Needle Me This

What if you’re not late — you’re just becoming? In this episode of Needle Me This, Colin sits down with one of his closest friends and longtime tattoo client, Emma Smith, for a conversation about growing up, changing paths, and learning how to live intentionally without losing the parts of yourself that matter. Emma shares her journey from college chaos to stability, earning her master’s degree in...

Most people only see tattoo artists through finished photos. What they don’t see is how an artist thinks — or how their life shapes the work they put on someone forever. In this episode of Needle Me This, Colin sits down with Nick Bones, a Las Vegas–based tattoo artist with over 21 years of experience, to talk honestly about tattooing beyond the highlight reel. This conversation isn’t about trends...

In this episode of "Needle Me This," Colin Bussing reflects on the recurring themes that have emerged throughout the podcast, particularly focusing on control, meaning, and change. He discusses how tattooing serves as a medium for individuals to express their transitions and reclaim their identities. Colin emphasizes the unique environment of the tattoo chair, where clients often engage in deeper...

In this episode of Needle Me This, Colin sits down with Caitlin — a mother, nurse, and tattoo collector — for an honest conversation about identity, self-care, mental health, and rebuilding confidence after motherhood. Recorded during a tattoo session, this episode explores what it’s really like to balance a demanding nursing career with parenting, personal growth, and learning how to take care of...

In this episode of Needle Me This, I sit down with Austen LaRock for an honest conversation about tattooing, life shifts, and what changes when you step into a new chapter. Austen and I talk about what it’s like getting tattooed before and after becoming a father, how priorities shift, and why tattoos often mark who you were just as much as who you’re becoming. We get into the emotional side of co...

In this episode of Needle Me This, Colin tattoos a returning client and youth mental health clinician while talking about emotional regulation, burnout, boundaries, and identity. What starts as finishing a candlestick tattoo turns into a grounded conversation about mental health work, creativity, and letting meaning evolve over time. Honest, unscripted, and rooted in real life — not buzzwords. Fre...

Brittany returns to the chair for a tattoo about rebirth, confidence, and growth. A raw conversation about motherhood, body image, mental health, and learning to take up space again.

Ryan opens up about music, fatherhood, discipline, and identity in this post-tattoo conversation. From writing bars that still hurt to choosing a healing arc over a villain arc, Episode 3 dives into what it really means to grow up without giving up.

Stephanie waited 10 years for this moment — and seven sessions later, she’s finally stepping into the version of herself she always wanted to be. This episode dives into her full Japanese leg sleeve journey: the toxic people who held her back, the Facebook post that pushed her to take action, the pain, the naps, the knee ditch trauma, and the reclaiming of her identity one session at a time.

Dante came back for round two with me – and this time we went big. Over a 3-part session, we went from planning a Norse Jormungandr sleeve, to surviving a back-to-back convention weekend, to this episode: two days after, wrapped, swollen, and already wanting more. In this conversation we talk about: What it actually feels like two days after a huge color sleeve The mental game of paying for pain y...