as a worker in an industry, you burn out fast
and your shop is going to be dead shortly,
but on the other hand, if you are the “big artist” and don’t give a shit about the customers
and only want to express yourself, that’s not
good either. Customers want and pay for a
professional service.
Unfortunately, I see more and more of this
selfish behavior in my environment. I don’t
think professional equals unreal prices and
rockstar rules. That’s pure bullshit.
What do you think a client should expect
from you as a tattoo artist, and what do you,
on the other hand, expect from a client to
make a successful tattoo and a good collaboration?
Good question. I mentioned above the
behavior of the tattooist. The newcomers
thinks it’s a rock ’n’ roll life with money and
sometimes we make some tattoos. No! They
must understand that the customer is the
boss and we serve them as much as we can.
It’s like web designing or working for Porsche
as a designer. Porsche asks you to design
a new interior for a new car and you have to
do your best. You let your fantasy fly, but the
bosses make some changes and you have
92
InkSpiredMagazine.com
to shut up!
That’s it. New car out, everybody’s happy. It’s
applied art, not fine art. We are just a tool for
the customer. They deserve attention, patience, and perfect tattoos. If they get them,
they are going to come back. Our responsibility is to drive them to find good composition,
amongst other things. Simple rules.
What is the most interesting tattoo you have
been asked to do?
A Japanese bodysuit. If you are working on
big composition, you have to solve different
problems and I enjoy doing it. I’m fighting
with myself to reduce the details in my work
at the moment. I love Steve Moore, James
Tex, and Jeff Gogue’s work because of the
simple compositions. The simpler, the better!
But it’s hard to find the balance.
What is the most shocking tattoo you have
done?
A smiley face on some friend’s balls. I don’t
want to speak about this anymore. (Laughs.)
It took a few years in the mental hospital to
work out that evening. (Laughs.)
Are there any positive sides of being an
artist?
Yes there are. After 11 years of tattooing, I
have established good contacts everywhere
and I can solve any problem really quickly.
I like the conventions and traveling too, but
since I have two kids a family, I’ve reduced
my trips.
Can I ask if there are any negative parts of
your job?
Maybe the responsibility about each work
of mine. Sometimes it’s hard to do your
best every day… It’s really stressful. I try to
have a system for bookings, but I lost every
spontaneous moment this way. Sometimes
I have cancellations and I can make some
unexpected tattoos on these days.
What criteria do you think that a tattoo
convention shall have to be really successful,
both for you as a tattoo artist, but also for
the visitors? Can you give some examples of
conventions which meet these criteria really
well?
It’s easy. You can see the difference between
conventions made for money and those
made for celebrating the tattoo industry. You
can feel it when you are there. If you check
the artist list, it shows everything. I only