, and it hasn't stopped. I did a good bit of old-skool hand-needle jailhouse stuff way back in the day, and most of the work I have now covers old jailhouse pieces.
What else can I say? I like to visit and watch at other parlors, but I get all chauvinistic and shit about who tattoos me...I've never gotten a professional piece anywhere but at Chicago Tattooing, and I can't see that changing now. I first went in there to gawk, man, mabye around 1966, 1967, something like that, and got my first electric tattoo done in there by Dale Grande in something like 1973 or 1974.
That's me-hope to get to know some of y'all.

During my apprenticeship a gentleman in his 60's came in and requested a chrysanthemum tattoo on his lower abdomen. Right above his cash and prizes. I was not skilled enough at that point in time to tackle something so complicated, so it was up to my boss to do the job. The client had an obvious personality disorder, but was lucid and capable enough to get tattooed. He stated that he was a woman and wanted to get the tattoo to "show everyone at church that I am female and to respect me as such". He also stated " Don't worry about seeing my penis, I cut it off with a bread knife when i was 15."
My former boss agrees to do the tattoo, prepares for it and behind the partition they both go. After about 30 mins. the autoclave dings and as the apprentice it is my job to deal with all things autoclave, which means I gotta vent it. The autoclave is located on a counter behind the partition.
I step behind the autoclave and glove up and take a quick glance over my shoulder, and there it is.....just a pair of balls....No Penis, Just Balls.... It was a wierd kinda shock that hit me, I've seen people missing limbs, digits etc. I mean we all have....But seeing Just Balls, it hit me like ice water, immediate shivers. I seriously thought this old guy was f*cking around and being a typical street weirdo....nope...dead serious. Needless to say, as soon as my day was up at the shop I made a beeline into the bar across the street and stumbled out a few hours later. *shivers*
Also on a side note, why the f*ck did my former boss make this guy drop his pants to his knees to do a lower abdomen tattoo?

Seems like alot of these storys are when people we're apprenticing.. Well in that respect my story's the same, This was maybe my 5th tattoo in the shop i apprenticed at. I was tattooing a friend of mine that i knew from a boxing / kickboxing gym in the mission district of San Francisco back in 2001, I am maybe 30 minuts into this tattoo and some big guy comes into talk to my boss (it was just him & i that worked in the shop) So no big deal right?.. They go outside & i continue tattooing listening my Sepultura Arise cd blasting on the shop stereo. I am all consumed by this tattoo trying to make everything as perfect as i could When the guy im tattooing says he thinks something happening outside, So i stop and look up over the partition i didnt see shit so i get back on the tattoo then a couple seconds go by and i hear my boss yelling for me to "GET THE GUN!!" so i tell the guy im tattooing to stay there & i grab the big ass long barrell .45 revolver we had in shop, I'm on my way to head outside to see what the hell is going on when The guy i was tattooing asks me where the phone is, he's going to call the cops.. So i give him the phone & get the gun again. Then the guy i was tattooing says "whats the address here!??" i put the gun down AGAIN pull a card off the wall give it to him, as soon as i turn around there's 6 guys running into the shop two of them already have knives out and the damn gun is on the chair about 10 feet away from me with the hammer back.. These guys we're already striking distance away from me with knives out yelling this and that b.s. and im thinking to myself "ok this sucks but if it comes between me getting stuck with this knife or them seeing the 45 on the chair i got to make a move for the gun" i look over at my friend the kickboxer he's standing there like a statue, & instead of maybe getting ready to fight, or worrying about them stabbing him in the neck or stomach.. He has both of his hands over his balls.. hahaha even in that situation i remember thinking to myself w.t.f is he doing and finding it really funny. So anyways the boss comes running into the shop all bloody from getting jumped outside there's a couple other guys running after him so finally there's my distraction.. I make my move for the gun everybody see's me doing it, they bolt out of the shop going faster than they did coming in i give the gun to my boss i grab a hammer and we run after these guys as soon as we get outside he starts shooting.. unloaded the revolver.. These guys are understandably running like bats out of hell scattering everywhere.. Well no one got shot and after dealing with the cops and all that mess i finished up my 5th shop tattoo.

i wish mine was funny but i guess that would depend on how warped some of u fuckers are. i was in between appointments and some older guy comes in looking real stressed out. so, in my head im like here comes the bullshit. so he asked who does portraits and of course the dude i work with points at me. so i start to help the guy and hes acting real strange but i keep the convo moving well. he eventually shows me the picture and im like oh ok so this guy is upset that hes got a black grandchild(he was a seemingly well off white dude) so i try to explain to him that since the pic was of a new born baby there wasnt much unique features and that he should wait till the baby was older... i went on to try to explain the lack of features like, "there are only slits for eyes and barely a nose" but when the baaby got older he/she would be more identifiable as his kid grandkid whatever. long story short the guy storms off unhappy with what i said. calls my boss screaming and cursing that i was a racist unsensitive scumbag cause the baby in the pic.... was his dead, turned black from decay, half asian baby and that the slits for eyes comment was a dig at his asian wife who wasnt even present during the convo.
so yeah :/ thats the worst for me ever.

So all these people passing out and doing weird shit stories reminds me of one. i was tattooing this fairly tough looking black dude with a name or something on his back. About halfway through he lifts his head from the chair and is beaded with sweat. I ask him if he is ok...no response...yo dude you alright?...just staring blankly ahead. Now i am thinking fuck, this is weird and i have someone grab him some water, which he doesn't take or anything and now you can tell he is faded his head is bobbing up and down. So i think well i have one of those ammonia/smelling salt packets and crack it under his nose... the dude made an EWWW face and then proceeds to try and stand up which he falls back i get him to the ground. now laying on his back he must think he is trying to get away from someone because his is "running" while on his back. seconds after that he came to, and i think i bummed him out because after he was back to normal i was laughing, but more of dude that was the weirdest shit nervous feeling.
I also had a friend of mine do the same type thing except he tried to fight me while he was in the weirdo dimension. i had to hold him down until he knew who i was. jeez.

a while ago we had this girl in getting her first tattoo and while waiting her turn she started eating a whole packet of biscuits and lots of coffee. we did warn her it was too much and too sugary and to slow down, she just said she knew what she was doing so we just left her to it. suffice to say half way through her (small) tattoo, she vomited EVERYWHERE without any warning, projectile vomiting style. all over the work bench, the tattooers shoes, herself, everywhere. barely had any time to push a bin under her face.
so anyway the worst bit was watching her scoop out the vomit from between her ample cleavage and from between her thighs (she wore low cut top and a tiny mini skirt). ick
another one was when a couple came in so that the girl could her her clit hood pierced. he wanted to be in the room so the female piercer said alright. they go off do their thing and we hear a wee muffled ouch from the girl, next i see the guy walking out of the room asking where the bathroom was, i said right next door to him. i looked away for half a second and next thing i know i see his legs lifting into the air cartoon style as he passes out head first into the bathroom.
luckily for him he missed the toilet bowl by an inch, otherwise we would have had to call an ambulance!
my personal fave will always be the guy who passed out slowly whilst talking to me as i tattooed him, he sounded like he was running out of batteries! so funny, he was a champ and laughed about it afterwards. bless him!

when I first started tattooing a lady came to me with a terrible photo of a man- in the distance , behind a kitchen table.
She wanted a portrait of him.
Well, I did it to the best of my limited ability - which at the time was really limited.
When it was done, she looked at it in the mirror and said " I hope my husband doesn't recognize him!"

Keep the tattoo stories coming..... I've been laughing out loud, gasping, jaw dropping, bug eyed through this whole thread. Good topic Jake and great contributions!!
I think the more both parties, tattooers and tattoo "collectors", can educate each other the better. Especially when it comes to respecting one another and the profession of tattooing!!

about 7 years ago, when i worked at deluxe, i was doing a kanji on this chick's lower back. she was doing ok, then got a little light-headed. so, we stopped, i let her sit down, got her some water, her friend gave her candy. waited about ten minutes, she was feeling better, chatting, color came back in her face. she seemed totally fine. so, we decide to finish up( there was literally one minute left on the tattoo.)
she takes a final swig of her water and takes two steps toward the trash can, to throw out her cup. SHE PASSES OUT STANDING UP. !!!CRACK!!! she hit the floor unconscious, no reflexes, face first. it sounded like a bat hitting a baseball. it was the scariest sound ever, and we were stunned. for a second we all just stood there with our mouths open, then the silence was broken by the chick's eerie moaning. blood was pooling out around her head and she seemed REAL confused and in a lot of pain. she was crying and not getting up.
so, i called 911, they show up pretty quick, paramedics come in and i tell them what happened. in the most non-challant way, dude glances at her, then back at me and pulls his sleeve up to show me an old armband..."hey bro, how much would it be to fix this up?". i repeated that she was bleeding and in pain and he says "she'll be ok, probably just broke her jaw." his buddy is behind us looking at flash!
so, they finally take her out on a stretcher and off to the hospital. i start cleaning up the blood, and notice her teeth left an indent in our floor. SHE HIT HARD. so, her friend is on her way out and is quietly giggling, and i ask what is so funny? she says "well, in the last week her boyfriend dumped her, her car got stolen and she got fired. she was hoping this tattoo would turn her luck around." it was the kanji for "lucky".

About a month ago I was tattooing this young lady. Tattooed her young husband several times before. Good people. So I'm tattooing her back and she's sitting in a chair. Her husband and work friend were there for support. We are all hangin out and having a good time when the friend starts babbling some numbers. I stop tattooing and look over and chuckle, "what?!". I see the look of panic in her eyes and realize she's saying a phone number. She mumbles," call my husband, call my husband". Her voice was really faint like she was a mile away. She stands up and goes into a full epileptic seizure. I put my arms under her arms to guide her down so she doesn't hit her melon on anything. She's sitting on the floor still freaking out with her back pressed up against my shins. Then I see the puddle start to form under her ass.
Somebody calls the fire dept, they do nothing, and she finally comes around. She doesn't believe us that she went into a seizure bla bla bla.
Oh yeah, what did the friend do while this was happening? She ran out the shop crying!!

i had some burning man girl shit her pants all coked up and i caught her on her way to the bathroom as she shit her pants. not awsome smelled like a truck driver craped in my nostrils. not enough money in the day for that shit. not enough..

thanks Perez this thread reminded me about juggalos

By Rodney Raines
Charlotte NC
Working in the lower half now, going down to my knee....

Hello All.
I browsed this forum this morning over a few cups of last night's coffee before heading to the studio, and I really gotta say that I am grooving on this site. I am usually not "into" the whole forum-wagon-thingy...but I admit that I am liking what I am seeing. (level headed feel and direction)
Now ...ahem...me.
I am an artist/ shop manager at Uncle Bud's Pikes Peak Tattoo in Colorado Springs. (Pikes Peak Tattoo Home Page) I was a long time friend of Uncle Bud's before he passed away and I am honored to continue to keep his shop open.
A small bit of history: Uncle Bud Yates opened his own shop 1982 when he broke away from working with his brother Snake Yates. Bud was a tireless devotee to legitimizing tattooing back in the days when there were no hard and fast rules concerning tattooing or its regulation. At that time, a handfull of artists existed nationwide...and it was a time for a lot of those artists to get active with their craft. With some states outright BANNING tattooing as a health risk, Bud and others started to work with local government and health offices to protect the work that we all now enjoy. I am pleased as punch to say that 99% of the existant laws and regulations concerning tattooing in Colorado were drafted by Bud Yates and that the studio I work in is still an active force in maintaining tattooing as a safe and legitamate business. Before his untimely passing, Uncle Bud was El Presidente (President) of The National Tattoo Association.
Yep, I totally loved that man, I I respect what he has done for Tattooing.
On to other news:
I love/hate being a shop manager. Damn monkeys drive me nuts. I have seen a whole roster of names come and go through that shop, I have laughed so hard sometimes that I couldn't breathe and I have gotten so angry other times that I coulda killed a man. My current lineup (some of which are not on the shops website) is a pretty good crew so far. I am looking forward to seeing them all most mornings...to date.
Hi-lights of my short career (6 years behind the machine):
I worked with Shanghai Kate for about a year. I kept my trap shut and kept myself out of her personal affairs. I kinda dig her.
I smuggled Zeke Owen out of a party and bandaged his dog's foot.
I was successful in keeping an original Milton Zeis Malleable from disappearing into the leathery folds of Lyle Tuttles hands while hs machine lust filled eyes gleamed and he made hungry grunts deep in his chest. (I will never give that machine up...ever)
I am gunna marry "My Girl" Nikki Pettis in August. Not only do I find her crazy attractive, but I admire her tattooing as well.
I have managed to not sink my friends studio through the last 6 years of economic hard times and a boom in(cough-cough) studio openings.
Anywhooo...I ramble. Last night's coffee tastes horrible but it will put the rush on.

I think it's funny seeing all of the stupid drama they feel the need to throw into the mix. I'll watch it if it's on and I'm sitting down drawing, but not anything I'd go out of my way to watch. But at least they've been tearing the contestants up for all of their errors. American Idol tells all of their contestants how good they are when 9 out of 10 of them suck.