As a kid I was a hardcore fan of “Cartoons” magazine, a magazine dedicated to cartoons/drawings and artwork of motor vehicles. I still have a folder filled with various cars I drew from this influence. In 1987 I joined the Navy and began to learn some discipline and travel a bit. I was always the joker who would draw cartoons at someone’s misfortune from the day before…often getting into trouble for stating the painful truth.

My brother began tattooing around 1992 and taught my dad around 1994. I was interested in learning the trade and after returning from a 6-month deployment with a Bomb Disposal Team they gave me a crash course apprenticeship over a period of 4 weeks. After that I was on my own and armed with an entire shop worth of equipment to begin “slaying” my friends with. It wasn’t the typical “home” tattoo shop as I had an autoclave, ultrasonic cleaner and a shop-supply of flash and drawings that my brother and I had drawn. My first few tattoos were nerve racking but being in the Navy, I had plenty of willing victims.

I began working on friends for a fee of $40 for anything and eventually was charging $60 per hour and doing large tattoos like sleeves and back pieces. For 11 years I took my mobile tattoo shop everywhere I went with the Navy, including Iraq where I set up shop in our Bomb Disposal shop with SEAL Team 5. When we weren’t out catching bad guys and knucklehead terrorists I could be found tattooing the guys. It definitely kept our minds from thinking about being shot at and shooting people.

My favorite styles are Hot Rod, Old-School/Traditional and Japanese.

When I’m not tattooing I can be found at the beach, various parks and other places that parents can be found!