A New/Old Tattoo
I've been getting tattooed since I was 19 and by the time I was 23 I had developed an interest in learning how to make tattoos myself. At the time I was getting tattooed a lot by Nalla Smith, who was at Tattoo City then. We had become good friends and I asked him if he would teach me how to tattoo. He flatly said No, explaining that he was in no position to take on an apprentice. He was really the only guy I had felt comfortable about apprenticing with, so I put the thought out of mind. But a few years later, he asked if I was still interested in learning how to tattoo and told me he was in the process of buying a tattoo shop in New York City where I could eventually work full-time. I jumped at the chance. He set me up with the basic equipment and told me I should start by tattooing myself. He suggested that I tattoo something on my upper leg while I was sitting down. He had imagined that I would tattoo a little skull and crossbones or something. He was certainly surprised when I showed him this "Giant" graffiti piece outlined on my left leg.
I outlined it, upside down, with a 4 round liner needle. When I started it, I forgot to put a rubber band around the machine to hold the needle in the tube properly and the needle was jumping all over the place. I tried to pull a few lines with it, but the lines were super wiggly. I stopped, pulled out a tattoo magazine and found a photo of a machine that someone was using. It took me a minute to realize the rubber band was what I was missing. Once I had a rubber band on there, I was able to pull smooth lines. About 4 hours later, after lots of blood loss, I showed my roommates what I had done to myself. They were pretty flabbergasted. I was psyched! It healed fine, I showed it to friends and they became my clientele. I can honestly say that my professional tattoo career started with this one.
A year or so later I let my buddy Clifton Carter touch up the outline at a shop called Sacred Rose in the Mission that's no longer there. It was the first time he'd tattooed anyone other than himself. It was quite an adventure. He fixed up the inner half the outline. We left my original linework on the outer half, which is still there.
Just a month or two ago, my buddy Derick Montez started coloring it in. We got through about half of it and I tapped out because it hurt like Hell. Then last night he had an open hour before his first appointment for the night so I got my ass down there on the bus and we got it knocked out!
It's a trip to see this piece finished after all these years. This was the first tattoo on my legs. I've damn near filled them with tattoos since. I feel like I've manifested so many personal adventures, friendships, romances and hardships with these tattoos. I can't imagine my life without them.
Props to all of you out there who share my love for, and respect of, tattoos and tattoo culture. And a heartful FUCK YOU to all you perpetrating mofos without tattoos that continue to profit from our tattoo culture! Real recognize real!