InkSpired Magazine Issue No. 40 | Page 64

the shop I work at, Blue Star Tattoo and Body Piercing, owned by Darrin Walters. The shop is my family and I love each and every one of them: Darrin, Nicole Miller, Tiana McGuire, and Dante Firewalker. SD: What do you think are (if any) problems within the piercing industry? PT: That’s a huge can of worms. First of all, the powers-that-be do not care about our industry. We are treated as a mental illness and/or freaks. All they care about is making money off of what we do, despite how they feel about it. So, long legislation is a big factor. I’m very thankful to my friends in the industry who work really hard to make this better, including the APP. and other non-profit organizations that are doing their best to make the legal situation better. I also feel this industry is flooded. There are too many professional piercers out there without work and yet shop owners are still bringing in apprentices to basically make them c ܙH