I grew up in the Central Valley of California and moved to San Francisco right out of high school, I started tattooing in Seattle, Washington in 2003.

 

Rock n' roll music was probably my first introduction to art and images that inspired me.  Album art, posters and t-shirts were the things I felt most drawn to. The earliest tattoos that I found intriguing and wanted to get myself were the scratchy yet dark and powerful looking biker tattoos that my friends' older brothers and fathers were covered in.

 

In my career I've worked in Seattle, Philadelphia, New Jersey, San Francisco and San Rafael, every city has it's own style of tattoos but the internet has definitely diluted that.  I suppose I've always adopted a bit of the local 'style' in some sense, specifically California as it's always felt like home.

 

Spider Murphy's flash was the first of the traditional style to grab my eye when I started working in tattoo shops.  Some of the first tattoos I put on friends back when I started were from Spider Murphy's flash. I wanted to work in a shop where I could learn about real tattooing.  Spider Murphy's was different than any other shop I had previously worked in-  there was a wealth of knowledge and experience and a unique approach to tattooing which drew me to the shop.

 

Artistically wise I still love that old rock n' roll related artwork.  I find inspiration in old comics, photos of old tattoos, vintage flash, biker art, movie posters, old tee's, etc...  I probably get the most influence from my co-workers at the shop, I feel pretty blessed to work among such a talented group of people where I learn new things on a regular basis.