TATTOO TALES

Rinto celebrated this year his 40 years career. In Holland he’s well known as one of the old timers but, if you met him, you know that his humbleness matches his experience and dedication.    Natural born storyteller, Rinto shared with us some grounding words, valuable especially to young tattooers in this age where the digital medias shape the distribution of information. Some of those things you...

Like many of you I have been following Timothy’s career for many years, getting lost in his beautiful impossible worlds. I’m naturally fascinated by good draftsmanship, but Tim’s paintings go beyond that.   Apart from the privilege of peeking into his studio, filled with sketches, artworks and painting supplies, I feel grateful for his insights about inspiration and the way we look at things. Obse...

Eddy has been part of the tattoo Renaissance in the San Francisco area in the 90’s, together with other key figures like Freddy Corbin, Juan Puente, Scott Sylvia, Marcus Pacheco… it’s because of him that a whole trend started and evolved in countless interpretations. As the motto of this show says, “Go to the roots, not to the fruits”, we want to honor who paved the way for us. By discovering thei...

If you follow Shane you’re familiar with his work: bold, striking, elegant in its simplicity. His painting a reference in the industry.  I recommend you to meet him and his crew if you cross them at some convention, you won’t be disappointed. What I like most of Shane is his ethics and his contagious energy, which make his tattooing 100 times better. Today was great to have a laugh with him and a...

Are you interested in tattoo history? Get your pen and notebook because this episode is packed with goodies. Once again live at the Aachen’s tattoo convention, I had the pleasure of sharing an afternoon with Michelle Myles from Daredevil Tattoo.  Her professional journey goes all the way back to the days of New York’s ban on tattooing. As she crossed path with some true legends in the business - s...

What do podcasts bring to the tattoo world? What to do with haters? Will Andrew produce Nick’s new career into the videoverse? And will I ever try Nick’s power barbecue?    I sat with Andrew Stortz and Nick Swartz, hosts of the two best tattoo podcasts around, to answer these and other deep philosophical questions.  Find Nick’s podcast on Instagram  and Spotify Find Andrew’s podcast on Instagram  ...

For tattooers and creatives the artistic side is not the only factor in running a successful business and giving life to our vision. Money is often a painful note that can stress us out and rob us of creative and productive energy. Ryan, tattooer and financial advisor, teaches us that it doesn’t have to be. What I find particularly valuable in Ryan’s approach is how he works on the blocks that sub...

Michael is a Danish abstract painter that has been represented at the Van Gogh Art Gallery and the danish Creative Mind Art&Design. I’ve know Michael for over ten years, through his previous job managing one of Copenhagen best art supply.  I’ve always believed that if you really wanna know more about specific paints, brushes and paper you just have to talk with the people at the desk, they’re walk...

Tattooing and everything connected to it changed profoundly in the last years: the rise of social medias; the opening of a once underground world to a wider audience, with a controversial spectrum of consequences; the distribution of information. These and more aspects of this art form are being redefined and one of them is particularly present in today’s modus operandi: technology. The traditiona...

For this episode we found ourselves in Aachen at the Kaiserstadt Tattoo Expo, as always flawlessly organized by Andreas Coenen. The show opened with a pre-party exhibiting the life work of Bernie Luther, a mind-blowing array of flashes produced over four decades of traveling the world.  On the following day I had the pleasure of recording this interview in front of a lovely audience, which made th...

There is a reason if everybody likes Freddy Corbin. His experience and contribution made him well known all over the world but that only doesn’t bring you that type of respect. His kind personality makes him connect joufully with people, instantly making you feel at ease. Even from a brief chat you can sense that he cares.   Needless to say it was an honor and a great pleasure to have him spend an...

This episode is part of the OFF THE WALL project, an initiative to put the spotlight back on flashes as foundation of traditional tattooing.  Learn more at @stef_bastian_presents   Today’s guests are Nick Colella and Robert Ryan. Two veterans of traditional tattooing, these artists give us an insightful look on what it means to immerse yourself in the tattoo culture, what makes a design impactful...

This episode is part of the OFF THE WALL project, an initiative to put the spotlight back on flashes as foundation of traditional tattooing.  Learn more at @stef_bastian_presents   In these interviews we talk with Omar and Bobeus about their own personal approach and experience and how to make the most of flashes in the learning process.  We mention tattooers that influenced the art form deeply(li...

This episode is part of the OFF THE WALL project, a new art project within the tattoo community to celebrate the flash as foundation of traditional tattooing, while raising money for those families affected by the war in Ukraine.   In this series of short interviews we ask our guests a little bit about tattoo history and the origin of the flash, what it means for them and how to make the best use...

David Speed is the co-host of the Creative Rebels podcast. His rich personal experience in the creative world(David has tattooed for a few years and has been a graffiti artists for two decades) enabled him to understand what it takes to build the best version of yourself and your business, often one being a reflection of the other.  What gave birth to the successful CREATIVE REBELS podcast is the...

Today I want to introduce you to a new series that I’m incorporating in what we normally do in the podcast. This series of extra episodes is called PANEL, and it will feature multiple guests at once, breaking down a specific topic. Each artist with their own unique experience and perspective.   For the first panel, I sat down with four of the most inspired and experienced artists, Holly Ellis, Cha...

Shotsie Gorman is a character larger than life. One of those old timers that, you know, “they just don’t make them anymore”. Behind his 4+ decades of tattooing there is a deeply routed drive for Art, with capital A, and perhaps a la even deeper appreciation for Life and the people he crossed path with.  In this episode we talk about his start in tattooing with Mike Bakaty, the crazy characters he...

I could introduce Dana Brunson mentioning all his accomplishments and all the majorly influential artists he crossed path with in his 50 years tattooing, Huck Spaulding, Paul Rogers, Cliff Raven, Don Nolan, Crazy Eddie… but we won’t do that. The aspect that I feel best describes Dana is his wonderful heart and genuine love for tattooing and the people he meets along the way. The wisdom that comes...

Charlie Cartwright is a living legend. Crossing paths with some of the most influential American tattoo artists(Bert Grimm and Owen Jensen, to name a few), he’s been tattooing for six decades now. Together with Jack Rudy and his team of artists, he developed in the 70’s what we call today “fine line”, bringing tattooing from 3-6 needles to just one, mimicking and refining a style that was developi...

Frank Rosenkilde is a walking piece of Danish tattooing history. From a country with a very rich tradition, Frank has been tattooing for over four decades, crossing paths with some of the most significant tattooers of his time. Tato Ole, Mike Malone, Tato Svend and Henning Jorgensen, to name a few.  His passion, burning today as forty years ago, made him collect memorabilia from all over Scandinav...

Tamara is a talented and respected member of the tattoo community. There’s much more than what meets the eye tho. Artist, Anarchist, Teacher… a spirit that transcends and breaks the boundaries of one specific field. Tamara’s work in the field of social justice highlights the potential that tattooing carries with the concept of trauma-informed care and enriches this world with unique compassion and...

When Kari talks about tattooing, a rare quality strikes you right away. The fresh sparkle in her eyes tells you, better than a thousand words, that her 42 years in the business haven’t diminished her passion. If anything they distilled it into a deep, humble appreciation for what this represents. Personal growth, meaningful friendships, craftsmanship and dedication.  Her personal trajectory crosse...

C.W. developed a passion for tattooing very early on. His service in the Navy in the 60’s brought him across the world, collecting tattoos in exotic parlors like Pinky Yun’s in Hong Kong. After getting tattooed by Ed Hardy he got offered the opportunity of learning tattooing and from there he crossed paths with pillars of modern tattooing. Paul Jeffries, Good times Charlie, Jack Rudy, Jerry Swallo...

Alex Binnie needs no introduction. Founder of the legendary Into You in London and unanimously considered one of the most influential artists for more than one generation of tattooers, Alex shares his invaluable take on art, the creative process and the unique relationship between artist and client.     Find Alex on Instagram    @abinniepaperandskin @1770tattoo   Follow the updates on the latest e...

40 years tattooing and going strong. That’s the word that I think can describe Deb best, Strong. She’s well known in the community for her kindness, authenticity and genuine love for tattooing. That type of old school lifelong love, matured in times when you often had to swallow your pride to belong to this world, especially as a woman. Beside that, Deb’s path hasn’t been an easy one. The obstacle...