NickelRad

I just got a tattoo done by Scott Silvia last Monday (3/26) and I was way beyond excited to meet him and to get a tattoo by, in my opinion, one of the best tattooist out there!! It is my favorite tattoo and fills me full of drive and motivation to keep that fire under my ass to keep achieving and striving to learn. One of the best things about being a tattooist is learning, growing, and evolving through getting tattoos, asking questions, observing, researching, and much much more! Living and breathing tattoos.
I got the Spider Lady because of personal reasons and because its a traditional tattoo design that holds so much history within itself and to see an added new twist to the traditional tattoo designs makes me appreciate and want to know and learn more and more.

This is seriously my new favorite tattoo (as are all new tattoos) And makes me want to strive and continue to get tattooed by awesome, amazing, inspirational, driven artist!

I would hate to have the eyes of a dumbass.... In what world do those tattoos, or even when they were drawings on paper, look good.... It's really just mind boggling to me... People who are cheap in tattoos are just idiots.

"The Eyes of a Dumbass" sounds like the title to a John Steinbeck novel or something.

I doubt they were drawn on paper first... sad, like 4-year olds who find scissors laying around give themselves or each other haircuts. Except those grow out or can be buzzed off.
Rob

I would hate to have the eyes of a dumbass.... In what world do those tattoos, or even when they were drawings on paper, look good.... It's really just mind boggling to me... People who are cheap in tattoos are just idiots.

There's sooo many awesome amazing tattooist out in the world these days, that its hard to just come up with one. But i got tattooed by Shaun the African a few years ago when he was at Super Genius in Seattle and Im pretty stoked on my tattoo by him and I think all should know him aswell!
Tattoos by Shaun the African

There's sooo many awesome amazing tattooist out in the world these days, that its hard to just come up with one. But i got tattooed by Shaun the African a few years ago when he was at Super Genius in Seattle and Im pretty stoked on my tattoo by him and I think all should know him aswell!
Tattoos by Shaun the African

There's sooo many awesome amazing tattooist out in the world these days, that its hard to just come up with one. But i got tattooed by Shaun the African a few years ago when he was at Super Genius in Seattle and Im pretty stoked on my tattoo by him and I think all should know him aswell!
Tattoos by Shaun the African

Can't wait!

One of us should go win the 2nd season of inkmaster and then use the money to fund a second season of Tattoo Age.

How much money would it take for you guys to make season 2?

@C. Grosso,
On behalf of tattoo nerds everywhere, thank you for putting out such quality work.

I am curious what the roster will be for this year. a mike wilson, scott sylvia or richard stell episode would be pretty killer.

That's Awesome. Such a great way to go "look through" shops without having to go in. So instead of having people ask "where is a good place in Los Angelos to get tattooed" You can just go to the page, and waalaah easily do research for yourself with, hopefully, trustworthy reviews of artist's and their shops.

Rick Walters! I went to the last Shamrock Social Club St. Patties Day Celebration and was so honored to get a shamrock done by Rick! Such an awesome experience to happen and to meet such a tattoo legend, a man with a wealth of information and amazing stories! And gotta love the whistle he does when you get a tattoo.

Rick Walters! I went to the last Shamrock Social Club St. Patties Day Celebration and was so honored to get a shamrock done by Rick! Such an awesome experience to happen and to meet such a tattoo legend, a man with a wealth of information and amazing stories! And gotta love the whistle he does when you get a tattoo.

Rick Walters! I went to the last Shamrock Social Club St. Patties Day Celebration and was so honored to get a shamrock done by Rick! Such an awesome experience to happen and to meet such a tattoo legend, a man with a wealth of information and amazing stories! And gotta love the whistle he does when you get a tattoo.

Zeke Owen. He seems to appear younger and better looking as he gets older.
I really love this video:

Not sure where Sailor Eddie (Jr) might fall into the mix here (Bonnie & Clyde's Tattoo) in Philly....but he has been tattooing 40/41 years and just celebrated his 49th Bday!
He has become a good friend of mine (like a brother) and this is a guy who learned to shave an arm with a straight razor when he was 5 years old, cut acetates when he was 8 years old, and sat and colored in flash with his Grandmother and Paul Rogers as a kid!
It's amazing to sit down in the shop with him and look though the family photo albums he has!
I think I am heading up tomorrow to see him in fact....since the weather is gonna really nice!

Awesome thread!!!
Dave Gibson gave me a list about 7 years ago of tattooers he would suggest I get tattooed by!
I asked for guys and gals with 40 years in or close to it and I have slowly been chipping away at his list ever since!

Greg Irons ruled the seas -such a talent to lose R.I.P.

Brooklyn's Mike Perfetto
The link is to my buddy Fernando's blog post about his experience visiting this classic/unique Brooklyn shop
MICHAELANGELO | LIONS NYC
The shop is in the basement of a house. It's first come first serve. You wait in line, put your name on the board and go walk around to kill time. One by one the names get knocked off the list. If you are not there you lose your spot. He opens at four. I think they got there a few hours early and dudes were already waiting.

Having lived in the West Country, UK for most of my life it would have to be Bristols Les Skuse. I would have loved to have been tattooed by Les, he died in 1973 a couple of years after I got tattooed for the first time. Here is some of Les Skuses work.

Lance Mc Clain is still goin strong in Hawaii, my mate just got tattooed off him. Danny Romo is still doin 3 days at least at Shamrock in Hollywood for the real old East LA style. Phil Bond is probably still tattooing in Torquay England with 2 of his sons, he always did great tattoos. And Dennis Cockell has a new shop in Soho in London and is there all week, Dennis painted some of the nicest tattoo flash ever, most of it is still in the shop in Walkers Court that Darryl Gates has now. There are a lot of real good tattooers with 30 years in still tattooing today, sitting in shops waiting for ya to walk in and get something put on you.

I thought I'd start this thread along the same sort of vein as tattooer's deserving some recognition ,except more like shedding some light on the classics.So i'll kick this off with one of my all time favorites,N.Y.C's finest -Tony Polito